An Cosantóir

February 2018

An Cosantóir the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces and Reserve Defence Forces.

Issue link: https://digital.jmpublishing.ie/i/934533

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An Cosantóir February 2018 www.dfmagazine.ie 14 | REPoRt & By CPl lEE CoylE M illions of people around the world have been maimed and killed by mines, unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). there are an estimated 110 million AP mines in the ground throughout the world (figures from www.care.org) and every year about 26,000 people become victims of these weapons. there were also over 6,000 IED explosions reported between 2011 and 2015. IEDs are commonly constructed from what- ever is at hand, such as mines, unexploded ordnance and even homemade explosives. UnDoF has reported that people are risking their lives harvesting minefields to obtain explosives to build IEDs. One of the largest IED blasts took place in Somalia in October 2016, when a truck packed with explosives was detonated in a busy marketplace, killing more than 300 people and injuring over 500. Looking closer to home, we are all too fa- miliar with the damage IEDs can cause, due to their frequent use during the Troubles, includ- ing the Omagh bombing in 1998, which killed 29 people. The use of such devices, however, is not only the province of terrorist groups anymore as criminal gangs are starting to use them to at- tack or retaliate against their rivals. The DF Ordnance Corps provides a vital service to the state at home and abroad, and last year EOD teams responded to 100 call- outs, which resulted in 29 IEDs being found and dealt with. The Ord Corps also conducts training in improvised explosive awareness for other agencies, such as the Garda Technical Bureau, and a recent exercise conducted with the Garda Technical Bureau involved dealing with a bomb manufacturing facility. The training of personnel to deal with the threat of IEDs at home and overseas is vital, and An Cosantóir visited the current Ordnance Young Officers (YOs) course to see what these brave men and women have to go through to become an EOD officer and join the fight against these horrific weapons. The 23rd Ord YOs course started just over a year ago and when it finishes these officers will be qualified for EOD tasks. The course is affiliated with Carlow IT and successful students receive a master's degree in engi- neering. Candidates for the Ord YOs course must have an engineering or science degree. Following selection by interview, the success- ful candidates undergo their complex training over a period of about two years (the current course is 23 months). The course is broken into 12 modules cover-

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