Coastguard 01 brings Admiral Allen for visit to Ireland

US Coastguard Gulfstream Aerospace C-37A was heard climbing out westbound on the radio this morning using it's usual callsign C101. The aircraft had brought Admiral Thad W. Allen to Ireland for a courtesy visit to meet with his Irish counterpart, Chris Reynolds, Director of the Irish Coast Guard.

As part of the visit, Admiral Allen visited Howth yesterday where he met with volunteers of the Irish Coast Guard. Also in attendance were Julie O'Donnell Secretary General of the DoT, Colin Murray, Officer in Charge, Howth Coast Guard and Rupert Jeffers, Operations Manager of Howth RNLI.

Admiral Allen has been in charge of the USCG since 2006 and as such is responsible for the largest component of Homeland Security comprising 42,000 active personnel, 7,000 civilians, 8,000 reservists and 34,000 volunteers. Paradoxically, Admiral Allen comes from the land locked state of Arizona.

To be confirmed, it is assumed that Coast Guard 01 landed and departed from Baldonnel. The aircraft has visited Shannon on several occassions in recent years.

Posted 090501