An Cosantóir

| 17 www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE After loading, 40 DF Logistics personnel then flew to Belgium in order to receive and unload the ship. Through the PESCO Project, the Belgian Army supported the Irish DF, by accommodating and feeding all Irish personnel in a Belgian LogsHub near Antwerp. When the Ship arrived in Antwerp Port, Belgian Army Logistics and Movement Control (MoveCon) Teams supervised the unloading, liaising with all the port and customs authorities. Traffic control measures were put in place through the EU Joint Coordination Centre (JCC). At the LogsHub, each convoy was refuelled and resupplied using the RSOM process, preparing for the long journey south to the LogsHub and eventual destination of Pfungstadt in Germany. The results achieved using this initiative were remarkable. By land, train and river barge, the 30 mostly armoured vehicles and nearly 50 containers of military equipment were successfully moved to Germany. Understanding the hazardous nature of ammunition, and traffic restrictions in Europe, four separate convoys were organised using civilian and military capabilities from Germany and Belgium. The measure of success of this complex operation, is that over a 48 hour period, all the equipment was successfully Received, Staged and Onwardly Moved by secure convoys nearly 400KM from Belgium to Germany. If you include the sea move from Dublin to Antwerp, the entire journey was nearly 1,500KM. TEAMWORK The Teamwork demonstrated throughout this project illustrated the very best of the Irish Defence Forces. At the civilian-military level, a coordinated plan was agreed between the Department of Defence and Defence Forces in order to ensure the viability and effectiveness of this complex project. The planning process, which took place mainly in Ireland, was completed over 12 months, and the results were substantial. This was the first time in Defence Forces history that Ireland has pre- deployed such a significant amount of military hardware, equipment and vehicles into an overseas forward staging base for such a long period of time. The support mechanisms and planning parameters to achieve this were wide, complicated and very comprehensive. On a daily basis, the joint planning team met and overcame numerous challenges. The most significant of these challenges are outlined below: • Political Support and Government (Dáil) approval for PESCO LogsHub Participant Status. • Acceptance and agreement from our EU Colleagues for PESCO Membership. • Diplomatic and customs clearance to move ammunition, weapons and military vehicles throughout Mainland Europe. • Contracting of shipping and civilian transport companies. • The movement of a substantial amount of Dangerous Goods (ammunition and weapons) throughout Europe. • Route planning and permissions for four large military convoys to move through Europe taking into account load bearing and height restrictions associated with bridges etc= • The safe storage and warehousing of all these military items in Europe. • The correct logistical accountancy and inventory management of a comprehensive manifest of military hardware. Enormous credit must go to the planning team who overcame these various and numerous challenges. Because this was a new project, most problems encountered required innovative and creative solutions. This was a substantial learning curve for logisticians in the Defence Forces, and the training benefits from this substantial logistics operation are significant and robust. Resilience was the daily challenge, and as a result, DF logistical capabilities have been seriously enhanced. The Professional Military Development and Education of all the planners, logisticians and movement controllers will bear fruit for the Defence Forces for a considerable period of time into the future. As Europe and the world becomes less secure; training and operational experiences as encountered on this DF project are immeasurable and highly significant. The 'lessons learnt' over the last year from the UNDOF withdrawal operation out of a war-torn Middle East and the bureaucratic learnings from such a substantial logistics move into Europe are considerable. The significant contributions that this substantial project achieved are still yet to be measured. Nevertheless, the DF has already significantly benefited from this project. The most important benefits are outlined below: • Significant enhancements to DF logistical capabilities, especially in the areas of: » Reception » Staging » Movement » Diplomatic clearance » Cross border movements • Substantial improvements in interoperability with our EU military colleagues. • Important contribution to Professional Military Education of DF Staff. • Significant improvements in Civil-Military Co-operation and an understanding of the new EU Concept of a 'Whole of Society Approach'. J4 Staff preparing Mowags for the move

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