Commission on the Public Consultation Response Template

Introduction: For thousands of years, mankind has fought over territory, sometimes in Defence and other times in Attack, to expand into new areas, gain more resources and benefit at the expense of the defeated people. Kings ruled and the common-man had no say. After World War One, things started to change. The days of ‘King and Kaiser’ were over. Politicians lead the way now. The common-man had a vote. He / She could select their Government. The days of ‘Conquest and Colonisation’ were over. Along with that, when the British Empire was at the height of its power, British Army Officers were trained and commissioned in the UK. Their loyalty was sworn to the King / Queen. They were then sent to the Colonies to oversee the Natives, who made up the military force in those Colonies. They held power over the natives, who could only hold positions of Non-Commissioned Officer and Private. Those days are also over; thankfully. The reality is that the modern World operates today through negotiation, finding common ground and mutual agreement. Politicians do the battling. It is in this environment that the Irish Defence Force needs to find a place and to do so, requires a whole reconstruction of the Force. Radical change is required. It should not look like a traditional army when finished but more like An Garda Siochana, acting as a support for the Police and other Government Departments at home while continuing the good work of Peace-keepers overseas. Staff will be better-paid but will be required to take on more responsibility. Soldiers will have defined roles that will add value to the services provided by Government. A Technical Force is required.

1. Capabilities – In this regard, you may wish to consider future integrated capability development and the planning and delivery requirements to support a joint force approach in terms of new equipment, professional military education and training, maintenance and development of infrastructure, developments in military doctrine, and transformative concepts, including specialist capabilities, that prepare and support the Defence Forces for future operations.

1. We must stop using the term Defence Forces, there is only one Force. It is the Defence Force, made up of a land-based group, air corps and naval service. Integration of all three can be accomplished through the use of computer applications, GPS, a centralised control room for all vehicles, aircraft and ships. The basics for this already exist but preservation- minded thinking has groups operating separate from each other. The technology exists for every vehicle to have a tracking-device in it that can be monitored if need be. This will lead to better integration, better delivery of services. Unfortunately the people who manage the DF at this present time are not interested in changing it. This is the difficult part, getting this mindset to change. For some it will be impossible. For others, it will be a wonderful opportunity. 2. Military Training and Education: Military Training and Education needs to go online. I served in the DF for over 30 years. I was trained in the days before Computers, You Tube etc. Alot of time was spent going to Training Schools, both military and technical, with face-to-face instruction. It meant I was away from my workplace, had to travel, stay in accommodation, be fed etc. Since I left the DF I have worked with two Businesses. Both use online Learning / Training using computer applications, data, video clips etc. It is far more effective and means I study where I work. It is far more efficient and doesn’t involve additional costs outlined above. In terms of military training for example, a Potential NCO Course could be around 26 weeks long. Much of that time is spent in classrooms / face-to-

face learning. 50% to 80% of the Course could be put online. The Student would only go to the Training Centre then for Square Drill, Field Craft etc. Time away from work could be reduced from 26 weeks to 4 weeks. 3. Traditional military thinking is that all soldiers should do the same training. An aircraft Technician could end up doing the same training as an Infantry Soldier. This makes no sense. Every member of the DF should have basic skills, marching, weapons-training etc. These skills are learned at Induction Training (Up to 3-Star Private). Individuals should diversify after. If a person doesn’t use a / rifle for their job, then there should be no need for them to fire a weapon on an annual basis for example. At present, this is done for Guard Room duties. The closing of Guard Rooms will be dealt with under Structure; I will refer to this further down. Keeping Overseas Service in mind, refresher-training can be carried out online for certain modules and practical modules completed during ‘Form- Up’. The online-training will reduce Form-Up time which will benefit families, reducing time away from work and will save DF financial resources. Maximum time to departure should be 4 weeks for ‘first-timers / longest -back’ and could be less for people who have recently returned from a Trip. 4. Maintenance and development of Infrastructure: When I served in the DF, it could take months for example, to get a pair of Runners. You would imagine that this should not be the case as fitness should be a priority. When a batch would come in, it could turn out that they didn’t have my size. Why is this happening? It is happening because of different groups in different areas not working together. People are deliberately complicating the process to preserve traditional structures. In my current job, I recently had to fill out my clothing-sizes on an online Application; no QM, no Officer, no paperwork. I will refer to this again later. In the coming weeks, I expect to be told that a package is ready for collection, which will have everything in it that I ordered. This Business works internationally. There is no’ Barrack-stores’ and there is no ‘Barrack-stores mindset’. The DF needs to use an application for all members, routed to a centralised-store. The management of the App. will be done by the expanded I.T services. (I will refer to this later). 5. Specialist Capabilities: The biggest change that has to happen is the introduction of UAV’s (Drones) of all sizes into the DF. They should be utilised from an individual basis in Section / Platoon training to large Drones that fly out over the Ocean. They could cost between $100,000 and $10,000,000 (The funds for this will be dealt with below). I.T. Services will be required to manage all the Management-Applications, Computer Networks, Network Security and Data Security for day-to-day Operations. Along with that, the Drones will require Aircraft Technicians, CIS Technicians and Photographic Technicians etc. The Drones will do for the Defence Force what industry has done for manual-labour. The largest will fly out early in the morning / throughout the night etc. from Shannon Airport for example. They will gather information. This will be particularly useful for the Naval Service. A Ship can then go to a particular area when something has been identified. Fishery Patrols by the Air Corps usually operate during daylight hours and with only one aircraft operating, illegal activity could take place in other areas at other times. A number of silent Drones, some operating off the back of a Ship, flying to different areas will increase the capability of the Force and lessen the ability of illegal operators. The Drones can also be used by An Garda Siochana and other Government Services; electricity, water, education, environmental etc. For example, A protest in recently turned into a Riot. If small Drones were flying overhead, they could have captured the people on video and provided useful evidence to the Gardai. Drones could keep watch on criminal elements, provide top-cover / video over a car accident on the M50 for example, help to move traffic on, travel over forest-fires etc. Their uses are endless. As they come in all shapes and sizes, they will be used by soldiers for Field Craft and FIBUA also. The day of

the Section creeping up along the ditch, trying to remain unseen is over. A Drone will locate the enemy, record the GPS Co-ordinates and a decision can be made then on how to deal with that enemy. Putting soldiers in harm’s way can be avoided. From an Environmental perspective, Drones will reduce the Carbon Footprint of the DF, with less carbon-fuelled-engines in operation. They will give DF members greater control over their work-life balance, allowing people to work standard-hours and work from home. ‘Going Technical’ will also create better-paying jobs for the lower-ranking members which will improve recruitment and retention issues.

2. Structures – In this regard, you may wish to consider the most effective high-level Command and Control (C2) structures within the Defence Forces to ensure an agile and balanced approach that can function across all domains at home and overseas.

Additionally, you may wish to address appropriate future force structures for the Army (including its brigade structure), the Air Corps, and the Naval Service, individually as component services and collectively as part of an integrated joint force approach.

Furthermore, you may wish to address the changing nature of reservists, which presents an opportunity for the Reserve Defence Force to further integrate and support the Permanent Defence Force through the provision of enhanced collective and specialist capability across all domains.

The first thing that has to change is the garrison-town structure. There are too many small Barracks. We inherited them from the British 100 years ago. Some have closed and most are now ineffective compared to the time when they were built. They create duplication of Staff and Services. Big ‘open-country’ Bases such as Finner, Gormonston, the and Kilworth should be the basis for the new Structure. Perhaps two new Barracks of a similar nature are required along the West coast, combined with docks for the Naval Service? Where does one start? Start with Dublin City. In the old days, the military were close-to-hand to support the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). Nowadays, An Garda Siochana look after law-and-order in the City; there is no role any more for Barracks such as Cathal Brugha, McKee and the military hospital; St. Bricin’s. Look at events over the last 12 months; Covid-19 protests etc. the Gardai handle all these situations. The Defence Force is never called out. When Dublin existed inside the North Circular Road and South Circular Road, the City could be defended by Cathal Brugha (Portobello) to the South-West and McKee (Marlborough) to the North-West. Now the city surrounds the Barracks so they are ineffective. The military hospital has not developed in line with civilian hospitals. If all three were closed on a phased basis, for example, McKee – 4 years, Cathal Brugha and St. Bricin’s – 6 years, it would allow the soldiers there to retire, relocate or re-educate in good time. Valuable infrastructure could be taken out in that time also. It would also give Bases such as the Curragh and Gormonston a chance to be developed to take on additional services / personnel. Along with that, it would give the Government time to sell the Barracks and get vital revenue which can be used for reinvestment into the future Defence Force. It should also be remembered that closing Barracks creates political upheaval. The ‘phased-withdrawal’ plan minimises this upheaval because people have time to adjust. The bottom line is that these valuable pieces of real-estate will fund the future Force, so no additional tax-payers money will be required.

The ‘two-brigade’ structure needs to be reduced to one. In RACO’s submission to the Public Service Pay Commission in 2016, they wrote that there were 1233 Officers in a Defence Force of

9500 Establishment. This is far too many. There are approx. 400 civilian employees in the Dept. of Defence also; far too many. With modern computer systems, both groups can be reduced / eliminated. There shouldn’t be any need for Commissioned / Non-Commissioned Officers to begin with. I mentioned this above; an inheritance from the British Army and the colonial days. With a structure based around and sergeants, there shouldn’t be a need for more than 200 Officers / Senior Managers. Computer Applications will keep track of many of the functions and a lot of traditional functions will not be continued in the future. With less Barracks also, the entire establishment can be reduced to 8000 (all Ranks). Changes to Overseas Service / Appointments / Integration of Computer applications / better connectivity with home / easier rotation of troops etc. will make everything run smoother and will mean that one ‘Brigade’ will cover every service, at home and overseas.

Looking at the Structure from a different perspective, the present structure was largely inherited from the British Army / Royal Navy / RAF. The British pulled out and the new Free State Army moved in. The structure was useful in the days of the horse and foot-soldier; the Barracks / Battalions / Brigades etc. Those days are gone. The for example was built in the mid-1800. It has a public road running through it. How can a military establishment defend itself in the modern day when the public can drive through it? The solution is to close off one half, the area behind the Church. The hospital, cadet school etc. are located there. The hospital is ineffective. The cadet school is something inherited from the British Army as well. It is a relic of the British Empire with its class system. Ireland doesn’t have this ‘class system’ in any other area of the public service. An Garda Siochana is the best example. Everyone is trained to a standard to begin with and future management evolves from there. Closing down one half of the Camp will mean the other half can be sealed off as well. Curragh- Camp-West can be developed for the future and Curragh-Camp-East can be used as a large FIBUA training area. It can be used by the military, the police, the fire service, civil defence etc. for training. The Technical Corps such as the CIS Corps needs to be developed to include audio / video / drone services in this FIBUA area. The Engineers Corps should be developed to maintain it, build structures, create crisis situations, riots, explosions etc. which can then be handled by the various groups that would be involved in a real situation. For the , a helicopter-landing pad / hangar needs to be built in Curragh-Camp- West. One or two helicopters need to be located here for the ARW. This will allow the ARW to be deployed at short-notice if required. The helis could be used for medical-support / ferrying patients to hospital as well. A central-control could govern all these services.

The remaining garrison-town Barracks need to be looked at on a phased-basis; one at a time, every four years. Their value can then be measured and the same phased-withdrawal applied if the decision is made to close them.

Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel needs to be shared with private business; logistics preferably. If this cannot be done, then closure of the entire Base needs to be considered in 10 years. It is being surrounded by the City and is a valuable piece of real-estate. If it is to be kept, then sharing with a logistics business requires the least amount of investment and will generate rent. Change does have to occur however. The ‘fixed-wing’ repair needs to move to Shannon Airport. Fishery protection is one role of the Air Corps. It would be easier to do this if the planes were located on the West Coast. The largest Drones should be located in Shannon also. The Air Corps needs to be developed to look after their flying and maintenance. Tech Pay / Staffing / Training (more below) for the Technicians will have to evolve to cope with this. Computers will play a far greater role and online learning will replace face-to-face. Breaking up the Air Corps will also make it more like the other Corps of the DF; integrated into the

one Force rather than standing apart from it.

According to S.I. No. 287 / 2020, Garda Siochana (Ranks) Regulations, there are 8 Ranks in An Garda Siochana, in a Force of 15,720. The breakdown is as follows: Garda Commissioner 1 Deputy Garda Commissioner 3 Assistant Garda Commissioner 12 Chief Superintendant 53 Superintendant 191 Inspector 500 Sergeant 2,460 Garda 12,500 In the Defence Force the Rank Structure is as follows (No breakdown of numbers available):

Lieutenant General (Chief of staff) Major General Brigadier General Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Commandant Captain Lieutenant Second Lieutenant Regimental Sergeant Major Company Sergeant Sergeant Private

In the Stores (Q) division there are: Regimental Quarter Master Sergeant Company Quartermaster Sergeant

This is in a DF with an Establishment of 9500. Surely there is no doubt that there are too many Ranks for the Establishment. The structure needs the top three perhaps, which would add up to 10 people maximum. After that the middle section needs to be trimmed down / removed so that 5 other Ranks make up the remainder. There is no need for an ‘A’ and ‘Q’ division. The minimum trained-operative should operate at Corporal level, with the Private filling a Corporal Appointment on completion of Induction Training + Time in Service. This individual will be expected to take on more responsibility and will be paid more on that basis. Comparing the number of Gardai (12,500) to the overall strength (15,720), it works out that 79.5% of the Gardai are of the same rank. The same could not be said for the Defence Force. There are too many layers of managers and not enough of a workforce; in other words, too many Chiefs and not enough Indians.

Training Technicians face-to-face, during nine-to-five hours needs to change. What if there were two Shifts, with Instructors / Students operating in the evening time. Along with online learning, so much more could be achieved in a lot less time. This will allow the personnel to be trained to meet the new capabilities.

Finner Camp and Gormonston have landing strips. Small aircraft and Drones can land here. Both Bases are ideal for development and both are located on the coast. There is definitely a future for

these.

The Naval Service seems to have a lot of difficulty with attracting people in. The reality is that young people have better opportunities in civilian-life and don’t want the long-days at sea etc. All ships are located at Haulbowline. Why is this so? Why not disperse the ships around the Coast and instead of the Ship coming all the way back to Haulbowline, the Ship pulls in at Killybegs, Galway etc, the Crew comes off, returns home by road or helicopter and a new Crew takes over. A Sailor could work at sea from Friday to Friday, then be transported back home, spending time with family for the following week, returning to the ship the week after again. With computer systems to keep everyone updated, it can easily be done. Google Maps states that it takes 5 hours and 15 minutes to go from Killybegs to Haulbowline by road. What if the Crew were from Donegal and the North West counties? It would be a lot easier to get home. With the addition of Drones to the Ships, the Crew wouldn’t have to be sailing so much either. On-board Drones could do local searches. The large aircraft-size Drones could fly out from Shannon. They would patrol at 10 times the speed of a ship, travel at higher altitude and cover far more terrain every day. The Ship might only have to go to sea when required. From an Environmental perspective, the Ships would do a lot less travelling, use a lot less diesel and would lower the Carbon footprint of the Defence Force. Sailors would have regular hours and a better work-life balance.

Officers Messes, NCO’s Messes’ Privates Messes, Guard rooms are all relics of the British Army days. They need to be closed down. Living-in / dining in the Barracks / provision of alcohol etc. are relics of the past. The new DF has no need for any of these. People sitting in a guard room, on days like Christmas Day, supposedly there to protect a Barracks that hasn’t been attacked in 100 years or more; is it relevant anymore? The answer is that it is totally irrelevant. Alarm systems / video monitoring and Drones; services that can be installed and maintained by the I.T. Corps / CIS Corps / Air Corps can do this activity better than people. Soldiers could be at home at night / weekends/ holidays etc. The bottom line is that change has to occur because young people don’t want to do this type of boring, manual-labour any more. They want more-satisfying work, with better opportunities and better pay. The old ways cannot continue, just like in every other business.

Future training / learning in the DF needs to move online. I have mentioned this elsewhere. All businesses are doing online training now. The DF has the computer networks but still relies on old-fashioned hands-on, face-to-face training. This alone ties up a lot of people who would be better employed, studying online while doing their day-job. Modern-day soldiers / technicians need to have greater input / control over activities. Collaboration and sharing ideas / information by online means is a powerful learning tool. The old day of the Training Sergeant / Officer telling everyone what to do is over. The reality is that computer Applications / Technologies are changing so quickly that the older soldiers will not know about them. They say if you want to find out how to do something on a smart-phone, ask a school-kid. The same applies to the military. The ‘expert’ is no longer the officer or NCO. It could be the low-ranking person in I.T., the Medic, the Signaller etc. Their input could decide if a mission goes ahead or not. This type of thinking needs to be established in the future Force.

This was mentioned above but it is worth looking at it again from a different perspective, in the new Defence Force there will be no need for the titles of Commissioned-Officer and Non- Commissioned Officer. These titles do not exist in An Garda Siochana or any other public service for that matter. They are relics of the past. Originally, a Commission was a licence to raise an army. Wealthy people would pay the King for a Commission. They would then raise an Army and go off and fight with the King / for the King. To the victor the spoils; if they won, they would take over the land of the defeated and that would pay them for their venture. Those days are now

over. A 21st Century DF, based on Republican / Democratic ideals and not those of a Monarchy should be set up without Commissioned Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers. As mentioned previously, it should have no group-Messes. It should operate like An Garda Siochana and every trained soldier should operate at Corporal level to begin with. The Corporal rank being appropriate for a lot more personal responsibility and accountability.

Certain Corps need to be expanded. The CIS Corps for example has two main Tech Grades; Comm- Operator at Group 2 and Technician at Group 6. Technicians advance through some intermediate Groups during training but there is no avenue for Comm-Ops to progress beyond Group 2. At the same time, there is a definite need for audio-monitoring / surveillance, video-monitoring / surveillance, the use of I.P. devices /wireless devices for security to support government agencies, drone-flying / information handling etc. There is a massive field here that is not being looked after and if it were developed, then appropriate rates of Tech Pay and Rank structures could be put in place to acknowledge the importance of the information being collected / handled etc.

The can be expanded and Medics trained through online learning / hands-on experience to get up to Nurse level in a hospital. This training could take place over a number of years, 15 years for example. It would mean that soldiers could support health-staff in the hospital at this time of Covid-19 for example. It would also mean that there would be a second stream of nurses entering the hospitals who would have a lot of practical experience, overseas service and such. A career-path would also be a big attraction for new entrants. This type of thinking needs to be utilised in every Corps in the DF. It will make the job more attractive and having a career structure with online learning to improve education standards / Tech Pay etc. will certainly benefit retention. The benefits far outweigh the cost. If implemented correctly it would be seen that there is little cost involved as all the knowledge is available and only needs to be ‘packaged’ and put online.

3. Staffing – In this regard you may wish to consider the HR policies that support the requirement for an agile and adaptive modern military force. You may wish to consider issues such as recruitment and retention, organisational culture and values, gender and diversity, career progression, and industrial relations machinery.

Agile and Adaptive Defence Force: When I served in the DF, if I wanted a pair of Boots, I had to get my A.F. 245B, get the Quarter Master to fill it in, then get an Officer to sign it, then go to the Clothing Stores, where I got the Boots. At that stage, the Store-Man inputted the information from the A.F. 245B into a Computer, printed off a sheet of paper and I signed it. The fact is that the DF is not agile and is not adaptive. When I left the DF and worked for Panasonic Avionics, on any day I could order 1000’s of euros worth of parts for video monitors that were fitted on aircraft. I did this myself on my computer. There was no QM, no Officer and no paperwork. This is a problem in the DF; duplication of tasks, use of paperwork AND computer, preservation of outdated work -practices etc. My belief is that they are preserved to keep Officers in their jobs. If the systems were modernised, there would be no need for the Officer and /or the QM. How often does a person go to a Bank anymore? Very seldom. After that, how often would one fill out a paper slip in that Bank? Even more seldom. Times have changed. Unfortunately the DF has not been forced to change and there is no willingness among the Officer Group to keep up. Innovation is required. Unfortunately, the culture is one of preservation, perpetuating and celebrating past events, instead of looking to the future. As mentioned earlier, The DF today was inherited from the British army. At that time, the Army was divided into Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery. Aircraft were in the early stages of development.

In time, Aircraft would change how wars were fought both on land and sea. At this stage, with a small DF it is best that Infantry, Artillery and Cavalry combine. The ‘foot-soldiers’ of the modern day travel in transport anyway. The Nation will not be engaging in a war that requires Field-Guns so they can go. Hand-held artillery, which is quite effective, carried in an APC should cover any requirements. The end result is a better all-round soldier who can be paid more, has more functions and more responsibility. Better to have a small group of well-trained , well-equipped individuals rather than a larger group that is a little of one thing and not enough of all things. With the closure of the Dublin Barracks, the removal of duplication and outdated work practices, the closure of the Cadet School, amalgamation of Infantry, Artillery and Cavalry, it should be easy for the DF to operate at around 8000 Establishment. Modern-day computer applications will make this Force as powerful as a traditional Force of 80,000. As mentioned above, more Indians and less Chiefs will make the DF an agile and adaptive modern military Force.

Recruitment and Retention: In the past, the key attributes for a soldier was bodily-strength and a willingness to follow orders. It didn’t matter that the individual had poor education, couldn’t read etc. Orders were read out, shouted out. In terms of Battle, the enemy was at the other side of the Battlefield or across No-Man’s-Land. Both sides attacked each other and usually those with the greater numbers won. It was a simple business; not anymore. Nowadays, the enemy is unseen. Left-wing / Right-wing groups operate on the Internet, messages are sent globally and harm can be organised by agents who are invisible / un-traceable. If the DF is going to try and get an insight into this type of activity then a new type of soldier is required, one that is trained differently, one that is adaptive, one that understands that what they do today, they will not be doing in 10 years time. Innovation, learning to collaborate as a group rather than take orders from the Sergeant / Officer, making mistakes and not being punished for it but learning from them should be the new approach to recruitment / training of soldiers. Fitness should still be important but understanding a situation, devising unique solutions (innovation), not following standard Drills that are known to everyone is what the DF needs to looking for in new trainees.

Pay people better: The pay has to improve for the lowest-ranking soldiers. This shouldn’t be a problem if people take on more responsibility and take on technical roles which save taxpayers money. This will definitely benefit recruitment and retention. With the closure / sale of some barracks, the re-organisation of the Air Corps, the reduction of Establishment to 8000, there should be sufficient funds created to allow for people to be better paid. Re-organisation of working-time, Naval-patrols, closing down Guard Rooms etc. will also mean that there will be less people seeking SDA allowance. Computer Applications will do away with some traditional jobs in the DF but will introduce more in I.T. and the Technical Corps. Additional Tech Pay Grades will be necessary. A Cyber Security expert for example, working at the present-day Corporal rank could earn €60,000 perhaps in civilian employment. How do you retain that person? You do so by introducing Tech Pay at a level that ensures his /her wages and Tech Pay add up to that figure. It could mean a Tech Pay level of €500 per week. Additional grades need to be introduced between that and the current Group 6 to allow for people to progress up through the Groups. A point to note here is that Aircraft Technicians operate a system whereby the Tech Pay increases with Rank. This doesn’t make sense. A qualified Aircraft technician, taking into account the way Aircraft are becoming more and more computerised and with the introduction of Drones, should be on Group 6 Tech Pay once qualified. Rank is associated with responsibility and Tech pay should not matter to Rank.

Career Progression: Taking into account that DF people will leave and continue working after, there has to be career progression for all Corps. The Medical Corps for example should go from Medic, to Paramedic, to advanced Paramedic, to spending time in a hospital ward, to eventually ending up as qualified nurses. Tech Pay groups should be associated with each level. The same

type of thinking should be used for all Technical / Military jobs. Where progression cannot be facilitated then online training / learning needs to be provided to keep people up to date. Subsidised online-learning with Irish Universities, who are supported by Taxpayers money also, should be provided to ensure people have real qualifications when they leave the DF. A person serving overseas for example could still be studying online. This would encourage people to join and to remain in service while they study.

HR Policies that also need to change: 1. Change contract-duration terms to 5-year terms throughout a person’s career to coincide with the move from the old pension terms (21 year / 31 year) to the 30- year pension-cycle. 2. Improving the Duty Money (SDA) rate was mentioned previously. The Rate can be increased because there will be less people ‘on Duty’. In addition to that, ensuring people are paid in 7 working days needs to be introduced. Use of a computer Application where those on Duty have their names registered on the day / at the end of their Shift will allow for the payment to be paid in 7 Working Days. Ideally, a person on Duty today should have their payment the following week or the second week at the latest. 3. Stop Welfare Deductions from a Soldiers pay. This practice was most-likely introduced in the British Army to improve cleanliness and hair-cutting; most likely for hygienic reasons. There is no need for the deduction any more. The services are not provided as listed in DFR S3. People have to wash their own clothes and pay for hair-cutting services. The money is spent on other welfare purposes which are beneficial but in my time in the DF, I came across two occasions when it was not used correctly by Officers in charge of the Welfare Account. These occasions were covered up as Officers looked after their colleagues. One Officer took out a savings Bond using welfare money. It came to light after he had left the DF. It had to be cashed in early, which meant that money was lost. The second incident involved the Treasurer for the Welfare Account. It is alleged that he was writing cheques, using the money for personal purposes. At one stage, a military police investigation was taking place. It died out after. At one point, I took a case to the Labour Court, to challenge the fact that I had to pay into the fund, whether I wanted to or not. I believe that people should have the choice. At the time, the Labour Court said they could do nothing about how the money was used after it was collected. They told me I should bring the matter up with the Government / Defence Force. I would like to do this now. People should have the choice to contribute or not, particularly when a person has little or no control over how the money is spent and the ‘regulators’ cannot always be trusted. 4. Stop issuing ‘the Green Book’; the L.A. 89. It was probably useful after WW2, when soldiers were ‘demobbed’ and needed proof that they had not deserted. It is useless today. Replace it with a well-styled electronic C.V. and perhaps a Presidential Letter of Commendation for good service where earned. This will give personnel a better chance of securing employment after leaving the Force. 5. Keep education / skills up to date. The reality is that few soldiers will die on the Battlefield any more. There is a working-life after the DF. For that reason training needs to be current. Soldiers should get every benefit to ensure they can leave and get good-paying jobs. The old days, where training was ‘rationed’ to ensure people didn’t / couldn’t leave is over. This has to change. 6. Introduce flexible hours and 12-hour Shifts maximum to allow for families to arrange child-minding etc. This would be particularly useful for women. A former

colleague of mine used to be paid around €25 after tax for a 24-hour Duty. She had a son. She used to pay around €80 for the 24 hours she wasn’t at home. It didn’t make any sense for her to stay in the DF. She left. 7. Stop medical-downgrading of Over-40’s. Let a person’s health be determined by their health-condition / fitness test and not their age. When I served I could pass my Fitness Test at the under-40 level (35 to 39 years) and I was rarely sick, yet I had to do an Annual Medical and couldn’t go overseas. It made no sense and it punishes people who are fit and healthy, causing experienced people to leave before their time. 8. Similar to above, stop compulsory medical examinations for Over-40’s. They are un-necessary and create the impression that Over-40’s are too old to soldier. Perhaps this was the case 100 years ago, at the time of the British army but not today. Obviously, people should be encouraged to ‘go sick’ if they feel something is wrong, but un-necessary checking of fit ‘over-40’s provides un-necessary work for the Medical Corps staff, frustration for the individual when they cannot get a Medical Examination and it serves no purpose when there is nothing wrong with the individual to start with. Resources can be better-used by stopping this out-dated practice.

Defence Force Values:

Moral courage: “You must do what you know is right, not what is easier or popular” In my time in the Defence force, I spoke out about things that I believed were wrong in the DF. Despite the Defence Force championing Moral Courage, the opposite was the case in reality. Speaking out was not encouraged. I remember my Commanding Officer telling me at one time that I might not be signed-on again if I continued to speak out. I was also paraded and shown the Chief Of Staff’s Social Media Policy. Basically, a serving-soldier could not say anything bad about the DF on social media. I believe that there is certainly a need to limit / control the information that one might put up on social media; location of troops, patrol routes etc. However, when things are wrong and people know that they are wrong, then a person should have some means of highlighting these issues without fear of reprimand. A system for ‘whistle-blowing needs to be introduced, with the ‘whistle-blower’ having protection.

Similar to above, the Redress of Wrongs system is heavily weighted in favour of the Officer Group. Life can be made difficult for a low-ranking soldier who decides to challenge a decision made by a higher authority. The RoW System needs to be replaced with a system similar to GSOC; the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission. It will create trust in the system and provide a level playing- field.

4. Any other comments you may wish to make in relation to the Defence Forces having regard to the Commission’s Terms of Reference

I believe the civilians in the Department of Defence need to be included in the changes that are required. They also operate bureaucratic systems that have to change in line with the military side of the house. They cannot be allowed to prevent change from happening. If the RDF is only going to continue as at present, then there will be no role for it in the new, technical Defence Force. Perhaps skilled Reservists could be utilised in line with full-time DF personnel for Exercises etc. and to fill roles overseas?