An Cosantóir

20 | Brig Gen Frank Leidenberger Commander EU BATTLEGROUP BY TERRY MCLAUGHLIN PHOTOGRAPHS BY CPL NOEL COSS T he Defence Forces' commitment to the German-led EU Battle- group, due to go on standby for six-months on July 1st, consists of a fully equipped ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target-Acquisition and Reconnaissance) company. On Tues- day 13th March Brig Gen Frank Leiden- berger, Commander EU Battlegroup, visited Cathal Brugha Bks for a brief- ing on 2 ISTAR Company and to meet its personnel. After a comprehensive briefing from Comdt Colin MacNamee (OC 2 ISTAR Coy) Brig Gen Leidenberger reviewed an equipment display by troops from 2 ISTAR Coy on the Main Square, which included different Mowag variants, the LTAV, sniper and CTR equipment, an Orbiter UAV, and comms equipment and containers. Brig Gen Leidenberger displayed an in-depth knowledge of, and interest in, the various items of equipment and spent a good deal of time speaking to the ISTAR company personnel about various aspects of their equipment and their capabilities. Following this display Brig Gen Leidenberger addressed the assembled personnel of 2 ISTAR Coy. He expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the company's personnel and also how impressed he had been by what he had seen during his visit. While he said he could not guarantee that the battle- group would deploy during its standby period, he knew that they would be An Cosantóir April 2012 www.dfmagazine.ie ready to do so if required. Brig Gen Leidenberger was then escorted to the Visitors' Centre to meet with staff officers and NCOs of 2 ISTAR Coy in a relaxed setting. During this time the EU Battlegroup Commander kindly gave an interview to An Cosantóir. An Cosantóir: Can you tell us a little about your military background? Brig Gen Leidenberger: I joined the army in 1977 and my background is armoured cavalry. I have had three overseas missions: one in Bosnia as a battalion commander, and two with ISAF in Afghanistan. In my first deployment to Afghanistan in 2004 I was DCOS in HQ ISAF, and on my most recent deploy- ment, in my capacity as commander of the 31st Airborne Brigade, I was the regional commander for RC North. This was the most difficult and challenging of my overseas deployments. An Cos: Will you explain to us some- thing of the structure of the battle- group and the challenges it presents? Brig Gen Leidenberger: It's not that long since certain EU countries came together and developed the concept of establishing a rapid-response capability for the European Union. This grew to the establishing of two battlegroups at a time that are available to deploy with- in five days notice to act on behalf of the EU. The basic building block of the battlegroup is infantry in battalion-size formation. However, in times like ours when deployed forces face complex en- vironments in which they may have to deal with civilian actors and a diversity of potential opponents, any such force needs a variety of capabilities, many of which are not nested within an infantry battalion. Therefore, the concept evolved to the point that for this battle- group II/2012 we are currently preparing more than 3,000 soldiers, with a full range of capabilities, from a variety of contributing nations: Germany, Ireland, Austria, Czech Republic, Croatia, and, for the first time, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. With so many nations contributing elements and capabilities, and with so many different systems, especially in the area of com- munications, and different philosophies on how to lead troops, it's a real chal- lenge to pull that altogether. We have two headquarters, one at op- erational level, the Force HQ, and one at the tactical level, the Battlegroup HQ. The Force HQ, with some 150 staff, oversees the overall approach, provides the strategic communications and in- teracts with the higher echelons. Force HQ is also capable of integrating air ele- ments, naval elements, or, if needs be, Special Forces or a psychological task force. Below that is the Battlegroup HQ, which is more or less a beefed-up bat- talion headquarters. Specialists from all contributing nations must be brought into the HQ as all want to play an im-

• Cover