An Cosantóir

ing the MRE personnel revise and upskill themselves in the areas of mine awareness, counter-IED, ambush drills, CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear) drills, casualty evacuation, and many more. These are skills all troops learn in basic training and continue to perfect as they continue their careers. Well trained soldiers who are operationally alert are the best defence against any challenge they may face." At the ministerial review at Cathal Brugha Bks on September 3rd Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Mr Alan Shatter TD, spoke of the horrendous casualties among the civilian population due to the civil war. To date nearly one-third of the 22 million population of which seven million have been displaced since the uprising began in March 2011; over 100,000 have lost their lives; and an estimated two million refugees are seeking shelter in neighbouring Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt, leading to increased instability in the region. The refugee crisis has been described by experts as the largest since the Second World War. Addressing the peacekeepers of 43 Inf Gp Minister Shatter said: "The continued support of troop contributing countries such as Ireland to the UNDOF mission is vital to allow the mission to continue the implementation of its mandate in a safe and secure manner. Helping to maintain the 40 year old ceasefire between Israel and Syria represents an important contribution to preventing further instability in the region." Chalks 1 & 2 both arrived safely in UNDOF on 21st and 28th September. V Pops ox | 21 CQMS Tony Fitzgerald (7 Inf Bn) "This will be my 11th overseas trip. My first was to Sinai with 26 Inf Gp in 1974 and since then I went on to serve seven times in South Lebanon, once in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and once in Liberia. My job will essentially be logistical support for the troops: providing them with everything they need from their food to spare parts for their weapons. Everything we need we will be bringing with us and before we even arrive we have already sent away for a month's supply of rations. Due to the civil war re-supply may become problematic but we will overcome that. We have a great team going over and I'm really looking forward to the trip." Pte Shane Egan (6 Inf Bn) "This is my first trip overseas. I'm with 1 Sec, 2 Pl. There's a lot of hype going on over our deployment because of the civil war but to be honest I'm trying not to think about it until I get over there. I'm excited because it's my first trip: my family, however, have mixed views. Emma, my girlfriend, is a bit apprehensive. She'll have to look after Tommy our four-month-old son and I'll miss them like mad. When I come back Tommy will be walking. We will be conducting armoured patrols and as a scout I'll have to watch out for any IED threats and vulnerable points.My platoon are mainly from 6 Inf Bn. I didn't know them that well as I'm not long in the unit, but we've developed a great team. The section and troop commanders are great and I think we'll have a good trip." Lt Graham Towell (7 Inf Bn) "This is my first trip overseas. I am 1 Pl Comd. We are essentially acting as the Force Mobile Reserve. Each platoon consists of 32 personnel operating out of four Mowag Piranha APCs. I'm anxious and excited at the same time. I'm anxious because I don't want to let anybody down. Nearly all the guys in my platoon are from my home unit, 7 Inf Bn. The only person not from our unit is our communications operator who's from the Naval Service. He's mixing in well and we have developed a good rapport over the summer's training. I'm very confident that we will work very well overseas and have a safe trip." Cpl Clare Powell (7 Inf Bn) "This is my fourth trip overseas. I've served in Liberia, Kosovo, and Lebanon. On this trip I will be a section commander with 1 Pl. We have a good few first-timers on this trip. Over the summer we've been training together conducting drills in the APCs, working on CBRN, C-IED and mine awareness drills and so on. I've also conducted a Military First Responders course and the Critical Incident and Stress Management course. The latter course teaches you how to look after the mental health of the personnel under your command. A few of us have this course done. Being overseas away from family is a stressful time. We have several people with small children or young babies; one guy in my section has a seven-weekold. With the re-org this year we are still getting to know each other in the battalion but over the last few weeks we've got to know each other very well. My 2i/c Cpl Brian Buckley is very good." www.military.ie the defence forces magazine

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