An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir June 2018 www.dfmagazine.ie 62 | Ronnie BuRke J3&5 opeRations BRanch, DFhQ coy sgt By CPl lEE COylE I n 1982 my brother and two uncles were serving in the DF, I was working and had no plans on signing up, as I didn't re- ally understand what army life entailed. In October 1982 my brother Peter was tragically killed in lebanon along with two of his comrades gary Morrow and Thomas Murphy on Tibnin Bridge with the 51 Inf Bn. At this time I got to see the real army family, the support received from Peter's comrades was immense. I knew then that I wanted to be part of this and in August 1983, I signed up with the 5 Inf Bn in Collins Bks, Dublin. Little did I realise that a year later, I would be in Lebanon myself as part of the 56 Inf Bn in October 1984. During almost 13 years in the 5 Inf Bn I completed a number of courses, including MT Driver, Instructor Skill at Arms, Signal NCO and an APC Driver/Crewman my Potential NCOs course in 1986. As a young NCO I got to instruct new recruits and Potential NCOs courses. I also completed a number of courses including:'s course in the infamous Panhard APC. In 1995 I transferred to Depot S&T, to the office of the Director of S&T. Here I learned office management skills, and completed a number of computer courses, like Amipro 123, Excel and IMS, this was the early days of computers in the DF. I completed my Standard NCOs course in 1996 and in 2000 I was promoted to Sgt in the Office of DCOS (Ops), this was my first taste of working in operations. In 2004 I served in ISAF as part Kabul MNB. I was a member of a Liaison Negotiation Team, assisting the Afghan Government in maintaining security throughout the region. It was a difficult but very rewarding mission. In 2006 I completed the Senior NCOs course and the following year I got the unique opportunity to serve as a Coy Sgt at EUFOR TChad/RCA Operational HQ, which was based in Mont-Valerien, just outside Paris. The OHQ consisted of personnel from 27 dif- ferent nations under the command of Lt Gen Pat Nash. It was a great opportunity for me and for my family to accompany me; it gave my wife and daughters the chance to experience military life abroad and to support me in my military career. In 2009 I completed the Military Static Line Parachute Course, this was something I had always wanted to do. In 2010 I moved to 2 Bde HQ, working in G3&5. This was a busy Tactical Opera- tions Cell (TOC), with a number of large-scale operations occur- ring in 2 Bde, such as the VIP visits of President Obama and HM Queen Elizabeth II. I was promoted to Coy Sgt in November 2012 and straight away we had to deal with a DF re-org, which saw 2 Bde increase in units and the size of our area of responsibility. I was also on standby to travel overseas with the EU Battle- group, I also completed the Range Manager and IKON Manager Courses during this time. In 2016 I transferred to the Joint Operations Centre (JOC) of DJ3&5, DFHQ, were my experience in the TOC 2 Bde was of great benefit in preparing me. J3&5 consists of a Director, an Executive Officer and four sections: Planning & Capabilities, Overseas, EU and Current Operations. I work in Current Ops, which consists of an OIC, a JOC Director, and three Staff Officers (SO) Naval, Air and Land along with a Sgt and Pte, both clerks. We are responsible for keeping DJ3&5 fully briefed on all DF operations at home. I have responsibility for Land Ops, includ- ing Aid to the Civil Power (ATCP) such as escorts and VIP visits and Aid to the Civil Authority (ATCA) such as the recent severe weather events like Storm Emma. I also work closely with the Naval and Air Corp SOs in order to provide DJ3&5 with the most up to date Common Operational Picture. I have recently signed on to com- plete 37-years- service and I'm currently study- ing for my French Language exams after completing a course in the Alliance Francaise College organised by D Training (J7) DFHQ. EUFOR TChad/RCA 2007, pictured with his uncle BQMS Noel Hand ISAF 2004, pictured with Col Dave Dignam (then Comdt)

• Cover