Page 356 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
plaining manner, with many truly singing her praises for her positive assistance.30
Historic Appointment...
In 2019, Lieutenant Colonel Kay Hanson RAVC, made history with her appointment as the first RAVC female to be the Commanding Officer of 1st Military Working Dog Regiment. In a double- first, her appointment made her the first female incumbent of that rank in a RAVC regiment. This was an historic day for the Corps. At the time of writing (2021), a successor is set to be Lieutenant Colonel Claire Budge RAVC who, like ‘Colonel Kay’, has held a wide variety of staff appointments in the wider Army. This, once again, demon- strating the diverse abilities of the Corps’ female staff. Lt Col Budge, who will take up her new post in December 2021, was awarded The Slim Award in 2015 for being the top student – achieving the highest standards across the Command
Leadership and Management stage of the Inter- mediate Command and Staff Course.
Whilst much of what has been said here emphasises much of the success of the first females in the RAVC, it is fair to say that the Corps fully accepted women in its ranks from the start and quite rightly so. As this volume is being written in 2021, news came through of another first for the Corps: Sgt Jodie Lewis RAVC became the first female to complete the arduous Jungle Warfare Instructors course in Brunei.
During October 2018 British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that all combat roles were open to women, including Infantry and Special Forces units. Lt Col Chris Ham RAVC quite rightly noted: “Sorry to say the Secretary of State was behind the times. RAVC females had been serving with Units regularly on the front line for at least 10 years by October 2018.”31
Members of the WRAC were taught to handle guard dogs at the RAVC HQ at Melton RAVC.
30 Written testimony from 1 MWD Regt October 2020.
31 Lt Col Chris Ham MBE RAVC comment dated November 2021.
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