An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 17 Military Post air and naval operations, an area for beach landings, and various features that provide multiple scenarios for platoon and section attacks. The post is run by 1 Fd Arty Regt but the only per- sonnel permanently stationed there are three BFW workers. The local liaison for the camp is Gnr Pat Lehan (1 Arty Regt). "I'm stationed in Collins Bks," he told us, "and travel over here when any unit is using the camp. I've been working on the island now for 27 years, so I've built up a great relationship with the local community. "At certain times throughout the year the camp is constantly full and a normal summer will see us packed with reserve training camps, Naval Service recruits, the Army Diving Group, Engineers YOs and NCO courses conducting watermanship training, and the Army Ranger Wing conducting a range of training exercises. When the military camp is fully occupied the island's population goes up by three quarters." Pat took us on a tour of the camp and its facili- ties. The BFW office and officer accommodation are situated not far from the quay at Lawrence Cove and about a kilometre west of the main camp, which can cater for 150 personnel since the its facilities were revamped in the early 2000s. None of the old British fortifications around the island are in use today. Across from the main billets the camp's flagstaff sits in a very commanding posi- tion on top of an old gun emplacement. An important job that Pat has is liaising with the local community. "It's a very close knit community on the island," he says. "We have to make sure at all times that the locals are happy with what we are doing. There's no point in organising a big exercise in the middle of a local festival and upsetting every- one. I've been coming here so long now I know all the locals and they know me. If there's a problem I'll be the first to get the call." The excellent relationship between the Defence Forces and the local community was clear to see with all the waves Pat got as he took us around. The British built extra fortifications in the early 1800s and again at the end of the 19th Century, many of which can still be seen, such as the Star forts that were still in use up to the Emergency Pat explained that the British garrison was so self-sufficient that they could survive without resupply for eight months. After the handover of the Treaty Ports in 1938, the army and Coastwatch- ing Service used the island during the Emergency but the post was abandoned shortly after and not reoccupied until the 1960s. Since then the island has had a regular military presence. Leaving Bantry Bay we will head for Dún Laoghaire, where our most easterly military installation is located. Leaving Bantry Bay we will head for Dún Laoghaire, where our most easterly military installation is located. The camp as it stands today. The refurbished kitchen in operation. The camp is used by a wide selection of units from RDF to ARW. One of the many graves on the island, chronicling the various phases of military activity.

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