Irish Army Rangers

Sciathán Fiannóglach na hAirm
Shoulder flash of Sciathán Fiannóglach na hAirm
Active	March 1980-Present
Country	Republic of Ireland
Branch	Army
Type	Special Forces
Size	At least 100 operators[1]
Garrison/HQ	Curragh Camp, County Kildare[1]
Motto	Glaine ár gcroí. Neart ár ngéag. Agus beart de réir ár mbriathar (The cleanliness of our hearts. The strength of our limbs. And our commitment to our promise)
Battles/wars	UNOSOM II, INTERFET, UNMIL, UNIFIL, UNFICYP, UNPROFOR, MINURSO
Insignia
Shoulder Tab

The Irish Army Ranger Wing (or Sciathán Fiannóglach na hAirm in Irish^[2]) is the special forces unit of the Irish Defence Forces. The Army Ranger Wing is Ireland's premier hostage rescue unit, and trains closely with the specialised firearms service of the Garda Síochána (known as the Emergency Response Unit or ERU)^[1]. In any major hostage incident the Ranger Wing would be involved with the ERU in a supporting role^[1]. Some of the international special operations units the ARW has trained and operated with include the GIGN^[3], GSG 9^[3], Swedish SSG^[3], US Marine Corps Force Recon and US Navy SEALs, Delta Force^[1], American Rangers^[1], the Italian COMSUBIN^[3], the Australian^[1] and New Zealand SAS^[1], among others.

Contents 1 Name 2 History 3 Selection 4 Command and Communications 5 Roles 6 Missions 6.1 Liberia 6.2 East Timor 6.3 Iraq 6.4 Upcoming Missions 7 Equipment 7.1 Weapons 7.1.1 Squad weapons 7.1.2 Support weapons 7.1.3 Vehicle-mounted weapons 7.2 Specialised equipment 8 Training 9 References 10 Gallery 11 External links

Name

The unit's official name is "Sciathán Fiannóglach an Airm", which roughly translates into English as "Army Ranger Wing"^[2]. "Fiannóglach" (representing "Ranger") is an amalgamation of two words. "Fian" is closest to the English word "warrior", and refers to the ancient band of warriors known as Na Fianna in Irish Mythology. "Óglach" (literally 'young hero') means "soldier" and refers to the name of the Defence Forces in Irish: Óglaigh na hÉireann.

History

‎In the late 1960s and early 1970s a small number of Irish Defence Forces personnel attended the U.S. Army Rangers course at Fort Benning, Georgia, USA^[1]. On their return, these personnel organised similar courses under the title 'FIANOGLACH TRAINING' with the goal of bringing standards of training throughout the Irish Defence Forces into line with accepted international standards. The first course was conducted in the Military College in the Curragh Army Camp in 1969 with 12 officer students. Students on these courses were selected from among all ranks and units of the Army, Air Corps and the Naval Service^[2][1] and covered physical endurance, marksmanship, individual military skills and small unit tactics.

Formalising these standards and creation of the Army Ranger Wing resulted from the increase in international terrorism in the late 1970s and 1980s^[4]. The increased skills and endurance training of 'Ranger'-trained personnel provided the perfect basis for the creation of a new specialist unit to counter these threats^[4]. The Army Ranger Wing (ARW) was formally established, in accordance with the Defence Act, by Government order in March 1980.

Selection

The ARW selection course lasts approximately three weeks, and comprises intense physical and mentally demanding tests and evaluations, including a number of "Ranger tests". These include:

• Abseiling - Assesses a student's confidence when working at height
• Bridge jump - Tests a student’s confidence in water
• River crossing - Evaluates a student’s ability to work in a team
• Claustrophobia - Tests a student’s ability to work with his equipment in confined spaces
• Gym tests - Tests a students muscular endurance and strength while performing a set number of exercises
• 10km run - Tests a students cardio-vascular endurance over a set distance and time
• Mountain walk - Tests a student’s endurance over a set uphill march, while carrying a medium load
• Hill circuit - Tests a students stamina and strength over a set cross-country course, while carrying a light load
• Forced march “cross-country” - Tests a student’s stamina and strength over a set cross-country course and time while carrying a medium load
• Forced march "road" - A group test to assess the student’s tolerance of pressure over a set course and time, while carrying a medium load
• Route march - A group test to assess the students overall stamina, endurance and strength during a forced march over the mountains while carrying a medium load

If a student passes selection they go on to a six month ranger basic skills course where they learn the skills required to be a ranger. The course includes long range recce, unarmed combat, anti-terrorist skills, advanced first aid, advanced combat shooting and parachuting. Upon passing this selection course and probationary period they then earn the right to wear the prestigious Green beret [1].

Command and Communications

The Officer Commanding the Army Ranger Wing is responsible for the Administrative, Disciplinary and Operational control of the unit, and is in turn directly under the command of The Chief of Staff at Defence Forces HQ. The Army Ranger Wing is on immediate call for operations throughout the State. The ARW is equipped with state of the art SINCGAR, RACAL and Harris communications equipment, all of which have an inbuilt encryption and frequency hopping system. It is also equipped with satellite communications, though it should be noted that Ireland is a neutral state and does not have its own military satellites.

Roles

The ARW has a wide variety of roles, covering conventional warfare, anti-terrorist warfare and training for the Defence Forces including:^[1]

• Offensive Operations behind enemy lines, e.g. Securing of vital objectives, Long Range Patrolling - Raids - Ambushes - Sabotage, Capture of key personnel, Diversionary Operations
• Defensive Operations, e.g. VIP Protection, Counter-insurgency.
• Specialist Aid to the Civil Power (Anti-Terrorist Tasks)
• Standards, e.g. Testing and evaluation of military equipment, conducting specialist courses.
• Returning highly-skilled personnel to the Defence Forces on completion of service in the ARW

Missions

The Army Rangers have seen active service assisting peacekeepers in Liberia, East Timor, Somalia and Lebanon.

Liberia

The ARW was deployed in Liberia following the Second Liberian Civil War as part of a peace-keeping contingent of more than 400 troops from the Irish Defence Forces, in turn part of a rapid reaction force for the United Nations mission in the country. One of their most successful missions during this deployment was the rescue of a group of civilians captured by gunmen from renegade Government of Liberia forces^[5]. Acting on intelligence, twenty heavily armed Rangers were dropped by helicopter into the town of Gbapa^[5]. To avoid casualties among the hostages, the Rangers implemented a policy of non-lethal intervention and, after surrounding a 40-foot container containing the 35 hostages, rescued them.^[6]

East Timor

In 1999, the Dáil voted to send the ARW to serve with the United Nations International Force, East Timor (INTERFET). Mandated under a UN Security Council resolution, INTERFET was a peacekeeping force deployed to restore security in the region, support and protect the UN Mission in East Timor, and to facilitate humanitarian assistance operations. The detachment of 30 ARW personnel was involved in peacekeeping duties with Canadian and New Zealand troops near the West Timor border.

Iraq

As Ireland's premier hostage rescue unit, operators from the ARW were deployed to Iraq alongside Arabic-speaking members of G2 (the military intelligence branch of the Irish military), after Irish journalist Rory Carroll was abducted in 2005. The Rangers were charged with liaison with U.S. Special Operations Forces in regard to a possible rescue operation, and to provide security to the Irish Government representatives who were attempting to negotiate his release. Their assistance was not required however, as Mr. Carroll was released a short time later.^[7]

Upcoming Missions

The ARW is scheduled to be deployed in Chad, but are held back due to logitic problems.^[8]

Equipment

Weapons

In addition to standard issue weapons of the Irish Defence Forces, weapons used by the ARW include:

Squad weapons

• Pistols
  • SIG P226^[9] (See: Image )
• Combat Shotguns
  • Benelli M3T Tactical
  • Benelli M4 Super 90
  • Franchi SPAS-12
  • Remington 870^[9]
• Assault rifles and Carbines
  • Steyr AUG A2
  • Steyr AUG A3
  • HK33/SG1^[9] (See: Image )
  • Heckler & Koch G36K/C
  • Heckler & Koch HK53
• Submachine guns
  • Heckler & Koch MP5 - Including MP5A3^[9], MP5F and MP5K variants
  • FN P90 (Not a standard issue weapon)
• Sniper rifles
  • Accuracy International PM/L96 - Including L115 (.338), AI96 (.308)^[9], and AW50 (.50 Anti-materiel variants (See: Image )
• Light machine guns
  • FN Minimi Para

Support weapons

• Denel vector 60mm commando mortar
• Carl Gustav 84mm recoilless rifle - Including M2 and M3 variants
• Raytheon Javelin Anti-tank guided missile

Vehicle-mounted weapons

• FN 7.62mm GPMG (See: Image )
• Browning M2 heavy machinegun .50cal (See: Image )
• Heckler & Koch GMG 40mm automatic grenade launcher (See: Image )

Specialised equipment

• Ford F350 (modified as Special Reconnaissance Vehicle)
• Land Rover Range Rovers (modified for Counter Terrorist duties)
• Yamaha 660 All-terrain vehicles
• KTM LC400 motorbike
• Suzuki DR 350 and DRZ 400 motorbikes (See: Image )
• Dräger LAV-7 Rebreather (See: image)
• Klepper MK13 canoe
• Combat Rubber Raiding Craft
• Rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RIBs) (Delta 7 metre, Lencraft 5.1 metre dive, and Lencraft 7.5&6.5 metre intruder RIBs) (See: image)

Training

The ARW also has its own purpose built tactical training facility, including "shoot houses", training ranges and various urban settings. The facility is known as "Tac town".

References

Gallery

ARW operator with AW-50 anti-materiel weapon	M2 50.cal	ARW MT350 motorbikes modified for harsh use	ARW operator with HALO free-fall parachuting equipment
Training - H&K33 SG1	ARW Counter Terrorist team drill	end of selection photo	Irish rangers training with French SF

External links

• Official website (English)