A farewell to clothes? Union says Irish soldiers need more uniforms, scrounge from comrades
DUBLIN – Legend has it that Celtic warriors once charged into battle naked. Things aren’t that bad in the modern Irish army, but its union chief says soldiers must wage a daily battle for uniforms.
Mark Scally says the difficulty of finding clothes that fit has become so dire that, before the state funeral of a former prime minister this year, soldiers had to scramble to borrow colleagues’ uniforms, switching labels and rank badges to assemble an honour guard. He says some soldiers wait more than a year to receive a properly tailored “No. 1” uniform for ceremonial duties.
“It’s a disgrace,” said Scally, president of the union that represents 8,500 members of the Irish Defence Forces.
The commander, Lt. Gen. Conor O’Boyle, said Thursday he hadn’t been informed of any problem.
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