The new Reserve Defence Force is being launched [registration cheat] today in Limerick. Yes today is the official inauguration of the new Reserve Defence Force and the formal standing down of an Forsa Cosanta Áitiuil. The new force (na hÓglaigh Cúltaca), which replaces the generally poorly-trained & under-used FCÁ & Slua Muirí, will have exactly the same roles as the PDF including, possibly, participation in peace-keeping operations. The RDF Implementation Plan [.pdf - 17Mb] is available from the Defence Forces web site.
Personally I think this is fantastic news. I spent 10 great years in the 17th Inf Bn and loved every minute of it. Where else can you get paid to spend a week on a shooting range blasting off sub-machine guns or two weeks in scenic Wicklow learning to hit targets a few miles away with a mortar? There’s no other ‘hobby’ like it.
There were some faults though. When I joined we had just started using the venerable FN FAL, a decent weapon but we were still stuck with some older weapons such as the Gustaf SMG (good fun to shoot but a dangerous weapon) & the Bren (as old as the hills). Uniforms were poor, it was late 90′s before we got proper combats. The FCÁ was also an awful waste of money. Uniforms, pay, ammunition, transport, food etc etc all cost money and the most we ever did was guard duties. There’s no reason why we couldn’t have been doing cash or explosive escorts for example, or even border patrols. Most reservists with a few years under their belts would have been well capable for such tasks.
Some minor things have changed since I left, they are now using the Steyr AUG plus they finally have the same standard of uniforms as regulars. But as of today the force will see massive changes; in structure of the organisation, in training, in co-operation with regular units, in equipment and also in roles & responsibilities. Read more about the changes in the report released [.pdf - 17Mb].
It’s just a pity i’m too old to re-join the ranks [the RDF website puts the age limit at 35, which is higher than what my home unit told me, which means I still qualify!], and my old unit is no more, it’s going to be a Cavalry Squadron. Still, I think i’d look good in a Glengarry.
I’d no idea you were a military man!
I have trouble using those weapons you see at amusement parks.
“Where else can you get paid to spend a week on a shooting range blasting off sub-machine guns or two weeks in scenic Wicklow learning to hit targets a few miles away with a mortar?”
No, it’s peace time.
I can’t make those jokes anymore
UI – big time a military man … at heart, unfortunatly I couldn’t make it a career.
Go ahead Chris, we’ll allow it just this once
I can’t consider it an amusement to use machine-gun, mortars or to ride a tank for a day or for a week…
Governments could use that money better
Mr. Gaskin, it may amuse you to learn that it was often said in the DF that when shooting stopped in the Glen, similar banging could still be heard in the hills… and it wasn’t echoes, either.
“I spent 10 great years in the 17th Inf Bn and loved every minute of it. Where else can you get paid to spend a week on a shooting range blasting off sub-machine guns or two weeks in scenic Wicklow learning to hit targets a few miles away with a mortar? There’s no other ‘hobby’ like it.”
Amen to that, brother. I take it you earned some stripes, too?
I did EWI, did the Potential NCO’s Cse in 92 and the Standard NCO’s Cse in 93, although they didn’t have any vacancies for Sgt at the time so I had to stick with two stripes. I had done 1 year of the Potential Officers course when I left. I’d love to return to it.
What unit were you with?
Myself: 21 (Dwyer) Bn, Eastern Command. Some great people (some right b*stards as well, of course, but ce la vie). Doing the Pots teaches you (and fast!) a certain single-mindedness when the job needs to be done, which I’m often grateful for. Doing Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan and the rest while a college student was a blast, as well.
Loved the Bren and the MAG, avoided the Gustaf as more hazard than help, liked the old reliable FN, disliked the Steyr, never got the chance to fire the BAP
With heavy recruiting in the latter part of the ’90s (both the Army ‘yellowpacks’ and the Guards) a lot of good units got decimated, and anger at the ostentatious affirmative action didn’t help retention either (I take it that you’ll know what I mean). There came a stage where there were just too many other committments on my time, and too few of the old faces around for the camaraderie.
Miss it too, though. I gave it the ten best years of my life where I went from adolescence to becoming a grown man.
You didn’t know that the age limits were from 1x to 35? The Cav have a certain swagger about them as well, I’ll grant. But, once an infantryman…
I did Saving Pte Ryan also … just for 4 days though. Great craic.
I didn’t like the Bren so much, I got to like the Gustaf a lot, spent a full week one Easter shooting it, 10am to 2pm each day, easiest camp ever. I couldn’t hit anything with the BAP. I really liked the Steyr actually, it feels a little unbalanced though.
I did a mortar course in the Glen, 81mm. Now there’s a fucking weapon, ya get a great buzz firing it.
In our unit most of the old heads stuck around so that wasn’t too bad. It’d be nice to go back (when i return to Ireland) but as you said too many commitments etc
“You didn’t know that the age limits were from 1x to 35?”
I checked in with the lads in my unit a couple of years ago, they said the upper limit was 32, I didn’t bother checking that until now.
“I did Saving Pte Ryan also … just for 4 days though. Great craic.”
Yeah. And both Spiielberg and Hanks were nice people to chat with. Unlike that asshole Gibson, who went on to diss us in his biography (if you’re looking at this, you Australian dickhead, we got a great laugh out of reading passages from it years afterwards)
“I didn’t like the Bren so much, I got to like the Gustaf a lot, spent a full week one Easter shooting it, 10am to 2pm each day, easiest camp ever. I couldn’t hit anything with the BAP. I really liked the Steyr actually, it feels a little unbalanced though.”
It doesn’t *feel* like a real weapon. And then there were the horror stories of cracking around the ejection port.
“I did a mortar course in the Glen, 81mm. Now there’s a fucking weapon, ya get a great buzz firing it.”
Yeah, everyone said that the Mortar Cse. was the best one to do. Unfortunately, I was told every year that they wanted me instead to do the Pots (and after that, the Standards) so I was never ‘allowed’ to go on one.
“In our unit most of the old heads stuck around so that wasn’t too bad. It’d be nice to go back (when i return to Ireland) but as you said too many commitments etc
“You didn’t know that the age limits were from 1x to 35?”
I checked in with the lads in my unit a couple of years ago, they said the upper limit was 32, I didn’t bother checking that until now.”
I probably should have put down ’3x’ for the upper age limit, too
I won’t say more here in a public forum, but you know yourself how many regs get bent.
Ahh, nostalgia.
Good aul memories alright. Pity we had fuck all to do though, a bit of experience doing cash escorts or sumthin would have been nice.
Howareye…Great times indeed.Spent 7 years in the 3 Air Defence Battery in Limerick myself and I’ve never come close to replicating the craic.I left for the States in ’94 and that was that.It’s great to see the improvement in equipment though.We’d go to the range in my early days with a .303 and a set of Outer Mongolian Army combats.(Only kidding..mine were Dutch)
Howya Daithí
“I’ve never come close to replicating the craic”
The Defence Forces have a slogan on some of their ads. “Saol iomlán éagsúil, a life less ordinary”. Where else can ya have such fun and get paid for it?
p.s. welcome to the site.
Cheers Maca
I have seen some of those ads on line and on trips home and they never cease to amaze me.Remember how hard it was to get in to the PDF(as we styled them the Pandemonium Defence Forces)before the Celtic Kitty came along?
One comment I have is that while the FCA as a whole was a bit of a joke there WERE some top-notch outfits.Those units were effective because of the time and effort put in by their members(As a former Sergeant I nearly gave all the credit to the nco’s:) and giving them proper kit and a few bob will help.
There was one regimental deployment that will stay with me forever.It was a really raw winter night and as usual our gun crews were housed in the worst billet you could think of this side of Darfur.We had a dozen bunks pulled around the 19th century stove in a circle like we were fending off the Apache.Our SOLE fuel source was a box of mouldy sandwiches we had “liberated” earlier.Every now and then someone would toss in a handful of green bread and that was how we survived that night.We eventually burned a few floorboards because no-one woud have noticed their absence.The best part of that was that none of us thought that this was too unusual and it was part of the price for blemming away hundreds of rounds of 40mm at an Air Corps Cessna.Pure mental commitment like that can’t be bought.
Agree about the Life Less Ordinary slogan. Just to clarify that you must be over 17 and under 35 to join. If you’ve served in th PDF before they will extend the age limit a few year. Take a look at http://www.62infantry.com It will give you an idea about how things are going in the Army Reserve as it’s now called.
The 62nd Inf.’s site is really well done and kicks the hole of the official DF site.No firing artillery pieces in No.1′s for those lads.My best mate from the FCA. jacked it in after 21 years and transferred to theSlua…er.. gabh mo leathsceal..I mean Naval Reserve and I have been slagging the arse off of him daily via email,text and voice for a week now…anyone care to join the abuse?
Nice One Dave. I told you not tell anybody I transferred.
You nearly went there yourself a long time ago!
I’ll tell Kieran you are slagging off the ACK ACK
Well have all ye old Sand bags gone
Good old days with the FCA, good NCO’s nowing what they were
doing. Had a look 62 Inf web site very impressed.
Pity I didnt join them in 1984.
Dave we would have fitted in there nicely.
what you think?
By the way those sandwitches you spoke about were really nice after a few pints.
Nice story Daithi, i’ve had a few of those experiences myself, I also remember burning a few floor boards on more than one occassion.
I remember one exercise we did in Carnagh in the midlands. It was our first overnighter, I was still a 2star then, we had to use ponchos to make a basic tent. After the usual night time patrols etc we got the heads down, it was fucking freezing and pissing rain. In the morning all the clothes were ice cold and soaked through especially that thick fucking wooly jumper, it was the most horrible uncomfortable feeling ever even just trying to get dressed! But I went home with a smile on my face, what a weekend!
Tony, you didn’t join the Slua Muirí did ya? Ya big girls blouse!
Thanks for the link John, it’s a great site, there should be more like them.
I might be moving back to Ireland soon, i’m going to give serious thought to re-joining if i’ve the time.
No Maca I did’nt join the Slua.
I told ye already it’s got a new posh name now, the Naval Reserve.
Well after 21 years with the Congo’s I taught it would be a
change.Since I was with the best unit in limerick. I taught it would be a nice gesture if I transfered over and put my talents to work and try to teach this bunch to march.
I have to drop a stipe, not so bad, the real bad news is I have to wear the square rig gear. Any thing for a laugh.
The new name makes all the difference
The NR sounds like it could be interesting but i’m an infantry man (and mortar bastard) at heart. It’s a brave move transferring, fair dues to ya.
Big Change alright Maca.
Good laugh, Still wearing the DPM’s my transfer is not gone through yet.
I think I’ll start up Marine Wing what you think??
I’m up for that Tony.Like I said earlier we could knacker a Cessna and lauch it off a catapult from the front of the boat.’Twould be a bit of a bastard painting it DPM though.
BTW Tony …it’s fun to stay at the YMCA don’t ya know.
Outer Mongolian Army combats.(Only kidding..mine were Dutch)
(Jeez, this topic is still going)
To the 21st Bn they were “Ho Chi Minhs”… and my preferred replacement were German combats (the PDF ones being nearly impossible to come by).
there WERE some top-notch outfits.
Thanks. As noted above, we’re the 62nd Battalion now.
I have been slagging the arse off of him daily via email,text and voice for a week now…anyone care to join the abuse?
One of the Core platoons on Braveheart had forty-nine Slua and one FCÁ. True story.
“Hello, sailor”
it was fucking freezing and pissing rain. In the morning all the clothes were ice cold and soaked through especially that thick fucking wooly jumper, it was the most horrible uncomfortable feeling ever even just trying to get dressed!
Brings back memories of my Pot’s up in Kilbride. The sheer stink of us coming back to the Brugha a couple of days later was unbelievable.
“I think I’ll start up Marine Wing what you think??”
Sounds good Tony, count me in
Speaking of DPM’s or lack of … I remember my first exercise when I joined(´90-’91). In Carnagh as usual, our company had to defend against an attack from a company from the 16th Bn (Athlone). I was part of a mortar crew and we spent the entire day digging mortar trenches then sitting on our holes waiting for the 16th langers to attack which they didn’t do until very late that night. We only had on the basic working dress with that totally poxy tunic and it must have been a couple of degrees below zero, absolutly fucking freezing. It was a good starting lesson – get your own combats/norwegian shirts/etc.
Are they still using the same gammy boots these days? I bought a pair of British Army Pro boots from Protac(?), £120 at the time and worth every shilling.