It was a dummy run but it was in deadly earnest. Now that Irish troops might be deployed in Kosovo following the NATO bombardment of Yugoslavia, some 200 troops from the southern region last week engaged in an exercise called "First Step" - an exercise in the conduct of urban warfare.
It seems as if Irish troops will initially be involved in helping with logistics and transport if and when they are sent to Kosovo, but there is a real possibility that their role might be extended, and if that happens they must be prepared.
An Army spokesman would not rule out the possibility that Irish soldiers might be involved in a broader role - one which might lead them into conflict situations. For that reason, at Fort Davis in Cork Harbour yesterday 200 Irish soldiers were involved in an exercise to prepare them for such an eventuality.
Some 150 soldiers from the 12th Infantry Battalion based at Limerick and Clonmel faced 50 from the 4th Infantry Battalion in Cork. They used high-technology infra-red equipment and once a soldier had been targeted and pinpointed by a simulated weapon he had to leave the field of battle. The Limerick and Clonmel contingent were charged with the duty of seizing the fort - the duty of the Cork soldiers was to prevent them.
The exercise began shortly after dawn and continued until the early evening. Its purpose was to show Irish troops how to deal with potentially dangerous situations in an urban environment and to prepare them for future peacekeeping and peace enforcement roles in countries such as Yugoslavia.
An Army spokesman said for a number of years Irish soldiers had been involved in areas such as Somalia, Bosnia and the Lebanon and the exercise, named "FIBUA" (fighting in built-up areas), was part of the training.