The Irish Army - what do they do????

trueblue76

can anyone tell me what the Irish Army contribute to this country! With a budget in the region of €1 billion a year what the hell do they do in this country to deserve such a budget. With the current gangland climate getting way beyond the control of the Guards and the judicial system surely these boys should be deployed onto the streets to combat these scumbags who have no regard for human life and just seem to be sticking 2 fingers up to every law abiding citizen. i may be wrong about the army's contribution to the country but for the budget allocated to them i would like to see some justification, so does anyone know what the army do and what do yiz think about them joining in the WAR against gangland crime in this country.

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Oh no here we go.....

topper75

They march up and down the barracks square and polish their boots to the point where you could see your face in them. Money well spent.:D

cpstears

They do lots of things just doesn't get reported.

The naval service boarding party that found the drugs the other day was part of the Defence Forces. One of the RIB's used by the NS Boarding Party was damaged in the operation and i'm reliably informed by a PO in the Naval Service that the RIB's cost about €250,000 to be purchased and kitted out, they have an inboard diesel engine.

Cash and Prisoner escorts, protecting the Gardai and Prison Service when transporting prisoners in Aid to the civil power duties.

EOD, the army provided the only Explosives Ordnance Disposal in the country and have one of the best teams in the world. This year alone they have been very busy with all the IED's been found around the place placed by criminal organisations.

Air Corps aircraft provide maritime protection and also allow for the tracking of vessels for drugs interdiction operations. Also the Air Corps pilots fly the aircraft belonging to the Gardai.

As well as their overseas capacity in Chad, Kosovo etc. But won't dwell on that as you asked what they do at home.

Hope this helps alleviate your disillusions!!!

trueblue76

thanks for the reply CPSTEARS but i just cant see how they are allocated €1 billion from govt. coffers to carry out these tasks. the only time i hear about the army is as you said when they are heading off on UN missions to chad or kosovo etc. i just think it is time for them to be put into more effective roles in their own country especially with this gangland epidemic that has gripped the country. i just feel their presence on the streets along with the gardai would give people greater reassurance that the govt is actually taking this matter alot more seriously than people think. in light of what has happened in limerick over the weekend its time to stop talking about what has to be done and just go out and do it - enough is enough

cushtac

Putting armed troops on the street tends to make people more nervous, not less.

trueblue76

are you telling me that people are not nervous now without armed troops on the street. id rather have people who know how to use guns patrolling the streets than those arseholes that roam around shooting at aimlessly at innocent people. its time to drive these low lives out of irish society and its gonna take tough measures to do it and if that involves bringing in the army well im in favour of it.

timmywex

cpstears wrote: »

and i'm reliably informed by a PO in the Naval Service that the RIB's cost about €250,000 to be purchased and kitted out, they have an inboard diesel engine.

That source wouldnt be all to reliable i suppose.....250000 would be well off the mark, cant say what it would be, but being a member of a boat club, interested in ribs etc, can handle them, theyre nowhere near this, also, would be an outboard engine on a rib....

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timmywex wrote: »

That source wouldnt be all to reliable i suppose.....250000 would be well off the mark, cant say what it would be, but being a member of a boat club, interested in ribs etc, can handle them, theyre nowhere near this, also, would be an outboard engine on a rib....

I don't know about the price but it is common knowledge that the N.S. are replacing their outboards with inboard diesels

cushtac

trueblue76 wrote: »

are you telling me that people are not nervous now without armed troops on the street. id rather have people who know how to use guns patrolling the streets than those arseholes that roam around shooting at aimlessly at innocent people. its time to drive these low lives out of irish society and its gonna take tough measures to do it and if that involves bringing in the army well im in favour of it.

Calm down. No one's 'roaming around shooting aimlessly at innocent people'. As tragic as the most murder is, it's not a common occurrence and the murder rate here is still low in comparrison to other jurisdictions. I also don't know what you expect the Army to do, since they've no policing powers.

It's also worth noting that at the height of the troubles the British Army had 20,000 troops backing up the RUC in the six counties of NI, yet still terrorism continued. While the situation in NI is very different to what's going on in Ireland today, it does go to show that putting large numbers of troops out on the streets doesn't necessarily deliver security.

eroo

Troops on the streets? Yes, because Ireland is up there with Columbia and Brazil crimewise... :rolleyes:

civdef

This thread has nowt to do with emergency services, now if only there were a forum here on boards for discussing military matters...