THE Army is expected to rotate, troops from southern command areas to the Border in the next months to ensure adequate security cover against incursion by loyalist paramilitaries.
The Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieut Gen Gerry McMahon, said the Border garrisons were not stretched and were coping adequately.
However, with the current, reductions in the De fence Forces it was expected that there would have to be some rotation of troops from southern areas to relieve troops at the Border. There were contingency plans to strengthen the garrison if necessary.
Lieut Gen McMahon who addressed the annual conference of the Permanent De fence Forces Other Ranks Representative Association (PDFORRA) in Waterford yesterday, also announced the Defence Forces were expected to begin sending reserve troops to serve with the UN mission in Lebanon. He said a level of boredom had crept into the existing Defence Forces about service with UNIFIL, largely, because of the lack of recruitment which meant that many soldiers had completed several tours of duty.
There had been some difficulties in finding sufficient volunteers for the next battalion to serve in the Lebanon which was still short of the 680 members required to staff the operation, despite being almost ready to travel to the Middle East.
He said he had rejected the idea of detailing personnel for UNIFIL and was determined that there would be no reduction in the Defence Forces UN peacekeeping commitment.
It had been decided that UN service in Lebanon would be open to members of the reserve force, the FCA, and it was expected the first volunteers from the Reserve would serve in the Middle East in 1999.
Lieut Gen McMahon said it was his intention that the money, saved by the reduction in the Defence Forces over the next 10 years would be transferred into capital expenditure, particularly on equipment. He pointed out that the Defence Forces had only two modern armoured personnel carriers (APCs).
He said: "A Defence Force with only two modern APCs, yes two, is ludicrous". This is one example of many I could quote. This situation can only be rectified, as I have stated on many, occasions, by redirecting our finances from the personnel area, into an ambitious and phased reequipping programme.
"The plan is also about providing proper infrastructure for our Defence Forces barracks for our troops, hangars fur our aircraft docks for our ships, maintenance facilities, training areas, ranges.