The last Irish battalion of troops to Lebanon will be inspected by the Taoiseach today ahead of a departure to the region for a final six-month tour.
For the last 23 years the Army has maintained a year-round peacekeeping presence in the turbulent environment of south Lebanon attached to UNIFIL - the UN Interim Force in Lebanon.
Today Mr Ahern will review the troops of the 89th Infantry Battalion and the 44th Irish Component at a parade to be held in Templemore in Co Tipperary.
In total 559 soldiers will travel to the region in early May to return in November.
The troops have been ordered to withdraw from the region by the Government for a combination of reasons, according to Army spokesman Comdt Kieran McDaid.
"The mission in UNIFIL is changing," he said. The current 5,500 UN troops are to be reduced to 2,500 by the end of the year.
Also, due to commitments made by the Government to an EU rapid reaction force, 850 Irish troops will have to be trained and ready for deployment by the end of 2003.
Comdt McDaid told ireland.comit would be a "very sad occasion" when its final battalion of troops leaves Lebanon for good although "we knew this day was going to come some day".
He said the Irish soldiers would be sad to leave the area as they had built close relations with the local south Lebanese population over the past 23 years and "some soldiers know villages here like at home".
Comdt McDaid said it would be a "very momentous occasion" when the troops march out of Lebanon for the last time at the end of November but added: "We will mark the occasion in as major a way as we can".