DF Commission Report

It was always going to be this way.

Get the presidency out of the way and get back to freeloading.

There's a reason its repeatedly kicked down the road, and now until 2030 and beyond.

Don't worry though, the increasing number of senior Officer/NCO appointments will keep those who want to climb the creasy pole happy.

4 years on from the CoDF and what legitimate increase in capability has the DF achieved?

Instead, numbers continue to decline. Don't be fooled by net recruitment numbers. This is primarily as a result of increasing the mandatory retirement age so those who weren't going to retire will hang on a bit longer. Coupled with the increased recruitment upper age limit. These chickens will come home to roost soon, and will be back to square one.

Overseas numbers have been notably downsized prior to the UNFIL decision because of an inability to fill appointments. Specialist areas continue to be critically short.

The ATC situation in Baldonnel is being propped up by a private company paying 500-600 euro for a 12 hour basic service. All the while the ATC service commitment scheme is heralded as a successful retention mechanism.

And now that the top table is stacked with green once again, the focus will be Army HQ and getting that beloved 3rd Brigade back. Jobs for the boys.

Again, it would be laughable if it weren't such a serious matter.

The only thing id say about ATC is its not just the Air Corps. If AirNav have to shut down the likes of Cork Airport over shortages it will be very tough for the air corps to keep atc staff on defence forces T&Cs.

As for a 3rd brigade one of my pals is based in Galway and all he keeps saying is the 4th will rise again!

Fair point indeed.

The one consideration in the military, is that the issue surrounding ATC has been a recurring theme in peaks and troughs for the last 20+ years.

Full service, then temporary, then shut down, then non-existent etc etc.

Like everything, its always reactionary, and no desire to solve the root cause once and for all. Just wait for it to blow up and then the private sector money chest can be opened now that another "pinchpoint" has developed.

Weston have swallowed up a number of ATCs. And if I was a betting person, they wont be the last.

The third brigade must be reinstated...followed by the 4th

Ok, question time, on Niall's Journal article up tonight on boarding tankers with his interview with the current Part-Time Minister he references that the Maritime Security Strategy is still for publish by the end of the month, but the DIP says Planned Completion date is 2028?

So what exactly is going on there?

https://www.thejournal.ie/munich-security-forum-day-two-helen-mcentee-shadow-fleet-maritime-security-strategy-6957232-Feb2026/

McEntee was speaking also ahead of the release of the much anticipated Maritime Security Strategy, which is understood will be published at the end of the month. 

Isn't the National Security Strategy meant to have been done in the last Government term (and gone nowhere cause I'm presuming the idea of national security checks might result in awkward questions being asked)? But seems a bit of a stupid cock up (yes its the DOD) to get mixed up?

i seen on various social media today that 16.5k applied to join the defence forces yet nearly only 800 got inducted.

What is happing hear there cant be that many dodgy applcations. Where is it all going wrong? Can Gormanston not train more 800 2stars a year?

Of those 16.5k probably only 4k are suitable. Its not a free-for-all, at the end of the day.

Don't forget Gormanston is still undergoing expansion work, and the planned maximum capacity was always 900 per annum with the new facilities completed. Training and feeding and billeting between 150 and 250 bodies at any one time is an enormous undertaking.

Plus, you're relying on the 3 star programmes within the services to carry those numbers through to full headcount too.

So these numbers we're seeing are actually good news in terms of the ambition to get back to established strength. And they don't even include the Cadet school, which is producing another 50 head of junior officers.

relation of mine did training in the early 00's… I think their passing out platoon was 40 or 50 people… I think there was 80 at the start. They were the first intake in about 6 months

The amount of things that were late, deferred, didn't get done through the 2 and 3 star courses was a bit shocking tbh. I don't think the DF have ever been good doing things en-masse on their own.

edit: thinking about it again, they were also waiting over 12 months from application to that point….I think the interview was the only part of recruitment not moved around at some point (they almost missed the medical due to a last min change)….

Someone local around the same time period, from application to training was 3 or 4 months for the British Army.

That's RRP… easily 5 times that in Government funding speak…. not to mention the waterproofs, sunglasses and suncream, and some cheap airband handhelds…. we've already blown the budget.

There's a misconception (here and elsewhere) that all recruit training is now being done in the JITC.

The JITC is in addition to the regular recruit training process. Each Battalion is running recruit courses at least once a year, as are the BTCs, Artillery, Navy, Air Corp etc. Talk of 900 in Gormanston is nonsense, they took in somewhere around 200 last year and I don't see them getting to much more than that number.

As for the number of inductees vs. number of applicants; before I joined the RDF I wouldn't have believed the number of timewasters who apply for the Defence Forces (PDF and RDF). There's those who lie on their applications and are then found ineligible, those who apply and that's the last they're ever heard of, those who suddenly pull a calf the morning of the fitness test and can't make it etc.

A fellow RDF member signed up with 2 friends, but the other 2 didn't show up to the subsequent open night because it was raining, and that was the end of their RDF involvement. Throwing your name down on an online form is the easiest, lowest commitment thing on earth to do; it barely counts as "applying".

Then there's those who through no fault of their own get rejected for health reasons like a previously unknown allergy or heart condition.

Time to forget about LOA2 and Time to close DPER if this state has any chance of making progress.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41843802.html

Its ok Folks all is good in the world and the defence forces are saved. The plans are in and will be released in the coming weeks/Months ok Decade.

A draft Strategic Workforce Plan prepared by the Defence Forces has recently been submitted to me for consideration. This plan and its accompanying recommendations, including those pertaining specifically to each of the three services, will be evaluated fully over the coming weeks.