An Cosantóir

24 | O ver the past few issues we have looked at how the recent reorganisation has affected units around the county. Many personnel, permanent and reserve, have been relocated and retrained, and the adoption of the 'Single Force' concept has seen RDF units disbanded. Reservists are now organised as platoons, troops, companies, and batteries of permanent units. Recently we visited 28 Inf Bn in Co Donegal where permanent and reserve personnel from the battalion were undergoing an integrated training exercise. Over the past few years 28 Inf Bn has seen substantial changes. PDF personnel in Lifford and Rockhill House were transferred to Finner Camp, and this year the local RDF unit, 58 Res Inf Bn, was stood down and its personnel now make up the reservists of 28 Inf Bn's C, D, and E Coys, based in Rockhill House, Sligo town, and Finner Camp respectively. Since the reorganisation earlier this year the battalion, under Lt Col Seán Gavin, has made sure that the reservists are being fully trained and integrated into the unit. "The 'Single Force' concept is going very very well in our unit," Capt Paddy Toye, OC B Coy, told us. "Since the reorg we have utilised the resources, instructors, staff and training schedule of the PDF companies to assist in the training of the reservists. Where possible we have brought the reservists in and integrated them into our training. So far this year 'Lough Sallagh' they have completed PT tests, medical training, manual handling, infantry skills, and public disorder training." Even though their units have been disbanded and personnel transferred, the reservists have been extremely positive. As Capt Toye pointed out there have been huge benefits with the 'Single Force' concept: the integration is allowing the reservists to benefit from the resources of the battalion, and to receive expert training from soldiers just back from overseas tours of duty, Pot NCO and Standard NCO courses, and Recce courses, just to name a few. The reservists are now also finding themselves undergoing training in areas they were never exposed to previously, such as public disorder training. Exercise 'Lough Sallagh' was the culmination of the year's training. The 72-hour exercise consisted of a fully integrated permanent and reservist company carrying out conventional operations from Lough Sallagh into the Bluestack Mountains. In the scenario, as armed insurgents retreated across the mountains the 28 Inf Bn troops had to carry out forced marches, platoon- and company-attacks over difficult terrain, and resupplies. In typical fashion for army exercises the summer decided to turn itself off temporarily and the rains came, just to add in that extra bit of hardship. "Integration exercises like this enable our reservists to learn from the experi- An Cosantóir Dec 2013/Jan 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie ences and benefit from the knowledge of their permanent counterparts," said Capt Toye. "It's new, it's a challenge, but already they are achieving the KPIs (key performance indicators) set for them." Watching the platoons carrying out an attack there was no way of telling who was PDF and who was a reservist. The appointments were totally mingled; one platoon had a regular sergeant, a reservist lieutenant, and a total mix in the sections. The knowledge transfer was very evident. Simple things that regular soldiers take for granted, such as staying warm and dry at night, packing a patrol pack, or dealing with weapons stoppages, are things reservists simply wouldn't be used to dealing with on a daily basis. Throughout the exercise the permanent soldiers, with their wealth of experience and knowledge, were advising and assisting their reservist counterparts and the positive interaction between them was fantastic to see. The reservists, it has to be said, are extremely positive and committed. While they come from all walks of life, from paramedics to secondary school teachers, and aerobics instructors to barmen, they all dedicate their spare time to

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