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The Government Chief Whip and Minister of State at the Department of Defence attends Army Commissioning Ceremony of the 87th Army Cadet Class.
The Government Chief Whip and Minister of State at the Department of Defence, Mr. Paul Kehoe, TD today (Thursday 8 March 2012) attended the Army Commissioning Ceremony of the 87th Army Cadet Class at the Military School in the Curragh Camp, Kildare.
The Minister was welcomed to the Camp by the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Seán McCann.
The 87th Army Cadet Class comprises 21 members of the Irish Defence Forces and 3 members of the Armed Forces of Malta.
Congratulating the newly commissioned officers, the Minister said “The training you have received over the last 15 months has equipped you with the skills necessary to face the many and varied challenges you will encounter as young officers in your new units”
Acknowledging the current economic environment, the Minister paid tribute to the considerable modernisation and efficiency achieved by the Defence Forces in recent years. The Minister continued by saying that “The Government is conscious of the demands being made of the Defence Forces by the requirement for restructuring of the Organisation but is determined to do all that it can to protect the capacity of the Defence Organisation to operate effectively across all its assigned roles.”
Referring to the deployment of 106th Infantry Battalion for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the Minister advised that the deployment is planned for May of this year and will be undertaken in association with the Finnish Armed Forces.
The Minister also paid tribute to the dedication and commitment of the members of the Cadet School.