An Cosantóir the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces and Reserve Defence Forces.
Issue link: https://digital.jmpublishing.ie/i/303558
An Cosantóir May 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie 22 | The change in routine happened directly after the run when instead of being marched straight to the cookhouse, they were marched straight onto the back of a truck. Travelling blind in the back with the canopies closed, the troops didn't know where they were heading until they eventually dismounted in Glenmalure. The penny finally dropped when they marched onto Cavannagh's Gap, overlook- ing the ominous Glen of Imaal, where they met the resident SERE (survival, escape, reaction to interrogation and extraction) instruc- tors of 1 Mech. Previously the students had received their SERE instruction from Sgt Gary O'Brien in a specially constructed outdoor classroom in the DFTC. There they received lessons in shelter building, lighting fires, conduct under capture, navigation, and attracting the all important attention to get extracted. In an age of reliance on technology and the internet, survival training has become an increasingly important training tool to de- velop professional soldiers. Despite their recent SERE lessons, the members of 103 Platoon didn't expect their knowledge to be put to the test so soon. An al- ternate training programme had been circulated to lull them into a false sense of security and to amplify the shock of the impend- ing exercise. Sgt O'Brien explained: "Their routine hadn't changed throughout recruit training: they always knew what to expect. They needed that shock." The air of emergency and uncertainty created by these changes certainly added to the realism of the exercise. Some personal kit was allowed, mainly for safety and every patrol pack had a helmet, goggles, gloves, pocket knife, firesteel, warm top and four litres of water. However, the main asset they had was the other team members. Broken into five isolated teams of six and with time press- ing on after the march, delegation and communication were key to a comfortable night. With a specific task to keep a fire going until the morning or face 'relocation', the teams rostered sentries to maintain a watch on their fires and other team members. With the breaking of dawn and the breaking of camp, the in- struction continued following a forced march to Cemetery Hill. After a demonstration of game preparation and field cooking methods, the lessons turned to the practical end of the extrac- Foraging for items discarded by people is stressed by SERE instructors as it helps to find useful materials while maximising conservation of energy.