An Cosantóir the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces and Reserve Defence Forces.
Issue link: https://digital.jmpublishing.ie/i/593178
An Cosantóir November 2015 www.dfmagazine.ie 22 | RESERvISTS by CAPT MARTIN MULVEy, RDF 2 BDE CIS The tasking dictated three main require- ments: namely, the provision of fast, efficient and reliable communica- tions on both rifle and pistol ranges and from the ranges to the central registry; the provision of an admin net for the nu- merous support services, such as MPs, medics, logs, etc, that operate behind the scenes on a major event such as this; and a public address system to provide an an- nouncement facility for the central registry and also for the prize-giving ceremony. Once the taskings and requirements were clearly identified it was time to start the planning. With phase one of the planning cycle complete it was time to look at the more technical aspects. The Motorola GP 340 series radio would provide the easiest option as they are compact, reliable and very user friendly. It was further decided to deploy SINCGAR radios as an alternative should the Motorolas have difficulty because of the lack of line of sight between the pistol range and the proposed location of the central registry. Once we were confident that we could easily provide the required comms it was time to start pushing the envelope! As most of the reserv- ists had recently quali- fied in the deployment of the Harris Falcon HF set we decided to use this new found skill. Using the data capability of the Harris we would transmit basic Excel spreadsheets "As any reservist will tell you the most critical phase of planning is booking time off from work and from our loved ones!" Keep the Score E very tasking presents its own unique difficulties and challenges, and provid- ing CIS support to the brigade and All-Army shoots presents significant chal- lenges for any unit. Also, these shoots were to be held on consecutive weekends, which meant that in addition to the normal techni- cal challenges faced by 2 bde CIS Coy (Res Pln), we also had the difficulties imposed by two consecutive long weekends in Finner Camp, Co Donegal. As reservists this meant not only a commitment from ourselves but also from our families. As any reservist will tell you the most critical phase of planning is booking time off from work and from our loved ones! Lt Shane Dunne configures the remote camera.