An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir May 2018 www.dfmagazine.ie 14 | By CPL LEE CoyLE PhotoS By CPL nEvILLE CoughLAn T rying to find a month in the last number of years that the words 'tERRoRISt AttACK' weren't blazoned across a newspapers headline or the top of a webpage is a fruitless task. the words conjure up feelings of dread and fear, while bringing to mind images of despair and pain, like no other words in use today. Attacks across the globe have targeted innocent people in many different locations, from shopping malls to busy streets, with tourist attractions and transport hubs being among the most common targets. the next attack always seems to be right around the corner, making the public and security agencies in every country wonder 'What if?' In Ireland An Garda Síochána (GS) recently held a major operation, codenamed 'SkipJack', in Shannon Airport to test the emergency response to a terror- ist attack. The exercise involved personnel from the GS Regional Support Unit (RSU) and Emergency Re- sponse Unit (ERU); Shannon Airport Police; Shannon Airport Authority; and the Defence Forces. The exercise, which was designed to test in- teroperability between the participating agencies, played out in three sections in order to simulate time passing between the arrival of each support element and giving the most realistic experience. Each section had its own challenges, and evalua- tors observed the responders intently to identify improvements that could be made. One of the GS evaluators told us: "The main objec- tive of this sort of exercise is to test the capabilities and the interoperability of all the parties involved." When asked what he expected from the exer- cise, he said, "We can see if the participants mesh together, and it will also give us a chance to test systems that are currently in place." The first part of the scenario began at the depar- tures hall, where travellers (played by member of the Garda College) stood around outside the main doors having a last cigarette before catching their flights, on what seemed like a normal day at the airport. Suddenly a van and a car pulled up outside the main doors and five individuals jumped out of the vehicles carrying assault rifles and other weapons. The group immediately opened fire on the people standing at the doors. The first casualties of the exercise slumped to the ground while others screamed in panic and ran for cover inside the build- ing with the terrorists following close behind, like predators on the hunt for prey.

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