Page 187 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
on every street corner, near drain pipes, and walls and on top of buildings – it was all around, all of the time giving the military good reason for being on permanent high alert. In the early evening of 13th July 1992 an AES team, comprising of a Regimental E2 handler and AES dog OC45 ‘Res’, were deployed from Palace Barracks, Holywood, to the Markets area of Belfast. The team was tasked to carry out an area search which included a section of the main Belfast to Dublin railway tracks and other outlying areas. Approximately 50 metres before the Ormeau Road bridge, that crossed over the rail tracks, Res indicated on a device. The booby-trapped IED exploded beneath him, killing him instantly. His handler LCpl Steve Crump RAOC was blown off his feet but survived. Undoubtedly Res’s actions that evening saved the life of his handler and potentially prevented serious injury to members of the infantry who were acting as cover.
AES dog teams deployed daily on a range of diverse operations including high-risk searches where the team operated closely with RE (Royal Engineers) teams. More often than not, they were on lower-risk searches with Unit teams providing a visible deterrent. In the early 1980s handlers routinely worked their Search dogs morning and evening at variable times, always bearing in mind the movements of barriers that closed-off or disconnected portions of Belfast. Divis Flats, a local ‘hot spot’ for trouble saw Army dogs probing filthy stair wells and landings within the sprawling grey complex of twelve 8-storey blocks of terraced flats which sat beneath a single central Tower block. Built in 1966, as a modern solution to the long-standing housing problem in West Belfast, the estate’s close confines and shadowy walkways provided the perfect cover for terrorist activities. The dogs searched for and found IEDs that were often camouflaged in drainage pipes and human detritus. It was something the handlers quickly got used to as part of their everyday duty while trusting their dog to bring them both safely back to barracks.
The horrors of searching the Divis Flats were only slightly offset by ‘Bomb watch’ at Christmas in Belfast. During the early 1980s this was a very respectable and relatively enviable task searching the high street chain stores for incendiary devices just ahead of the shop doors closing for the holidays. Staff were always very grateful to the dog teams for these visits and the handlers were shown heaps of admiration and lots of attention
22 ‘The Operational Use of Dogs in Northern Ireland’ dated October 1986.
which was appreciated. There was mutual admiration for the staff as they too put their lives at risk simply by going into work every day. Attacks on business premises were becoming increasingly common especially when the Provisional IRA introduced the ‘cassette’ incendiary device which they used to great effect both on the UK mainland and in the Province. Small, easily concealed and manufactured from cheap, legally available components, the ‘cassette’ was usually planted (typically slipped into pockets in clothes shops) during normal trading hours and initiated eleven hours later. Many businesses were razed to the ground overnight.
The UDR had three Search dogs as well as one Patrol dog based at Steeple Barracks in Antrim, while Civilian patrolmen with Patrol dogs provided security at the Ordnance Supply Depot at Kinnegar and Massereene Barracks in the town. The Pioneer Dog Section, HQNI at Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn, was home to thirteen Patrol dogs, and a further six were based with the Resident Battalion at Holywood Barracks in County Down.
The Operational Use of Dogs in Northern Ireland Report (October 1986) confirmed that since the start of the Troubles AES and Trackers dogs had carried out over 118,000 tasks throughout the Province which had directly resulted in 227 arrests and the discovery of 16.5 tons of explosives, much of it in very small amounts, 518 weapons and 6600 rounds of ammunition. In addition to that, the dogs located numerous items of terrorist equipment and provided invaluable intelligence information.22
The true value of having a Guard dog as a deterrent was displayed for all to see at Steeple Barracks in Antrim in on 2nd September 1990 at 2200 hrs when a local radio station received a call stating that an attempt had been made by the IRA to breach security at the base, they didn’t mention why the terrorists had failed.
Earlier that day a planned search operation, had discovered a bergen packed with homemade explosives. Later, a second bergen was discovered giving forensic experts two devices and a wealth of evidence which quickly led to arrests. When questioned about their planned attack, the suspects admitted that they had been ‘frightened off ’ by an Army dog barking as they scaled a perimeter wall. That barking dog also alerted people at the base to the threat. Had the IRA been successful in planting a working device, it would have been devastating
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