Over 600 army posts to leave Athlone?

Over 600 posts are set to be removed from Custume Barracks in Athlone if Government plans to dissolve the 4th Western Brigade go ahead, the Westmeath Independent can reveal this week. An informed source told the Westmeath Independent this week that if the plan goes ahead, Custume Barracks will lose all brigade support units and one frontline unit, which is a total of over 630 posts, the majority of whom would be non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and privates. If the Western Brigade is dissolved and all units redeployed elsewhere, Athlone would lose the Brigade Headquarters, the 4th Cavalry Squadron, the 4th Logistical Support Battalion, the 4th Western Brigade Training Centre, the Military Police Company, the 4th Field Engineering Company and the Communications and Information Services Company, seeing those posts redeployed to elsewhere in the country. The loss of such a significant number of troops to the town would be akin to the closure of a large company such as Alkermes or Ericsson and would be a devastating blow to the area's economy. Some 1,100 officers, NCOs and privates currently call Custume Barracks their home base. However, there is potential for more staff at the barracks. If all vacancies at the army barracks were filled some 1,440 people would be attached to Custume Barracks. This high figure is due to the relocation of troops from Longford, Mullingar and Cavan in recent times as a result of the barracks consolidation programme, which aimed to have a smaller number of locations with large numbers of troops stationed at these barracks. A source told the Westmeath Independent this week that the directive issued by Defence Minister Alan Shatter last December to reorganise the brigade structure from three to two was given without any prior consultation with Defence Forces leaders. Our source said: "This is the brainchild of non-military professionals in the Department of Defence who convinced the Minister to do this without an analysis of the unknown operational inefficiencies that will come from this." The Westmeath Independent understands that the emerging plan, which is due to be announced at the end of this month, would have all counties north of the Dublin to Galway line, excluding Galway, administered from Dublin and all counties south of that line, including Galway, administered from Cork. An informed source said: "From a security point of view it's reckless. Dublin and Cork are two geographical extremities. It makes no strategic sense not to have a military headquarters and significant troop numbers in the dead centre of the country for ease of deployment to all parts of the country." A brigade is the smallest independent formation in any army and is made up of frontline units, such as infantry battalions and artillery regiments, as well as support units, made up of specialised personnel, such as medics, engineers, bomb disposal experts etc. International norms show that it takes three support units to keep one frontline unit deployed. "By not having support units in the correct proportion and location then frontline units can't operate effectively," our source explained. "Such a proposal would neither be proposed nor supported by military professionals." The move to disband the Western Brigade is contrary to the advice of the most recent independent review carried out on the Defence Forces.