One of the men accused of trying to kill a police officer in Co Fermanagh was in the process of being dismissed by the Irish Army Reserve Defence Force.
Gerard James McManus, 26, from Fern Hill in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempting to murder the trainee officer.
Mr McManus allegedly discharged his weapon as he fled from the home of the student officer in the border village of Garrison in Co Fermanagh when plain clothes officers arrived on Saturday night.
An Irish Army spokesperson said Gerard McManus had joined the Irish Reserve Defence Force in 2000, and was a member of the Carndonagh unit in Co Donegal.
Mr McManus had not shown up for parade duties or taken part in any training for the last two years, he said.
The process to have Mr McManus discharged was completed on Tuesday.
Mr McManus appeared in court along with his co-accused, Kevin Barry Nolan, 32.
As well as the attempted murder charge McManus and Nolan, from Main Street, Black Lion, Co Cavan, also face counts of possessing a weapon and ammunition with intent to endanger life.
Resisting arrest
McManus is additionally charged with using a firearm to resist arrest.
Police Detective Sergeant Ronnie Gibson told District Judge Bernie Kelly that he could connect both men with all of the charges.
Both were remanded in custody to appear via videolink at Enniskillen Magistrates' Court next month.
Within an hour of the alleged murder bid in Garrison, a 400lb car bomb was abandoned at the headquarters of the Northern Ireland Policing Board in Belfast.
But the explosives failed to detonate.
Both incidents have been blamed on dissident republicans opposed to the peace process.
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