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January 13th, 2008
| Post 1 | |
| Tribuni Angusticlavii | Post; Helicopter shortage in overseas missionsHelicopter shortage in overseas missions By Jonathan Marcus BBC diplomatic correspondent Quote:
One of the key shortages had been in the support area, notably helicopters. Last month, French Defence Minister Herve Morin complained about the reluctance of other European governments to come up with the necessary resources. France, because of its long-standing military ties in the region, had wanted to restrict its contribution to the 3,500-strong force, which is to be commanded by an Irish general. With few other offers coming in, the French have now decided to deploy around 10 transport helicopters and the necessary support elements themselves - though they still hope that other countries may contribute additional equipment. This episode underlines a growing problem in expeditionary operations, whether they be coalition forces engaged in explicit military tasks, like in Afghanistan, or in peacekeeping duties for the United Nations or other international bodies. Full story http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7183336.stm | |
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January 17th, 2008
| Post 2 |
| Tirones | All the support needed for that mission was acquired in the end. The French and Polish are providing the required helicopters and the Italians are providing a mobile field hospital. Youre right, the mission is being commanded by an Irish Officer, Lt.Gen Pat Nash. And Ireland are contributing 450 troops. The first to go will be about 50 from the Irish Army Ranger Wing (ARW) , our special forces unit. They will deploy in their Special Recce Vehicles (SRV) and are likely to conduct long range recce patrolling prior to the arrival of the main body. This will be similar to what we did in Liberia in 2003. For more on the Irish Defence Forces visit www.military.ie or try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_army or for a page on just the ARW: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Army_Rangers |
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