I am not a spin doctor, my job is about communicating. Lines of communication are essential in the military, and we now apply that to our relationship with the public and the media. It's not about putting a spin on something, it is about explaining - keeping the information flowing all day long. Since the hearing-compensation controversy, the Defence Forces have had to develop the public relations end of things considerably. We are now pro-active as well as reactive, and it is quite a busy job. Essentially you are on call 24 hours a day. We have troops in 17 countries around the world.
At any moment in the day something could happen, and you have to have details just about immediately for news editors. It doesn't matter where the country is, we've got to get a handle on the situation within minutes. Soldiers don't work neat nine-to-five office hours, so we have to be ready to respond seven days a week. It isn't unusual to get calls late at night from the media. My day would often start with calls from the media at about seven in the morning, and the phone keeps going all day long.
The number of media operations in Ireland is enormous, and you have to deal with all their enquiries. Since the hearing controversy, the Defence Forces have taken a lot of flack; we might have to spend time clarifying issues, particularly where there is something in a published article or that has gone out on-air which isn't quite right.
We believe the public has to be properly informed - then they can make a better judgment on what's going on. I was appointed PRO about 18 months ago - in the military you don't say no! I'm a fluent Irish speaker, so I've been involved with the Irish-language media for a while, but as PRO it is now my duty first and foremost to defend the work of the Defence Forces. You sometimes have to handle very difficult questions, but you have to play football on the good and the bad days.
No two days are the same, you never know what will come up. It would also be my job to think about the public image of the Defence Forces. I have to advise the Chief of Staff when he is going on television, for example. Since the Balkan crisis, Irish officers have been on television as advisers. We have experts in particular areas who can give impartial military analysis, and that shows the public what the military does.
In fact, the role of the military is very diverse. We've worked as both peace-keepers and peace-enforcers in countries around the world for 41 years. With peace-keeping, the two sides agree to differ and allow an international peace force in to mediate. In somewhere like Somalia where you have peace enforcement, the force is sent in to impose peace. Peace enforcement would be a lot more dangerous because the people are opposed to your presence. You need good soldiering skills, diplomacy and experience to do a good job with the UN, and we have all that.
We also have the Irish personality, which is widely recognised as excellent for peace-keeping duties. Our first duty is to defend the sovereignty of the State, but we haven't had that many invasions recently, so our main focus is on peace-keeping abroad.
Every soldier's ambition is to do a tour of duty abroad, when you get to put all your skills into practice. I have done four trips as a soldier, and I still travel around a lot as PRO. For example, when the camp at Qana, in the Lebanon, was bombed (by Israel), I had to go out with the media. I would also travel abroad with journalists who are sent out to where Irish soldiers are stationed to see what is going on, and I would have to travel abroad if the President was visiting the troops. It is a very demanding job, but I enjoy the challenge. The worst part is having to field questions when perhaps soldiers have been injured or killed - where you seem to be defending the indefensible.
In an interview with Jackie Bourke
