Page 56 - RADC Bulletin 2019

Temporary Duty in Gibraltar
LCpl Lorraine Williams RADC
‘I am pleased to tell you that as part of a recent trawl you have successfully been selected to go and work temporary duties in Gibraltar for three weeks’ said SSgt Bridgeford. This was possibly the best news I have had since joining the RADC and a bonus Christmas present as I got to spend three weeks in the sun just after Christmas leave. This was a rare and exciting opportunity that gave me the opportunity to work within a Naval dental team. This was my first exposure to a true Joint Service Command, with Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force personnel, as well as UK-Based and Locally Employed Civilians, all working together.
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory, on Spain’s south coast, and it is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, a 426m high limestone ridge. Devil’s Tower Camp is a British military base and is home to various armed forces, including the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, and the Rock lies directly behind camp.
The dental team comprised of Practice Manager Leading Hand Cheetham and Senior Dental Officer Surgeon Commander Dean, both Royal Navy. I was made to feel welcome from the time I stepped off the
plane at Gibraltar Airport until the end of my three weeks there.
My first day at work was a little different than my normal working day. ‘How do you feel about working with children?’ said Commander Dean. I was really looking forward to this new challenging experience as children can be so unpredictable and nervous at the dentist, so it put my nurture skills to test! ‘Think of the chair like a
rocket it can do lots of cool things’ said Commander Dean. The dentist was good with them as he let them be in control and pretended that the chair was a rocket and they could press all the buttons, the kids loved it!! Most importantly it made the kids have a nice memory of the dentist. As Devil’s Tower camp is joint service command I was fortunate to have had the chance of treating children of the service personnel, this is something I have never done before. I took on the challenge openly and lucky enough they were all well behaved. Turns out I’m good with children as I think I’m still on their level half the time!
‘HMS Ambush is coming to dock and there will be an opportunity to go on board and have a look around, is this something
you would be interested in?’ said Leading Hand Cheetham. She was keen for me to see what it is like to live and work on board a submarine and arranged a visit with the Chief Petty Officer Medic. ‘Absolutely’ I said, what a fantastic opportunity this was as I had never even seen a submarine before
let alone been in one! It was a nice gesture from the crew as we had to treat some of them as they had been onboard for months and were out of date for their inspection, so it was important to get them dentally fit before they went back under water for at least another 6 months! I was excited to
go on board a working submarine, as it’s not an everyday thing you do in work! I was shown where they eat, sleep and how they operate the submarine. It is very compact and claustrophobic, not something that I would like to do so I have total admiration for the crew. An interesting fact about submarine life is that the only way they know what day it is when on board is by what meals they get served. There is a small area for exercise with one bike and a few bits of exercise equipment, but they are limited as to when they can use them as it can cause vibrations in the sea. The main attraction for
54 RADC BULLETIN 2019
OVERSEAS ASSIGNMENTS