Ballymahon man leads second last UNIFIL mission to South Lebanon

Lieutenant Colonel Mark Lennon, a native of Ballymahon, has been appointed the leading officer for the second-to-last mission to South Lebanon as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Lt Col Lennon shared insights into the extensive training and preparations that have taken place in advance of the deployment, as well as the challenges and expectations for the mission ahead.

“I suppose, in some ways, for many of us, on our first day in the military we’ve been preparing for a deployment like this," he said. "So, in reality, from early in the summer this year we’ve been in preparation, and in some ways, even before that.

"We really began our pre-deployment phase of training at the end of August, we completed a fortnight of field training exercises in the Glen of Imaal in Wicklow, and that culminated essentially today (October 31) with a ministerial review.”

MORE: One local soldier's thoughts ahead of deployment

While the mission itself remains largely unchanged, Lt Col Lennon acknowledged that the mission's mandate is set to formally conclude in 2027.

"Overall, the mission remains the same, our mandate is still the same. But there is change, there is a drawdown, and we know that the mandate and the mission will come to some sort of formal close late next year,” he said.

“For us, it hasn’t changed anything in terms of our training or deployment measures. We’re still following the same training that previous battalions have done, and have even enhanced that again.”

A total of 341 troops will be deployed to the region, with Lt Col Lennon expressing his gratitude for the support received from the Defence Forces and the Department of Defence.

READ: Ministerial review of Lebanon-bound troops in Athlone

“There’s 341 troops going. Thankfully, there was some question marks over troop deployments based on reductions with UNIFIL, and I’m delighted that the Defence Forces and the Department of Defence have backed us to ensure that all personnel who were listed and prepared for the 127th Infantry Battalion will actually deploy to UNIFIL,” he said.

"There’s 129 first-timers, it’s a proud moment for them. I remember my own first deployment to Liberia in 2004, a lot of unknowns for those young soldiers, a lot of mixed emotions and anxieties over where you’re deploying to and what you’ll be doing. For some, it’ll be their first time working with international colleagues and in that international scene. But they’ve been trained well, and I’ve more than enough confidence in them.”

The mission itself will last six months, meaning that many of the soldiers will be away from home during the holiday season. Lt Col Lennon stressed the importance of maintaining morale.

“The mission is six months, so the troops will be away from home for Christmas,” he said. "We’ll hopefully have a Christmas Mass in the morning and a full Christmas lunch with all the trimmings, it’s key that we make it as homely as possible.

“It will still be operational on that day, unfortunately, there’ll be no rest for us on that front, but we’ll certainly mark the day. We have welfare care packages being arranged at this very moment, and they’ll be sent out to the troops for Christmas Day.”