Page 360 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021
P. 360
THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
AES £11,200; AES reteam £2,700 and PTA £466. Reverting further back to 1985, a Protection dog was valued at £70 (pre-issue value) – on issue, but less than four years old, it was £2,000; at four years old, it was £800; at five years old it was £600; at six years old it was £400; at seven and eight years old
it was £200.
Specialist dogs – Search, Tracker, Infantry Patrol,
Sweep and Police (pre-issue value) was £70, value on issue when less than four years old, it was £2,000; at four years old it was £1600; at five years old, it was £1200; at six years old, it was £800; at seven and eight years old it was £400.5
In Chiron Calling Issue No 7, dated June 1991 the Director Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles reported the DAC had overall responsibility for 600 horses and over 2000 dogs worldwide.
The overall number of MWA held by Defence as at 29th April 2021:
MWDs: 1 MWD Regt 130; DATR 120; MDP 230; MGS 50; MPGS 15; VSTAT 36. Total 581.
MWHs: DATR 80; HCMR 290; KTRHA 120. Total 490.
Licensing:
Licensing, although conducted under the terms of reference for the ‘inspection teams’, was formalised in 1993 with the issue of Defence Council Instruction General (DCI Gen) 219/93.6 This move made it compulsory for all AES MWD teams, worldwide, to be licensed annually.
This new DCI outlined the teams’ responsi- bility for; testing, re-testing, and test conditions – all to be set in a realistic scenario using weapons and live explosives, and to include area search, route search, building search and vehicle search. Additionally, it listed the critical objectives to be met for licensing and who the licensing authority or personnel were for the Army and RAF Police. Arrangements were made for the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) and included an MDP representative.
At this time in the 1993, units holding operational AES teams were asked to submit a nominal role of all licensed AES teams to the RAVC Sp Group. Northern Ireland held their own records given the numbers involved. Assessing officers completed a check list on the standards achieved for audit purposes and issued a MoD Form 1140 if the dog team met the required criteria.
Later, around 1996 the VSIT function was
transferred from the RAVC Support Group to the control of the RAVC at the Army Medical Department – originally known as AMD 7 – where the function remained until the responsibility transferred to Army HQ circa 2017.
The MDP took on their own inspection regime in circa 1997-1998, leaving the RAVC with respon- sibility for the veterinary aspects only.
In January 2001, VSIT UK had responsibility for seventy-one separate dog holding sections; three of these were civilian, thirteen Army (eight of which were RMP units), seven MPGS and thirty-five MGS, as well as nine separate units in Bosnia and Kosovo and three in Nepal and one in Brunei. The seventy-one sections were established for a combined total of three hundred and thirty MWDs and had a current strength later in January 2002, of two hundred and eighty-six dogs; most being Patrol Arm True dogs that were dual handled.7
Cyprus DASU also conducted their own inspections on the Island based units, as required.
The closure of MSO units in Germany and the advent of the Germany Guard Service meant that, until 2007, the inspection of German units remained in Germany. 102 MWD Sp Unit personnel were responsible for the validation of eight GGS units which at the time held in the region of forty-five to fifty MWDs. Geographically spread, the eight units were based in: Hohne, Paderborn, Dulmen, Munster, Osnabrück, Hameln, Bielefeld and Gütersloh.
In around 2007, responsibility for the Germany based dog sections transferred to VSET based at AMD in Camberley. A year later, VSET changed title to Veterinary Services Training and Assurance Team (VSTAT).8
The new role of Military Guard Service9 Dog.
Evaluation and Licensing Officer was created in late 2008, meaning that after training at AMD, from January 2009, the MGS inspected all technical aspects and licensed all MGS dog sections and handlers.
Initially there were thirty-six MGS dog sections. However, following the Army Guarding Transition scheme in 2013, the MGS were reduced to the remaining twelve sections. Currently (2021) three are Garrison sections – Aldershot, Catterick and Middle Wallop – which cover a 30-mile radius
5 Standard Value – Dogs (1985) Army Publication.
6 DCI General 219/93 Arms/Explosives Search dog teams – annual licensing procedure. D/DAVRS/7/10:3533AT.
7 VSET Documentation as at 25th January 2002, provided by Ex RAVC WO2, Mr Paul Anderson March 2021.
8 DAVRS Policy letter 06/08, Veterinary Services Training and Advisory Team – Operational Capability Remit, dated 10th October 2008.
9 The Ministry of Defence Guard Service (MGS) is part of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation of the Ministry of Defence, it provides military establish-
ments across the UK with guarding and patrol services.
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