TODAY HAS BEEN a landmark for the Irish Defence Forces soldiers as they received their United Nations service medals at an early morning ceremony in Camp Faouar.
From a young 20-year-old due to turn 21 in Syria to a mother-of-three, the men and women of 68 Infantry Group are a diverse bunch of Irish people in uniform and their makeup runs the gamut from new recruits to hugely experienced career soldiers.
There are 133 soldiers stationed in the base, located 60 kilometres from the Syrian capital. 34 of those deployed have been on their first trip abroad with the Defence Forces.
This week The Journal has travelled to the Golan Heights to report on the work of Irish troops stationed there before they leave Syria in April. Their base is located just a short distance from both the Lebanese and Israeli borders.
The troops will be the last detachment of Irish soldiers to act as peacekeepers in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) mission.
UNDOF chief of staff Colonel William Nortey and Irish deputy Chief of Staff Major General Adrian Ó Murchú joined the mission’s commanding officer Lt Colonel Oliver Clear in presenting the medals.
The soldiers marched in formation to the square before the short ceremony took place.
Afterwards The Journal spoke to some of the troops about their experiences in Syria and life back home.
One of those is Sergeant Sabrina Roche. She is the Company Quartermaster and her role is to manage the maintenance and preparedness of the armoured personnel carriers.
She is one of two women on the mission is a mother of three children who are back in Ireland being looked after by her husband, who is also a member of the Defence Forces. He had returned home from Kosovo last May and Sabrina deployed to Syria in October.
Roche said the situation can be a challenge but hers is a military family, with one of her sons now in training to become an officer in the Cadet School in the Curragh.
“It is difficult being away from the family, there is a lot of mental preparation for the kids who have to prepare for me being away.
“You have to make sure that everyone is looked after and is on board. Being out here is great because there’s internet so I am constantly contactable for them.
“I can contact them and they can contact me and I am always available through Revolut so there’s no problems there,” she joked.
Another soldier is Captain Cathal Owens from Carlow. He’s normally stationed in the Curragh and is on his first deployment. He said it had been a great experience.
When asked would he do it again he said: “100 percent – I love overseas, I love the environment and the culture.
The difficult moments are missing the family at home – small issues that can arise but it forges resilience in the team.
The youngest soldier on the mission is 20-year-old Private Matthew Quirke who is stationed in Athlone. He is due to celebrate his twenty-first birthday in Syria in the coming weeks.
Quirke works in the Quick Reaction Force and is a rifleman, tasked with securing the places they respond to, and secure.
“I’ve enjoyed it a lot. It’s been a new experience and a new country for me, learning about my job but also the different cultures and it has been very interesting.
“It wasn’t really that daunting coming out here because the training we did got me ready to come out here and there was confidence that the lads around us knew what they were doing.”
Airman Seán Rainsford from Wexford is an Air Corps communications specialist and operates radios – the UNDOF mission was the first time he has left Ireland.
He said he was proud to receive his medal: “I am happy to get this trip done and proud to call it the first place I have ever been.”
He said before he joined the military he was working in carpentry and bar work which he “hated every second of”. He said joining the military has changed things for him.
Darren Brennan was in college in Limerick studying medical technology but mid-degree he realised that he wanted to join the Army.
“I always had an interest in the army but I was sitting looking at lectures and I just realised I couldn’t do this, I can’t sit behind the desk.
“I joined the army to go overseas and experience different things. I enjoy the soldiering, getting calls outs – that’s when the adrenalin comes in and you’re smiling while you’re running around getting ready.
There will be memories here for a lifetime.
Sgt Niall Kilcrann from Rooskey, Roscommon works in the QRF on board the MOWAGs and has served on peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, twice in Chad and four times in Syria.
“It is sad we are leaving and I’m sure the Syrians will be too,” he said.
Kilcrann has a lot of service overseas but said it is “challenging and rewarding” and said he enjoys working with the other soldiers.
“This has to be the be and end all for the young lads over here because it is such a challenging mission area. Anyone who comes here will definitely leave a better soldier on their first mission.”
The UNDOF was established in May 1974 following the agreed disengagement of the Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan in May 1974. UNDOF supervises the implementation of the Disengagement Agreement.
Ireland has been involved in the mission since June 2013.
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