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  • Irish troops return from Golan Heights


    Private Lambe met his new daughter for the first time when he arrived at Casement Aerodrome


    Stacey Balfe holds four-day-old Callie ahead of Private Lambe's arrival


    Families waited in the sunshine for the troops to return


    89 soldiers were deployed to the Golan Heights region last September

    The first contingent of Irish troops deployed to Syria has returned home.

    The Defence Forces' 43rd Infantry Group arrived in Dublin this morning after a six-month tour of duty.

    The 89 soldiers were deployed to the Golan Heights region last September.

    There were emotional scenes this morning when the soldiers were reunited with their families in Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel.

    Another contingent of 100 soldiers has replaced them in the UN mission.
    The first contingent of Irish troops deployed to Syria has returned home after a six-month tour of duty.

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    • welcome home.
      RGJ

      ...Once a Rifleman - Always a Rifleman... Celer et Audax

      The Rifles

      Comment


      • Watch the moment a young Irish soldier meets his newborn daughter for the first time

        Some 115 troops were greeted by delighted family members when they touched down at Baldonnel Aerodrome this morning



        This is the happy moment a young soldier met his newborn daughter for the first time.

        Overjoyed Private Derek Lambe said he was nearly brought to tears when four-day-old Callie was put into his arms.

        The 23-year-old soldier from Ruthland Grove in Crumlin, South Dublin served with the 43rd Infantry Battalion deployed to the Golan Heights in war-torn Syria.

        115 troops arrived home to Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel from the six-month peacekeeping mission with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) today (Mon).

        Speaking at the West Dublin airfield Pte Lambe said: "I’m just overwhelmed to be honest.

        "I just came out and I’m nearly brought to tears, I didn’t think I’d be this emotional at all. I’m just so happy."

        Proudly showing off his daughter Pte Lambe said: "This is Callie, myself and Stacey’s first child.

        "Hopefully there will be many more to come.

        "It was more tough on her than it was on me because she was the one pregnant and I wasn’t able to be there but now that I’m home we can start working on that."

        Stacey said: "It’s like Christmas, it’s very emotional."

        Pte Lambe wasn’t the only soldier meeting a newborn today.



        Corporal John McAllister, 35, was greeted by his wife Sinead and three-month-old Sadie - the couple’s first child.

        While Cpl McAllister was present when the child was born at Christmas this was the first moment he was properly able to meet the baby.

        He said: "She [Sinead] is going to have to train me on how to mind her now. I’ll have to get to know her."

        Cpl McAllister explained that it was his fourth overseas mission and it was by far the most difficult.

        During the mission Irish troops came under fire eight times and on one occasion a wheel of an armoured personnel carrier was blown off by a roadside bomb.

        Cpl McAllister said: "It’s dangerous and obviously it was in the tabloids what was happening over there.

        "There is a lot of political issues and the civil war over there.

        "Obviously we were impartial in the civil war so obviously we get caught up in the crossfire.

        "But we’ve had no casualties so we just use our training and things like that.

        "It’s a different mission from what we are used to, we have never been on something like this before.

        "It’s good to get out of there, it’s good to get home."



        Dad-of-four Sgt Clive Dunne was greeted in Baldonnel by his wife Lisa and daughters Zara, 5, and Leila, 3.

        He surprised his daughters Shannon, 16, and Amber, 10, by walking into their classrooms in Bailieborough, Co Cavan this afternoon.

        It was his fifth overseas mission - having previously served in Lebanon, Liberia, Kosovo and Chad - but he said it was the most difficult.

        He explained: "It’s so good to be home, it’s stressful enough over there so it is great to be back, just enjoy yourselves, enjoy your time."

        "It was tough over there. This was the most serious mission I have ever been on.

        "You are dealing with gangs putting guns in your faces every day. And it’s how you deal with that situation.

        "We had the most contacts [been fired on] than we have ever had."

        Sgt Dunne said he was present on three of the eight occasions when shots were fired at troops.

        He said: "I would advise any troops going over there just to calm down. You can’t rush anything over there."

        During their six-month mission the troops were under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Brendan Delaney.



        He explained that they were given a good brief before heading out and they were made aware that it was a “very volatile situation”.

        He said: "We tried to mitigate all the risks out there by our training and our equipment.

        "Very early on we had a number of incidents but the troops equipped themselves extremely well.

        "The drills came to the fore. I’m happy the way it worked out.

        "We were an impartial organisation and in many cases we were tasked with providing supports to the others that were there - the Filipinos and Fijians.

        "Very often we would be called upon to deal with a situation that was quite volatile, if there was a high degree of risk.

        "The weapons that we had were excellent. The incidents we had were well handled.

        "It was very much a case where some incidents could have gone the other way. They were quite tense.

        "It was a credit to the Irish professionalism that they were able to diffuse the situation and build up some sort of a rapport with the armed elements."

        Dad-of-three Lt Col Delaney, who lives in Naas, Co Kildare, was greeted at Baldonnel by his family this morning.


        There is more video's on the link which cant be embedded on here.

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        • Irish troops return home from their six-month tour of duty in Syria

          A couple even got to meet their newborns for the first time.



          CLOSE TO 100 Irish soldiers returned home this morning after a six month tour of duty in the Syria.

          The Defence Forces 43rd Infantry Group were deployed to the region in the midst of the Civil War to monitor the Golan Heights region, ensuring a ceasefire was maintained between Syria and Israel and to “supervise the disengagement” between the two sides.

          It was the first tour of duty for 38 of the 89 soldiers returning home today, and for one, Private Derek Lamb, his partner Stacey Balfe was waiting with his 4-day-old son at Casement Aerodrome.

          Another solider, Corporal John McAllister, met his daughter for just the second time since she was born.

          Irish troops came under fire several times during their six-month stay in the Golan Heights, with one solider being injured.

          The Group’s Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Brendan Delaney, said the soldiers knew how handle themselves in each of the situations.

          “We had some very good background briefs, so we were very aware it was volatile situation,” he told reporters morning.

          “We tried to mitigate the incidents with our training and equipment,” adding that well-rehearsed drills fell into place and that troops were able to response appropriately.

          The Lieutenant Colonel Delaney added that “you couldn’t get away” from the conflict in the country.

          “You do have concerns, you do have worries. Even on a benign mission, or pre-planned task, something can happen very very quickly”

          "I was very confident with the guys we had, we had a very good crew."

          The returning troops will pass on a raft of information to those who are replacing them and who flew out last night.

          The 89 soldiers who returned were from 19 different counties, with the youngest being 21 and the oldest 58.

          Comment


          • Great bit of coverage today for the return of the lads ( thanks to Rhodes for the links, Indo have a nice vid and the RTE piece was good too) . I know a lot of the troops and the officers, they did a great job in difficult circumstances, have set a high bar for the rest of us and deserved the good press they got when they got home .

            As an aside, great to see Bal being used for the rotation , would be nice to see more and more flights through there, pity they had to drag the lads from the Bluftwaffe in so early on a Monday morning , flight was due in about ten ! ( only joking, well done all and good luck to the 44th) .

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            • "Members of the 43rd Infantry Group return from service with the United Nations in Syria to a warm welcome from Family, Friends and loved ones in Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel."

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              • There is a few horror stories from the df in Syria doing the rounds in the dftc has any one else heard them in the other brigades

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                • Originally posted by kaiser View Post
                  There is a few horror stories from the df in Syria doing the rounds in the dftc has any one else heard them in the other brigades
                  Like what?

                  Comment


                  • The situation opposite the line of control looks like it might change radically.
                    The status up to now on this Southern front has been slow steady rebel advance with most of line of control in Rebel hands
                    Now the Government has launched a Major counteroffensive, rebel infighting is breaking out and Jordan was closed border and maybe about to stab the rebels in back.

                    IF Phase one of the Government Offensive is successful the rebels opposite the UNDOF LIne will find themselves in an enclave cut off form the others and Jordan
                    No supply line, no line of retreat with their backs to Israel and UNDOF.

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by sofa View Post
                      Problem in Ireland is we have never experienced a real war because we are tucked in behind a county with a big military.
                      Unlike other small counties across Europe who have being invaded many times down the decades we live in a false sense of security.
                      Very well put Sofa.
                      We travel not for trafficking alone,
                      By hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned,
                      For lust of knowing what should not be known,
                      We make the Golden Journey to Samarkand.

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by johnhan278 View Post
                        Like what?

                        I don't think the sryia stories are common knowledge yet are they are most definitely been hidden from the media so im not sute about posting here im afraid
                        Though the stories are wild fire in the DF especially in dftc

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                        • Concern over Irish troops in Syria

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                          • Good Article but the coments beneath are truly dissapointing.

                            Comment


                            • Originally posted by Banner View Post
                              Good Article but the coments beneath are truly dissapointing.
                              I agree but what would you expect? Intelligent informed comment? No!

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                              • Quite a few border incidents and crossfire lately

                                Does UNDOF ever comment on who did what?
                                Does UNDOF have any equipment to monitor the area other than optics?

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