Tipperary man ‘well prepared’ for deployment to Lebanon as part of peacekeeping force
Commandant Denis O’Brien, who hails from the Glen of Aherlow, is one of 344 Defence Force members going on the mission
A Tipperary man has said he is “well prepared” for his upcoming deployment to Lebanon as part of a peacekeeping force.
Commandant Denis O’Brien is the Deputy Commanding Officer of the 128th Infantry Battalion, which will be deployed to Lebanon next month.
In total, 344 Defence Force members will join the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on May 15.
Minister for Defence Helen McEntee conducted a ministerial review of the battalion at Sarsfield Barracks in Limerick city on Tuesday afternoon.
The troops were joined by their friends and family for the ceremony ahead of the six-month deployment.
Speaking after the ceremony, Commandant O’Brien, who hails from the Glen of Aherlow, described the feeling among the battalion ahead of the trip.
He stated: “We’re well prepared. We’re heading next month, around the 15th of May to be exact.
“I suppose we’re a bit nervous but we’re prepared for the situation so nerves, apprehension, excitement, all those [feelings] that come with the deployment of troops overseas.”
Commandant O’Brien continued by outlining his previous experience on peacekeeping missions.
“This will be my third trip overseas, my first in six years so again, interesting to see how the dynamic has changed out there in recent times so that’ll be something new for us all.
“I have been to South Lebanon before, Camp Shamrock down at 245 so they’ve everything out there.
“A big facility and of course, protection is primary. Some very good welfare facilities, training facilities and it’s a good base to operate from.”
He also explained the huge responsibility that the peacekeepers will face, given current tensions in Lebanon.
“Yeah it is unfortunate and it is part of the job. We wouldn’t be there if the place wasn’t dangerous.
“We wouldn’t be there if we weren’t well trained. We wouldn’t be there if we didn’t want to be peacekeepers and want to be deployed out there so it’s exciting stuff for these guys.
“It’s stuff they have been trained for and they’ve a big role to give that to their families and say, look, ‘I’m well trained, I’m able to go out here, I’m ready to go out here and I will be home’.”
Commandant O’Brien concluded by saying that whilst tensions in the region will create new challenges, every mission is different in any case.
“It’s a new challenge in so far as that I’ve been in Africa, I’ve been in the Middle East and each landscape gives you a different picture but again, it has its own challenges.
“We’re trained, we have the equipment and we’ve got a good group of lads coming out here.
“There’s a good bond, good cohesion, we’ve trained well for it so yeah, it’ll be challenging but it’ll be nothing new in other ways.”