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The Observer Corps course was the first course I ever did the the DF as a "Private"( I was still a recruit) in the FCA in 1991. The equipment was obsolete even then and the concept of Ops (buried shipping container OPs/monitoring posts was a bit off the wall).
RADMON came about because the Radiological protection Institute of Ireland(now a branch of the EPA) still thought up to 2013 that we had an Observer Corps and that we would still feed them info in an Emergency situation. I was in the room when they found out to the contrary.
Cue UOR purchasing of equipment and RDF cadre staff being trained up on it nearly overnight. Fun times.
"Let us be clear about three facts. First, all battles and all wars are won in the end by the infantryman. Secondly, the infantryman always bears the brunt. His casualties are heavier, he suffers greater extremes of discomfort and fatigue than the other arms. Thirdly, the art of the infantryman is less stereotyped and far harder to acquire in modern war than that of any other arm." ------- Field Marshall Wavell, April 1945.
I "did" the Observers Course one afternoon in Ft Davis, on camp. We had finished the 81mm mortar course (again) and were waiting for a slot at the range so this Observer chap was whistled up from nowhere and gave us the course. One piece of kit was a white bin, lined with photgraphic paper, a pinhole camera in effect, whose sole function was to indicate the direction in which an atomic blast had taken place. There were also NBC suits, respirators and an old phone to contact other posts. We had to practise ringing in a positive reading of the photo paper to central Obsv HQ. I recall "Ballinrobe Post, Ballinrobe. Nuclear blast, direction East" as one line of a supposed report......Even back then, I realised that the Officer, a genial young Captain, was playing a blinder, having the cushiest job in the DF, going around on "sub" lecturing about nuclear fallout,etc.
Apparently CD are having their annual RadMon training seminar this weekend:
Members from Galway & around the country attended a training seminar at @EPARadiation HQ in Dublin today. We got a tour of the facility & a very informative presentation in preperation for our upcoming National Radiation Monitoring Excercise. #volunteer#civildefenceireland#epapic.twitter.com/UWFgcxr75b
There was in the 1980s during the height of the Cold War less than 20 pdf members of the observer corps and most of them were officers in barracks.
The thinking at the time was that Ireland would not be hit by an atomic bomb but that the main danger would be fallout from attacks in the uk, however given the prevailing winds even that’s was not seen as a danger worth investing funds in, hence the minute size of the force. Also from about 1985 onwards planning for Cold War came to a halt, part of this was geopolitical as Gorbachev came to power and part was on island with the threat from paramilitaries From eskund and unionists if British withdrawal and unionists udi.
Older members of the board might remember exercises against invasia who happened to resemble Warsaw pact forces were common enough up to the 1980s and then around 1985 a new foe appeared the fantasians who just happened to resemble the udr. A lot of work was done in devising defensive plans based upon the Austrian zonal defence concept.
For those of us who enjoy reading the college by Tom Hodson is very good on this period
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