Unlike in many other countries, we seldom see uniformed military personnel walking our streets or on public transport. We have a kind of ‘hidden’ army that stays away from the public eye and surfaces only in emergencies. During the bus strikes of the 1970s army lorries were pressed into service to bring people to work. At the height of the Northern Ireland civil war, the army and An Garda Síochána patrolled the border. They protect cash deliveries for banks. But mostly, they stay out of sight.
We become aware of our defence forces when they are deployed abroad on highly visible international peacekeeping missions. In my teens I recall attending the state funeral of the soldiers who tragically lost their lives in the the Congo at the Niemba Ambush on November 8, 1960. While working in Kosovo in 2004, I met Irish members of the Kosovo Force (KFOR) peace-keeping force and was proud of their professionalism. What our defence forces lack in numbers, they more than make up in terms of training and expertise.
A key reason for the lack of visibility of our armed forces is that it is a small establishment that is run on the cheap. Very cheap. The average expenditure on defence in the EU is 1.3 percent of GDP. Expenditure is highest in the three Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) at 2.2 percent of GDP, a reflection of how threatened these small states feel as they face across their borders with Russia. It is........

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