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Irish Defence Forces

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Irish Defence Forces Óglaigh na hÉireann
Founded	1 October 1924
Service branches	Army Naval Service Air Corps Army Reserve Naval Service Reserve
Headquarters	Dublin
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	President Mary McAleese
Minister for Defence	Tony Killeen
Chief of staff	Major General Sean McCann
Manpower
Military age	17-24 (27 Naval Service)
Available for military service	1,031,985 males, age 15–49 (2010 est.), 1,030,606 females, age 15–49 (2010 est.)
Fit for military service	858,317 males, age 15–49 (2010 est.), 855,125 females, age 15–49 (2010 est.)
Active personnel	9,981
Reserve personnel	12,348
Expenditures
Budget	FY 2008 - ranked 59th Eurp €1.27 billion (FY00/08)
Percent of GDP	0.7% (FY00/07)

The armed forces of Ireland, known as the Defence Forces (Irish: Óglaigh na hÉireann) encompass the Army, Naval Service, Air Corps and Reserve Defence Force.

The President of Ireland is the formal Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces, but in practice it answers to the Irish Government via the Minister for Defence. The Minister for Defence is advised by the Council of Defence on the business of the Department of Defence.

Organisation

The Defence Forces consist of a Permanent Defence Force (PDF) which is a standing force and provides the main capability for military operations, and a Reserve Defence Force (RDF) which provides the military capability to back up the PDF, when necessary. The RDF is consist of the First Line Reserve and a Second Line Reserve. The First Line Reserve comprises former members of the Permanent Defence Force and the Second Line Reserve comprises an Army Reserve and a Naval Service Reserve.

The Defence Forces are organised into three service branches:

• Army
• Naval Service
• Air Corps

Role

Ireland's favourable geographical location, on the north-west border of the European Union, makes any external threat or future invasion unlikely. The state has a long-standing policy of non-belligerence in armed conflicts that included neutrality in World War II. For these reasons, the Republic's military capabilities are relatively modest. However, the state has a long history of involvement in United Nations Peacekeeping operations. Functions of the Defence Forces include:

• Preparation for the defence of the state against armed attack.
• Assisting the Garda Síochána (police force), including the protection of the internal security of the state.
• Peace-keeping, crisis management and humanitarian relief operations in support of the United Nations.
• Policing the fisheries, in accordance with the state's obligations under European Union agreements.
• Miscellaneous civil contingency duties requested by the Government such as search and rescue, air ambulance provision, providing secure air transport for ministers, assistance in the event of natural and other disasters, ensuring the maintenance of essential services, and assisting in dealing with oil pollution at sea.

Óglaigh na hÉireann - An Irish officer's cap badge.

History

The Defence Forces official title, Óglaigh na hÉireann, is taken from the official Irish language title of the Irish Volunteers - founded in 1913. The Defence Forces cap-badge, and the buttons that are worn on Service Dress no.1 uniforms are also from the Irish Volunteers. The Defence Forces buttons still have the letters I V (Irish Volunteers) on them. Volunteers led by Patrick Pearse, took part in the 1916 Easter Rising.

After the rising the Volunteers gave allegiance to the First Dáil. At this time the Volunteers became known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The IRA waged a guerrilla campaign against British rule in Ireland between 1919 and 1921.

A Truce brought hostilities to an end on 11 July 1921 and the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed on 6 December. The Provisional Government was then constituted on 14 January 1922. Many IRA men who fought in the War of Independence were dissatisfied with the Treaty and both Civil War or reoccupation by the British were possible. In February 1922, the Provisional Government began to recruit volunteers into the new Irish National Army. The Irish Civil War began on the 28 June 1922 between the Republican Anti-treaty IRA and the newly-recruited pro-treaty National Army. The Civil War ended on 24 May 1923, Frank Aiken IRA Chief of Staff ordered IRA volunteers to dump arms and the new Irish Free State slipped into an uneasy peace.

On 3 August 1923 the new state passed the "Defence Forces (Temporary Provisions) Act", raising "an armed force to be called Oglaigh na hEireann (hereinafter referred to as the Forces) consisting of such number of officers, non-commissioned officers, and men as may from time to time be provided by the Oireachtas." The establishment of the Forces was on 1 October 1924.

The state was officially neutral during World War II, but declared an official state of emergency on 2 September 1939 and the Army was mobilised.

Ireland became a member of the United Nations in 1955. The first contribution to peacekeeping was in 1958 when Army officers were assigned to the United Nations Observer Group in Lebanon (UNOGIL). Since 1958 the Defence Forces have had a continuous presence on peace support operations. The first armed peacekeeping mission was to the Operation des Nations Unies au Congo (ONUC) in 1960. The Defence Forces have been continuously on armed UN missions - except between May 1974 to May 1978 but did retain overseas unarmed observer mission during this period. 85 members of the Defence Forces have been killed on overseas service.

Irish Army Ranger

Army

An Irish Army Cavalry Corps Scorpion Light Tank during a parade in Dublin

Today approximately 8,500 men and women serve permanently in the Irish Army, with 13,000 more in the Army Reserve. The country is divided into three areas for administrative and operational reasons, and in each area there is an Infantry brigade.

In addition to the Brigades Structure, there is also a Defence Forces Training Centre (DFTC), a Logistic Base in the Curragh and a number of special establishments such as the Equitation School, Army Bands, and the Army Ranger Wing. In the case of Corps which support the Infantry, a Corps Director and staff are provided to coordinate the purchase of specialised equipment, the execution of specialised training, etc.

Members of the Army Ranger Wing in a Ford F350 SRV mounted with a Browning M2 HMG

The three brigade group structure envisages distinct operational areas of responsibility for each of the brigades. The First Brigade has primary responsibility for operational tasks in South, the Second for operational tasks in the East and the Fourth Brigade for operational tasks in the West. Practical operational considerations dictate the requirement to outline operational areas of responsibility. The brigade group structure is based on strengthened combat and combat support elements and streamlined combat service support elements.

The Army has nine specialist Corps, each designated as either combat, combat support or combat service support. These are the Infantry Corps, Artillery Corps, Cavalry Corps, Engineer Corps, Ordnance Corps, Medical Corps, Transport Corps, Military Police Corps, Communication and Information Services Corps.

Irish soldiers are equipped with assault rifles, machine guns, pistols, grenade launchers, hand grenades, and anti-tank weapons. Most weapons used by Irish forces are up to NATO standards, and are purchased from abroad, though Ireland does have a limited arms industry. The Irish Army only has light vehicles, with the primary vehicle being the MOWAG Piranha, equipped with machine guns and autocannons. The Irish Army's only tank is the FV101 Scorpion light tank, equipped with a 76mm low velocity gun and a 7.62mm machine gun. The Irish Army's only artillery capabilities consist of 24 105mm L118 Light Guns, 81mm mortars, Denel 60mm mortars, 71 Brandt 120mm mortars.

Air Corps

Irish Air Corps AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter

Irish Air Corps PC-9Ms

At present the Irish Air Corps is unable to fulfill the role of an air force in defending Irish airspace. This has been removed from its remit as has SAR (search and rescue) which is carried out by An Garda Cósta na hÉireann (Irish Coast Guard) using Sikorsky helicopters. This effort is part of the Department Of Transport. However the Air Corps fulfills many other important roles required by the State. The Air Corps HQ is at Casement (Baldonnel) Aerodrome. The Air Corps is the smallest of the branches of the Defence Forces with approximately 939 personnel.

The primary roles of the Air Corps are now defined as:

1. In support of the Army
2. In support of the Naval Service
3. In aid to the Civil Power

There are two secondary roles:

1. Aid to Civil Community
2. Aid to Government departments

The Air Corps' two CASA CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft are equipped with state of the art detection systems and assist the Naval Service in policing Irish territorial waters. These aircraft are also used for HALO (High-Altitude, Low-Opening) parachuting by the elite Army Ranger Wing. In addition, the Irish Air Corps has 6 AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter gunships with air-to-ground firing capabilities, 7 Pilatus PC-9 turboprop aircraft equipped with rocket pods and machine guns, 2 Eurocopter EC135 medical evacuation and army support helicopters, 3 Orbiter Miniature UAVs, and a number of auxiliary aircraft.

The Air Corps has been instrumental in many of the successful interceptions at sea.

Naval Service

Irish Naval Service vessel LÉ Eithne

The Naval Service maintains a complement of about 1,144 personnel, and is tasked with policing Irish territorial waters as well as the Irish Conservation Box - a large area of sea in which fishing is restricted in order to preserve numbers. The Naval Service is tasked with enforcing this EU protected area and thus serves the EU as well as Ireland.

The Naval Service, together with the Air Corps and Coast Guard, have intercepted a number of vessels carrying narcotics to and from Ireland.

The Navy has eight offshore patrol vessels which are operated in support of the service's main roles, inflatable sea going craft, and training vessels. The Naval Service maintains highly trained armed boarding parties that can seize a vessel if necessary, and a special unit of frogmen called the Naval Service Diving Section. While the Naval Service does not have any heavy warships, all of the naval vessels have enough firepower to enforce their policing roles.

The primary role is defined as "National Security", with secondary roles which include:

1. Fishery Protection
2. Aid to the Civil Power
3. Drug Interdiction
4. Maritime Safety
5. Diving Operations
6. Pollution Control
7. Overseas Mission Support

Distinguished from the Irish Coast Guard

The Naval Service should be distinguished from the Irish Coast Guard (IRCG) (Irish: Garda Cósta na hÉireann), which is a civilian search-and-rescue Maritime Safety and pollution control agency, without military powers and enforcement powers restricted for the time being to some full time officers with warrants. The IRCG is a division of the Department of Transport.

Representative Associations

The interests of members of the Defence Forces are represented by a number of representative associations similar to trade unions.

Commissioned Officers of the Permanent Defence Forces are represented by RACO

Rank-and-file members of the Permanent Defence Forces are represented by the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association (PDFORRA). PDFORRA is affiliated to the Irish Conference of Professional and Service Associations (ICPSA) and to the European Organisation of Military Associations (EUROMIL). In 2009, members of PDFORRA took part in the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) protest against the government's handling of the 2008–09 financial crisis. The Department of Defence warned that Defence Forces members could not take part in or sponsor any "public agitation", and that PDFORRA had "no express permission" for members to take part in the protests.

All ranks of the Reserve Defence Forces are represented by RDFRA although in practice it mainly represents officers interests.

See also

• Politics of the Republic of Ireland
• History of Ireland
• The Emergency
• Irish Veterans
• List of countries by military expenditures
• Irish Army deafness claims - a series of 17,000 personal injury claims taken by members of the Irish Defence Forces.

External links

• Official website
• Archive
• Official Magazine

Footnotes

v • d • e Irish Defence Forces Irish Army | Irish Naval Service | Irish Air Corps Army Reserve | Naval Service Reserve