Stephen Hogan

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[Stephen Hogan @CaptainKaypoh]

Point isn’t to copy Singapore. It's scale reflects its environment. Ireland doesn’t need to go that far. But we need to go some way, to monitor our seas, control our airspace, protect infrastructure, and defend neutrality with a straight face

[Stephen Hogan @CaptainKaypoh]

Posting again because a lot of people made fair points in the last thread — especially around Ireland’s gaps at sea, in the air, and now in drone defence. Since I compared Ireland to Singapore, it’s also worth unpacking that properly. @ConorHogarty @BerryCathal

[Stephen Hogan @CaptainKaypoh]

Drone threats are real
Modern assets — ships, energy infrastructure — are vulnerable to cheap drones.
Ireland needs:
• ISR drones
• Tactical drones for patrol/SAR
• Maritime drones for EEZ monitoring
• Counter‑drone systems: jammers, LSS radar, portable anti‑drone units

[Stephen Hogan @CaptainKaypoh]

@soldier_destin Sitting from afar I wonder are this lot just paid for shrills or simply a bit deluded or raving.

[Stephen Hogan @CaptainKaypoh]

@ger_cosgrove @soldier_destin @ConorHogarty @BerryCathal I suppose it depends on your view, many people are obsessed with the idea of neutrality I am not, I prefer to be a realist in the world. And I respect your service.

[Stephen Hogan @CaptainKaypoh]

Rarely post, but thinking about this for a long time.

Lived in Singapore for 23yr, a small island that takes defence seriously. I care about Ireland. I care about it's neutrality.

What would Ireland look like if we defended neutrality like Singapore defends independence?

[Stephen Hogan @CaptainKaypoh]

@JudeElms @ConorHogarty @BerryCathal Very true. I don't think it's a support one or the other view. Living on a small Island I regularly hear F16's patrolling the little airspace Singapore has.

[Stephen Hogan @CaptainKaypoh]

@RedDave14 Totally agree, I have to deal with Africa and go there sometimes and it's far bigger than most imagine, and the same goes as you say for the Western Approaches. I'm not discounting the need for naval and maritime air capacity increases.

[Stephen Hogan @CaptainKaypoh]

@RedDave14 @soldier_destin @ConorHogarty @BerryCathal Singapore has 19,000 soldiers, and then has national service on top. My own sons will do NS, so I see how seriously defence is taken when it's treated as a strategic priority. 15,000 won't come overnight. Takes intent, investment, and a long‑term plan. But it’s not impossible!

[Stephen Hogan @CaptainKaypoh]

@1Dunbogue @ConorHogarty @BerryCathal Why do you think that? I live across the road from an arts and entertainment centre that was a former British Army barracks before the end of the East of Suez policy. When they left, Singapore just got on with it, they didn't seek approval.

[Stephen Hogan @CaptainKaypoh]

This isn’t about building a big army.
It’s about building a credible one.
Neutrality that means something.
Sovereignty that isn’t symbolic.
Ireland can stand on its own feet — if we choose to.

[Stephen Hogan @CaptainKaypoh]

I’ve lived abroad for 23 years.
I’ve seen what real self‑reliance looks like.
And when I fly home this summer on my Irish passport, I want to know we take our own security as seriously as every other small state that intends to stay free.

[Stephen Hogan @CaptainKaypoh]

Imagine an Ireland with:
• 2 mechanised battlegroups
• A modern SOF regiment
• Engineers, cyber, intel, logistics
• ~15,000 soldiers
• A reserve that actually functions
Not expansionism.
Just capability.

[Stephen Hogan @CaptainKaypoh]

Other neutral states get this:
Finland.
Switzerland.
Austria.
Singapore.
None of them see defence as a contradiction of neutrality.
They see it as the foundation of it.

[Stephen Hogan @CaptainKaypoh]

Singapore isn’t aggressive. It’s prepared.
That’s the difference.
Small countries don’t get to outsource their security — they take responsibility for it.
Ireland’s neutrality deserves the same seriousness.