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Your Defence Forces Newsletter DF InDoor AthletIcs chAmpIonshIps O ne of the largest indoor athletics events in the history of the DF took place on 3rd February when the DF Indoor Track & Field C'ships (& Grand Prix) were held at the state of the art Indoor Stadium in Athlone IT. Close to 400 DF personnel took part in 17 track and 2 field events across 4 competitor categories including a special category for new entrants. 160 recruits and cadets took part and the presence of such a large number of new entrants contributed to an electric atmosphere in the compact stadium. Notable performances included 800m in 1min 55s by Lt James Led- ingham 3 Bn and strong distance running by Pte Ken Rodgers 12 Bn in the 3,000m (8min 58s). Full results available from BPEO's. The event was hosted by 2 Bde supported by the DF Athletics Committee. Military Service Pensions Collection (MSPC) T he MSPC owes its origins to the decision of the Oireachtas of Saorstát Éireann in June 1923 to provide for the payment of allowances and gratuities to wounded/disabled members and the dependents of veterans of the National Army; including members of the Irish Volunteers, the Irish Citizen Army, the Hibernian Rifles, Na Fianna Éireann, Cu- mann na mBan and members of Óglaigh na hÉireann/Irish Republican Army who had been wounded or were casualties while on active service variously during the period from April and May 1916 to 30 September 1923. Further legislation was introduced under the Military Service Pensions Acts of 1924, 1934 and 1949 to provide for the payment of service pensions and allowances to surviving veterans of the aforementioned organisations including Cumann Na mBan from 1934, who could prove "active service" during the period from Easter Week 1916 to 30 September 1923. Provision was also made for the payment of pensions and allowances to certain members of the Connaught Rangers under the Con- naught Rangers (Pensions) Act, 1936. The decision to afford wider public access to the MSPC was announced in 2006 by the then Taoise- ach, Mr. Bertie Ahern, T.D., in the context of the 90th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising. Following on from that decision, the Military Service Pensions Project was established and four archivists commenced work on the collection in June 2008. The project is overseen by a steering committee chaired by the Department of An Taoiseach and including representatives from the Department of Defence, the Defence Forces, the National Archives and the Military Archives. The work of the Military Service Pensions Project and the Steering com- mittee is ongoing and the collection will be released through the Military Archives in regular phases. Phase 1 of the project is the Military Archives' latest online collection which has been available to researchers following the official launch by An Taoiseach on 16th January2014 through www.militaryarchives.ie. The records available online includes the pension applica- tion files from individual veterans of the Easter Rising 1916, along with various supporting records. These include the Membership rolls of the 16 Divisions of the IRA, Cumann na mBan and Na Fianna Éireann as on 11 July 1921 and 1 July 1922 and the Brigade Activities files relating to 1916 events in counties Wexford, Louth and Galway. A range of other administration and Departmental files are also released to give context to the collection. EUTM Mali P ictured are the Malian soldiers of 2 Company, 3 GTIA (Groupement Tactique Interarmes), which is the 3rd Bn level group to be trained by EUTM Mali (the first 2 were trained by IRCON 1) with their Irish, Brit- ish and French instructors on the banks of the Niger river in mid Dec 2013. They completed a 10 week intensive infantry skills course which covered; basic weapons handling, field craft, orders, models, offensive/defensive ops, section/platoon attacks, coy and bn level ops, CIED, COIN, FIBUA, LOAC, medical and fitness training. This coy are currently deployed on operations with the rest of their Bn in north- ern Mali to help stabilise the region. The 4 GTIA is currently in training and are due to complete their 10 week program in mid March 2014. NAvAl SERviCE PASSiNg OUT T he Robert Halpin Recruit Class passed out at Haul- bowline, 6th February. The class were named after Robert Halpin, a world famous Irish born mariner. Halpin helped lay the telegraph cables in the 19th Century, enabling the world to communicate at a level never seen before. The audience on the day were treated to a unique display of foot and arms drill that culminated in the anchor display, as pictured.

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