Paddies With Propeller Planes

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Óglaigh na hÉireann, more commonly referred to as the Irish Defence Forces, are the Force that Defends Ireland. Composed of an tArm, the Army; an tAerchór, the Air Corps; and an tSeirbhís Cabhlaigh, the Naval Service; the Irish Defense Forces boasts nearly 10,000 (9,981, according to The Other Wiki) active personnel, and 12,348 reserve personnel; and a €1 billion budget.

The Defense forces main duty is to protect Ireland, in case neutrality fails to protect it. The Irish Defense Forces have maintained a presence in United Nations armed peacekeeping missions almost continuously since 1958, except for a four year period from 1974 to 1978.

Admittedly, the Irish Defence Forces aren't one of the best equipped forces around, or even produce their own equipment, but There Is No Such Thing as Notability.

In fiction, the actual Irish Defence Forces aren't terribly likely to show up, as they haven't really done much besides the UN work. Counter-terrorism for those occasions when The Troubles spilled over into the Republic tended to be handled by the Gardaí. However, the Irish Defence Forces can trace their lineage back to the original Irish Republican Army, specifically the part of the IRA that pledged its loyalty to the Irish Free State/the pro-Treaty side of the Irish Civil War.

The Army

The Army is made up of several components:

• The Infantry Corps, made up of 9 active battalions and 9 reserve battalions. The weaponry for the Infantry Corps comes from various sources, for example, the Steyr AUG with permanently attached M203 is the main assault rifle, with HK USP pistol as the main sidearm.

• The Artillery Corps, which use the big guns to provide support to the Infantry Corps and Cavalry Corps. They're also in charge of Anti-Air operations.

• The Cavalry Corps, which contrary to their name, do not use horses. Instead, they're in charge of the resident Awesome Personnel Carrier, the MOWAG Piranha, the Panhard AML armored cars and the resident Tank Goodness, the FV101 Scorpion light tanks. (A light tank is a really small tank.)

• The Engineer Corps, who build campsites, bridges, repair vehicles, the usual things.

• The Ordinance Corps, who buy and maintain all the Irish Defense Force's explosives, and destroy any that are found lying around.

• The Transport Corps, who transport what needs to be transported.

• The Medical Corps, who... take a guess.

• The Military Police Corps, who police the military.

• The Communications And Information Services Corps, who maintain communications between various units.

• The Irish Army Ranger Wing, although technically part of the Infantry Corps, deserves it's own section. Created when several Irish Officers went to Ranger School in America, the Ranger Wing is the Special Operations team of the Irish Defence Forces. They use different equipment than the normal Infantry Corps, including HK416s, an improved version of the M4 Carbine.