An Cosantóir

BY LT COL DAMIEN MURPHY DF LFTT Course www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE 2024 proved to be yet another busy year and challenging year for the Infantry Corps and all three Wings of the Infantry School. The Corps, despite many challenges, continued to develop and enhance capabilities, while also continuing to deliver its operational outputs. The focus on induction training in 2024 meant that the Inf Sch was not in a position to run as many career and weapon instructor courses as usual however the education and development of our personnel continued at both officer and NCO level. The School conducted the usual career courses including the Land Command and Staff course (LCSC) and as well as Infantry Platoon Sergeant and All Arms Standard courses during the year. This resulted in a total of 155 pers completing career courses necessary for promotion in 2024. The School also commenced a PNCO course on behalf of the DFTC with a 40 student capacity in Nov 2024 which is due to conclude in 2025. 2024 saw the withdrawal of our unit contribution to UNDOF with the return of the 68 Inf Gp in April 2024. Two Infantry Battalions assumed the role of "Lead" Battalion for overseas deployments to UNIFIL, and underwent the associated Mission Readiness Evaluations before their deployments. The deployment of the 124 Inf Bn UNIFIL, under the command of Lt Col Tom Fox, took place with the backdrop of ever increasing volatility in the Mission Area which has since deteriorated into open conflict. Our troops have relied heavily on their Tactics, Techniques & Procedures (TTPs) during this challenging time and have continued to perform their duties to the highest of standards. The 125 Inf Bn UNIFIL, under the command of Lt Col Shane Rockett, is currently in its deployment phase and we wish the unit every success for their deployment. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the families of our troops serving overseas, without your continued support our soldiers would not be able to continue to perform the necessary peacekeeping work they do. The withdrawal from UNDOF afforded the Defence Forces the opportunity to commit a Mech Infantry Group to the German led EU Battle Group 2025. The Group, under the command of Lt Col Donal Burke, will begin its 12 month standby period on 01 Jan 2025, having completed a significant period of training in 2024, including a challenging National Certification Exercise in September 2024. As I write this article, the group is preparing to deploy to Germany for a three week exercise with partner nations with a further exercise planned for Hungary in 2025. The NCOTW conducted a number of career courses including the 19th All Arms Standard Course and the 10th Infantry Platoon Sgts Course. The NCOTW also commenced the 07 PNCO Course on 11 Nov 24 with a completion date of 09 May 2025. In Q3 of 2024, Capt Niall Shannon was selected to be embedded as an Instructor on the British Infantry Battle Sergeants course in the British Army's Infantry Battle School in Brecon. The IWW continued to ensure the maintenance and development of Support Company competencies throughout the 2024. The IWW conducted a successful Live Fire Tactical Training (LFTT) course qualifying 25 pers which greatly increased the pool of qualified personnel. In 2024, the IWW supported a number of teams from Infantry units competing internationally in various competitions, representing the Infantry Corps and the wider Defence Forces with distinction. (27 Infantry Battalion – US Sniper competition, 28 Infantry Battalion – Denmark Sniper competition, ARW – German Sniper competition, 6 Infantry Battalion – UK Sniper Competition, 1 Cn Cois – US small arms competition and 3 Infantry Battalion – UK Cambrian Patrol competition). The experience and knowledge gained by a vast array of units internationally in 2024 was an excellent training opportunity for our personnel. In September 2024, The Infantry Tactical competition was conducted by the NCOTW and supported by the IWW in the Glen of Imaal. This year's competition took place over two days with Day 1 consisting of a series of stands designed to test the individual Infantry skills of the competitors and Day 2 concentrating on Shooting. The event was supported by D COS (Ops) and 1 Cn Cois emerged victorious, winning the right to represent the Infantry Corps in the US Small Arms Competition planned for 2025. www.military INFANTRY CORPS BY LT COL DAMIEN MURPHY DF Sniper competition 6 Inf Bn Team at the UK sniper competition US Small arms competition | 33

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