Page 137 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
“I was posted to the War Dog Training Unit in Sennelager in the early 1960s. There were two Chief Officers in charge of the mostly Yugoslav MSOs, one was called Duric and was based at Schlangen. Whenever the MSOs were on parade with their dogs at WDTU, they would bring their meal with them. This consisted of soup and nice lumps of fatty pork. As the MSOs walked with short steps, their dogs had to comply. I became quite friendly with many of them and Duric thought it fun to teach me a few words of Yugoslav, needless to say some of the words were not in best taste which often brought about some laughter among those present.”25
Other stalwarts of the MSO which made it so successful for the RAVC included, Assistant Superintendent Charles Wolinski. He was born on 16th September 1953 in Lehrte near Hanover to a Polish father and German mother. Wolinski, whose father had been a Polish soldier who remained in Germany after the Second World War, became a member of the Defence Unit MSO in 1969 serving in numerous detachments, during which time his excellent qualities as a dog trainer, instructor, administrator and manager earned him promotion from Dog handler to Superintendent.
Charles Wolinski’s natural ability and personal preference to pass on his expertise in dog handling skills led him to relinquish his appointment as Superintendent to become Assistant Super- intendent Training so that he could involve himself once more in managing a small team of instructors to produce high quality dog handlers. His personal conduct, turnout and dedication was an example that he could be justly proud of. His high standards served as a measure of profession- alism that many seek to achieve but rarely attain. In 1989 Charlie Wolinski was awarded his twenty year service badge in recognition of his loyal and dedicated service to the British Army on the Rhine.
Training Superintendent Wolinski said in a written testimony: “These men from Poland and Serbia made a deep impression on everyone who ever had the privilege of serving with them. Their ethos and traditions are not forgotten. Thank you to all the RAVC Officers, WOs, NCOs, soldiers from the HQ WDTU – 1 ADTU, DASU RAVC Sennelager. You were all great people for the MSO stationed with the British Army of the Rhine. RAVC members – Our respect, we salute you all.”26
Brigadier Andrew Warde added to this in his oral testimony of 2018: “The MSO RAVC, worked really well and was valuable though only short lived.”27
The MSO was replaced by the Germany Guard Service (GGS) and was organised under
agreements between the UK and German authorities – its origins of the organisation dating as far back as the 1950s in the Northern Rhine and Lower Saxony areas. The GGS was a direct support to the British Forces Germany Garrison Security mission. British Forces Germany (BFG) is the name for British Armed Forces Service personnel and civilians based in Germany. It was first established following the Second World War as the BAOR. Although much smaller than the BAOR, BFG is still the largest concentration of British Armed Forces permanently stationed outside the United Kingdom.
The end of the Cold War and the Options for Change Defence review in the early 1990s, resulted in a considerable reduction in the BFG. Since the 1990s, the British presence has centred on the 1st (UK) Armoured Division and supporting elements. BFG is concentrated in North RhineW- estphalia and Lower Saxony.
The concept of the GGS from the beginning was to employ local civilian volunteers in performing armed security functions alongside British Forces. The GGS has been in service for decades, it is a civilian volunteer paramilitary (as defined under German Laws) security force responsible for providing security for BFG garrisons in Germany. Hiring of GGS personnel is the responsibility of the Garrison Labour Support Unit which supports all major UK Forces’ garrisons within Germany. All GGS personnel are subject to in-depth vetting and receive local clearance once hired.
The GGS receives formal training by MOD (Army) and MOD Police force instructors. The initial three week qualification course is held at Sennelager and Paderborn garrison, Germany. This course prepares personnel for their duties by qualifying in knowledge of UK Army standard operating procedures regarding the following areas: anti-terrorism measures, weapons qualifi- cation, communications, security procedures, use of force, self-defence techniques, access control, security systems monitoring, the GGS professional development programme, driver qualifications, Command structure and integration with Army security and Royal Military Police operations, as well as general orders, authority, and uniform in the garrison environment.
GGS primary duties include access and badge control, vehicle searches, static security, roving foot and vehicle patrols, surveillance detection, CCTV and alarm systems monitoring, security checks, as well as acting as quasi interpreters by
25 Chiron Calling ‘Letter to the Editor’ by H J Dobree Autumn 2018.
26 The above information was kindly supplied by Training Superintendent Charles Wolinski by written testimony dated 26th February 2018.
27 Oral testimony of Brigadier (Retd) Andrew Warde CBE LRAVC dated 10th November 2018.
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