An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir September 2015 www.dfmagazine.ie 38 | I always had an interest in fitness, and wanted to be a fitness instructor when I left Fingal Community College in Swords. however, I also wanted to travel a bit and ended up go- ing to Greece for a year as a club rep. After I came home I worked for Champion Sports but I still wanted something that would push my fitness; so when I saw an advert on TV for the Defence Forces I decided to enlist, which I did in Monaghan on 26th April 2004 as part of 38 Recruit Platoon. After my recruit training I opted for 5 Inf Bn in McKee Bks as I was living in Kinsealy. Dur- ing my first year I completed a 60mm Vector Mortar course and applied to travel overseas for the first time with 94 Inf Bn, UNMIL, in Liberia from November 2005. While on form-up with 94 Inf Bn I completed a Mowag Dismount course. Being away from home was not new for me and I settled in well to life out there. How- ever, I was shocked to see the poverty and living conditions of the locals in Liberia. My role out there with the QRF involved keeping the cookhouse and kitchen going with logs, rations and stores. When I returned home I completed an 84mm Anti-tank course and a Recce course, which I found very interesting and a valuable course to have completed. I also completed a Basic Pipers course and joined the 5 Inf Bn Pipe Band, which I really enjoyed. From July 2008 to February 2009 I successfully underwent a Pot NCOs course and shortly after that I had the privilege of travelling to Lourdes with the Defence Forces Pipe Band. This was my first time to travel to Lourdes and I enjoyed seeing different nations' armies and how spiritual the whole area is. Later that year I did a civilian fitness course in Palmerstown called NCF Fitness. I found my army training helped me a great deal in completing the course, which also added to my instructional skills. I travelled overseas again in 2010, this time to Chad with Recce Coy, 102 Inf Bn, MIN- URCAT. This was my first overseas mission as an NCO, and I prepared myself as well as I could, including completing a Mowag Commanders course. I found the trip tough, with water shortages and long range patrols in the dry, hot climate, but it was also interesting, working with NGOs and doing mine clearances. The trip got very busy at the end due to the mission closing down and the camp and ordnance having to be packed away for the journey home to Ireland. On returning to Ireland I completed some more courses, including Infantry Mortar Instructor and C-IED Instructor. With the re-org in 2012 I had the opportunity to move to 2 Cav Sqn. It meant a longer commute, as I am living in Lusk, but I was prepared to commit myself to learning new skills in a new corps. This led to me completing a Recce Commanders course and a Mo- torcycle Instructor course. These allowed me to be more involved with running courses within the unit, like the Dispatch Riders course, which I've just finished instructing on. Being an instructor on a course like this is very enjoyable, and knowing that you are teaching students who will go on to do an Escort of Honour for the president is very rewarding. Few people get to know that feeling, and how many hours of work goes into cleaning the bikes and rehearsing our drills. While, at the moment I'm enjoying having recently become a father, after my wife, Caroline, gave birth to our son, Cooper. In the future I hope to continue to advance my career by becoming an armour driver instructor and completing a Standard NCOs course, which will hopefully allow me to be promoted in the future. "Being part of an Escort of Honour for the president is very rewarding and only a few people will know that feeling." Paul Mulready CorPoral 2 Cav Sqn

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