CAVALRY CLUB NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2013

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1 CAVALRY CLUB NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2013 Retirement and Stand Down Parade COS 25 JUL 13. Lt General Seán McCann DSM. A sizeable number of club members attended the Stand Down Ceremony conducted in honour of Lt Gen Seán McCann DSM at the Curragh on Thursday 25 Jul 2013 prior to his retirement on 12 Aug The ceremony was in two parts with a Parade and March Past at McDermott Square at 1430 hours and a Cavalry Drive Past and Lights Out Ceremony at Plunkett Bks at 1530 hours. Lt Col Stephen Ryan, the Mil Col, was the Parade Comd at McDermott Square and Comdt Jonathan Mills, Sqn Comd 1 Armd Cav Sqn, was the Parade Comd for the Cav ceremony. After the Drive Past, Col Tony Bracken BMC, Dir Combat Sp & ISTAR, made a presentation to Gen McCann on behalf of personnel of the Corps. The unique and impressive presentation consisted of a brass plate mounted on two pieces of wood and inscribed with the outline of the Sliabh na mban Rolls Royce armoured car with details of Gen McCann s service in the Corps and overseas. Fourteen.303-inch brass cartridges from rounds recently fired by Gen McCann from the Vickers MG mounted on Sliabh na mban were incorporated into the design. Gen McCann joined the Defence Forces as a cadet with 45 Cadet Class in Oct 1970 and he was commissioned in Sep 1972 and appointed to 1 Armd Car Sqn as a Tp Comd under the command of Comdt Art Magennis DSM. In 1978 he attended a tank driving and maintenance course at the British Armour Centre and he was centrally involved with the introduction of the Alvis Scorpion CVR (T) into the DF. He served in I Armd Car Sqn, Dep Cav, Cav Sch and 1 Tk Sqn in Plunkett Barracks, as a SO at HQ 6 Bde and instructed at the Mil Col, both in the Inf Sch and the C and S Sch. He was also Chief Instructor in UNTSI. He was appointed as COS on 13 Jun During his career, Gen McCann served as DCOS Ops, GOC DFTC, D Ops, D Cav and Comdt of the Combat Support Col. He also served in DFHQ as PSO to the COS and as a SO in Ops Sec. He served overseas in Lebanon, Israel, Iraq and Kuwait with the United Nations, and with the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Former Yugoslavia. In Lebanon, he was 2 I/C Recce Coy, 49 Inf Bn in 1981 and Coy Comd, Recce Coy, 62 Inf Bn in He was Senior Operations Officer with the United Nations Iraq Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM) in He served in Sarajevo with EUMM in He was Chief of Observer Group Lebanon (OGL), part of the United

2 Nations Truce Supervisory Organization (UNTSO) in In 2003, he was appointed Chief Operations Officer with UNTSO, based in Government House in Jerusalem. Gen McCann was educated in Thurles CBS and Cistercian College Roscrea. He is a B Comm graduate of University College Galway (UCG) [1974] and a graduate of the Institute of Public Administration [1976]. He attended the United States Command and General Staff College in at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas USA. The committee wish Gen McCann and his wife Fran long and happy years in retirement and thank him for his constant support of the club throughout his long and distinguished career. The French Connection. The last Panhard shoot took place in the Glen of Imaal on 30 Apr 2013 and the AMLs were withdrawn from operational service following extensive service both at home and abroad over almost fifty years as the backbone of the Cav Corps armoured fleet. Many members of the club will have memories of soldiering both at home and abroad with these vehicles and it is a testament to the skills and training of generations of unit fitters and Cavalry Workshops technicians and indeed the crewmen themselves that the vehicles have lasted so long in service. The DF employed four types of Panhard armoured vehicle i.e. AML 60-7 mounting a 60 mm mortar with twin 7.62 mm MGs, AML 90-7 with a 90mm gun and a 7.62 mm MG, the M3 VTT APC with twin 7.62 mm MGs and the AML 20 armed with a 20 mm Cannon and a 7.62 mm MG.

3 The first AML 60 armoured cars were purchased for service with the United Nations Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in Initially eight were purchased; two AFVs were delivered to Dublin Port in crates on 13 Apr They were assembled at Cavalry Workshops and were airlifted to Cyprus on 19 Apr 1964 with the main body of 40 Inf Bn. The other six AML 60s were delivered in crates into Famagusta Port, Cyprus on 2 May 1964 and the personnel of the Armoured Car Group assembled them and all eight AFVs were operational within ten days. The second shipment of eight cars was delivered assembled to Cyprus on 16 Aug 1964 for the 3 Infantry Group and that unit had sixteen state of the art armoured vehicles. As the security situation in Northern Ireland deteriorated, orders were placed for AML 90s and M3 APCs in 1971 and eventually the sixteen UNFICYP AFVs were withdrawn and distributed to squadrons at home in Eight new AML 60 armoured cars were delivered in Dec 1972 and another eight were purchased bringing to a total of thirty two AML 60 armoured cars. The first consignment of AML 90s and M3 VTT APCs was delivered in Apr Fourteen APCs and four AML 90s were deployed to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission in June 1978 with 43 Inf Bn. AML 90s and AML 20s were used by the Quick Reaction Force UNMIL in Liberia from Nov 2003 to May During the 1990s the Panhard fleet had an upgrade programme including dieselisation and re-turreting and this extended the life of the vehicles. UNDOF Deployment. On 16 Jul 2013 the Government approved the deployment of a contingent for service with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in Syria and it is expected that up to one hundred and fifty personnel may be involved to the Golan Heights. UNDOF was established on 31 May 1974 by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 350 (1974), following the agreed disengagement of the Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights in May 1974 after the Yom Kippur War (06 22 Oct 1973). In 1993, UNDOF HQ moved from Damascus to Camp Faouar, the Austrian base camp situated halfway between the Sassa checkpoint and Quneitra, approximately sixty kilometers from Damascus. The buffer zone between the Syrian and Israeli forces is about eighty kilometers long and it varies between half a kilometer to ten kilometers in width forming an area of 235 square kilometers. UNDOF operates checkpoints and patrols in the Area Of Separation (AOS) from the Mount Hermon range through Quneitra to the border with Jordan. In the past, a number of Irish military observers serving with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) were seconded to UNDOF and Lt Gen Dave Stapleton (Retired COS) was Force Commander UNDOF in

4 The role of the Defence Forces contingent will be to provide a mobile Company as Force Headquarters Reserve in UNDOF to cater for reinforcement, escort and other operations throughout UNDOF s Area of Responsibility and this will bring the strength of the mission up to the authorised level of 1,250. The unit will include a Cav Section equipped with Mowag Piranaha Close Recce Vehs (CRVs) and the planned date for departure is 11 Sep Cavalry Corps Memorial Day 07 Sep 13. The Cavalry Corps Memorial Garden at Plunkett Bks, Curragh camp was unveiled on Sunday 6 Oct 1963 by the Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Seán McKeown. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the dedication of the memorial and Col Tony Bracken BMC, Director of Combat Support & ISTAR and personnel of the Corps hope that this years ceremony will attract back many former members of the Corps and former comrades of the fourteen cavalrymen who died while serving overseas on peace support operations. Mass will be celebrated in St. Brigid's Garrison Church at 1100 hours on Saturday 7 Sep 13 and will be followed by a Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Memorial Garden at 1230 hours. Guests are asked to be seated in the church by 1050 hours. Cavalry Officers Serving Overseas. In May Comdt Peter Norton deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). Capt Neill Curran and Lt Liam Halpin are serving with Recce Coy 108 Inf Bn UNIFIL since May.

5 Cavalry Club Golf. The Cav Club Annual Golf Outing was held in brilliant sunshine at Delgany Golf Club, Co Wicklow on 11 Jul 2013 and the committee wish to thank the club for extending their hospitality and facilities to the club for the event. Sincere thanks also to Col Brendan McCann (Retd) and Comdt Rory McCorley for organising the event. Delgany Golf Club was founded in 1908 and it is situated in the most scenic countryside with a backdrop of hill and sea panoramic views from Bray Head and the Sugarloaf to Wicklow Head. Lt Col Eamonn Cullagh (Retd) took the spoils again this year and won the Cav Club Cup. He won the cup after a close run back nine and narrowly beat Comdt Ray O Lehan into runner up place. This is a unique achievement as Eamonn has won the cup for the last four outings. The committee wishes to thank the players who supported the competition and Delgany Golf Club for the warm welcome extended to the members.

6 Induction Dinner for Recently Commissioned Officers. On 4 Apr 2013, the club hosted a dinner for four newly commissioned officers who were recently appointed to the Cavalry Corps (3 PDF and 1 RDF Officer) at the Officers Mess the Military College. The Chief of Staff Lt Gen Seán McCann, the College Commandant Col Mick Beary, Col Tony Bracken BMC, Col Jim Burns, Col Eugene Smyth, along with the Sqn Comds and members of the committee attended. The President and committee wish 2/Lt Lisa Chambers, Lt Brian Lane, 2/Lt Grattan O Hagan and 2/Lt Darren Reilly well in their careers in the Corps. The National Day of Commemoration 14 Jul 2013 The club was invited to attend the National Day of Commemoration Ceremony in Dublin, which was held the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. The President, An Taoiseach, the Government and the Council of State, as well as members of Dáil and Seanad Éireann, the Diplomatic Corps and the Judiciary attended the ceremony. The nextof-kin of many of those who died in past wars or

7 on UN service and a wide cross-section of the community including ex-service personnel organisations, as well as relatives of the 1916 Leaders, were also present. The ceremony commenced with a multi-faith service of prayer, after which the President laid a wreath on behalf of the people of Ireland. 6 Inf Bn provided the Guard of Honour and the parade commander was Lt Col Denis Harrington BSD. Regional Commemoration Ceremonies were held at Fitzgerald s Park, Cork, the Quadrangle, National University of Ireland, University Road, Galway, Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny, Limerick City Hall, the Promenade, Merchants Quay, Limerick, Mayo Peace Park, Castlebar, City Hall, Quay Street, Sligo and at Bishops Palace Museum of Treasures, The Mall, Waterford. WW1 Battlefield Tour May 13. (L-R) Mick Bohan, Karl Croke, Gay Darcy, Cathal ONeill, Ray Stewart, Declan Hayes, George Kerton A group of seven officers went on a four-day Battlefield Tour of the WW1 Western Front sites during the period 23 to 26 May This was the third such tour and it was organised on the same self-help basis, which proved very successful on the two previous trips in 2009 and in The tour programme focused on providing an overview of areas of Irish interest on the Somme and Ypres battlefields. Apart from visiting the main Battlefield points of interest associated with the Irish Regiments on the Somme and in Belgium the group deviated slightly to take a closer look in detail at some areas especially associated with the 16 th Irish Division actions at Guillemont and Ginchy and on Messines Ridge near Ypres. Armed this time with actual Trench maps of the time and by doing some terrain analysis the group got a great appreciation

8 of the ground over which the likes of the Connaught Rangers, Leinster Regiment, Royal Munster Fusiliers, and Royal Dublin Fusiliers saw action. As is standard SOP on these trips the tour would not be complete without a visit to the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres. A wreath was laid on behalf of Cavalry Club members to the memory of all Irish men and women who died in past wars. Overall this trip was a very enjoyable and memorable one and all participants look forward to the next organised trip. Carpe Diem