The Army Ranger Wing (ARW) (, "SFA") is the special operations force of the Irish Defence Forces, the military of Ireland. A branch of the Irish Army, it also selects personnel from the Naval Service and Air Corps. It serves at the behest of the Defence Forces and Government of Ireland, operating internally and overseas, and reports directly to the Chief of Staff. The ARW was established in 1980 with the primary role of counter terrorism and evolved to both special operations and counter terrorism roles from 2000 after the end of conflict in Northern Ireland. The unit is based in the Curragh Camp, County Kildare. The 2015 White Paper on Defence announced that the strength of the ARW would be considerably increased due to operational requirements at home and overseas. The unit has served abroad in a number of international peacekeeping and peace enforcement missions including in Somalia, East Timor, Liberia, Chad, and Mali. The ARW trains with special forces units around the world, particularly in Europe. The ARW in its domestic counter terrorism role trains and deploys with the Garda Síochána (national police) specialist armed intervention unit, the Emergency Response Unit (ERU). Roles The Army Ranger Wing roles are divided between wartime special operations ("Green Role") and anti-terrorism ("Black Role"), the latter known formally as military Aid to the Civil Power (ATCP): Military tasks (Green Role) Offensive operations behind enemy lines securing of vital objectives long-range reconnaissance patrol (LRRP) razzias (raids) ambushes sabotage capture of key personnel diversionary operations intelligence gathering Defensive operations VIP protection counter-insurgency training in and conduct of specialist operations delay operations Aid to the civil power tasks (Black Role) anti-hijack operations hostage rescue operations airborne and seaborne interventions search operations - specialist tasks on land or sea pursuit operations recapture of terrorist-held objectives VIP security operations/close protection of VIPs contingency planning to counter terrorist/subversive threats History In the late 1960s, the Defence Forces established 'Special Assault Groups' (SAG) in the Army to meet security challenges on the border with Northern Ireland. A number of Army officers attended the United States Army Ranger School in Fort Benning, Georgia who returned to conduct Army Ranger courses in Ireland with the first held in 1969. Among its founding officers was later-to-be Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Dermot Earley. Special Assault Groups were formed comprising 40 Rangers trained in all arms, engineering and ordnance techniques. By the mid