About 350 Irish troops have begun to arrive in Chad, part of a 3,000-strong EU battlegroup designed to protect refugees near the Sudanese border. Tom Clonanexamines what is probably the most challenging supply and command task the Defence Forces have faced to date
The first Irish troops bound for Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) arrived in N'Djamena, Chad's capital city, last weekend. They are part of a joint strategic reconnaissance group comprising Irish and French soldiers that will plan and oversee a rapid deployment to the region of more than 3,000 troops from EU states.
Under the overall command of Irish general, Maj-Gen Pat Nash - a native of Limerick - this EU battlegroup-style force is likely to be operational in Chad and the CAR before Christmas.
Such a rapid deployment presents enormous challenges to the EU force in terms of logistics, operational planning and, particularly, risk management - known in military parlance as the "threat assessment".
It is widely acknowledged in international defence and intelligence circles that the predominantly French and Irish EU battlegroup bound for Chad and the CAR is at risk of being engaged directly, or harassed, by Janjaweed militia from neighbouring Darfur in the Sudan, or by local Sudanese-backed Islamist militias and criminal gangs.
This risk will be especially marked in the opening phase of the mission, as Irish and French forces seek to establish their presence in the region.
There will be about 350 Irish troops deployed to Chad and the CAR and the threat to them depends on a number of specific issues. For the Irish military authorities, the primary risk factor for Irish troops will be predicated on their specific role in-country. In support of UN Security Council Resolution 1778 - a robust peace enforcement mandate designed to protect up to 500,000 refugees and internally displaced persons close to the border with Darfur - The Irish Timeshas learned that Irish troops are likely to be deployed to a forward operating base close to the Sudanese border and Darfur.
According to sources within the Department of Defence, Irish personnel will be located almost 1,000km from N'Djamena, in eastern Chad, close to the sensitive border region with Darfur. The Irish will most likely be expected to fulfil what is known as an area holding function. This means patrolling an area of many thousands of square kilometres close to major camps for both refugees from another country and internally displaced people.
The Irish, located in a forward operating base in the border area - a base that will have to be assembled from scratch in the coming month or so - will engage in continuous long-range patrolling in order to protect refugees from attack and to provide security for humanitarian aid supplies and NGOs operating in the region.
The Irish Timeshas learnt that the first deployment of Irish troops for this EU mission will come from the west of Ireland - from the Sixth Battalion in Athlone, the First Battalion in Galway and the 28th Battalion in Donegal.
The Army has extensive experience of operating in Africa, with peace enforcement and observer missions in recent years to Eritrea, Liberia, Ivory Coast - and Darfur itself. In terms of scale and function, the Army's deployment to Liberia, which began in November 2003, probably bears the greatest similarity to the current mission.
At that time, within 85 days of a government decision to deploy to Liberia, 430 heavily-armed Irish troops were established in a well-defended operations base - Camp Clara - 10km north of the capital city, Monrovia.
From a logistics point of view, the Irish mission to Liberia was assisted by its location - just 15km from Monrovia's airport and close to the port facilities of the capital city. In addition, Camp Clara was located in a partially serviceable hotel complex complete with sewage system and a well for water.
In Chad and the CAR, however, the logistics problems are far more difficult.Both countries are landlocked and are almost 2,500km from the nearest sea ports in Libya to the north and Cameroon to the southwest. It is likely therefore that the Army will charter a series of Russian-built Antanov AN-124s - among the world's largest cargo aircraft, capable of carrying up to 100 tons of military equipment per flight - to fly to the airport at N'Djamena. From there, Irish troops will have to journey approximately 1,000km to their forward operating base close to the border with Darfur.
This will be an especially challenging task. Chad has more than twice the land area of France. But it is also ranked 173rd out of 177 of the world's most disadvantaged countries on the Human Development Index used by the UN.
It has only 400km of paved road and no road network as such. There are no fresh water supplies and life expectancy is just 46 years.
The lives of the half-million refugees straddling the border with Darfur are on a knife-edge. In order to avert a humanitarian disaster - aside from the risk of attack from Islamist militias - Irish forces once deployed will have to work rapidly to establish their forward operating base and begin a robust long-range patrolling regime to protect refugees' lives and aid supply lines.
To this end, the first Irish troops to deploy to eastern Chad will be Army engineers, Army Ranger Wing personnel and a platoon of infantry to provide protection during the construction of the forward operating base. Some assistance may also be provided by French C-130 Hercules or C-160 cargo aircraft - capable of landing on short, improvised landing strips.
During this critical phase, where Irish forces will attempt to forge a foothold in eastern Chad before Christmas, approximately 1,500 tonnes of stores, weapons, ammunition, rations and water will have to be transported to the region from Ireland. This will include up to 12.5 million rounds of ammunition - enough for the "first line reserve" of approximately 300 rounds of ammunition for each soldier per day for the initial critical 120-day phase.
In addition, each soldier will require up to 10 litres of bottled water per day. A supply of fresh water for the first 120 days - totalling almost a half-million litres of bottled water - will have to be dropped by air to the troops on deployment.
Irish soldiers in Chad will patrol in the Army's recently acquired Mowag armoured personnel carriers, which also saw service as part of the Irish Quick Reaction Force in Liberia. These heavily-armed vehicles are capable of operating off-road and are equipped with heavy machine guns, thermal imaging sights, laser range finders and 40mm grenade launchers.
Crucially, they are also equipped with Kreuzlinger remote weapons platforms allowing soldiers to fire remote-controlled, computer-assisted weapons systems, such as 30mm cannons, from inside the cover of their vehicles.
The Kreuzlinger system - acquired under the Army's recent modernisation programme - is considered by military analysts to be superior to those used by American troops in Iraq, where exposed turret gunners regularly fall victim to sniper attacks.
The greatest weapon the Irish will bring to Chad and the CAR, however, will be their extensive experience of peace enforcement in Africa, dating back to Ireland's first major UN mission overseas to the Congo in the 1960s. The Irish will bring with them a form of soldiering that is unique to this country - a mix of professionalism and compassion for the local population that will hopefully win over hearts and minds in the critical opening phase of this operation.
The Army that will deploy to Chad in the coming weeks is a far cry from the Army of 40 years ago, equipped as it was for the African climate with "bull's wool" woollen uniforms and hobnailed boots.
Today's troops - serving not under a UN flag, but as part of an EU battlegroup with a UN mandate - face a daunting task. In military terms they will be what is known as the "point of the spear". They will be the furthest point of a hazardous and long-range deployment stretching from Paris and Dublin over many thousands of kilometres to the heart of the African continent.
This may be the toughest test of the Defence Forces since the Civil War. It may also prove to be the acid test of the EU's ability to deploy successfully its much-vaunted battlegroup-style formations far beyond its borders.
Dr Tom Clonan is The Irish Times Security Analyst. He lectures in the School of Media, DIT.