An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 19 Ordinary to Able Ratings Advancement course. "After that I went on to the nCMI to complete my MI (Mechanician I)," he told us, "where you cover basic engineering, watchkeeping, engines, ships' systems and safety. We also did more in-depth study into what we had learned on our Basic Marine Fire Fighting course." Having been posted to LÉ Samuel Beckett, A/Mech Mulqueen has now settled into the pattern of life on an operational warship on regular MDSO patrols. "I'm definitely enjoying it," he says. "It is the job I hoped it would be. naturally, for the first few patrols you have to get used to your role on the ship; all ships are different and none more so than your first." When I asked him if he has any plans for the future with the Service, he said: "I certainly do. I aim to progress into one of the more selective courses, such as naval Divers or possibly Medics. I am most certainly looking forward to deploying with my ship to opera- tion Sophia. I am sure it's going to be tough, and that there will be good and bad times, but I am going to prepare myself well for it and I will be happy to play a role in it." A/Sea Philip Cahill hopes that someday he will have the oppor- tunity to become a naval diver. "After basic training, Seamanship Branch was my first choice," he said, "as I enjoy working outdoors and it seemed like the best branch for me." Asked to describe his typical working day he told me: "Well, the first thing we do each day is ship's husbandry, which can take up to an hour-and-a-half each morning. Then we often move onto boarding stations, fisheries boardings mostly, and then, depending on what watch is on, I would either be on the bridge as a lookout or at the helm, or else I will be in the boats. I am a RHIB coxswain, so it is my job to drive the RHIB during boardings and make sure that everyone gets onboard the fishing vessel safely. In addition, as I'm still learning my trade, I have to practice rope work and all the traditional seamanship skills." A/Sea Cahill had barely set foot on his first ship and was on his first patrol when he was involved in the search for Rescue 116. "We were there when naval divers recovered one of the missing crew," he recalls. "We helped return a loved one to their family and maybe help them in their loss in some small way." A/CommOp Tristan Brennan says that what lured him from his home in Donegal to join the Naval Service were the recruitment adverts. "It looked exciting," he says, "and it seemed like a career that I could give a shot." Speaking about his training he told us: "The Communications Branch training is the longest and is very mentally focused. A lot of study is required and a large amount of learning on all manner of military, tactical and civilian radios. We also need to know commu- nication via flags for fleetwork and we must know Morse code for visual signalling via the Aldiss lamps." It would take a telephone directory to accurately detail the roles and responsibilities of the entire crew, and this short article only provides a snapshot of young people who are at the core of the Service. They do their work, quietly and professionally, in the roughest seas in the world; leaving families and the always- connected modern life behind as they head out to sea on behalf of the state. Doing a job that not everyone can do, yet which is more important now than ever before, they follow generations who have gone before them and could hold their heads high in the company of any past sailors, as they too have been tested by the sea and have not been found wanting.

• Cover