An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir April 2018 www.dfmagazine.ie 26 | By CAPt SARAh o'REgAn, 2 BtC PhotoS By CPl nEvIllE CoughlAn O n 26th February 2018, 2 BtC, Custume Bks, Athlone com- menced an intensive two-week public order training instructors (PotI) course, consisting of practical lessons, lectures and demonstrations, and culminating with a major public order exercise. This course prepares personnel for the many public order scenarios they may be faced with both at home and abroad, and its objectives are: to train NCOs and officers in public order operations; qualify them to operate in a public order environment at platoon and company level; and enable them to perform the duties of a junior commander in public order operations. Week 1 consisted of classes and demonstrations of the drills the students need as a public order instructor. The second week involved the theory exam and preparing for the exercise. In order to give students a genuine opportunity to put their newly acquired skills to the test and to ensure that public order exercises are as realistic as possible, 2 BTC generally asks for assis- tance from An Garda Síochána (GS). This course was no exception and, when contacted, the GS's chief public order instructor was happy to collaborate on the exercise. An Garda Síochána also invited the staff of 2 BTC to attend a GS public order seminar, and to visit their public order tactical advi- sors course where the GS demonstrated their public order drills in Gormanston Camp, utilising their public order unit, mounted horse unit, K9 unit, the GS helicopter, and the Ambulance Ser- vices. This demonstration gave the BTC an excellent insight to the capabilities and roles of the GS and the Ambulance Services in dealing with public order events. Planning for the POTI course exercise, incorporating DF person- nel, the GS, and the Ambulance Services, then began in earnest, with the course's chief instructor, Cpl Séan Campbell (2 BTC) tak- ing the lead. Factors to consider in planning the exercise included assessing the educational value for the students; how to ensure that they had the opportunity to experience a variety of command roles; and ensuring they were required to use as many of the skills they had learned as possible. In order to be able to deploy a public order company, an invita- tion was extended to 6 Inf Bn's current three-star course, under the command of Capt Kevin Diffley and Lt Mark Daly, to partici- 26 |

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