An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 13 The scenario for the exercise claimed that six self-radicalised individuals armed with knives and machetes had carried out an attack on civil- ians in a DART station during evening rush hour. Reports indicated up to eight fatalities and more than 20 serious injuries to members of the public. AGS had immediately deployed the ERU and ASU, wounding and capturing one attacker. However, the other five had escaped. Gardaí raided the last known address of the arrested terrorist where they discovered Jihadist paraphernalia, bomb-making equipment, and AK47 magazines and ammunition. AGS immedi- ately requested the assistance of an EOD team, which was urgently dispatched from Cathal Brugha Bks. Other sensitive information, includ- ing photographs and plans of Dublin Airport, were also discovered, while additional intel- ligence indicated the possible existence of two other terrorist bomb-making sites within the Dublin area. At 0600hrs a number of platoons were dis- patched from barracks around the country to assist AGS with putting a cordon into action to contain the terrorists within a defined area. They also secured the perimeter of Dublin Airport, where an Air Corps EC135 was deployed to provide aerial surveillance and oversight communication if needed. At the same time LÉ Ciara, which was on a routine patrol of the Irish Sea, was diverted to secure Dublin Bay and instructed to have her boarding teams and their high-speed RIBs ready to deploy. The ERU, supported by DF personnel, searched three houses in South Dublin. (The majority of operations took place at the site of the old Odlum's flour mill on Alexandra Road in Dublin port, where a four-storey office block was used to simulate an apartment block where a terrorist bomb-making factory was located.) This opera- tion included ARW anti-terrorist teams clearing the building floor-by-floor and room-by-room while dealing with any threats they encountered in an appropriate manner. Paul Kehoe TD, Minister with Special Respon- sibility for Defence, said of Exercise Ullamh, "It is vital to ensure that the men and women of the Defence Forces are prepared to support An Garda Síochána in the event of a major terrorist incident. This exercise allows the Defence Forces to build on their capabilities and preparedness and develop their procedures with An Garda Síochána." Echoing the minister's remarks, Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Mark Mellett DSM said, "The pri- mary purpose of today was to exercise our plans and our ability to provide the military capability to support An Garda Síochána in the event of a major terrorist incident. The exercise was a success; we have identified lessons from it and we will con- tinue to build on them in future exercises."

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