Planning is already well advanced in the Defence Forces for participation in the European Rapid Reaction Force (RRF), which was endorsed by the EU foreign ministers yesterday.
The Defence Forces Chiefs of Staff have determined that for Ireland to have a meaningful role in the new force, a light infantry battalion will be provided. It would be much like that on service with the UN in Lebanon, but better equipped and with a "special services" squadron of about 40 troops from the Army Ranger Wing.
There will also be a permanent liaison corps of about 60 officers whose work will be to study and plan with the other RRF contingents. This group will also devise ways in which the Irish contribution can be maximised.
Senior Irish soldiers have been anticipating the move towards an EU or NATO-led force for well over a decade, so thinking on the subject is well advanced.
The Defence Forces have more than 40 years' experience in foreign peacekeeping missions and most soldiers have won UN service medals.
The light-arms battalion will be the first in the Defence Forces to have full armoured personnel transport protection with the delivery, by the end of 2002, of 40 Mowag armoured personnel carriers (APCs). These have been on order since last year and the first three will arrive in January.
It is likely that the Ranger Wing contingent will also be the first Irish troops to have use of "medium-lift" capability helicopters. Six companies have tendered to supply the Defence Forces with three search and rescue (SAR) helicopters and two medium-lift troop carriers.
Although a decision on the helicopter choice is several months away, the aircraft will all be of the one type and will have to satisfy the EU Force "interoperability" requirements - which means that it is likely to be a European or US-manufactured aircraft. The three likely helicopters under consideration are the British-Italian-manufactured EH101 Merlin, the French-German-Dutch Cougar; or the US-manufactured Sikorsky S-92 Helibus.
These aircraft are all used in combat form by NATO forces. Each can lift between 15 and 30 infantry troops and equipment. The existing Air Corps helicopters can carry only three or four passengers and very little equipment.
There had been speculation in recent years that the Air Corps would also acquire two transport aircraft, such as the US-manufactured Hercules C-130 which is the standard NATO aircraft for long-lift troop movements. However, there are no plans to acquire such aircraft at present.
The provision of a 750-strong infantry battalion will be facilitated by the fulfilment of the UNIFIL mandate in Lebanon, from where Israeli forces withdrew last May.
To supply a permanent contingent of 750 to 800 troops, the Defence Forces will need to have another battalion in training and another "resting" in reserve. With the Defence Forces reduced in size to 10,750, sources say this will place pressure on the existing structures and may lead to rationalisation of bases.
The impetus for the European force has come from the Balkans experience. The Defence Forces has two contingents serving there - a transport unit of 100 troops in Kosovo and about 30 military police in Sarajevo, as well as officers serving as monitors in several locations.