LIEUT GEN Gerry McMahon, one of the most outspoken and high-profile of chiefs-of-staff of the Permanent Defence Forces, was presented with the Distinguished Service Medal yesterday on the even eve of his retirement.
The Chief-of-Staff, who has overseen a period of major reorganisation in the Defence Forces and had to contend with the adverse publicity surrounding the hearing claims affair, spent his last day in service with members of the cadet class he joined in 1953.
His service has spanned almost the entire period of Defence Forces service with the United Nations, and his first UN service was in the Congo in 1962 after his commissioning into the infantry.
He held a number of senior UN posts before being appointed Chief-of-Staff in February 1995 in succession to Lieut Gen Noel Bergin, the officer who is seen as having started the modernising and reorganising movement in the Defence Forces.
This trend is expected to continue under the stewardship of the new Chief-of-Staff, Lieut Gen Dave Stapleton, who was a founding member of the officers' staff association, RACO (Representative Association for Commissioner Officers).
The last year has been a difficult time for Defence Forces management who have had to contend with massively adverse publicity over compensation claims by about a quarter of the forces for alleged hearing damage. Lieut Gen McMahon said the affair was having a devastating effect on morale among the remainder of the force.
He has been a strong advocate of an increased peacekeeping role for the Defence Forces under NATO's umbrella, recognising the fact that there are unlikely to be any large-scale UN peace operations again. Under his director direction the 80-strong military police force was assembled and sent to former Yugoslavia to serve with Sfor (Stability Force) under NATO control, once Government gave approval.
Lieut Gen McMahon also made history when he became the first head of the Permanent Defence Forces to inspect a British army parade in London. On August 10th he was greeted in Irish by a senior Scots Guards officer and inspected a parade of guardsmen while a band played When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.