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Deployment of 104th Infantry Battalion to Lebanon delayed

In our last issue we reported that following a Mission Ready Exercise in the Glen of Immal, the advance party of some 90 personnel from the 104th Infantry Battalion were due to deploy to southern Lebanon on 23rd May. The Advance Party consisted of a security element and logistics personnel including weapons, ammunition and communications experts to establish the Irish HQ in Tibnin before the main body of Irish troops was scheduled to deploy on the 23rd and 27th of June. However, the advance party did not deploy until the 30th May and arrived in Beirut, Lebanon at 07.40 Irish time having departed Baldonnel in the early hours of the morning. On making enquiries with the Department of Defence we were informed that shortly before the scheduled departure it emerged that Air Partners, the company who were awarded the contract by the Department of Defence to provide an Air Charter service to the Defence Forces, “had failed to obtain a required licence in relation to the carriage of munitions from the UK authorities which should have been obtained”. They were appointed following a competitive tendering process which complied with EU procurement requirements as they had “the most economically advantageous tender” as the Department put it. In the absence of the required licence the deployment of the advance party was delayed by seven days.

Air Partners is UK based but has 20 offices spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It is not however a direct or indirect ‘Air Carrier’, but acts as agent for its clients, arranges flights on aircraft operated by FAR Part 135 or 121 air carriers or foreign equivalent. The operators of these aircraft maintain full operational control of the charter flights at all times. It is however subject to UK law which requires UK companies to hold a licence under the Export Control Order of 2008, for the transport of weapons and ammunitions to several countries one of which is the Lebanon.

The Department said that “at all times, it was understood” that all of the “necessary licences and consents“ which were required to be put in place under the terms of the contract, were being put in place by Air Partner. It only emerged “shortly before the scheduled departure” that they did not.

Oddly enough the actual operator used for the charter was Air Italy, which used an Irish registered Boeing 757-230, EI-IGC for the flight. It arrived in Baldonnel the evening prior to the flight (29th at 18:12. In spite of the week long delay, Air Partners had still not been able to obtain the licence and to avoid further delays; it was decided to transport the weapons and ammunitions separately on an Air Corps Casa CN-235MP. It was not open to the department to directly charter an operator who would not be affected by the UK Export Control Order of 2008 as under EU requirements, the Department has to use Air Partners as the winning tenderer and has no discretion in the matter. At the same time as the advance party left Baldonnel, a convoy of 36 armoured vehicles travelled from Kildare to Ringaskiddy in Co Cork, from where they were shipped to Lebanon. While no details are available to us of the handling agent or the shipping company used obviously they don’t have the same types of problems that Air Partners do.

Naturally, the Minister for Defence, Alan Shatter regards it as unsatisfactory and unacceptable that Air Partner failed to take the necessary steps to advance the appropriate licence in sufficient time to comply with the terms of the contract. His department has said that “his dissatisfaction and that of the Department has been made known to Air Partners”.

Since the award of the tender, Air Partner has successfully been involved in other ‘troop rotation’ missions for the Department of Defence. Last April they arranged for the transport of 180 troops from Pristina in Kosovo back to Dublin and in October they were involved with transporting troops to Sweden to take part in an EU battlegroup exercise. However, their involvement with the Defence Forces has not been without problems. In May 2008 two Mil Mi-8T helicopters were hired through Air Partners for 16 months for the EU mission in Chad. The €3 million contract included pilots and maintenance. However it only emerged the helicopters were not licensed to carry troops when it was pointed out by Dutch troops. In addition, the Moldovan company who owed the helicopters were on the EU list of blacklisted’ operators. The helicopters were subsequently relegated to carrying freight, while two Ukrainian operated Mil Mi-8Ts were sourced.

In the light of the present difficulties, the Minister, “intends to raise at European level, the legal straight jacket arising from European laws which can result in a requirement to enter into contracts that would be undesirable in the private sector”. The department say that the “Minister is concerned that a similar difficulty could arise in the future and that there is no apparent mechanism in place to avoid its recurrence”.

Defence Forces involvement in VIP visits cost over €1.7 million

Although security arrangements for the visits of Queen Elizabeth II and the President Barack Obama were primarily an operational matter for An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces were centrally involved in these two hugely successful visits which included search, surveillance and security operations on land, at sea and in the air as requested by, and in support of, An Garda Síochána. The Defence Forces were also involved in the guarding of vital installations and in the provision of ceremonial duties as part of Queen Elizabeth’s State visit. The Minister for Defence, Alan Shatter told the Dáil that based on the latest estimates available, the approximate cost of the Defence Forces’ involvement was estimated to be €1.1million for the visit of Queen Elizabeth and approximately €630,000 for the visit of President Obama. He added that he did not “currently” anticipate a need for a Supplementary Estimate in the context of Queen’s visit, but that the matter has to be reviewed by his Department.

Gulfstream could be grounded

The Gulfstream and Learjet have completed 28 and 27 flying hours respectively during the first quarter of 2011. The average direct cost per hour for the Gulfstream is €3,270 and for the Learjet, €1,940. The average total cost per hour for the Gulfstream is €3,790 and for the Learjet is €4,200 when depreciation and personnel costs are taken into consideration. The Air Corps personnel who are assigned to the Ministerial Air Transport Service are also engaged in administrative ground appointments and are required to function in a staff capacity as members of the Defence Forces. There has been a substantial decrease in average hourly costs for the Gulfstream as the depreciation cost is no longer included in the cost of calculation owing to the life of the aircraft. The Gulfstream IV has been service for 20 years and has accumulated over 12,000 flying hours to date. The Minister for Defence, Alan Shatter told the Dáil that if any costly non-routine maintenance or major structural repair is required to be carried out, the aircraft will be grounded and a decision will be made on the future of the jet. Meantime, the aircraft will remain in service.

North Strand bombings remembered

Following on from the piece in our last issued which looked at events surrounding the bombing by the German Luftwaffe of the North Strand area on the night of 31st May a ceremony was held to mark the 70th anniversary in the memorial garden on North Strand Road. The German ambassador Busso von Alvensleben speaking at the event said the bombing reminded us how “tremendously precious peace is”. He added “The North Strand bombing in 1941 brought death and suffering into this city and to its inhabitants. My deep sympathy and respect are with the survivors and families and friends of the victims.”

Minister congratulates the Defence Forces on their role in fighting gorse fires across the country

The Minister for Defence, Alan Shatter told the Dáil that the Defence Forces deserve our congratulations for the work they did in aid of the local authorities at the beginning of May in fighting gorse fires across the country. A total of 500,400 litres of water were dropped by Air Corps helicopters which flew some 98 hours over the four days. In addition, the Defence Forces committed a total of 264 Army and Air Corps personnel of which 179 personnel were deployed with the remaining 85 being committed in support of the operation. He added “The Chief of Staff and other members of the Defence Forces who organised the response to assist local authorities deserve the congratulations of the House”. The cost of the Defence Forces operations was put at €100,000.