An Cosantóir

16 | The AFM's highest rank is brigadier general, and their ranks, while generally similar to ours, include lance corpo- ral, major, and warrant officer. Malta is restricted in terms of training areas and facilities but as part of the EU, the UN, and NATO's PfP, uses overseas courses to enhance its military training. This training helps interoperability while also gaining the leadership, management and logistics skills necessary to improve the whole organisation. Officer cadets in Malta undergo basic training at home before attending further training abroad. Three such young officers came to the Defence Forces as member of 86 Cadet Class in the Military College. The AFM HQ in Luqa has an International Relations/CSDP Branch, Operations & Training Branch, Administration & Personnel Branch, Logistics Branch, Public Information Cell, and Intelligence Cell. Capt Joseph Pisani, SO2 Ops & Trg Branch at HQ AFM, who attended the Defence Forces' 22 Ju- nior C&S course, told me about his background. "I've been in the army for 18 years, spending four years as an enlisted man before I did my officer training at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in the UK. After that I served with the infantry until completing my JCSC in Ireland this year. "Apart from serving with a weapons inspections team in Serbia for a few weeks I haven't served overseas yet, as overseas service is only new to Malta, but I am one of many who are looking forward to the opportunity to do so. "Training Branch is responsible for domestic and over- seas courses, setting out doctrine, guidance, and poli- cies on how courses should be run. We make sure that all courses are of the same standard as our international counterparts, and we also run trade-testing and educa- tional training for our personnel. "I was very lucky to do the JCSC in Ireland and found the course very challenging. My main disadvantage was that even though I speak English, I don't speak 'Irish English' and some of your instructors speak very fast! "The Defence Forces and the AFM have a lot in common and I was very impressed with how you have overcome similar disadvan- tages, such as a small budget and never enough men or equipment, to still do a professional job at home and over- seas. "The main benefit for me was that all the instructors and students had served overseas and I was able to share their knowledge. Learning how they overcame problems will help me if I ever find myself in a similar situation." Of the AFM's three regiments, 1st Regt is the main infan- try unit; 3rd Regt is the main support unit, and includes en- gineer and ordnance elements; and 4th Regt comprises the Army Band, the Revenue Security Corps, and a CIS company. The Maltese use Type 56 and Type 81 assault rifles, Chinese versions of the AK47 that are very reliable and work in any conditions. While the GPMG is on the inventory, infantry sections use the FN Minimi. Other weapons familiar to us are the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun and the L16 81mm mortar. Although the AFM have no cavalry corps, they do use several light tactical vehicles, including the Iveco VM90 and the Humber Pig. 2nd Lt Chrisian Grech at work Lt Mark Agius briefs his troops 'A' Company, 1st Regt, is responsible for airport security at Malta International Airport, and that is where I caught up with 2/Lt 'Max' Agius. "I'm a platoon commander with the Airport Security Company. Our company is responsible for controlling access to restricted areas, which we do by pro- viding armed guards at terminal access points and airfield perimeter gates. Along with patrolling these areas, we also enforce the access-pass system and control visitor move- ment. We also man a CCTV command centre monitoring 300 CCTV's cameras in the airport. In addition, we conduct spot checks, and provide security for VVIPs. "The gunners, or privates, as you'd call them, carry out sentry duties on the gates, including metal detection, checking passes and permits, as well as vehicle checks. The lance corporals (section 2i/cs) conduct perimeter fence patrols, making sure the sentries are doing their jobs. The corporals carry out VVIP and valuables escorts, and spot checks on vehicles and employees on the airfield. "I enlisted in 2006 as a gunner and served as a combat engineer. When I was selected as an officer-cadet in 2008 I was delighted as my grandfather was a major and I always wanted to be an officer. Our initial training was seven months and then we were sent to Ireland. "You will notice we use eight-man sections, with two FN Minimis' instead of a GPMG. And of course, our weather and terrain are much different. Unlike in Ireland, when you 'dash, down, cover, crawl' in Malta you are dealing with a hard, dry surface and sharp rocks; the typical garigue landscape of the Mediter- ranean. "I really enjoyed my time in Ireland, apart from the cold, dark winter. We learned much about military history, logistics, man management, mind mapping and, of course, the Glen of Imaal. There are huge benefits to working with foreign militaries. For us particularly, being able to carry out An Cosantóir November 2011

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