It is May 2018. Six serving British soldiers are in the Republic of Ireland with weapons and live ammunition. This is not the beginning of a new career for me as a thriller writer. This is true.
The Irish Guards (a Regiment in the British Army) were taking part in the Irish Army’s International Reconnaissance Competition. Captain DA Jerram commanded the IG Reconnaissance Platoon and says “ the Irish Army were beyond hospitable to us and ran a complex and challenging competition”. If I may translate, this means we all got legless but did a bit of soldiering afterwards with thick heads.
A disused flour factory (Odlum’s?) was used as a venue for urban warfare; Dublin Harbour became the theatre for boat insertion skills; the ferry terminal at Dún Laoghaire was stormed and occupied. Then it was off to the Wicklow Mountains for forty-eight hours testing the sort of accomplishments necessary in a modern army; medical and survival techniques, close target reconnaissance, artillery fire missions, prisoner negotiation, armoured vehicle recognition.
That the Irish Army can put on an international competition of this kind is a tribute to their special operations force, the Army Ranger Wing, the Irish equivalent of the British SAS and SBS. The ARW was only formed in 1980 but is very professional. I wonder if they covertly train with British special forces?
Who won the competition? The Irish Guards Reconnaissance Platoon. I shed a little tear.