An Cosantóir

38 | what i do STEPHEN NOLAN TROOPER 2 ISTAR COY I work within a Dismounted Reconnaissance Detachment part of the Medium Reconnaissance Troop. Operating from Mowag Medium Reconnaissance Vehicles and Close Reconnaissance Vehicles our job is to gather ISTAR (Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition Reconnaissance). The Mowags can operate up to 100km from our operating base and we can work up to 10km from the vehicles. A Dismount Reconnaissance Detachment consists of four troopers. What we carry with us depends on the task given to us. Our missions are generally a Close Target Reconnaissance (CTR) or an Observation Post (OP) behind enemy lines conducting an overwatch on a target. We can launch a CTR from either the vehicles or an OP. In a CTR we have to be able to get within a 100m of the target and be able to traverse 360o can be up to a km away from the target, but you constantly have eyes on for anything up to and beyond 72hrs. Generally our teams carry SINCGAR (Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio) radio, around the target without been seen. In an OP you a GPMG, Steyrs, and an 84mm Anti Tank weapon if required. Surveillance equipment consists of; binoculars, Sofi Thermal Imaging, Canon camera with 300mm and 500mm lens that can give us eyes on a target up to a kilometre. The images can then be uploaded directly onto the Toughbook computer which in turn is con- nected to the Harris HF radio, and sent back to HQ. This allows us to provide real-time surveillance to HQ for analysis. We also carry an OP construction kit; Hessian sacks, chicken wire, picks and shovels. You then have your personal equipment; sleeping system, change of clothes, 300 rounds of ammunition, 24hr emergency rations, maps, model making kit, water, prismatic compass. If going into an OP we would have unit 2 Cav Sqn, very well trained, experienced and capable of doing the job within the unit. An Cosantóir July/August 2012 www.dfmagazine.ie to bring 72hrs worth of rations, you may get told you are staying longer in the OP so we would then have to conduct a re-plen of food and water. I volunteered to join the Battlegroup, it was the best decision I ever made. I only completed my three star course last July. Since coming to the Battlegroup I have completed courses on the SINCGAR, the 84mm Anti- Tank, Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV) Recognition, and a Basic Recce Course. We are now on standby for the next six months with five days notice to deploy. During that time we will continue our training. I will be undergoing the following courses: MT driver, dispatch rider, pistol side arm, and a course on the AMSTAR Ground Surveillance Radar system. When I am finished with 2 ISTAR Coy I will return to my parent WHAT I DO

• Cover