Page 232 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
Secretary stated that: ‘Yes, Exercise Crusader was very successful. Over thirty thousand troops were moved from the United Kingdom, including some twenty thousand members of the Territorial Army and substantial numbers of the RAF. The Territorial Army turnout was high, and its performance throughout received well-deserved praise. The great majority of reinforcements were in their Exercise positions within 48 hours of leaving their bases, demonstrating our ability to reinforce BAOR swiftly and effectively should the need arise. The field training exercise in Germany, in which United States and German Forces played a prominent part, tested our operational techniques on a scale previously untried.’8
Ex TRIAL CANTER took place in November 1987. Major Julia Kneale, accompanied by three RAVC personnel, took part in this operation which was conducted with A Squadron Royal Wessex Yeomanry in Dartmoor National Park in South Devon. The role of the RAVC was to demonstrate the effective use of horses to units that must patrol large areas of relatively inaccessible territory. The Exercise was successful in proving that the use of pack horses could severely curtail the actions and movements of other elements involved, in this case 21 SAS (V). In short, the Exercise helped prove that the use of pack transport was a useful adjunct to Home Defence.9
1990s:
The 1990s offered-up a host of Exercises and Expeditions that took Corps’ personnel all over the world from the glistening snows of Alaska to the extreme heat of Africa and the spread of Texas to the stunning wilds of Scotland...to name but a few of the challenging locations.
In the summer 1994 issue of Chiron Calling Major Dougie Macdonald RAVC, shared his experience of Alaska and The Roof of the Americas Expedition:
The Knik 200 International Sled Dog Race
Despite the dire warnings of environmentalists on global warming and climatic inversions I can confirm that contrary to the last edition of Chiron Calling it was to Alaska that I went to work with sled dogs and not the Amazon.
The “Roof of the Americas” Expedition, mounted by the Household Division, aimed to reach the geographical and physical extremes of North and South America. The object of phase 1 was to reach the most westerly and northerly points at the Americas by way of a 2,500-mile journey through trackless forest, desolate tundra, frozen
8 Hansard, House of Commons Debate 28th October 1980 Vol 991 cc 1956
9 Chiron Calling November 1987.
rivers and windswept sea-ice using a snow machine and dog sled. As the Expedition veterinarian my task was to ensure the well-being of the dogs throughout the trip.
The expedition succeeded in reaching its aims on phase 1 and, as I write, phase 2 – an ascent of Mount McKinley the highest peak in North America – will shortly be completed.
My full-time involvement started at the end of October 1993 when I flew out to Alaska to start the veterinary care of the Expedition dogs and help train them for the arduous task ahead. My destination was Shapachka Racing Kennel, Willow, Alaska. Shapachka Kennel is the home of Roy and Lesley Monk, arguably the most experienced sled dog owners in Britain at this time. Both Roy and Lesley have completed the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and have a wealth of knowledge at their disposal. Roy was to be my host and mentor for the two-months prior to the start of the Expedition. Not only was he the major supplier of the dogs, but he was also to accompany us to help on the trail.
My home for the training period was a little cabin at the back of the dog yard with an air-conditioned ‘convenience’ sited nearby. I ate my meals with Roy, Linda and their handlers Duane and Trevor in the main house, and spartan as the accommodation may sound and look, appearances can be deceptive as I was warm and comfortable in my cabin. Roy was a great believer in getting acclimatised and a couple of times I switched the stove off and slept with my cabin door open just to prove how tough I was and how I could cope with the freezing weather. I usually adopt the approach that you do not need to practice to be miserable but sleeping with the door open at relatively mild temperatures at least convinced me that my Army issue sleeping bag was not going to keep me warm enough without also keeping my clothes on at night.
Early November in Willow was a revelation. It was mild and there was no snow. It was, in fact, a bit miserable. Early snows had started to thaw, leaving glare ice and puddles everywhere. Definitely not what I had expected. The snows came within two weeks, and we were able to start training proper.
Roy’s dog yard held one hundred and twenty-seven dogs from which we were to select eighty-one for the Expedition. Roy split the dogs into teams of nine and we each had two teams to look after. The remainder of the dogs were mostly puppies that we did not need to train. This was a great relief because by the time you had fed the dogs, scooped the yard, trained each team for up to 40 miles (four hours) and fed them again it was a very full day. We started in the dark and ended in the dark, often with the Northern Lights dancing overhead.
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