An Cosantóir

12 | ity, delay, illumination and smoke. They also receive familiarisation training on the mini- in the mountains of Cork and Waterford, and are tested on tactical deployment, movement, and camouflage and concealment. Deploying one gun and concealing it from view is one thing, but a whole battery of six? That is not an easy task. The YOs course also covers subjects including field artil- UAS, and the surveillance target-acquisition system on the LTAVs (Light Tactical Armoured Vehicles). In addition to the Glen of Imaal the YOs also exercise lery instruments, equipment and gunnery; air defence; general terrain examinations; crater analysis; and ballistics. "At the end of this course we want them to be able to confidently deploy a battery of weapons in support of an infantry battalion, either at home or on overseas service," Capt Behan says. "Artillery is a critical force-protection element overseas and there is a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of our YOs. In Lebanon the artillery officer has been called upon to fire illum from the 120mm mortars in the past, and these weapons also provide an ideal show of force. They have to be confident and competent to do that." I asked Capt Behan about one of the lesser known ADR over recent years has been ATCP operations such as the state visits of Queen Elizabeth and President Obama, where 1 ADR was deployed in strength to monitor Ireland's airspace. For operations such as these 1 ADR can call upon personnel from the other three ADR regiments. Officers subjects on the course, crater analysis. He explained that a trained artillery officer is able to determine some basic information from studying a crater. By using basic tests he can often determine what type of ammunition was used; what weapon was employed; and the direction of fire, which can enable them to identify possible hostile firing points. Bringing reality home, this process has been required more than once overseas. When it comes to air defence, the primary role for 1 An Cosantóir July/August 2012 www.dfmagazine.ie McGeeney (Instr Arty Sch) had the YOs deployed in an air-defence exercise, tracking aircraft out to 50km, which would be a typical scenario in an ATCP role during a state visit. The YOs had to track and monitor a VIP travelling from Casement Aerodrome to Maynooth University, on to the National Stud, and from there to Government Build- ings in Dublin. On the radar map there were clear areas of restricted airspace with corridors for aircraft to follow. Unknown to the stu- dents Capt McGee- ney had thrown in a few rogue intruders. "The YOs are able to distinguish by flying patterns which are friendly and which are not," Capt Mc- Geeney explained. "The YOs are operat- ing as watch-keepers in the Giraffe Mk IV and in the command post they are analys- ing the information received." The air defence are trained in the Giraffe Mk IV air defence radar system while gunners man the RBS 70 air-defence missile. On an exercise in Casement Aerodrome Capt Eoin module of the YO's is five weeks long and at the end of it the successful students qualify as combat leaders on the Giraffe air defence radar. An artillery officer's train-

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