Ireland's Elite Special Forces: Irish Army Ranger Wing (ARW)

This is a video of Ireland's Military Special Operations Forces.

The Irish Defence Forces - the armed forces of the Republic of Ireland - encompass the Army, Air Corps, Naval Service and the Reserve Defence Force. The Defence Forces boast a total strength of 25,000 (active and reserve).

The elite Irish Army Ranger Wing (ARW) ("Sciathán Fiannóglaigh an Airm") are based in the Curragh Camp in County Kildare. The unit variably consists of 200 soldiers, and although relatively small they are one of Europe's most trusted 'Spec Ops' groups. The Army Ranger Wing (ARW) was set-up in the late 1960's with the help of the United States military, but did not become an official entity until 1980.

The Army Rangers are experts in land, air and sea combat and train closely with a number of internationally recognised units. They exercise in countries such as the United States of America (Delta Force, Army Rangers & Navy SEALs), United Kingdom (SAS & SBS), Canada (JTF2 & CSOR), France (RAID & GIGN), Germany (GSG 9), Italy (GIS & COMSUBIN), Sweden (SSG/SOG), Dutch (UIM), Poland (GROM), Australia (SAS) and New Zealand (SAS).

The ARW work closely with Ireland's Specialist Police Unit, the Garda Emergency Response Unit (ERU). The two taskforces have a history in dealing with the Irish republican paramilitary and terrorist organisations, namely the new 'IRA' dissident groupings. For more information on the Garda ERU, please watch this video:    • Видео  

The Rangers conduct missions at home under their 'Black Role', and under their 'Green Role' overseas. Although their domestic involvement in Ireland remains secret, they have been officially deployed under the umbrellas of NATO (Partnership for Peace), the United Nations and the European Union. These include 'peacekeeping' engagements in Western Sahara, Somalia, Eritrea, Liberia, Central African Republic, Chad, Lebanon, West Timor (Indonesia) & East Timor ('Timor-Leste'), Cyprus, Croatia, Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The ARW are also credited with limited involvement in the Sinai Desert (Egypt & Israel), the Iran-Iraq border and in the DR Congo. Generally their deployments are part of a larger contingent, either from Ireland or international forces.

The Irish Air Corps provide support from the air to the Rangers.

The Irish Navy also have a specialist underwater diving team known as the Naval Service Diving Section (featured in this video alongside Navy Interdiction & Boarding Parties), who assist the Rangers in combat diving and other maritime activities.

The Defence Forces ARW act on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance conducted by the the DF (G2) Directorate of Intelligence (Military Intelligence Agency) and the Garda (CSB) Crime and Security Branch (Police Intelligence Agency). The G2 is found in Kildare, and the CSB is based in Dublin City.
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Every effort has been made to protect the identity of soldiers in this video. It is paramount to the safety of these people that their identity remains unknown, particularly those in the ARW who are a highly secretive unit, and who already avail of anonymity laws in the media.

I do not claim to own these images, they are being used for creative/educational purposes. The song is by 'John Walsh', called 'A Life Less Ordinary' (The Orchard Music Company). It is not the intention to infringe any copyright laws.

This channel is an unofficial and independent tribute to An Garda Síochána and the Irish Defence Forces. Views and opinions expressed on the channel and on its videos are those of the authors themselves, and do not necessarily reflect those of either organisation.

Any comments deemed to be threatening, abusive, offensive, insulting and/or found to compromise the safety of others will be removed and if necessary reported to the relevant authorities.

All questions will be answered.

Enjoy!

Video: DF Magazine (Defence Forces Ireland)