An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir November 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie 22 | Life after the Defence Forces BY SGT WAyNE FITzGERALD As part of our series on former personnel who are utilising the skills they developed in the Defence Forces we met with Captain Willie Nugent (retd), now managing director of Eurocheck Security Con- sultants who provide hostile awareness training to NGOs, human rights workers and journalists. Willie Nugent grew up in rural Co Wicklow, and like many people who have joined the Defence Forces, his family has a long military tradition, although it was mainly in the Brit- ish Army. Although his parents wanted him to get a trade after his leaving cert, Willie instead enlisted in the Defence Forces in McDonagh Bks, Curragh Camp, in October 1976. "There were three platoons as part of the recruit intake," Willie recalls. "My platoon had 30 potential soldiers, mainly from Dublin, with a few of us 'culchies' thrown in – it was a bit of a culture shock! The Curragh Camp was a thriving community at the time, with everything from family ac- commodation, shops, cafes and a cinema." After recruit training Willie was posted to the MP Depot on general duties and soon after applied for a military police probationers course, after which he became an MP corporal, carrying out policing duties around the Curragh. Willie later transferred to the Curragh Detention Barracks, or 'the Digger' as it was known, which at the time was being used to house non-military prisoners, mostly Dublin criminals or non-aligned subversives during 'the Troubles'. In 1979 Willie completed a civilian parachute course, which helped him to get on a DF one conducted by An Para Cumann Míleata. At that time the DF did not have a Special Forces unit, although personnel had been sent abroad on training, most notably Lt Gen Dermot Earley DSM (RIP), who was trained in Fort Bragg. With the Troubles ongoing and highly publi- cised terrorist incidents taking place around the world, it was decided Ireland needed a highly trained intervention unit. This led to the forma- tion of the Army Ranger Wing (ARW). In July 1980 Willie successfully completed the second ARW selection course, 'Bravo'. (The first course, 'Alpha', was for officers.) "These two courses were the start of the ARW," Willie says, "and we became the nucleus of the new unit, with course 'Charlie' and many others following on quickly." ARW personnel trained at home for their conventional role but the unit needed to send people abroad to seek current Special Forces training and develop the best skills. "I went to train with the Dutch Royal Marines in Holland," Willie told me, "who at that time had dealt with a few major terrorist incidents. The RMS, a terrorist group from South Moluku (or Molucca), an East Indies island seeking in- dependence from Holland, carried out a number of attacks on Dutch soil, including attacks on a train and on a village school in 1977 that led to the Dutch government using military force." Other ARW personnel were sent to France and Germany, other countries deemed as highly experienced in anti-ter- rorist training. In 1982 Willie travelled overseas as Transport NCO with C Coy, 51 Inf Bn, UNIFIL, in Lebanon. "It was during that trip that the massacres in Sabra and Shatila took place in Beirut, where hundreds of defenceless Palestinian men, women and children were killed by members of the Israeli-backed Christian militias," Willie recalls. In addition to his career courses, potential and standard NCO courses, Willie underwent many other courses during his time in the ARW. "I never PREPARING FOR thE UNExPECtED Argentina 2012 Benghazi March 2011 Darfur April 2008

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