Serving the country's needs

Armed Forces of Malta Commander Brigadier Carmel Vassallo believes regular recruitment and continuous training are a must for an efficient army. Michael Testa spoke to Brigadier Vassallo about the armed forces he has led since March 2004.

Topmost on Brigadier Vassallo's mind is the phenomenon of irregular immigration, that has had a big impact on the army in recent years. Since mid-2002, its personnel have had to carry out a vast amount of additional work manning detention centres and maintaining surveillance at sea.

Last year, a total of 1,822 irregular immigrants arrived in Malta, 1,300 of whom were rescued by the army's Maritime and Air Squadrons.

Among those rescued, Brigadier Vassallo recalled, were three immigrants who were clutching onto a tuna cage for life around 70 miles to the south of Malta and another two who were hanging desperately onto a capsized boat after their mates on board had been lost at sea.

The army commander acknowledged that irregular immigration had placed a big burden on the army and that the related duties had affected the army's other functions.

Almost half of the personnel in the Air Defence Battery, the Engineer Squadron and other units were shifted from their normal duties in order to contribute to the work made necessary by the presence of irregular immigrants.

"Soldiers were taken away from their normal army duties to do work at the detention centres. That is what the country needs at this point in time and the army is there to satisfy that need," he said.

New detention service corps

Brigadier Vassallo said it was hoped - and it appeared that this would eventually materialise - that this burden will be lifted from the shoulders of the army and police and these duties performed by other trained personnel.

He said 16 persons had already been recruited as part of a new corps that would take over the responsibility of the detention service in lieu of the army and police.

Retired soldiers had expressed interest in joining the detention service. It was envisaged that the personnel within this corps would be ex-army and police who, although of a certain age, had been enriched by their vast experience.

The AFM, the brigadier said, trained its personnel in matters related to irregular migration, with special reference to Malta's particular circumstances.

"It is also important to learn from your work and develop contact with the people in detention.

"This is a reality. But the fact that the new detention service will be manned by ex-police and army personnel should be very positive," he said.

Asked about whether more soldiers should be stationed at the Hal Far and Safi barracks to prevent further riots, Brigadier Vassallo said that even if the number of guards were tripled, it would make no difference as there were hundreds of immigrants at the detention centres.

When trouble started recently at the Safi barracks, there were more than 500 immigrants involved. Around 600 were at Lyster Barracks when some incidents took place there.

"It is worrying that people under detention can escape, but then one also has to keep in mind that the soldiers and police returned them to their compound peacefully."

Soldiers currently do guard duties with around 900 irregular immigrants in the two barracks. One also had to bear in mind that the immigrants were accommodated in different places within the compounds which made the situation even more difficult, he said.

Cost of detention

Brigadier Vassallo said the government's allocation to the army to pay for the cost of the immigrants' upkeep at detention centres had amounted to Lm350,000 this year. This was used to buy their food and maintain and keep the centres clean.

But it was felt that a bigger sum would be needed this year, he remarked.

One also had to keep in mind the cost of fuel and the surveillance work put in by the soldiers as well as their wages.

One might argue that the money spent on soldiers' wages would be spent just the same even if they were not working with immigrants.

This may be so, said the brigadier, but if soldiers were not given immigrant-related duties they would be engaged in core army duties that were beneficial for the country.

Need for regular recruitment

The head of the AFM said he was in favour of an automatic recruitment system - a regular call for applications at a certain time of the year. To keep the Armed Forces fresh, one had to inject new blood at all levels regularly, he argued.

It is also his view that the average age of personnel in the army should be reduced substantially. The average today is well over 30.

"The army should have the right mix of personnel, but it is important that the lower ranks such as the gunners are young, physically fit and adventure-loving. Having soldiers with such qualities would pose no limit as to what duties are assigned.

"Regular recruitment of young personnel needs to be laid down as a policy until the army reaches the desired level of manning. In this way the administration would be in a position to plan ahead," he said.

Brigadier Vassallo also expressed his strong belief in the value of training, insisting that this was of paramount importance for any army.

"Sometimes what the army manages to perform is close to a miracle; suffice to mention its role in the case of the immigrants...

"These small miracles can continue to take place as long as a certain level of training of army personnel is maintained. If the training level is reduced there will be difficulties," he believes.

Training in the aftermath of Safi

Brigadier Vassallo said the need for more training clearly emerged after the Safi incidents of January 2005.

"If you want an army that functions properly in an emergency, training must be given importance."

Asked about what action had been taken in the wake of the Depasquale report on those incidents, he said training in internal security has been stepped up considerably.

"This does not mean that internal security was ignored in the past, but circumstances arise from time to time in which this type of training has to be stepped up."

He explained that internal security training used to be performed regularly, and still is, by C Company. Due to other important commitments, other AFM units could not be trained in such duties on a regular basis.

"In fact, that was what emerged from the report. Where the C Company was concerned things ran smoothly but there were shortcomings in other areas."

The AFM had recently embarked on a vast programme of internal security and a large number of AFM personnel had attended training in recent months. The AFM's intention was to continue providing this training, he said.

The army also sought to gain experience from visiting warships by involving its men in training with foreign sailors. A couple of weeks ago a joint exercise was undertaken by Maritime Squadron patrol boats and two German Navy ships, whose crews carried out manoeuvres.

Training army personnel in the Maritime Squadron to cope with situations arising from the arrival of irregular immigrants was good but other training, such as manoeuvres and navigation at sea, also had to be performed from time to time, he maintained.

"There is no known enemy but a country must always be on its guard. Imagine what would happen if a force were not trained for such an eventuality. Training makes a big difference."

This was the impression he got when he recently visited Austrian troops on the invitation of the Austrian Chief of Defence. The visit gave him the opportunity to watch training in the mountains.

Peacekeeping

The AFM is concentrating on Malta's pledge to the international community to participate, through a 30-strong platoon, in a crisis management operations force under the auspices of the European Union. Such operations would provide disaster relief as well as assume humanitarian and rescue roles.

The AFM, said Brigadier Vassallo, had set up a Special Duties Company and was training its members so that when Malta decided to participate in some EU mission it would be adequately prepared and equipped to do so.

The AFM was now in the final stages of reaching an agreement with the Italian army to enable the Maltese platoon to operate within that army in this EU force. A 30-strong platoon could not operate on its own, as the UN stipulated that the smallest entity which can operate on its known should be a battalion of around 500 personnel.

"Some 100 army members are being provided with intensive training in Malta and personnel are being sent for training in Italy with the Italian Army, which has vast experience in peacekeeping."

Regular army complement

Asked about the army's complement, Brigadier Vassallo said the White Paper of 1997 had established that it should be of 2,149. The present complement was 1,580 personnel - well below the recommended manning level.

The AFM is currently in the process of recruiting more regular soldiers. Around 80 persons were interviewed last week after having successfully passed their examination to join the army.

Brigadier Vassallo said the AFM is currently conducting a review of the armed forces which envisages downsizing the proposed established complement of 2,149 by a small number.

There are a total of 40 women in the Maltese army. Two of them are officers, one having received her training at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst and the other with the Royal Navy, the first local female to do so.

A group of eight officer cadets, including a woman, are currently attending officer-cadet training. Soon there will be three women officers serving in the army.

The army's many roles

The role of the army in a small country like Malta is similar to those of armies in other countries: mainly to maintain security and the country's territorial integrity.

The main tasks are the maintenance of security at the airport, Maltese territorial waters including the Continental Shelf and the provision of search and rescue services.

The maritime role was assigned to the AFM when the first patrol boats arrived in Malta in April 1971. Another important role is bomb disposal, for which the AFM has UK-trained officers and NCOs.

Participating in EU-led crisis management operations is now also a major role of the AFM. Among the secondary roles are helping the civil authorities according to local exigencies or in an emergency.

The state ceremonial role is an important one, with the AFM Band playing a major part.

The army is also instrumental in giving assistance in civil protection matters or in a natural disaster, such as flooding, through its sub units like the Engineer Squadron of the Third Regiment.

The army's Revenue Security Corps, set up in 1987, provides security services to the government and commercial banks.

The AFM also incorporates the Reserve Force which consists of two categories.

One of them is for army personnel who terminate their service in the army but who are obliged to return to army service if they are recalled in the event of a national crisis until they reach 55 years of age.

The other is the Emergency Volunteer Reserve Force for which there was recently a call for applications. Thirty-three were received.

The target is to have 120 volunteer personnel but this number has not yet been reached. There are currently 32 volunteers who were deployed doing important tasks at the Commonwealth summit in Malta last November.

86 new recruits

So far, 240 irregular immigrants have landed in Malta this year, including a group of 20 last Wednesday. A total of 180 have already been repatriated, said Tony Abela, parliamentary secretary responsible for defence within the Office of the Prime Minister.

"Though the government does not favour irregular immigration, its policy is to treat such immigrants in a humane way and to provide all assistance at sea when this is requested and when AFM personnel deem it necessary.

"There were instances where action was taken against the will of the immigrants when this intervention was deemed to be for their own safety," he added.

Irregular immigration, he said, was "one of our biggest problems".

Referring to the second process to recruit personnel for the army, he said a total of 315 had applied, which was watered down to 195 after physical tests and to 86 after an examination. Training of the recruits will start in June.

He hoped that another call for recruits will be made within the year since it was the government's policy that by 2008 all personnel in the AFM aged 55 or over will have retired and new personnel recruited to fill the vacancies.

The AFM's contacts

The predecessors of the AFM, the Royal Malta Artillery, used to form part of the British Army until September 1970. When the Maltese army was set up, it was first named the Malta Land Force but this was changed to the Armed Forces of Malta to cover the various divisions as the army developed.

The links with the British Armed Forces were retained through Maltese personnel doing courses at a number of colleges in the UK.

Other links were established such as with the Italian forces primarily through the presence in Malta of the Italian Military Mission which supports the AFM in many ways.

The army has also developed sound relations with armies in other countries such as the US and Germany where practically all officials in the Maritime Squadron were trained.