The Evolving Landscape of Irish Military Logistics

As the current Director of Logistics (Dir. J4), Colonel Prendergast was recently tasked with withdrawing the soldiers and equipment that constituted the Irish commitment to the United Nations Mission in Syria (UNDOF). To complete this complex task, his staff in the J4/Logistics Branch of the Irish Defence Forces HQ undertook a twelve-month planning cycle. The Military Decision Making Process (MDMP) was the main planning tool used, as key members of the J4 Staff had recently completed their Land Component Command and Staff Courses and the Senior NCO Logistics Course. In support of the MDMP, elements of the Operational Planning Process (OPP) were also employed to better understand the strategic environment that the Joint Logistics Teams (JLTs) would be operating within. Several implied tasks augmented the specified tasks assigned to J4 by the Irish General Staff. These were then analyzed fully to provide Mission Essential Tasks and Contingency Planning, which became crucial after serious conflict escalated in the region from October 2023 onwards. All of these planning constraints, guidelines, and elements were captured in the Operational and Administrative Planning Orders produced by the J4 staff.

Throughout the planning process, excellent civil-military collaboration ensured maximum efficiency and cost-benefit analysis. Special mention must go to the Irish civilian colleagues in the Executive Branch, Finance Branch, and Internal Audit Section of the Irish Ministry of Defence. Other Directorates from the Irish Defence Forces were also heavily involved in the complex planning process, especially those from Operations, Ordnance, and Transport, who also provided staff from the National Stores Reception Centre for manifesting and Military Customs and Clearance. The Irish UN Contingent based in Syria also played a key role in preparing all the equipment for stock checks and loading before the JLTs arrived in the Joint Area of Operations (JOA).

In March 2024, two JLTs, including Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from all the Resourcing and Sustainment Branches of the Irish Defence Forces, flew out to the JOA. The Logistics Management Team traveled to Syria, while the Logistics Operations Team positioned themselves in Beirut. To enhance the logistics capabilities of the JLTs, Young Army Officers undergoing their Degrees in Supply Chain Management were drafted into the J4 Branch as part of their College ‘Work Experience’ program. Some of these officers operated the Logistics Operations HQ, supervised by the Deputy J4 in Dublin alongside others that reached the JOA for supporting the JLTs.

“Throughout the planning process, excellent civil-military collaboration ensured maximum efficiency and cost-benefit analysis”

Over three weeks, operating in a hostile environment as conflict raged throughout the region, logisticians from the Irish Defence Forces HQ successfully withdrew every item of Irish equipment from the Mission Area. This highly complicated withdrawal process encompassed over twenty vehicles, the majority of which were armored, and over thirty containers full of equipment. The withdrawal routes transited from the Israeli border through Damascus and the Syrian/Lebanon border to the seaport in Beirut. After a number of days loading this equipment onto a Lo-Lo Ship, because Beirut had no Ro-Ro facilities, the ship set sail for Ireland on its three-week journey. Throughout the voyage, J4 staff were on board the ship, including some of the Young Student Officers. Irish J4 personnel supervised all movements, loadings, and unloadings until the equipment arrived safely back at the base in Ireland. Once the heavy equipment was in transit by sea and safely out of the JOA, the soldiers of the Irish Contingent were then successfully rotated by air from Beirut Airport, as Damascus Airport was not available.

The next task for J4 will be to consolidate all the newly arrived equipment from Syria and reverse the process to support Ireland’s commitment to the upcoming EU Battlegroup Rapid Deployment Concept for 2025. Operating alongside the partner nations of Belgium and Germany, Ireland plans to deploy a Mechanised Company of Equipment to Mainland Europe throughout the entirety of the Stand-By period for this EU Battlegroup. This project will entail moving over twenty mostly armored vehicles and nearly forty containers to Germany in Quarter Three (Q3) of 2024. With Belgium and German cooperation and support, the equipment will be unloaded from its seaport of choice onto trains and heavy road vehicles and transported to the new Irish Logistics Base, co-located with the Germans in central Europe.

Planning and collaboration for this logistical operation also began over twelve months ago. Similar to the recent withdrawal from Syria, J4 will coordinate and use the majority of the Irish Defence Forces' logistics capabilities to achieve success in this large and demanding logistical operation. As the withdrawal operations and European deployments were in the planning and operational phases, J4 is also preparing, as part of the new Irish Defence Forces Transformation Agenda, to establish a new Joint Logistical HQ. This new Joint Logistics HQ needs to be configured and designed to support the ever-increasing logistical and sustainment demands encountered by the Irish Defence Forces.

Colonel Prendergast recently published his first book, Clear – Hold – Build, How the Free State Won the Irish Civil War (1922-1923), by Wordwell Publications in 2024. It encompasses and utilizes his previous military experiences and education as he spent over six years researching how the newly established Irish National Army used a counterinsurgency doctrine that allowed them to convert tactical victories into overall strategic success. This strategic success was enabled by the superior logistical and sustaining advantages and enjoyed by the newly established National Army throughout this bitter conflict.