Page 26 - Chiron 2024

Op HALLEX
to learn, keeping up well with the intense course, and especially enjoyed any practical training.
They looked after their instructors well, occasionally hosting them
for “special tea” including local delicacies such as samosas, beef pilau, pakora, jalebi, and Kashmiri chai. Keen to make the most of their time in Islamabad, the British MWD team went on a few cultural visits, including to the Pakistan Monument and Faisal Mosque. Overall, despite certain challenges, it was a good operational experience for all those deployed.
AES MWD SHORT TERM TRAINING TEAM
LCpl Bethan Pritchard
In September of 2023 I was fortunate to be selected for the team of
five personnel from 1st Military Working Dog Regiment, three MWD Trainers, one Veterinary Nurse and one Veterinary Officer, deployed
to Pakistan under Operation Hallex. The overarching aim of the
VETERINARY SHORT TERM TRAINING TEAM Capt Lucy Gimson
1st MWD Regt has sent a small team of dog trainers to Pakistan for the last ten years on Op HALLEX. This is to train Arms and Explosives Search (AES) Dogs and Pakistani Military (Pak Mil) soldiers as AES handlers understanding the principles of MWD training. For the first time
in September 2023, a veterinary training team, Capt Lucy Gimson, and LCpl Bethan Hire, was deployed alongside the MWD trainers to enhance the veterinary capability of Pak Mil Veterinary Technicians (VTs) and Veterinary Officers (VOs) over six weeks.
The VT course was delivered
at the Army Canine Centre (ACC) Rawalpindi to mostly NCO students with a few Pakistani VOs who also supported as translators. It was challenging to quickly develop a
course around Pak Mil protocols and capability, trying to accommodate for a range of students from those with no clinical experience to veterinary surgeons.
Initially, basic material such
as physical examination of the
dog, kennel management and preventative medicine (vaccination and parasite control) was covered. The course then advanced to cover fundamentals of haematology
and biochemistry, medication management, anaesthesia, surgical patient preparation, intravenous fluid therapy, anatomy, imaging, dentistry, and wound management.
Week five covered Pre-Veterinary Emergency Care and students demonstrated their new skills through individual scenarios of a canine casualty at the end of the week. Week six concluded the course with revision, theory, and practical assessments.
The students were enthusiastic
24 / Chiron Calling