The President, Mrs McAleese, will become the first Irish Head of State to visit Irish troops serving with the UN when she travels to south Lebanon tomorrow. Mrs McAleese is flying to Beirut today and will travel south to meet the troops serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) tomorrow.
During part of her visit she will have to wear body armour, a flak jacket and helmet, when she visits Observation Post 6-41, probably the most dangerous position held in any of the UN's peacekeeping operations. The post is inside the Israeli-controlled "security zone" in south Lebanon and has been repeatedly attacked by both sides in the conflict.
South Lebanon has been relatively quiet recently. Two Muslim militia soldiers were killed last weekend. Two weeks ago Muslim militias killed 12 people with what is believed to have been a misfired mortar attack on an Israeli position. Pro-Israeli militias retaliated with heavy artillery fire on Muslim villages. There are currently 600 Irish soldiers serving with UNIFIL.
Mrs McAleese is accompanied on the tour by her husband, Dr Martin McAleese; the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith; the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lt Gen Gerry McMahon; and the Secretary of the Department of Defence, Mr David O'Callaghan.
While in the Irish Battalion area, the President will be the host of the Battalion Commander, Lt Col Colm Doyle. Lt Col Doyle came to international attention in 1992 when he served as aide-de-camp to Lord Carrington, the UN representative in former Yugoslavia.