Why we must fight for Custume Barracks and its Brigade status

Brig Gen Ger Aherne was the General Officer Commanding the Athlone-based 4th Western Brigade – then one of three brigades in the country’s Defence Forces - when it was disestablished in November 2012. In this first instalment of a two-part opinion column in the Westmeath Independent, Brig Gen (Retd) Aherne, a Kiltoom resident who retired earlier this year, outlines the implications of the Army downgrade for Athlone and its surrounds:

I am part of the last generation of military people in a position to put down family roots in the Midlands, West or North West. 

This is a consequence of the catastrophic political decision to disestablish the Fourth Western Brigade in 2012. The brigade, headquartered at Custume Barracks in Athlone, spanned the province of Connacht, the two Ulster counties of Cavan and Donegal, and the Leinster counties of Longford, Westmeath and Offaly.

Its removal reduced the number of permanent posts at Custume Barracks in Athlone by 607, and cut the number of units at the barracks from fourteen to four. 

It means there is no longer a critical mass of military appointments in this region to allow career-oriented personnel to put down family roots in confidence. In addition to the economic implications, it will result in an inestimable loss of 'social capital’ to communities in Athlone and throughout the region. 

Prior to the local elections in May, a Government party councillor called to my door accompanied by a life-long activist for the party, who is from my parish of Kiltoom and Cam. 

Amongst other things, I brought them to bear on St Brigid’s GAA club winning the All Ireland championship in 2013 and the efforts, over many decades, in putting in place the structures, vision, and support mechanisms to allow clubs get to a stage where they can compete at that level. 

Five of the starting fifteen on the historic All Ireland-winning team were from families who had come to Athlone because of the involvement of the players’ fathers in the Defence Forces.

The team manager, Kevin McStay, who retired from the Forces last year, was a serving officer in the barracks at the time.

An even more significant number of military families were part of the 20 or 30-year efforts at St Brigid’s to get itself to a position where it could compete in an All-Ireland final. And the same could be said of, for instance, Garrycastle, Athlone, Tubberclair and Clara GAA clubs, Buccaneers, Athlone Town and all of the junior soccer clubs in the town and its hinterland. This list is not exhaustive.

Defence Forces personnel, both serving and retired, have always had pivotal leadership roles in communities and voluntary organisations where they live. 

Knock-on effects of the disestablishment of the Fourth Western Brigade are already impacting on the hosting of local events such as triAthlone and the annual Community Games finals at Athlone IT.  

Unless the decision to abolish the Fourth Western Brigade is reversed, such implications will become even pronounced over time.

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Government promises give no long-term assurance

Speaking in the Dáil recently, Minister of State Paul Kehoe gave a commitment on Army personnel in Athlone. He said the Government had “no plans to close Custume Barracks, Athlone, or to reduce numbers there”. 

This commitment is a political one which can only last for the duration of this Government. It offers no long-term guarantee that Custume Barracks will be spared from further downgrading or possible closure.  

The situation is not without hope for people who have the best interests of the Defence Forces at heart. The decision to disestablish the Fourth Western Brigade was, like all political decisions, one that can be reversed. The best opportunity for the renewal of the Army in the region is at the ballot box.

For that to happen ‘the military family’ needs to both energise, and create greater awareness of, its leverage. 

The military family, for me, is made up of the following: the serving and retired members of the Permanent Defence Force, the serving and retired members of the Reserve, and their immediate and extended families.

On September 15 each year, every serving member of the Permanent Defence Forces is required to fill out an RFC (Register of Franchised Citizens) form indicating where he or she wishes to postal vote. In the Longford - Westmeath constituency there are presently 564 serving soldiers among the electorate. In Roscommon - South Leitrim, where there will be a by-election this autumn, there are 226 serving soldiers registered to vote.

Those figures are only serving personnel. When you add in the retired members of the Permanent Force, and the Reserve, and their families, it represents a serious cohort of people. 

No political party since the foundation of the State has ever regarded these people as a group to be specifically courted in the way they might court, let’s say, farmers or nurses as a block. Over the years, politicians of all parties have shown the Defence Forces an abundance of flattery but very little real respect. 

The military family must become energised in grasping its leverage as advocates of the Defence Forces.

Loyalty is an emotive word, but loyalty is a two-way street. The unquestionable and unquestioning loyalty continuously shown by members of the Defence Forces needs reciprocation.

To date, it seems that the only repayment for that loyalty is further neglect.

The ‘can-do’ attitude of the Defence Forces in continuously doing ‘more with less’ with reducing personnel resources and equipment has become a counter-productive and flawed policy from military leadership. In the last 22 years, the Defence Forces has undergone eight reviews and re-organisations. It’s time to shout: halt.

To date, one political party has publicly committed to the restoration of the Fourth Western Brigade if it is in Government after the next general election. 

This commitment could well be political opportunism, but that’s fine by me. Politicians do things for different reasons.

In the absence to date of any other political party making that commitment, I take it on face value.

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My reasons for speaking out

Over the years, silence on matters affecting the Defence Forces has come to be seen as a virtue among serving and retired personnel. 

But silence and anonymity are not virtues when there is something at stake that is worth fighting for. 

My greatest wish is that retired personnel, of all ranks, become effective advocates for the Defence Forces. There are things that we can do as private citizens, in retirement, that serving personnel are precluded from doing. 

Too often, retired leaders of the Defence Forces have become even more anonymous, and more silent, in retirement than they were in service. I certainly hope to break that cycle.