An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 13 transportation support to An Garda Síochána. Members of the Reserve Defence Force were also on hand to help their PDF colleagues, including providing a 6x6 truck to support the ESB's electricity reconnection works in Cork. Such a well-coordinated response was enabled to a great degree by a number of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and service-level agreements (SLAs) agreed be- tween the Department of Defence (DoD) and a number of other government departments and agencies as a frame- work for the provision of services. In this framework, the Defence Forces are seen as a major resource in supporting local authorities on a 24/7 basis during civil emergencies such as severe weather, floods, forest fires, etc. Lt Col Mark Staunton, OIC Current Operations, J 3/5, DFHQ, says: "ATCA requests from An Garda Síochána, lo- cal authorities or the HSE, who are the primary response agencies (PRAs), are routed to us through Executive Branch, Department of Defence. "once the national Emergency Co-ordination Centre (nECC) is stood up, we deploy a liaison officer from Plans and Capabilities Section, J3/5, to collaborate with our colleagues from DoD to represent the defence organisation's support ca- pabilities. Additionally, local MEM regional teams are stood up by the PRAs with local DF liaison officers in attendance to manage DF support to the PRAs at a local level. "During Storm Emma the Defence Forces agreed to take direct HSE emergency support requests through the tactical operations centres (ToCs) in 1 Bde, 2 Bde and the DFTC. This proved very successful in managing a myriad of HSE emer- gency callouts such as dialysis patient transfers, critical care staff movements and emergency patient transfers." The minister for defence chairs a government task force in the Office of Emergency Planning (OEP), which comprises those ministers and/or senior officials of government de- partments and public authorities that make a key contribu- tion to the emergency planning process. The NECC, which was established in 2007, is where ministers and/or senior civil servants can convene to co-ordinate national responses to a major emergency, and is equipped with the latest robust communications systems and support facilities. DF Operations Branch staff officers attend all NECC meetings, where they advise on DF capabilities and resources. According to a report in the Sunday Independent, Minister with Responsibility for Defence Paul Kehoe TD paid tribute to the members of the Defence Forces and the Civil De- fence who contributed to the relief efforts, saying: "Defence Force personnel responded to every request, which ranged from transferring a significant number of dialysis patients, transporting medication to Crumlin Children's Hospital, and ensuring a sick child could receive a passport so that they could travel abroad for medical attention…Both the Defence Forces and Civil Defence showed once again that during a time of emergency, the community is put first." On the morning of Thursday 1st March 2018 when Met Éireann issued a non-essential travel advisory for after 4pm that day, the DF Press Office announced: 'Defence Forces personnel will be available for in extremis situations of life and death after 4pm today. We will be asking the regional emergency co-ordination mangers of the HSE, and others, to prioritise tasks so that we can mitigate the risks to our own personnel.' A number of years ago the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning launched a 'Be Winter Ready' informa- tion campaign to give the public advice on how to prepare for severe weather and highlight the 'whole of government' approach being taken. The central message of this informa- tion campaign is simply to encourage people to be pre- pared, to stay safe and to know where to find help if they need it. There is a 'Be Winter Ready' information booklet available at www.winterready.ie A View from the Coalface: Capt Kieran Brennan, 3 Inf Bn ATAC operations re- ports during Storm Emma Significant snowfall in 3 Inf Bn's area of operations (AO), comprising of Kilkenny, Wexford, East Tipperary, Waterford and Carlow, saw 3 Inf Bn personnel deploying across the southeast in various roles, all under the umbrella of aid to the civil authority (ATCA). Due to the large AO, various elements of the transport fleet, ranging from Pajerro 4x4s, Scania 6x6s, and a snowplough, were prepositioned to RDF centres in both Wexford and Waterford. This decision was pivotal in providing flexibility to meet the requests that that would soon be arriving. Personnel were co-located with each county's crisis management centre and HSE centre. This enabled the forming of a mutually supporting face-to-face relationship with key stakeholders to ensure that DF personnel and assets were deployed in a timely and effective manner throughout the operation. The ATCA deployment lasted for a full eight days. Most significantly, the battalion's Scania 6x6s, snowplough, and Pajerro 4x4s conducted 40 emergency calls to homes in the greater Wexford area in support of the HSE. Personnel also drove and assisted HSE paramedics in dealing with emer- gency medical cases. A number of these tasks took place over a number of hours at night, with DF personnel and their HSE coun- terparts traversing snow drifts by foot for a number of kilometres to ensure that necessary medical equipment and supplies arrived at their objective. In addition, Defence Forces' assets were used to transfer 80 dialysis patients to and from various renal clinics across the South East for their essential daily appointments. Community health nurses were transported to treat pa- tients; Meals on Wheels deliveries were made to vulnerable, mainly elderly, people; and staff transfers from all of the principal hospitals in the region took place. The deployment culminated in mobilising a full company of troops to travel to Wexford to assist in snow clearing at strategic infrastructural locations such as hospitals, public transport hubs, schools, clinics, and pedestrian footpaths. 3 Inf Bn's assets were supplemented by 1 Bde Tpt Coy, 1 Inf Bn, DFTC Tpt and DFTC Engr Group at various times of the operation. Over eight consecutive days, 3 Inf Bn deployed 408 troops and 30 vehicles to successfully complete over 380 tasks in support of the civil authorities.

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