WORKING WITH FAMILY isn’t always easy, but when you’re doing it in a warzone, it must get a little bit more trying.
That’s just the situation that will face Squadron Sergeant Liam McGahern when he and his son Sergeant Trevor McGahern head to the Golan Heights later this month.
Both are veterans of overseas deployment, with Trevor having been to Liberia, Lebanon, Chad and Kosovo and Liam, who is the oldest of the 130 soldiers heading to Syria, also having completed numerous trips.
That trip to Kosovo in 2004 was the first time Trevor, who is based in the cavalry school in the Military College, headed out with his father and he told TheJournal.ie that there isn’t much that will surprise him.
“This is my second trip with my father and I’m looking forward to going out.”
Liam echoes that sentiment.
“It’s great because we’ve been overseas before and I have another son Brian who’s overseas at the moment. The three of us have been to Kosovo together, but this is something different and will be a challenge for us.
“I’m looking forward to serving with him and keeping an eye on him.”
Of course, while many families go abroad in more conventional manners, both men seem prepared for what lies ahead of them.
“This is what we joined up for,” says Liam, who is from the 1st Cavalry.
“There’s always time for holidays when we get back.”
The 50th Infantry Group will leave Ireland later this month to join up with and replace Irish troops who are already in the area. They will serve for six months.
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