Ronan

[Kevin Monahan @kevinjmonahan]

Deadly 'Great White Shark' filmed off Galway coast as swimming warning issued - looking forward to my holiday getting rained on then eaten by an exotic shark https://t.co/WYkGVnXqjz

[Ronan @ronankav410]

I just signed this petition calling on this government to end all unnecessary herbicide use in Ireland. Will you sign too? https://t.co/iauRDE30G8 via @UpliftIRL

[Ronan @ronankav410]

Looking forward to his employer being vilified by the leader of the country…

[TheJournal.ie @thejournal_ie]

Man who dragged ex-partner along road in 'horrific' attack gets 21-month suspended sentence
https://t.co/QatWPu57MF

[Ronan @ronankav410]

@baum_p @Alan__Shatter @neilojim1972

[Paul Reed @sommecourt]

#DDay80: The role of the Royal Engineers (RE) on D-Day & in the #Normandy campaign is another aspect of the #WW2 British & Commonwealth story that deserves more focus. On most beaches the RE were among the first to land, clearing the beaches making the assault possible. 1/14

[Modern War Institute @WarInstitute]

Don't miss this episode of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast! John Spencer is joined by John Chambers, a US Army engineer officer, to explore the uniquely important role that engineers play in urban operations. https://t.co/5eSVlkX5Sm

[Niall Carson @niallcarsonpa]

I spent the day covering Irish UN peacekeepers that I met at Camp Shamrock in Lebanon. An Extremely challenging UNIFIL mission where the troops see 'daily' gunfire between Hezbollah and Israel. A phenomenal bunch of soldiers. @pa @defenceforces

[Ronan @ronankav410]

@IrishTimes Security/Defence not even an option.

[128 Infantry Battalion UNIFIL @irishpolbatt]

Top-class, healthy food on offer for the troops here in Camp Shamrock as we open our new state-of-the-art kitchen for the first time!

No need to be hangry!!

Designed by our expert Army engineers, operated by our expert Army chefs!

@DF_Engineers #bemore #nothangry

[RTÉ News @rtenews]

"It's good to have someone there for you."
Meet the sibling soldiers serving side-by-side as Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon. Brothers Conor and Eric Ryan are among the 332 Defence Forces personnel serving with UNIFIL.
More from Lebanon: https://t.co/u9YzijBZjq

[Ronan @ronankav410]

Great to see our MV4s being put to good use in support of the war in Ukraine having given such excellent service with the @defenceforces.

[Óglaigh na hÉireann @defenceforces]

Irish Defence Forces providing vital equipment and training to help Ukrainian troops clear mines
https://t.co/3K7oKo2INT

[128 Infantry Battalion UNIFIL @irishpolbatt]

🎥: TURN UP the sound for this one!!
Highlights from our 3rd Company Commanders' Challenge!!
✔️ 100 pull-ups
✔️ medicine ball throw
✔️ stretcher run
✔️ tyre flip relay

🎶 by Irish-Hungarian band #Firkin ☘️
#bemore

[Niall O’Connor @NiallJournal_ie]

Irish experts hear 'sobering' accounts from frontline as they train Ukrainian troops in Cyprus (via @thejournal_ie) https://t.co/KemsPvT4Cr

[The Irish Times @IrishTimes]

Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon amid Gaza war: ‘Looking to serve their country... and to do something meaningful’ https://t.co/W6zwXQF0yf

[Aroldo Lázaro (Archived) @aroldo_lazaro]

This week I visited several UN positions near the Blue Line, some of which have been hit during recent exchanges of fire. I continue to be impressed with the commitment of our peacekeepers to their work in spite of the immense challenges they face.

[Ben Hodges @general_ben]

US Army lacks river crossing capability. Its importance is clear in Ukraine. I was Infantry for 38 years but I'd trade an infantry bn for an Engineer bn any day. Never enough Engineers!

Bridging the gap: Army validates division-led river crossing https://t.co/FTGG7LgB8q

[Óglaigh na hÉireann @defenceforces]

The Corps of Engineers (COE) of the Irish Defence Forces celebrates its centenary of the formation of the Corps in 2023. This year, a Military Engineering Combat Support Company (MILENG-CS-Coy) was evaluated using the NATO Operational Capabilities Concept (OCC) Evaluation and Feedback Programme. This OCC programme is a method of testing and ensuring military forces are organised, equipped and trained in accordance with NATO Standardized Agreements (STANAGs). For the Irish COE, this is a formalised benchmarking process that will be used to test a unit’s capabilities against the exacting international best practice that have accumulated over several decades of experience across multiple different military forces.
The evaluation involves NATO evaluators from several different countries and military backgrounds working side by side with Irish evaluators, to assess the Combat Engineering Company undergoing the evaluation against various stringent criteria. The evaluation took place during a specially designed Military exercise that tested the unit’s levels of administration, preparations, support, communications and operational capabilities in accordance with laid down military standards, many of which are new to the Defence Forces. The first evaluation took place in July of 2023 and was the self-evaluation, known as SEL-1.
The military exercise evaluation is part of NATO’s Operational Capability Concept programme, a voluntary programme that the Irish Defence Forces have been involved in since 2016. Involvement with the programme is primarily about standardisation of equipment and procedures, and the Irish Defence Forces have already had four exercise evaluations involving our land, maritime and special forces. 1 Armoured Cavalry Squadron were evaluated in 2018, the ARW and Naval Service were evaluated in 2020 and 2021, and 1 Brigade Artillery Regiment were evaluated in 2022.
Following completion of the SEL, the unit continued its training until November, where they have just completed a NATO led evaluation known as an ‘NEL’. This national evaluation is being led by NATO Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS), located in the Netherlands, which has geographical responsibility for Ireland.
The NATO led evaluation of the 2 Field Engineer Company and the Evaluator Training Course ran concurrently and lasted two weeks. There was a total of 60 personnel involved on a daily basis in the evaluation teams and evaluator training. Ten Irish personnel were involved as staff and evaluators and five were students. The remainder were international staff and students from across 17 different nations representing a spectrum of NATO partner nations and NATO allies including; France, UK, US, Germany, Romania, Belgium and the Netherlands. The Defence Forces were being evaluated against international military best practices from the perspective of interoperability, these standards were acknowledged in the White Paper 2015-2025. Ukraine has benefited from being involved in the OCC programme and has been an active contributor for a number of years. The Ukranian involvement in this evaluation was as students on the Evaluator Training Course. The 2 Field Engineer Company, and the wider Defence Forces, performed to a very high standard. There were hundreds of individual evaluation ‘elements’ or questions posed to the Unit and they acquitted themselves to a very high standard. The exact grades are however restricted operational information. The ARW will be reevaluated in the 2024 and 2025 through an OCC evaluation methodology called SOFEVAL which is specific to special forces units.
Ireland’s role as a NATO partner dates back to 1999 when Ireland joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. Cooperation between NATO and Ireland is governed by Ireland’s Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme (IPCP), which is jointly agreed for a two-year period. Ireland is currently a participant in a NATO led and UN mandated PSO mission in KFOR (Kosovo).

[Defence Forces Engineer Corps @DF_Engineers]

The Engineer YOs & Combat Engineer Course finished their FTX yesterday morning, constructing a number of minefields by night to block the enemies advance, followed by a dawn extraction to the Hill of Tara. Congratulations to all students from both courses on completion of the FTX

[RoyK @roy_kinsella]

Irish soldiers in Lebanon are “holding up very well” amid growing tensions in the Middle East and are continuing to do their jobs in a tense environment, a senior Defence Forces member has said. https://t.co/qtEh5D6Uls

[Defence Forces Engineer Corps @DF_Engineers]

Earlier today, 1 Bde Engr Gp Swift Water Rescue Technicians deployed to Midleton with members of Cork County Fire Service to assist with the evacuation of members of the public affected by Storm Babet. Well done to all emergency services personnel involved in this operation