Flag is lowered for last time on Pat Bruen’s Career.

On Sunday May 17th 2009 the flag was lowered for the final time on the career of Commandant Pat Bruen who retired as officer commanding C Coy 56 Bn Boyle after 41 years exemplary service. At a stand down parade held in the military barracks Boyle Cft. Bruen took his final parade as a commissioned officer of the Irish Defence Forces.

A large crowd of serving and former members of the Army Reserve , friends and family of Pat Bruen joined with Lt. Col Colm Harte EO 4th Western Brigade RDF ,Cft. Frank Sheerin Commanding Officer 56 Bn and members of C Coy 56Bn to salute Pat Bruen on his 41 years service to the state.

The event started with a parade and inspection of the troops by the battalion commander , followed by a march past and salute to Cft. Bruen from the troops on parade. Cft Bruen then inspected the parade, bade each of his troop’s farewell and delivered a speech recalling his years of service. Music was provided by Pte. Richard Waldron of the 1 Cn. Cois. Pipe band Renmore Barracks Galway. Following the formal occasion a presentation was made to Cft. Bruen after a reception held in King House Boyle. Among the many guests present were Seamus Flynn Boyle who is a former Company Commander of the old A Coy 19Bn and former Coy Commanders of the old 17Bn.

Cft. Bruen enlisted in the FCÁ in March 1968 at his local centre in Elphin as a member of C Coy 17 Bn. It was here that he was introduced to basic foot drill and the .303 rifle (at that time members of the FCÁ took their gun home with them). In 1970 he completed his potential NCOs course in the Curragh and was placed first on the course and was promoted to the rank of Corporal.

The early 1970’s saw the Irish defence forces under severe pressure as the border situation worsened. Soldiers serving overseas with the UN were recalled to Ireland and members of the FCÁ were called up to augment the permanent defence forces. Pat Bruen answered this call and served 4 years in the full time FCÁ in Connolly barracks in Longford. Duties included barrack guard, aid to the civil power duties such as armed checkpoints and armed patrols in the Ballyconnell and Swanlinbar districts of Co Cavan.

In 1971 Pat was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and was commissioned an officer of Óglaigh na hÉireann in Nov 1976. All officers of the defence forces are commissioned by the President of Ireland and the President signs the commission however when Pat was commissioned there was no President following the resignation of Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh and the commission was signed by the Council of State.

From an early stage in his career Pat had a great interest in shooting and was a member of the 17bn team that lost the all army falling plates competition final by one plate. He trained the 17bn team who were runners up in the all army plates’ competition in 2000 and also coached the 17bn all army rifle team which won the all army shooting title in 2002.

In 1997 Pat was promoted to the rank of Commandant and served as the Coy commander of C Company 17bn Strokestown until 2005 when the reorganisation of the Army Reserve occurred . He then served a short period in Brigade HQ in Galway before his appointment as company commander C Company Boyle.

Defence Force Badge

Defence Forces Badge

The Badge design (common to all Corps and services and all orders of dress) is derived from the badge of the Irish Volunteers.
The Badge originally adopted by the Irish Volunteers October 1914 as the official badge of the organisation. The Centrepiece is formed of the letters "FF". These letters signify "Fianna Fáil". The word "Fianna" is the name of the ancient military organisation (Circa 3rd Century A.D.) forming what then corresponded to the standing army of the country. The word "Fáil" means "Destiny". One of the ancient names of Ireland was "Innisfail" (The Isle of Destiny) and "Fianna Fáil" thus signifies the "Fianna (or Army) of Ireland".
The two letters are surrounded by a representation of an ancient warriors sword belt and a circle of flames which represent the "Sunburst" – the traditional battle symbol of the Fianna. The words "Óglaigh na hÉireann" inscribed around the sword belt mean "Soldiers of Ireland". No particular significance is attached to the representation of the star which was included to balance the design.

National Advertising Campaign

A National RDF Recruitment and Awareness Campaign on the RDF will run in September 2008. It will comprise a combination of National and Local Media formats. The aim of the campaign is to increase recruitment to the RDF and to reinforce the RDF as a recognisable national brand. In June 08 notice of the campaign will be posted on www.military.ie. This is to maximise publicity of the campaign. The campaign will be supported through articles and notice information in the Connect Magazine. Consideration is been given to the provision of a special RDF edition of connect in July 08. The RDFRA Magazine will also be used to alert members of the reserve to the campaign using Director Reserve Force page in the Aug 08 edition.
All reservists attending annual camp will be told of the awareness campaign. The Cosantoir will probably also be used as a pre information campaign tool.

Parade Nights

All members of C Coy should note that parade nights are on every Thursday Night at 2000 hrs in the Company HQ. You are expected to attend.

Telethon 2007

Members of C Company 56 Bn based in Boyle raised in excess of Eight and a half thousand Euros for telethon by carrying a stretcher around the county of Roscommon on Saturday October 20th last. Twenty six members of the company were involved in the fund raising venture. This is one of the many activities members have been involved in this year.

The Reserve Defence Force
What have you got in reserve?

What did you get up to last weekend? Well, if it involved getting together with a 100 or so good friends and firing semi-automatic Steyr AUG rifles or being part of an artillery gun crew, then you already know about the unique challenges and attractions of the Reserve Defence Forces. If not, maybe you should check it out.

As a part-time force receiving professional military training, your time in the Reserves will bring experiences and challenges that will draw upon all your physical and mental abilities. And whatever you do for a living, you’ll find a unit in the Reserve that fits with your lifestyle, interests and skills.

So what are the entry requirements? Well, if you are over 17 and under 35 years of age and are willing to face the challenges that only the military can offer, contact us now.

Overview

The RDF is organised into the First Line Reserve and a Second Line Reserve. The First Line Reserve comprises former members of the Permanent Defence Force and the Second Line Reserve comprises the Army Reserve and the Naval Service Reserve.
The restructured Reserve Defence Force RDF (na hÓglaigh Cúltaca) was established in October 2005 to replace An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil and An Slua Muirí.
The Reserve Defence Force consists of the Army Reserve and the Naval Service Reserve.
The Army element is designated the Army Reserve (Cúltaca an Airm).
The Naval element is designated the Naval Service Reserve (Cúltaca na Seirbhís Cabhlaigh).

Army Reserve

The Army Reserve consists of a three Brigade Reserve (non-Integrated element). These three Brigades are organised on a standard Infantry Brigade nodel and mirror the organisation of the PDF. Each unit within each Brigade as an affiliated PDF unit with which it has a direct working and support relationship. It is intended to establish another element, to be known as teh integrated Reserve, in 2009.
Personnel from the Army Reserve will be selected for integration with PDF units. Each PDF unit will therefore include an integrated Reserve element in its structure.
An RDF Training Authority will also be established in the Defence Forces' Training Centre (DFTC) which will co-ordinate and conduct reserve training.
Strength
Army Reserve total
11,948

Defence Forces © 2007