Page 194 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
There was one challenge that became highly revered by dog handlers. As previously mentioned, Major Phil Hobson (the longest serving OC of ADU NI RAVC) commanded the ADU in the late 1990s. Rising from being one the Unit’s first handlers he achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and earned a BEM and MBE for his Services and it was Major Phil Hobson who prompted, along with the HQ NI Scientific Advisory Department (SCIAD) and Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA),36 a series of experimental trials called “Ex HOBSON’s CHOICE”. The trials were conducted mainly in Kirkcudbright in Scotland on an MoD site that offered the perfect space and environment for the emplacement of long term ‘hides’, ideal for training scenarios based on the conditions in NI, but not hampered by the constraints of Operational actions. The series of trials, over several years during the 1990s, proved the ability of all handlers and their dogs to work in various conditions with both large and small quantities of all and any of the new explosives. The metrics of effectiveness bolstered the confidence of everyone involved. Wherever there was a minor shortfall – particularly linked with search related training aids – the trials did much to prompt the first edition of training kits which are now widely and routinely used by all Services in the UK today.
The safe handling of explosives for training purposes was always of massive concern for the ADU NI, and so Project PACORUS (circa 2000) was launched in response to the rising demand for adherence to regulations covering their control. For the RAVC this affected the need to realisti- cally simulate long-term hides for search dog training, with minimal disturbance on the hidden training aid or explosives. It was the incumbent OC, Major Melissa Bowerman, who requested the development of an alarm system to enable remote hides to be positioned around military sites. The system was installed by the Unit and members of SCIAD. It consisted of a base station and ‘REBRO’ Units which sounded an alarm if a hide was tampered with. There were advantages and drawbacks to the system, but it accomplished what was required to appease ‘the powers that be’ – that the Unit was complying with the rules and regulations.
The Project didn’t eliminate the dangers to handlers holding explosives for training purposes, that remained a very real concern, but then so did everything about the daily deployment of
Army dogs in the Province. Throughout their tour handlers, and dogs, faced a range of dangers presented by terrorists and that is precisely why every handler worth their salt had training aids available for use either from their own personal source or from others. Handlers were not concerned about their careers or the implications of holding additional training aids; they simply wanted to stay alive.
Dispensation was granted for realistic operational hides to be concealed, provided that they could be discreetly checked to ensure no tampering. It was imperative for training to reflect the operational situation likely to be encountered in NI, anything other: “...exhibited meagre leadership”, quoted one unnamed OC. It was a Brigade Sergeant, who once remarked regarding ‘finds’: “far more important was not to have a ‘miss’, when searching, as opposed to wanting to have a ‘find’.”37 A sentiment that will forever ring true.
The correct handling of Army equipment is a life-saving factor for any soldier on Operations. So, an additional task of the TDI and Infantry Brigade Sergeants was to instruct Units in the correct use and deployment of Army dogs. This had to take place during pre-deployment training at Northern Ireland Training Advisory Team (NITAT) located at Lydd and Hythe, and at Sennelager’s “Tin City”. Purpose-built in the 1980s as a replica of Ulster, this mock-up town in Germany – correctly termed the Specialist Operations Training and Advisory Team (SOTAT), provided the perfect environment for training in close combat skills in urban warfare. The facility, which closed in May 1998, was home to a number of RAVC Junior NCOs who used Tin City to brief Roulement units on the correct use of dogs on Operations in NI. The first RAVC Dog Trainer Sgt to be posted to NITAT in Hythe to assist with training was Sgt Norris in May 1974. Later the NITAT designation was changed to Operational Training Advisory Group (OPTAG) which retained the RAVC presence, ensuring Military Working Dog capabilities were still taught on pre-deployment. Further training was conducted on NIRTT courses at Ballykinler by RAVC personnel.
It’s a fact that any new high-tech equipment never fails to be a potent lure for troops and, for a dog unit, that feeds the need to promote the ‘low-tech’, four-legged solution and its distinct advantages. Pamphlets, Aide Memoires,
36 DERA was part of the UK MOD between 1995 and 2nd July 2001, it was regarded by its official history a ‘jewel in the crown’ of both government and in- dustry. Wikipedia.
37 Oral testimony from Ex RAVC WO1 (RSM), Mr Andy Pedlar dated 15th October 2020.
186