Reserve Defence Force to serve overseas next year

MEMBERS OF the Reserve Defence Force will from next year serve on dangerous overseas missions as part of a major Government drive to overcome a specialist skills shortfall in the Permanent Defence Forces (PDF), The Irish Timeshas learned.

The first batch of reservists will be chosen for their specialist skills in a number of areas including medical, engineering, communications and transport.

The plans are likely to be strongly opposed by organisations representing members of the PDF of all ranks.

The Department of Defence and Defence Forces have in the past signalled reservist personnel would one day be deployed on overseas missions. However, until now the proposal remained aspirational with no time frame.

Under plans now being finalised, a small group of reservists will be deployed overseas for six months by the end of next year. They will participate in intense training with full-time members before leaving Ireland.

Their deployment is regarded as a pilot project that will be reviewed before more reservists are sent on other missions.

It is hoped that allowing the overseas deployments of specialists, particularly qualified doctors and paramedics, who are already trained reservists, will address recent difficulties in the recruitment to the PDF of such personnel.

The shortage of specialised personnel has been exacerbated by Ireland's growing commitment to international military operations such as EU battle groups and challenging deployments to Chad and Liberia.

There are about 20 doctors currently serving with the PDF. The official figure should be 47. The financial rewards for doctors in civilian life far exceed those on offer from the military.

The personnel shortfall could be substantially addressed if qualified reservists served overseas.

The Defence Forces has in recent years recruited foreign national doctors for overseas missions. Results have been mixed.

One doctor saw his commission discontinued when it emerged he had a fraud conviction. In another case it was discovered that a doctor working with troops in Liberia did not have the necessary qualifications.

Problems relating to the recruitment of medical doctors are of such concern that a team of Army recruitment officers is to travel to Poland in the coming months to interview doctors who have already applied for posts online.

However, the skills shortage is not confined to the medical field.

The department and military authorities are hopeful that heavy vehicle mechanics among the ranks of the reserve force will also sign up for overseas tours.

The now concluded mission to Liberia proved very challenging in respect of the Army's fleet of vehicles. A complete refit of the vehicles was necessary on return to Ireland, a process which put limited resources under strain both at home and on continuing overseas missions. The current mission to Chad poses similar challenges.

The acquisition of a new fleet of vehicles, including armoured personnel carriers, has also generally added to the workload for mechanics and fitters.

The use of reservists is growing internationally. In the Irish context it is likely to be met with opposition from PDfora, the largest military representative body, and Raco, which represents commissioned officers.

Both will be concerned that using reservists may result in a long-term reduction in the size of the PDF, with small numbers of permanent members being used to protect and manage teams of reservists overseas.

Members of the PDF recently served in Lebanon alongside a partner Swedish force, the majority of whom were reservists.

Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea has already stated that the ongoing reorganisation of the reserve force and improvements to their training has enhanced their suitability for overseas missions.