Soldiers send love messages from abroad

FOR the hardened soldier, there is still a little space for the soft side. Indeed there’s room for romance – even in war-torn Chad.

Dozens of doting wives and girlfriends this weekend will receive special Valentine messages from their serving loved-ones, 4,500km away.

Members of the Defence Forces have set up Facebook and Flickr internet pages where they have posted their messages, accompanied by photos.

It’s not quite a romantic dinner or candlelight evening together, but it’s as good as it’s going to get while the members of the 102 Infantry Battalion are keeping the peace in the central African nation.

Chad is the biggest overseas commitment for the Irish Defence Forces at present, with over 450 personnel deployed there.

The battalion is based in Goz Beida, in the southeast of Chad, 70km from the Darfur border, where Irish troops are protecting civilians in danger from armed groups, particularly refugees and internally displaced people.

But members of the peacekeeping team will have to wait a bit longer to deliver their romantic missives to their partners in person.

The 102 Infantry Battalion will remain in Chad for another four-and-a-half months, returning to Ireland in June. And the messages the troops are sending home this weekend will at least be some comfort this Valentine’s Day.