400 defence personnel overseas for Christmas

MORE than 400 servicemen and women will be representing Ireland on overseas missions this Christmas, the Defence Forces said yesterday.

Almost two-thirds of those — 272 troops — are in the Kosovo Force, theUN-mandated NATO-led peacekeeping mission.

A further 40 personnel are in Bosnia-Herzegovina, with the remainder on military observer missions and in headquarters in Afghanistan, Congo, Ethiopia, Israel, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Serbia, Syria and Western Sahara.

A further 76 troops will be deployed as part of the Nordic Battlegroup in January, with 450 personnel going to Chad and the Central African Republic as part of the EU mission early next year.

In his Christmas message to the 411 men and women serving in 19 missions across18 countries around the world this Christmas, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Dermot Earley thanked all members for their support, professionalism and dedication in what has been a very busy year.

“As we enter our 50th year of continuous peacekeeping service I want to thank in particular those personnel serving overseas and their families,” he said.

“It is important to recognise the sacrifice being made by family members at home who must spend Christmas without their loved ones due to duty abroad.”

The Defence Forces said Irish troops in Kosovo have assumed command of one of its military regional areas — an indication of the standing and experience of Irish soldiers in crisis management operations.