An Cosantóir

16 | BY CAPT BRENDAN O'DOWD, AIR CORPS PRESS OFFICE PHOTOS BY 105 SQN ALWAYS READY, WILLINg aND ABLE N inety-one years ago a Martinsyde Type A Mark II The crew of the Gulfstream IV crew on their return to Baldonnel following the successful NEO in Libya in February 2011. (L/R): Cpl Leona Walsh, Capt Matthew Quinlan, Flt Sgt Peter Plunkett and Capt Arthur Hunter Nolan. biplane was purchased and placed on 24-hour standby in Croydon to be used by General Michael Collins to make it back to Ireland should the Anglo- Irish Treaty negotia- tions break down. This, the first Irish military aircraft, went on to become the first aircraft of the Irish Air Service, the forerunner of the Air Corps, when it was formed in 1922. Today, almost a century later, the Air Corps maintains this tradition of always being on-call for the Irish state and its people. Over the years the Air Corps has matured into a highly profes- sional organisation, currently operating service-level agree- ments with several state depart- ments and agencies to fulfil this supporting role. Its pilots and technical training programmes meet, and exceed, the required Joint Aviation Requirments (JAR) standards; its air traffic services meet all Eurocontrol operating and training criteria; and its op- erational and technical oversight processes and quality assurance checking are up to recognised aviation standards. A look at the past twelve months of Air Corps operations shows how its duties per- formed for the Irish people are constantly evolving. On February 21st 2011, as civil unrest worsened in Libya, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) called on the Air Corps to assist in the evacuation of An Cosantóir April 2012 www.dfmagazine.ie Irish citizens. The Taoiseach and Minister for Foreign Affairs Brian Cowen approved the immediate deployment of two Air Corps aeroplanes, and within hours the Learjet, 'Irish 258', and a CASA, 'Irish 253', with eight aircrew were repositioning to Luqa Airport in Malta to provide an evacuation platform for a possible airlift. On the first day of the opera- tion 'Irish 253' was tasked with transporting DFA officials to Tripoli Airport in an effort to co-ordinate the evacuation. The attempt was unsuccessful and after four hours of intense ne- gotiations the aircraft departed Tripoli empty. As the crisis deepened the Gulfstream IV, 'Irish 251', was called-on to collect the Irish Am- bassador to Italy, Pat Hennessy, in Rome and bring him to Malta to assist in the negotiations with the Libyan authorities. On day three of the operation 'Irish 258' was tasked with an air ambulance operation and suc- cessfully brought a British family from Tripoli to Malta for urgent medical treatment. Finally, on February 27th, 'Irish 251' transported an international processing team to Tripoli, which at last allowed for the evacuation of the awaiting Irish nationals. As the operation wound down 'Irish 258' returned to Casement Aerodrome carrying seven pas- sengers who had been evacu- ated by HMS Cumberland from Benghazi, and 'Irish 251' returned with seven Irish evacuees and DFA staff. The return of 'Irish 253' on March 1st marked the end of the seven-day operation and

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