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Another idea floating exercise......
Recently I've been reading a bit about Private Military Companies (PMCs) / Private Security Companies (PSCs); as I was pondering over how the industry has grown so quickly, particularly in hostile environments and disaster zones, a few things began to occur to me.
This is when I had a little light-bulb moment, and thought, why not stop the RDF from focusing on defence (where they're obviously not wanted or needed) and rebrand/reskill/retrain into more of a governmental armed security and logistics organisation based loosely on the PSC model!
Imagine with me, if you will, the following:
RDF rebranded to IRSF (Irish Reserve Security Force) (for example)
Operational Responsibilities:
Keep the scope of works relatively narrow so as to concentrate the training into key areas.
Without going into detail yet on how the initial reorg will happen and how suitable candidates for this new force will be selected, I'll just skip to the training.
Training:
Initially, consultants will need to be brought in, be they from An Garda Síochána / ARW / Military police / or PSCs. They should retrain the IRSF for the first 18 months before in house training begins.
Training should consist of: (examples taken from HECPO course contents)
Training should also be given for control room staff / HGV drivers / and medics.
N.B. By now, most of you are probably sitting there laughing, thinking of some of the useless feckers in your unit and saying to yourself "that'll never work, are you mad!?!"
My thinking is that, in today's hostile environments, CP and convoy protection isn't the preserve of the ex-special forces or those with MP CPO courses under their belts. Increasely the operators of that calibre are training/mentoring those that do the work itself. So there's no reason a force of already firearms/tactics trained people can't be trained over time and deployed to perform these tasks (providing the right canditates have shown the prerequiste fitness levels and training proficiencies to standards set by the aforementioned consultants).
Example of use overseas:
Take Chad for example (perhaps even Haiti, if it were on the cards). The mission is to deliver aid to a village. PDF can advance forward, recce, and secure the village. The IRSF can take responsibility for delivering the aid. The PDF then move on once the aid arrives, freeing up troops to conduct other peacekeeping operations within the AO.
Qualified IRSF troops can be paid near industry standard wages on short term deployments that won't overly compromise their civilian employment (i.e. €250 per day for an 8 week tour). Let's assume, being generous, it costs another €400 a day to provide that invidual with food, accommodation, ammo, fuel etc.
Compared to around €1000 per day per man that a PSC could charge, the government/UN would be getting the job done a lot cheaper!
Summary:
The RDF is unnecessary in it's current form; there is an evergrowing demand on PSCs to fill in where many militaries can't.
There is a resource pool within the RDF that has the potential to retrade and develop into a dedicated armed security role that compliments the efforts of the PDF, ensuring the government needn't consider approaching PSCs to perform security tasks as part of their operations.
I look forward to your feedback, criticism and ridicule
Recently I've been reading a bit about Private Military Companies (PMCs) / Private Security Companies (PSCs); as I was pondering over how the industry has grown so quickly, particularly in hostile environments and disaster zones, a few things began to occur to me.
- PMCs are thriving because the regular army are either under-resourced or tasked to higher priority missions
- PMCs are often directly paid with government money
- Demand for PMCs conducting security operations is high
- The RDF has no realistic operational mandate
- As long as the PDF is unionised, the RDF won't get a look in on any operational tasks that could otherwise be tasked to the PDF
- The likelyhood of being required to be an ATCP is remote and there is little that the RDF can do that the PDF, CD and GR can't
This is when I had a little light-bulb moment, and thought, why not stop the RDF from focusing on defence (where they're obviously not wanted or needed) and rebrand/reskill/retrain into more of a governmental armed security and logistics organisation based loosely on the PSC model!
Imagine with me, if you will, the following:
RDF rebranded to IRSF (Irish Reserve Security Force) (for example)
Operational Responsibilities:
- Provide and escort logistical convoys in hostile environments where the PDF operate (Either mlitary transport / or civilian)
- Armed protection of national infrastructure in times of crisis or on operations abroad (securing power stations / water processing plants / APOD / SPOD etc)
- Close protection duties for non-VIPs in hostile environments (e.g. engineers / journalists / aid workers / businessmen)
- Overseas base camp static security (freeing up troops for missions)
Keep the scope of works relatively narrow so as to concentrate the training into key areas.
Without going into detail yet on how the initial reorg will happen and how suitable candidates for this new force will be selected, I'll just skip to the training.
Training:
Initially, consultants will need to be brought in, be they from An Garda Síochána / ARW / Military police / or PSCs. They should retrain the IRSF for the first 18 months before in house training begins.
Training should consist of: (examples taken from HECPO course contents)
- Threat and risk assessment
- Situational vehicle recovery and extraction
- Medical training
- Situational awareness exercises
- Dry anti-ambush drills - vehicle and foot
- Personal security
- Surveillance awareness
- Convoy driving techniques
- Contact Drills Individual & Team
- Multi directional Multi threat contact drills
- Fight Back & Fight Through movement drills
- Cornering & fighting to cover
- Night shooting & High stress shooting
- Client Drills
- Vehicle Drills
- Extreme close quarter shooting
- Immediate Action drills
- Self assessment & Team building skills
Training should also be given for control room staff / HGV drivers / and medics.
N.B. By now, most of you are probably sitting there laughing, thinking of some of the useless feckers in your unit and saying to yourself "that'll never work, are you mad!?!"
My thinking is that, in today's hostile environments, CP and convoy protection isn't the preserve of the ex-special forces or those with MP CPO courses under their belts. Increasely the operators of that calibre are training/mentoring those that do the work itself. So there's no reason a force of already firearms/tactics trained people can't be trained over time and deployed to perform these tasks (providing the right canditates have shown the prerequiste fitness levels and training proficiencies to standards set by the aforementioned consultants).
Example of use overseas:
Take Chad for example (perhaps even Haiti, if it were on the cards). The mission is to deliver aid to a village. PDF can advance forward, recce, and secure the village. The IRSF can take responsibility for delivering the aid. The PDF then move on once the aid arrives, freeing up troops to conduct other peacekeeping operations within the AO.
Qualified IRSF troops can be paid near industry standard wages on short term deployments that won't overly compromise their civilian employment (i.e. €250 per day for an 8 week tour). Let's assume, being generous, it costs another €400 a day to provide that invidual with food, accommodation, ammo, fuel etc.
Compared to around €1000 per day per man that a PSC could charge, the government/UN would be getting the job done a lot cheaper!
Summary:
The RDF is unnecessary in it's current form; there is an evergrowing demand on PSCs to fill in where many militaries can't.
There is a resource pool within the RDF that has the potential to retrade and develop into a dedicated armed security role that compliments the efforts of the PDF, ensuring the government needn't consider approaching PSCs to perform security tasks as part of their operations.
I look forward to your feedback, criticism and ridicule
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