Page 6 - RADC 2016

MILITARY MATTERS
LCpl Charlie London
“When I was told I had the opportunity to go on exercise to Kenya with 2 Med Regt without a second thought I asked ‘When are we leaving?’
On arrival at LAB(E) I was teamed up with Major Gibbs and Corporal Gurung to join HOC 3 who were travelling north towards Samburu province. As soon as we left the tarmac roads on the 2-day ride to our rst location the back of a Troop Carrying Vehicle (TCV) I ended up on the most uncomfortable roller coaster I have ever been on! This journey came with its complications when the water bowser became lodged in the middle of a wadi leading to an unexpected overnight stay shared with my worst nightmare of snakes and plenty of spiders.
We set up the HOC in four locations with a mixture of tents and the local clinics hard standing. The dental team was lucky enough to always be given a room to work
in rather than one of the tents. In each
of the locations my main role was as a dental nurse, assisting in the hundreds of extractions we carried out and giving oral health education
to the hundreds of
locals who attended
daily. When the
opportunities arose
I stepped out of
my main role and
assisted the British
and Kenyan medical
staff in bringing babies
into the world, helping in minor surgical procedures and taking patient observations.
Three weeks later we returned to the smooth delights of tarmac roads and returned to LAB(E) where the arduous process of re-packing the dental modules started with the promise of couple of days
of adventurous training making the process seem easier than it was. I went to Savage Wilderness and took part white water rafting, Rock climbing and paddle boarding it was a
Working with
2 Medical Regiment was a great opportunity...
great experience. Ex Askari Serpent
was my rst deployment since joining the RADC in 2015 and I never of thought I would have this opportunity within my rst year. Working with 2 Medical
Regiment was a great opportunity to get to know new people. It was de nitely not a holiday; long working days in temperatures that reached close to 49 degrees led to plenty of very sweaty faces! If I was asked to do it again without hesitation, I’d be delighted.”
Exercise Askari Serpent 2016
4 RADC BULLETIN 2016