An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 15 assisted and enabled the Malian commanders in their decision-making process in accordance with Malian military doctrine. At the outset the EU had identified providing practi- cal instruction on international humanitarian law (IHL) as being a key supporting pillar for GTIA training, and therefore it also became an important subject in retraining GTIA Elou. During their deployment to the north, Elou often had to engage in conflict in densely populated civilian areas. Therefore, by incorporating IHL instruction into all facets of our training, including focussing in detail on the Malian rules-of-engagement and on treating civilians in accordance with IHL, we were addressing an important area for them. Throughout the seven-week period, we encoun- tered many challenges that required high levels of professionalism, fitness and patience from all our trainers in order to guarantee success. Relentless high temperatures, averaging 38°C, high humidity, and the unforgiving, hostile terrain of southern Mali, added to the challenge of the mission. All trainers were required to be self-sufficient in the field for long peri- ods, while maintaining high standards in the delivery of their allotted subject matter. Communication and language barriers added to the challenge. While French is widely spoken throughout Mali, Tamasheq is spoken by many soldiers from the north and Bam- bara by soldiers from the south. This added to the complexity of the task, as trainers were required to continuously work with interpreters while also relying on their own ability to communicate through French, and ensuring that the delivery of training was simple, understandable and tailored to our audience. One of the key assets that I relied upon was the wealth of operational and training experience that my small team possessed. Each member of the Irish contingent utilised their combined experiences for the benefit of our Malian comrades. Indeed, because of the excellent work of preceding Irish contingents, we benefitted from strong friendships among the 21 other EUTM contributing nations and the Malians. Interestingly the soldiers of GTIA Elou had previously been trained by members of IRCON 2 in 2013, and we were able to build on their foundations. Despite their awful experience in northern Mali, the soldiers of Elou retain fond memories of their training in Koulikoro and, in particular, the strong relationships they formed with our predecessors. I firmly believe that the DF has made, and is continu- ing to make, an important contribution in restoring the Malian Armed Forces' military capacity, which in turn will allow them to defend Mali's territorial integrity. About the author: Lt James Mulderrig, a native of Bohola, Co Mayo, is on his first overseas deployment, serving a six-month tour with IRCON 4 as part of the UKITT. Prior to this, he served with 1 Cn Cois in Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa, Galway. Sgt Kelleher Cpl Walsh Cpl Collins instructing members of 2 RGR in unarmed combat Lt Mulderrig instructing Malian commanders during the leadership phase of their training.

• Cover