Analysis: it is more than timely that an independent group examines Ireland's Defence Forces, although its remit is not to delve too deeply Buried amidst the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, the Cabinet quietly agreed on December 15th to establish an independent commission on the Defence Forces. This completes a promise from the June programme for government and comes at a time when the role of the Defence Forces in mobilising against the pandemic has been hugely appreciated. Yet fighting diseases is not the essence of what armies, navies and airforces do. Their job is to defend any state from viol...