A GROUP OF Ukrainian military officers have been training in Cork this week as part of a NATO partner country initiative.
NATO assessors were in Kilworth this week for the Operational Capability Concept (OCC) which examines the ability of troops to work with other militaries. It also looks at the methods they use to get various military tasks completed.
This time the evaluation was of the Defence Forces Corps of Engineers.
The Ukrainian personnel were part of the detachment of the OCC and were learning how to carry out their own assessments of their forces back home. It is understood that this is the first time Ukrainian soldiers have visited Ireland since the start of the Russian invasion.
The training is part of the Partnership for Peace initiative – this enables countries which are not members of NATO, like Ireland and Ukraine, to benefit from training and standards assessments.
It is the latest section of the Irish Defence Forces to undergo the NATO OCC evaluations to date. Previous evaluations have taken place of the Irish Naval Service, the Army Ranger Wing and artillery.
Ireland is not the only partner nation going through the OCC process and recently Irish assessors travelled to do a similar assessment in Colombia.
Ultimately the OCC tests the partner nation’s ability to integrate operations with NATO member countries.
More than 100 grades must be met in the assessments. Reports are compiled from these assessment with compliments for good practice as well as recommendations for improvements outlined.
The location for the examination was Lynch Camp in Kilworth, North Cork and at a specialist training facility high on the moorland. It is known as Forward Operating Base Sapper or colloquially known as ‘The FOB’.
The Journal visited during the summer and saw engineers working on their preparations for a chemical and biological warfare element of the exercise.
Since then The FOB has been transformed with €1.5 million worth of investment into a purpose built base to mimic an outpost on deployment overseas.
Ukrainian naval officer Captain Kyrylo Zadachyn spoke about his work with NATO and how the OCC was “important” to Ukraine as they fight on the battlefield at home.
He said his country intends to become a NATO member and by sending officers to learn how to carry out the OCC process at home it demonstrates that intention.
“Despite the situation that is happening in Ukraine, the war against Russia, we remain members of the PFP framework and a member of the OCC community,” he said.
“Despite the situation [at home] we plan to conduct the OCC evaluation, like, the Irish units and we are due to evaluate our sea mine control measures vessel, which currently is in the UK.
“The bottom line is we we continue to participate, not with a lot of our soldiers, but some officers involved in the OCC program because it is very important for us,” he explained.
Zadachyn said he had only arrived in the last few months at NATO headquarters but had been working in training not just the crews of ships but particularly Ukrainian Marines who are now fighting on the frontline of the war.
He said the key takeaway from the war in Ukraine was the use of drones and highly efficient communication, cyber capabilities and systems that give all participants a situational awareness, in real time, of the battlefield.
But he said there was a key factor which has helped Ukraine: “If we speak about the combat readiness, we should focus on the level of morale of the soldiers. This is also very important thing. You can see in our situation there has been very good morale, this has helped to make gains for us.”
The officer gave his view on what he has seen during the assessment on the standard of Irish troops and their equipment. He paid particular attention to the needs for drone capabilities which he said was a key factor in Ukraine’s war fighting capability.
The Irish troops were using a number of drones during the operation, they also had a new system Sitaware which is a digital mapping software which shows, in realtime, where the different elements are located.
This has already been used in real world scenarios in Ireland, including during a recent search operation targeting organised crime when the Army assisted gardaí. It is understood that the Army Ranger Wing is also known to use the system.
The system is moving Irish troops away from a dependence on maps to a digital mapping screen which shows exactly where Irish troops and their vehicles are located.
Zadachyn said that his key observation was the need to build the drone capability of Irish troops. The development of a greater autonomous vehicle capability was mentioned in the Detailed Implementation Plan released by Government this week.
“What I see is that the Irish Army have a very high level of equipment – very modern equipment.
“In line with the real world situation around the world I also saw the use of drones. As you know our war shows that drones are a very important thing. We call it the War of the Drones, the drones war.
“I saw a couple of drones [at this event], which can conduct different operations, Not just reconnaissance but also the mining drone. It’s very important and, from our experience, it’s very good step for the Irish army,” he added.
Lt Colonel Roman Leipzig of the German Air Force was a representative of NATO at the event and we asked him if Ireland had the capability to work closely with NATO membership countries.
“From my perspective, Ireland would be an equal member of any kind of partnership.
“They can, from my perspective, pretty much be integrated into any kind of partner structures.
“In the modern world, I think no country should look only on itself,” he added.
Commandant Daire Roache, is the Irish representative in the OCC programme and he said that the benefits of the partnership process have seen a capability increase in the Irish military.
He stressed that the Partnership for Peace was entirely based on what the partner wants to do within the initiative.
“Everything within PFP is very voluntary. Any learning programme a partner wants to become engaged with is always at an exceptionally voluntary status.
“That voluntary status can be removed by the partner whenever they want,” he said.
High up across the moorland, amid sheets of rolling rain, the occasional crackle of gun fire and the rumbling of Armoured Personnel Carrier vehicles Captain Donal Clare and his colleagues are working through various scenarios.
All soldiers are dressed for battle, which includes face paint and Steyer rifles at the ready. Security is tight, with a soldier checking our identification as we arrive.
The command centre is full of flat screen TVs showing GPS tracking and even a feed from a drone high above the area. On our last visit they were reading from maps and keeping written logs – it is now laptops and GPS.
Clare said that the OCC process is leading a lot of what he has seen in terms of development in his five years in the military.
“It’s an exciting time to be involved in the OCC process, having the ability to track your capability and its progress and it is backed by the investment that’s taken place here at the Forward Operating Base here in Kilworth.
“That gives us a firm and stable base to demonstrate how we deploy and deploy within the battlespace to conduct the various activities and operations,” he said.
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