Need to speak with someone in the Irish Military

Are you looking for a soldier in the Irish forces or an Irish soldier in the British forces, or does it not matter?

Nuwanda said:

Specifically the Royal Irish Regiment if I could.

Click to expand...

RIR is a British regiment - NOT an Irish one despite what the name may suggest - comprised of soldiers from Northern Ireland (some of whom identify as british, some as irish, although the RIR is primarily british NI - may be confusing, but in northern ireland you are able to chose your nationality as a result of the St Andrews/Good Friday agreement and can hold two passports)

RIR is made up of two sections - general service and reserves.

What exactly is it that you are looking to find out? Is it about army life in general?or something specific about processes etc?

Nuwanda said:

Sorry for the late response! This is really good information, thank you. Yes I'm looking for how basic training is done, what sort of medals a soldier would receive, rankings he might have and what involvement RIR sharp shooters may have had in Operation Telic.

I do have a friend that is British but fought with the Irish Military during the Troubles and I'm hesitant to ask him. Mostly because of the time frame being off by decades but he's also indicated that the subject is difficult. So any suggestions on approaching the subject with him would be helpful as well.

Click to expand...

I can't help with your questions, sorry, but I felt I ought to point out that your use of "Irish Military" in the thread title and in this post is confusing. I think most people understand "Irish Military" to mean the armed forces of Ireland, while it seems you are asking about a unit of the British Army. You might want to clear that up.

There is plenty of books written by former UK soldiers on the market, and there have been quite a few TV documentaries made too.
I don't know what war you are planning on having the soldier you mention return from, but I would suggest you try to find a book either written by or about a soldier of that war.
If it was me, I would first decide what I needed the MC to have experienced, and then tried to find out what role in the British Army would have given him that experience. From reading quite a lot of books written by soldiers, and about military history, I think you should have few problems finding what you need. Be aware that the Irish Regiment may not have been part of the conflict you need to suit your book. You should be able to find an order of battle online. Is there a special reason it has to be that regiment?

There's always the Irish Guards
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Guards

Very much part of the British Army. Part of the elite Guards Division who do a lot of the major ceremonial events such as Trooping the Colour.

There was an operation medal for Operation Telic, beyond that your character would not necessarily have received anything else unless he did something worthy of recognition.
The British Army rank structure is here: http://www.army.mod.uk/structure/32321.aspx
Plenty of ordinary soldiers don't advance in rank even if they have specialist skills such as sharp shooter.

AFAIK there is no specific award for markmanship. There was a recent article about a Royal Marine sniper but it did not mention any awards he held.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...-Royal-Marine-is-worlds-deadliest-sniper.html

Victoria Cross is rarely awarded and every award very big news. A significant proportion of the awards are posthumous