Page 278 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
role alongside the Regular soldiers.
Terriers with Dogs on Ex NOBLE ARIES 198710
In the November 1987 issue of Chiron Calling an account of Ex NOBLE ARIES put the reader on the spot... in the woods.
Men and dogs of BAOR DASU RAVC (V) word deployed to a field storage site in September to support Exercise NOBLE ARIES 1987. After a long journey in atrocious weather conditions, first patrols were out within half an hour of arrival. The site was thickly wooded so LCpl Farrar RAVC (V), the Section Leader, deployed his teams in a static sentry role with consid- erable success. Even the umpire could not get within 200 metres without detection!
When the Site moved to another location two days later, and the weather had improved, an NBC alert gave everyone practice in handling both a ‘Noddy suit’ and a dog, at the same time. Again, the section let no-one pass undetected which, they reckon, gave the infantry a cushy time. LCpl Farrar summed it all up when he said: “The food was excellent, and morale remained high. We learned many useful lessons in covert Operations but – please can we have our own radios?”
TA Autumn Weekend Camp,
26th – 30th September 1990
Also capturing the pressures and fulfilment experienced in a weekend camp was something TA member shared in an article in the December 1990 issue of Chiron Calling:
The end of September meant the coming together of that lean, mean, fighting machine – otherwise known as the Royal Army Veterinary Corps TA element.
Six members were able to attend under the new leadership of Lt Col Peter Koder – an Officer who leads from the front but runs far nearer the back...but more of this anon.
An interesting programme had been prepared by Major Tom Graham. This started with an introduction to the Canine Biathlon, when OC Dog School, Captain John Corbin, not only told us about the biathlon but had us running around the course, sensibly avoiding the high and wet bits. We saw demonstrations of dogs being used as a security arm and search dogs. One of the young Officers, Captain Norris, showed courage by acting as a baiter.
Next SSgt ‘Taff’ Carter explained the admittance procedure and documentation in the Vet Hospital. The afternoon was spent on orders and appreciation given, as usual, with great enthusiasm by Sgt Kerr and then documentation – a subject which brings a slight smile to all TA Officers – being Army talk for claims for pay and allowances.
The next day started and ended with fieldcraft, this time taken with graphic sparkle by LCpl Fountain and assisted by two of his section. In between, we had an AVRO visit CAD Kineton. As so much of the RAVC work now entails visits such as these we all found this trip particularly rewarding. It was very interesting listening to WO2 Jay Pedrick and hearing some of the problems, as well as many of the advantages, of using dogs in the security/protection field. Capt West, eager to emphasise his macho side, acted as baiter for one of the dogs.
Everyone was up bright and early on Saturday morning for the inevitable BFT. Imagine our surprise, and delight in as well as having the ubiquitous Maj Graham and Sgt Kerr, we had the Chief Clerk, SSgt Joe Cunningham to encourage (?) us along. Everyone was said to have done very well and it was left, quite naturally, for two more mature members to bring up the rear – Senior Officer Lt Col Koder, and A N Other (who shall be nameless). The remainder of Saturday was spent learning about running an Ops Cell doing a TEWT. Major Dewing and Major Bewley, from Eastern District, made the programme very interesting and informative. It may also teach us TA Officers to read orders properly!
Along with other members of the RAVC Association we attended the Act of Remembrance.
During and after the Association Dinner, we had the opportunity to meet past and present soldiers of the RAVC. We in the TA are very aware of the honour of being in the Corps and wish to do everything in our power to enhance its reputation and effectiveness. We also realise that this esprit de corps can be enhanced by meeting older members and sharing with them some of their experiences. Our last day was spent on weapon training and receiving NBC kits. Previously, the 2IC had informed us that the likelihood of having live firing had receded to a ‘definite maybe’ i.e., odds of evens down to 10:1 against. After this we were examined on the SMG and managed to fail some parts of the test. Fortunately, Sgt Kerr had had an excellent lunch and in the afternoon pronounced us fit to handle our personal weapon (the SMG).
Lt Col Koder presented Sgt Kerr with a plaque in appreciation of his great help to the TA, and he in turn presented Capt West with a piece of cake for being the good-natured recipient of Sgt Kerr’s eloquent and colourful speech including various descriptions of animal anatomy.
We should like to thank the Commandant, Col Brian Thompson for his encouragement and support of the TA unit and wish him all success and happiness on his retirement from the Army. We hope to see him many more times at Melton. Finally, we enjoyed meeting
10 Chiron Calling November 1987.
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