An Cosantóir

16 | 106 IRISHFINN BN MRE & REVIEW O BY SGT WAYNE FITZGERALD PHOTOS MRE - JIM O'CONNOR; MINISTERIAL REVIEW - SGT CARL COSGRAVE (106 SQN) exercise has been carried out in Ireland involving Irish and Finnish troops. The ten Finnish staff officers are part of a larger group of 177 Finnish soldiers who, along with their Irish counterparts, will form 106 IrishFinn Bn. The unit, under Irish command, deployed to the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon in May. The IrishFinn battalion's mission will involve the monitoring of the cessation of hostilities along the 'Blue Line' between Lebanon and Israel, ensuring no armed elements other than the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) are operating in the area, and carrying out joint patrols of South Lebanon with the LAF. On a visit to the MRE, Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces Lt Gen Seán n 26th April, 331 Irish and ten Finnish soldiers completed the final phase of an intensive three-week mission readiness exercise (MRE) in the Glen of Imaal, the first time such a joint pre-deployment McCann remarked: "Peace-support operations have become increasingly complex and it's important that both the Irish and Finnish troops are rig- orously tested. The professionalism, co-operation and thorough prepara- tion that I have seen here today will ensure that they can carry out their mission and represent Ireland, Finland and the United Nations with pride." The MRE puts commanders and soldiers through a demanding series of complex peace-support operation scenarios based on the current situation in Lebanon and potential threats that may be encountered in this volatile mission area. The scenarios involved encountering road- side IEDs, violent incident escalation, first aid, negotiation techniques, medical heli evacuation, and the use of conventional military weapon systems and equipment. 106 IrishFinn Bn, commanded by Dublinman Lt Col Brian Monahan, will and has been in training for the past three months. Speaking about the upcoming mission Lt Col Monahan said: "While the command of Irish sol- diers deployed over- seas is a great honour and the highpoint of any officer's service, to lead an IrishFinn battalion is particularly special and I am looking forward to the experience of working with my Finnish colleagues in this challenging mission." On 2nd May, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Mr be taking over duties from the all-Irish 105 Inf Bn, which has been serving with UNIFIL since last November. The Irish element of 106 IrishFinn Bn is drawn principally from 2 E Bde Alan Shatter TD, reviewed 106 IrishFinn Bn in Mc Kee Bks, Dublin. The ceremony, which comprised an address by the minister and a parade and march-past by the battalion, was attended by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Andrew Montague, the troops' families, and mem- bers of the public. An Cosantóir June 2012 www.dfmagazine.ie

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