EUROPEAN DEFENCE
EUFOR Tchad/RCA – Progress and On-going Success by Lt Gen Patrick Nash, Operational Commander EUFOR Tchad/RCA, N’Djanena In keeping with the European Union’s tradition of helping people in need and, together with the wider international community, in responding to the impact of the crisis in Darfur, a decision was taken by the UN Security Council to seek the improvement of security for the people of Eastern Chad and North Eastern Central African Republic by the establishment of a multidimensional international presence which includes Operation EUFOR Tchad/RCA.
A highly complex military operation From the outset EUFOR Tchad/RCA was considered, and remains, a complex military operation in a challenging part of the world. The prospects of success were uncertain. Such were the requirements of the operation that during late 2007 a number of commentators indicated that “mission impossible” was a term best appropriate to describe EUFOR Tchad/RCA. These demands were and still are considerable. The Chad/CAR/Sudan region is volatile, unpredictable and extremely hard to assess primarily arising from a complicated longlasting crisis in the Darfur region. To-date, EUFOR has faced no small amount of difficulties achieving ambitious objectives. There is no doubt there will be other difficulties in the future.
How to translate political will into military action As it’s operational commander it was, and is, my task to translate diplomatic and political policy into military action, this has involved: • Creating EUFOR’s visibility and presence on the ground which required an unprecedented logistical deployment into a remote, vast and inhospitable area of operations in the
Daily contact to the population.
Lieutenant General Patrick Nash Operation Commander EUFOR CHAD/RCA Graduate of the Irish Defence Forces Command and Staff. Home Service Experience: Lieutenant General Pat Nash was commissioned into the Cavalry Corps in Sept 1966. On promotion to Colonel in June 2000 he was appointed Director of Defence Forces Administration. Brigadier General in Jan. In 2005 Patrick Nash took up the appointment as Deputy Chief Operations. Overseas Service Experience: Wide range in oversea with United Nations Forces, and EU Monitoring Mission in the Western Balkans. Cyprus in 1967. Company Commander (UNIFIL) in Lebanon in 1983 and Operations Officer UNIFIL in 1992. In 1996 Headquarters of the EU Monitoring Mission in the Western Balkans. In 1999 Battalion Commander in UNIFIL.
heart of Africa. At the operations launch nine months ago, I spoke of having to climb a “Logistical Everest”, well, it has been climbed. This involved 9 sea moves, 1,500 containers, 540 strategic flights, 150 vehicle convoys (distance of over 2,00 kms), 365 aviation transport flights. • The construction of infrastructure from “brown-field” sites to finished camps involved a huge programme of building. Overall EUFOR has to-date completed 6 camps including 4 with a capacity for 600 personnel and one with a capacity for 2,000 personnel. • The deployment of EUFOR Tchad/RCA as the largest, most multinational EU operation in Africa to-date, has had to overcome difficulties in order to become operational while still deploying. Despite delays caused by the rebel attack on the Chadian capital N’Djamena in late January/early February 08, EUFOR Tchad/RCA successfully reached Initial Operational Capability (IOC) on the 15 March 2008. • Getting a force and getting that force on the ground only has relevance if you get results from it. EUFOR’s performance of its key military tasks in achieving on-ground effects to provide a safe and secure environment in its area of operations has continued to improve as forces and assets arrived and as it built on our knowledge of the area of operations. EUFOR has established its legitimacy and efficiency in peoples’ minds by its work rate, particularly the every day patrolling and liaison work and by its responsiveness and capability. Any act of violence against the humanitarian community is an indication of the breakdown of the rule of
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