An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir September 2017 www.dfmagazine.ie 24 | By CAPTAIN AlAN KEARNEy PhOTOS By ARMN ADAM MuRPhy T he Ordnance School in the DFTC has decades of experi- ence in conducting international courses in a multitude of disciplines. In recent years, the school has developed an Advanced Commanders' Counter-Marauding Terrorist Attack (ACC-MTA) course and two successful international courses were conducted in 2015 and 2016, with a third planned for later this year. The prescient development of this concept prior to events such as the Paris terrorist attacks in January 2015 built up a belief among the international security community in the School's ability to provide key learning in this area. The Ordnance School does not profess to have all the an- swers - far from it - but seeks to bring together class leaders in fields related to marauding terrorism, such as the US Ac- tive Shooter Awareness Programme, in order to deliver the most innovative, experiential and considered training. Courses are directed by the School with the majority of the subject matter delivered by mixed teams; mostly ex-police of- ficers and some ex-Special Forces personnel, from the US, UK and Western Europe. This formula, with the school providing exper- tise in C-IED/IEDD, has yielded positive results for many years. A detailed 'lessons learned' process undertaken after the two previous ACC-MTA courses highlighted the requirement for an integrated and dynamic response, encompassing the emer- gency services, the military, academia, industry and private sector security operators with the required skill sets. Maraud- ing terrorism has become a feature of the threat picture across the EU and no single state organisation has the capacity or capability to deal with this form of attack. Consequently, the School delivers its courses with expertise drawn from a wide range of agencies, institutions and operators. The School also provides information and assistance to other bodies. One of these is the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC). GSOC is an independent statutory body set up in 2007 to replace the Garda Síochána Complaints Board. Its mission is providing over- sight of policing in Ireland and its primary responsibility is dealing with complaints concerning the conduct of members of An Garda Síochána. Another significant GSOC responsibility is conducting inde- pendent investigations where it appears that the conduct of a garda may have resulted in someone's death or serious injury. This includes the use of force by an armed officer in the course of their work.

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