An Cosantóir

reviews book | 41 dvd The Irish Artillery Corps Since 1922 Special Forces Author: Ralph A Riccio Publisher: MMP Books (2012, www. mmpbooks.biz) Pages: 216pp (paperback) ISBN: 9788361421528 Price: €35.75 (easons.ie) Directed by: Stéphane Rybojad Written by: Stéphane Rybojad and adapted for screen by Stéphane Rybojad, Michael Cooper and Emmanuelle Collomp Starring: Diane Kruger, Djimon Hounsou, Benoît Magimel, Denis Ménochet, Raphaël Personnaz, Alain Figlarz, Alain Alivon, Mehdi Nebbou, Raz Degan and Tchéky Karyo Genre: Action/Thriller Language: French/English Release Date: Nov 2011 France, UK Blu-ray and DVD Mar 2012 Runtime: 1hr 49min Cert: 15 Following on from the author's highly praised book 'AFVs in Irish Service Since 1922', this is the first comprehensive history of the Artillery Corps since its foundation in 1922. It covers the period from the early days of independence and civil war, through modern-day peacekeeping, to the present day. It covers the guns, equipment, and gun towers of the PDF, FCA and RDF. Many one-off topics such as the Raikes Range, the Orbiter UAV, and various personalities and barracks, both current and closed, are included, which make this book a great read. The coastal artillery is covered in detail, which is good to see as this arm of the Corps has been largely forgotten. Access to long-closed forts around the country was obtained by one of the contributors and the pictures are of a high quality. Air defence is also covered, with many pictures seeing the light of day for the first time. Many new pictures of Free State 18-pdrs in action in Dublin were sourced from the Kilmainham Jail archive. Although the book has only been published, it will hopefully be updated to include the new reorganisation of the Defence Forces and the new unit flashes. While the new LTAV FOO was not included, the new Scania 6x6 is, although it is not an organic artillery asset. Overall, this book is a concise history of the Artillery Corps and its units. It is well worth the cost and will be a valuable reference source for many years to come. AKA - Forces Spéciales (original French title) Filmed with the incredible reality of professional soldiers in war and in the same vein as 'Tears of the Sun' (2003) and more recently 'Act of Valor' (2012). This was made possible because of the assistance provided by the French armed forces with equipment and expertise. French journalist Elsa (Kruger) and her local colleague Amen (Nebbou) are following a story in Afghanistan when they are abducted by Taliban leader Ahmed Za (Degan) and taken to his hidden fortress in Pakistan. Faced with Elsa's imminent execution, a French special forces unit is dispatched to free her. Commander Kovax (Hounsou) and his team of SF soldiers are completing the final part of their mission when they react against the cruelty of the Taliban against local villagers who had aided the French soldiers. The team then miss their RV and play a cat-and-mouse game with their pursuers through a harsh mountainous region to complete their mission and avoid death at the hands of either man or the elements. www.studiocanal.fr/tous-nos-films/films-action/cid19152/forces-speciales.html game Medal of Honor: Warfighter It doesn't get any more authentic than 'Medal of Honor: Warfighter'. Nearly 13 years ago, the 'Medal of Honor' brand was born with authenticity and respect for the soldier at its core - and that commitment remains to this day. The new MOH Warfighter game is inspired by, and developed with, Tier 1 Operators from an elite international community. The story was written by actual US Tier 1 Operators while deployed overseas. In it, players step into the boots of these warfighters and apply unique skills-sets to track down a global threat, in real locations. MOH Warfighter is developed on the revolutionary Frostbite 2 game engine, delivering the best-in-class experience with gorgeous visual quality, deep environmental sound design, devastating AI and detailed micro destruction. Frostbite 2 makes weapons fire in close-quarters combat more intense than ever: doors shatter from explosions, walls splinter from bullets and concrete fractures into flying debris. www.medalofhonor.com Genre: FPS - Platform: Xbox 360, PS3 & PC - PEGI: 16+ - Price €49.97 (PC €39.97) (gamestop.ie). Released: 26 Oct 2012. © 2012 Electronic Arts. All Rights Reserved. www.military.ie the defence forces magazine

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