An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 25 appreciated by Ukrainian political and military authorities, who praise the high quality of EU training, which also serves as an incentive for Ukraine's recruitment and mobilisation efforts. The mission has become a solid pillar of EU overall military support to Ukraine. Experience in Ukraine The most rewarding experience work related were the frequent work trips to Ukraine and interactions with the Ukrainian military including several of the military Training Centres (TC's) and Training Areas (TAs). These TC's included the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces, Land Forces and Air Assault forces. Their method of instruction for military training and the course syllabi used were very impressive. The high standard of training was achieved by keeping the lessons simple, constant repetition and a very high number of live firing practices. This was enhanced, understandably, by the incredible subject matter expertise held by the Ukrainian military instructors. For example, witnessing how military skills to shoot down drones or clear trenches were taught to recruits highlighted the invaluable lessons learnt that could be adopted by the Irish Defence Forces. Similarly how a UAV TC trains soldiers with no previous UAV experience to be accomplished drone pilots and fulfilling roles such as reconnaissance pilot, bomber pilot or fighter pilot. This experience convinced me of the importance to engage heavily with the EU military lessons learnt opportunities arising from this conflict that is already being availed of by many Member States. Family experience POV: Since moving to Brussels, my wife and children have loved the experience. Three of my kids, Jack (11), Fionn (9), Katie (6) attend one of the four European Schools in Brussels. Here they have lessons in Irish, English and French in addition to the core subjects. Overall it has been a fantastic experience for them to interact with students from all European countries in a multilingual and multicultural setting where they promote European identity. It has also given them a much better appreciation and motivation to speak Irish as all other children use their native language to interact with each other in addition to speaking English. Outside of school, the children have been involved in the Brussels Comhaltas Irish music classes, Inter Brussels soccer club and the Brussels GAA juvenile club. Over the past year they have played in hurling and Gaelic tournaments in The Hague and Maastricht in the Netherlands, and also in Brussels. This club also served as an excellent social scene to meet other Irish people and children from other nationalities who took up GAA. My wife and I also came out of retirement and joined the adult camogie and hurling Brussels teams which was a great experience! I was unaware that over a hundred GAA clubs exist in over 22 European countries and each year they meet in different European capitals to compete for the European trophy. One experience which stands out was playing in a hurling competition in Vienna in 34degs temperature with the Brussels hurling team against a German hurling team from Cologne and speaking German to their full-back about hurling! Something I never would have imagined happening. Overall, the past year and a half has been a fantastic experience for my family and myself. The weather is nice and sunny (from an Irish perspective) and we have visited many different countries throughout Europe since arriving in summer 2024, using the transport infrastructure in all directions. From a work point of view, it has been challenging as a strategic planner on the Ukraine desk but very rewarding work with military contributions submitted being acted upon in real time at the military-strategic level and political-strategic level. The highlight for me is interacting with the resilient and impressive Ukrainian military in Ukraine and in particular observing and learning how they conduct training. For example, observing recruit training and the methods of instruction included in the exercises to make it more realistic such as drones, use of VR and conducting back-briefs using recorded video footage. Looking forward, in July 2026 we will return back to Ireland and will leave with very fond memories of our time spent here in Brussels. Brussels hurling and camogie team competing in the European Hurling Championship in Copenhagan, Denmark in May 2025. Lt Col Stephen Molumphy and his wife Niamh playing in Zurich, Switzerland with Brussels Camogie and hurling club in September 2024 Jack, Fionn and Katie who won the U9, U11 and U13 Gaelic Football Tournament with Brussels in Maastricht, Netherlands in October 2025. Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Basic Recruit Training Molumphy family- June 2025.

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