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AN IRISH ARMY officer deployed in Hungary with the EU Battlegroup has said he and his fellow troops are part of the “European Union’s projection of military power”.
Commandant Liam McDonnell was speaking in Papa Airbase in western Hungary, where 139 Irish Defence Forces personnel joined with international colleagues from 13 countries who were part of a huge military exercise involving thousands of soldiers to see how the Battlegroup would work.
The EU Battlegroup is a massive military unit made up of soldiers from across the continent who are brought together at short notice to be a rapid reaction to emerging crises and conflicts around the world.
The Battlegroup is designed to be an initial force to bring immediate security to an area for 30 days before a large force is deployed to the area.
It has never yet been deployed; senior officers The Journal spoke to at the event in Hungary believe that the chances of being part of a Ukrainian peacekeeping mission has waned. There has been mention of a potential mission to Africa but nothing is decided.
The various senior officials we spoke to are of the view that it is currently more likely to be a security force for a humanitarian mission during a crisis.
The exercise in recent days saw German, Spanish, Croatian, and French troops, among others, involved.
McDonnell and the other soldiers had been flown to the Hungarian airbase aboard German Luftwaffe heavy lift aircraft. Their vehicles, including MOWAG armoured personnel carriers, came by train from a German logistics base in Pfungstadt, south of Frankfurt.
The Irish, due to their numbers, provided force protection – security – to the other units.
McDonnell explained that the purpose of the exercise, dubbed Milex25, was to test how the rapid reaction force would deploy into crises. The Irish were given seven days notice of the exercise and the Commandant said that the Irish team was operational within two hours of arriving.
The exercise was complicated by a foot and mouth outbreak nearby – German troops were performing decontamination work before the Irish returned home. Soldiers we spoke to said that the agricultural outbreak was a real world complication for them.
McDonnell said that the exercise had hugely benefited Irish soldiers’ understanding of how their European colleagues operated.
“The 13 nations here – this is the European Union’s projection of military power. For Ireland to contribute to is a reflection on the professionalism of our soldiers.
“If our soldiers do not meet the standard, we do not get to participate in this and we can gauge ourselves against a lot of other partner nations,” he said.
The Irish soldiers were equipped with new equipment, including lighter, more modern body armour and helmets. Their Steyr assault rifles were equipped with specialist laser systems and they have been working with new night vision equipment.
The Irish detachment is known as a “company” in military speak – the Company Sergeant is Ian Woods who is in charge of the mechanised infantry team. He leads four platoons of soldiers and is the non-commissioned officer who leads those soldiers.
Woods has been with the EU Battlegroup since its planning phase and has seen it grow.
“It’s an excellent experience – fantastic opportunity for the soldiers. There’s a lot of resources given to us, it’s great for young troops.
“This is the best thing I’ve done with the army,” he said.
Woods has served previously overseas, particularly on the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. He said that the EUBG is a different and more challenging experience to set up the unit from scratch.
“Ultimately the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon is a long term mission which has all the relevant logistical and infrastructure needed. People on the UNIFIL mission know exactly what their task and jobs are but we had to approach the Battlegroup concept at the start that was only an idea for us when we started and we had to create it.”
“We’ve had to manage as we go; we learned as we went along. Every day is a school day for us but with the help of everyone from the privates to the commissioned officers, we’ve been able to put together a brilliant outcome,” he added.
Woods and his fellow soldiers are on standby to move at short notice and said as the current international situation is particularly unstable it is hard to predict when or if they will be deployed.
Two other soldiers involved were Sergeant Martin Sheerin, who is a cook, and his son Private Charlie Sheerin who is part of the infantry.
Martin said: “We have a huge military tradition in the family so it is a proud moment to serve overseas with Charlie.
“I’ve served overseas on a few trips – the EUBG is a different experience and it is very demanding and very rewarding.”
Charlie is just one year out of basic training and he said that the EUBG gave him access to specialist courses that he would not normally get access to at such an early point in his career.
Corporal Kady McKenna is one of the crew on board the MOWAG armoured personnel carriers. Recently she served at the height of the Israeli and Hezbollah war in Lebanon.
“I was deployed to Lebanon last year with the 124th Infantry Battalion and I came back in November and when I came back to work in January I decided I wanted to keep myself busy so I applied for the Battlegroup,” she said.
The Irish soldiers returned home a few days ago onboard a German Luftwaffe aircraft to Baldonnel. They go on standby to move within seven days as an emergency force.
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