Irish Army Engineer Corps

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=Engineer Corps


dates=September 1922-
country=Republic of Ireland
branch=Army
type=Military Engineering
role= Camp Construction, Military Bridging
size=Engineer Battalion
garrison=1st Fd Engineer Coy - Cork
2nd Fd Engineer Coy - Dublin
4th Fd Engr Coy - Athlone

The Engineer Corps (or "An Corps Innealtoiri" in Irish) is the combat engineering unit of the Irish Defence Forces. The Engineers Corps is responsible for all military engineering matters within the Defence Forces. The main role of the Combat Engineers is to provide engineering on the battlefield. The Engineers Corps have successfully leveraged their skill and expertise in several of the Irish Army's deployments in UN operations.

History

Following the establishment of the Irish Free State on 6 December 1922 General Routine Orders were issued which laid down the organisation of the first centralised Defence Forces. From an engineering point of view there were three particular problem areas to be overcome:-
*The Barracks and Posts throughout the state were in great need of repair following the War of Independence and the Civil War.
*There was a general shortage of materials.
*Most of the railway system was in disarray with many towns cut off.

To meet these requirements three (3) Corps were set up:
*The Works Corps - to carry out repairs and reconstruction.
*The Salvage Corps - to recover materials from damaged buildings for use elsewhere.
*The Railway Protection, Repair and Maintenance Corps - to rebuild the railway system.

The Corps of Engineers was established and took over from these three Corps with effect from 1 October 1924. In 1931 Field Engineer Companies and the School of Military Engineering were added to the establishment.

Roles

The Engineer Corps has a wide variety of roles, covering conventional warfare, and training for the Defence Forces. With such a wide range of skills, the Engineer Corps provide a variety of support to the Army. This support includes anything from the provision of:
* Mobility
** Clearing terrain obstacles
** Constructing roads and bridges
* Explosive material handling
** Demining
**Demolitions
* Defence
** Building fortifications
**Camp Construction: Camp Clara (Monrovia, Liberia), Camp Clark (Kosovo)
* Counter mobility
** Planting landmines
** Digging trenches and ditches
** Demolishing roads and bridges
* General Engineer Support
** Counter Terrorist Search in support of Ordnance Corps EODIEDD Bomb Disposal units
**Fire fighting & RTA services

Missions

The Engineer Corps have seen active service in [UNMIK] ), Somalia (UNOSOM II), Congo (ONUC), Lebanon (UNIFIL), and in Liberia (UNMIL) - where the Engineer Corps was deployed following the Second Liberian Civil War, to construct Camp Clara in advance of a contingent of more than 400 troops.

Equipment

*Aardvark Midi Mine flail
*Doking MV-4 Remotely Operated Mine flail
*Cyclops Mk4 Remotely Operated Vehicle
*Remote Firing Demolitions Equipment (BIRIS, PRIME, DRFD)
*Maybe Johnson Bridge
*Infantry Assault Bridge
*FFV 013 Area Defence Munition
*")

Future developments

As in all aspects of society, legislative changes and technological advances have required workforces to become more specialised and more highly skilled. The Irish Defence Forces is no exception - requiring specialist skilled engineers.

Compared with Defence Forces in other countries e.g. British and French Armies, the number of engineers in the Irish Defence Forces is low, 5.5% against 8.8% and 12.8% respectively.

Gallery

External links

*en icon [http://www.military.ie/army.htm Official website]