An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 9 REPoRtS & PhotoS by SGT WAYNE FITZGERALD O n 16th August acclaimed author and war correspondent Robert Fisk addressed students on the 11th International human Rights – 'train the trainer' course in the United Nations training School Ireland (UNtSI). Outgoing UNTSI School Comdt, Col Adrian ÓMurchú, introduced the highly respected reporter to an eager audience of international military students and members of the academic community. Mr Fisk gave an in-depth view of the current situation in the Syrian civil war, with detailed maps and slides of a recent visit to Palmyra, where the Russian troops are based. Speaking about post-conflict problems in the Middle East, Robert said there was plenty of military planning for war but little or no planning for other contingencies. "In 1941," he told his audience, "Churchill, who I'm not a fan of, planned how to run Germany after the war, using their utility companies and municipalities, et cetera. They also planned for what they would do if the Ger- mans landed on the beaches of Kent. They planned!" In contrast, he says, there seems to have been no planning done for the after- math of either the Iraq or Afghan wars. Speaking about human rights and the refugee crisis, he said: "This was nothing new. In 1919, after the Great War, there was an influx of over a million refugees into Europe and we managed… why couldn't we do something like this now? And there were no computers in 1919." Before finishing up with a Q&A session Robert warned his audience about the dangers of accepting too much at face value regarding the Syrian conflict. "What you see on the TV is not the real picture," the seasoned war corre- spondent cautioned. Pictured outside UNTSI (l-r): Lt Col Robert Corbett, Maj Gen Kieran Brennan (DCOS Ops), Robert Fisk, and Col Adrian Ó Murchú. Robert Fisk discussing the Syrian crisis. REPoRt by COMDT RORY ESLER, CHAIRMAN PCM W ingsuit flying is a disci- pline that evolved from skydiving, which involves wearing a specially designed suit that allows the jumper to glide across the sky as opposed to falling straight down. this significantly increases the horizontal distance travelled and time spent aloft dur- ing free fall. Signalman Desmond Reardon of 2 Bde CIS Coy recently competed in Germany as part of the Irish Wing- suit Team, coming second in the intermediate wingsuit category. Des now lies in first place in the 2016 Performance Flying World Series in this class. This wasn't his first outing – in 2015 Des was part of the Irish delegation at the First FAI World Cup Wingsuit event, hosted by the British Army Para- chute Association at Netheravon airbase in England. This event was the first ever to be recognised by the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale), the international governing body for all aeronauti- cal sports. Des is now preparing to represent Ireland in November 2016 at the 1st ever World Championships of Wingsuit Performance Flying in Zephyrhills, Florida. When he's not wingsuit flying or working in his day job in Cathal Brugha Barracks, Des is a senior member of the 'Black Knights', the Defence Forces Parachute Display Team (An Para-Chumann Míleata or PCM). Apart from carrying out display jumps as part of the DF's public relations efforts, Des is also a committee member, with responsi- bility for equipment. In that regard Des hopes to complete a basic rig- ger's course in the near future, this will qualify him to carry out first line inspections and minor maintenance on the DF's stock of high perfor- mance parachutes. All of Des's friends in PCM and Cathal Brugha Bks wish him the very best of luck at the World Championships!

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