Page 228 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
CHAPTER 14
Exercises and Expeditions: Battle Ready
British Army personnel participate in various Exercises and Expeditions in order to test the skills, capabilities and mettle of the soldiers. For the RAVC the test is for the Military Working Animals (MWAs) too. No matter the location, climate, or terrain, an Exercise is always about the employment of military resources in training for Operations – by exploring the effects of warfare, testing strategies and tactics, equipment and the soldiers themselves, without engaging in actual combat. This also, most importantly, ensures the combat readiness of garrisoned or deployable forces.
In recent history, Exercises have often been identified by a unique codename, in the same manner as military contingency operations and combat operations. The names often seem arbitrary, even ironic, but they do follow a pattern of sorts. For instance, Operation EXOTIC was an SAS escape and evasion exercise held in the jungles of Malaya where Tracker dogs were successfully utilised.1 Often the best or the worst of the experience is reflected in the ‘code’: Think... Op MOUNTAIN GOAT, Ex MAD DOG ARCTIC, and Op IMODIUM, for the not-so-cryptic clue on the can!
In this chapter we look at a selection of the Exercises and Expeditions that took place from 1962 to the present day, with many first-hand accounts providing the scratch-and-sniff, full-bodied, honest flavour of the experience.
1960s:
One of the earliest Exercises during the period covered in this volume took place in East Africa in the summer of 1962.
Exercise ROYAL CHARTER was conducted alongside the 7th Infantry Brigade of the King’s African Rifles who were utilising pack ponies to transport their kit around the bush.2
However, the most testing of the non-combat operations of that decade, that involved pack animals, must have been the Great Abbai
Expedition in 1968. The object of the expedition was to scientifically explore the Upper Reaches of the Blue Nile, which meant navigating a geography that comprised a harsh environment and unforgiving terrain with poor transport and few proper roads. Pack animals were the only possible way of moving supplies and so muleteers and a veterinary surgeon were recruited to manage and care for the animals.
Captain Keith Morgan-Jones RAVC was appointed Veterinary Officer for the expedition but instead of finding himself tending a pack of mules, the only available beasts of burden available to buy locally turned out to be a coffle of twelve doughty donkeys. Pack saddles were provided by HQ Squadron Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) alongside seven muleteers: four British and three Ethiopian. A one-way trip of 80 miles (128km) was required to supply the main base and it was clear from the start that the journey was going to be tough on man and beast. Not only did they have to negotiate the thick bush and steep terrain but also the fording of numerous tributaries of the Nile. The first 40 miles (64km) took ten days to cover.
Along the way Captain Morgan-Jones’s skills were called on to treat local cows and goats and this presented an opportunity to collect animal ectoparasites (such as fleas that live off a host animal or human)3 and conduct scientific experiments such as testing the effectiveness of military insect repellents.
The experience is best re-lived through Captain Morgan-Jones’s colourful contribution to the Corps’ Journal:
Veterinary Contribution to the Great Abbai Expe- dition 1968.
Readers of the Daily Telegraph will be conversant with most of the exploits of the Great Abbai Expedition. To refresh or enlighten you as to its aim; this was to navigate the Nile from the central lake of Ethiopia, Lake Tana, down to the Sudan border. At the same time, a zoological survey was
1 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 40 (Supplement) Spring 1969.
2 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 33 No2 Autumn 1962.
3 A/BR 2105: AVR Expeditions and Exercises dated November 1967 – February 1974.
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