Rebirth of a nation

THINK of Somalia and images of pirates, al Qaeda, drought, famine, civil war, Black Hawk Down and US embassy bombings spring to mind.

So why would an Irishman want to take charge of training a new army, especially in one of Africa’s poorest countries, a country that once boasted the continent’s largest force. But that’s not how Colonel Michael Beary sees it.

Security is important in a failed state where there is a fledgling government desperately trying to extend its control to the rest of this country in east Africa.