An Cosantóir

CAPSTONE | 15 Here, students give their views on the APC commander’s course, exercise Capstone and what they learnt. LT NEIL LEDWITH (28 INF BN) ‘Overall, I found the three week course very interesting. It gave us an appreciation for both the capabilities and the limitations that a commander has when dealing with a fleet of armoured vehicles. During Capstone, I was a section commander, section two i/c and I was a platoon commander responsible for the transfer of captives from the snatch site to Kilworth Camp. From the start, Capstone was very challenging. I found having good communications was vital, especially with a mechanised formation moving at speed and compounding that is the issues around navigation. Also, the lack of sleep was a challenge, but we got over that by rotating the commanders. If in the future, I get a chance to command a platoon or mechanised company unit, I would ensure that everyone is briefed on the route we are taking and that everyone knows the drills to do if someone goes off route. Having those procedures in place is important and something we learnt on this course.’ 2/LT ALAN MOLLEN (5 INF BN) ‘I taught the course gave us a good insight on how the Defence Forces actually operates. Obviously during the cadetship we train in the Vox Pops light infantry role, but this was basically a conversion course and we travelled through 19 different counties, and overall it was an excellent experience. On the first day, I was the company two i/c and that was a real eye opener. The company commander would give me tasks and I would delegate them to the company sergeant, company quarter master sergeant and platoon commanders, and I would make sure they carried out their duties. On Capstone, sleep was a premium and I found that challenging at times. Also, you have to plan and make time to maintain the cars. Remember, they are not soldiers and they can breakdown and Capstone gave me an appreciation of what the crews need to do and what I could do as a commander to support them. I will definitely improve my navigation skills as it is not like walking with a map and compass. When you are driving in a Mowag, you can cover two kilometres very quickly and you can easily miss a turn.’ 2/LT SARAH CONLON (2 INF BN) ‘I found it a good course as they started from the basics and worked it up with lectures and we got to do a bit of navigating with the Mowags through the Wicklow mountains before Capstone. During the exercise, I was the platoon sergeant for the perimeter security around Knock Airport. I would say that Capstone was more challenging that tough. We had to use the stuff we had learned in the cadet school with what we learnt here and marry it together. We never did any company tactics before, so the company in attack at night using the Nato-T formation was a new experience. If I get to operate as an APC commander in the future, I will make sure to look after the car crews. You can easily forget the two crew, so it is vital to make sure they get their rations and enough rest, were possible.’ CDT PHILIPP KIEDL (AUSTRIAN ARMED FORCES) ‘I learnt a lot on the course, especially in the command appointments while working a whole APC company on the ground. We in Austrian drive the Pandur six-wheeled armour personnel car. The Mowag has more space for the dismountable troops to live in. The Pandur is also armed with a 12.7mm main weapon like the Mowag, though in our Austrian APCs, the dismountable commander sits in the front, while in the Mowag, you sit at the rear. During Capstone, I was section commander and found the lack of sleep difficult as you really only had time to eat and change your socks between each of the exercise scenarios. The toughest thing for me was the night attack as it was cold and wet, and it was important to look after your troops and keep them motivated. Equally, as a commander, you have to look after yourself and be mentally fit. It was great to see how the replen worked and how smoothly it went.’ Cdt Kiedl is an Austrian officer cadet from the Student Battalion, Military Academy in Weiner Neustadt, 50k south of Vienna. He will be commissioned in October 2011. THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE

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