An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir March 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie 14 | have either previous overseas CIMIC experience and/ or a CIMIC course completed either in UNTSI or abroad. This year's course saw a new development as the course was extended to a full two-week period. This ensured a more comprehensive ground phase in the Glen of Imaal. This extended period confirmed the first week's tuition, thus ensuring that students achieved the optimal train- ing outcomes. What makes the CIMIC course one of the most sought after in the Defence Forces is the dynamic of the interaction between Irish officers and NCOs and other international military officers. On the most recent course, last November, eight international students participated on the course, from Algeria, Argentina, Germany, Greece, Italy, Switzerland and the UK (x2). In keeping with tradition a member of An Garda Síochána also attended. From an international perspective, one of the unique selling points of the Irish CIMIC course is that students get to apply their learning in a scenario-based exercise, a four-day exercise that is given added value with the participation of MA students in humanitarian develop- ment from Trinity College and UCD. The Irish Aid section of the Dept of Foreign Affairs also provides the exercise with mentors and personnel to play the role of humani- tarian actors that the military students may encounter in mission areas. Such is the high regard of this exercise phase that both universities now regard it as key to the civilian students' learning and development. UNTSI is currently working in conjunction with UCD to have the CIMIC course accredited under the third-level European Credit Transfer System, something that UNTSI hope to have in place for the 2014 version of the course. UNTSI also utilises international instructors on both marquee courses. In recent years the School has devel- oped close relations with the Canadian Armed Forces Peace Support Training Centre. This centre of excellence has provided instructors, and indeed students, to both courses. Other international instructors in recent years have come from France, Finland and Germany. UNTSI courses have the stated objective of prepar- ing students for deployment overseas. This is especially the case with regard to the niche, or specialist, area of CIMIC. This role of preparing personnel for overseas deployment also reaches into the civilian sphere in that UNTSI provides hostile environment awareness training (HEAT). This is a one-week training module designed to prepare Irish Aid Rapid Response Corps personnel for deployment in the field or in overseas postings. Training delivered includes personal security awareness briefings using ARW instructors, mine awareness, off-road driving and recovery, counter-IED, and CIS/communications training. The week culminates in a one-day field exercise in the Curragh area, with students tested in commu- nications and map reading procedures, and actions on dealing with hostile checkpoints. UNTSI offers this course twice yearly, in May and October. Recognising the calibre of instruction avail- able in UNTSI, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) conducted its rapid response/surge training in the School in 2012. This was conducted exactly along the lines of the HEAT week provided for Irish Aid. In addition, UNTSI also conducts a shorter HEAT module annually for the personnel of the Diplomatic Section of the Dept of Foreign Affairs to prepare diplo- mats for deployment overseas. With the reorganisation of the RDF into the Army Reserve under the single-force concept, UNTSI has embraced this process and has highly qualified Army Reserve personnel on its staff. One of them, Lt Dave Fitzgerald, a history and political lecturer in Univer- sity College Cork, recently launched a publication on the history of United States counter-insurgency, from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, while another, Sgt Dave Graham, provides essential experience to UNTSI's Rapid Response Corps training, as a key role player. Being multilingual, Sgt Graham's skills are utilised on various School exercises. Additionally, he is currently developing the School's 'Working with Interpreters'

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