Page 371 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
role provides veterinary management to all MoD Military Working Animals. Thereafter the VO is assigned to a Squadron, normally in 1 MWD Regt. Senior Captain appointments either as Adjutant, OperationsorTrainingOfficerareallbuildingblocks to progression. Veterinary Officers complete other mandated military courses for example the Junior Officers Leadership Programme (JOLP), followed by the Junior Officers Tactical Awareness Course (JOTAC) and the ensuing Intermediate Command and Staff Course (Land) (ICSC(L)), which prepares Officers for Command and Staff appointments. Subsequently, VOs can be selected to fulfil a Staff or Command appointment in the MWD Regiment such as OC MWD Squadron, or within another AMS Unit. Staff related roles at Higher Formation, will be determined by Army need and personal preference/qualifications and experience. Other RAVC posts, i.e. as VO at the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery or the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and other veterinary related roles are also available. At the rank of Major, many VOs are assigned to wider Defence staff employment which ultimately benefits the individual’s career and without doubt enhances the reputation of the RAVC.
Veterinary Support Officer: There are no Direct Entry Officers, all are recruited as VSO from within the ranks of the RAVC and wider Army as Late Entry Commissions (LEs). They fill a wide range of supporting roles with the RAVC and, prior to the formation of the Regiment, were often the OCs of the ‘Independent’ RAVC Sp Units. Nowadays the LEs fulfil the more traditional roles such as Welfare Officer, Regimental Career Management Officer, QM appointments, OC HQ Sqn and of course OC ‘Dog School’ at Melton.
Dog Trainer/Dog Handler: The backbone of the RAVC since the 1960s. Without their operational employment in the Malayan conflict, Northern Ireland and the Balkans it is very doubtful that the Corps would have survived. The dog handler is now usually recruited directly from civilian life, but some are transferees come from within the Army: Basic Soldier Training – fourteen weeks at the Army Training Regiment at Pirbright, if joining as a recruit, followed by employment or trade related training – nine weeks in duration at the DATR, (which includes a two week Functional Skills course) is the standard entry pathway for RAVC soldiers.
Registered Veterinary Nurse: A new RVN Appren- ticeship Standard was funded nationally during 2013 following a review of the VT CEG. All VTs will now become RVN qualified through this appren-
ticeship by the time they reach full Corporal. This decision was taken so the VTs have the correct skills and experience for their role. The Corps now only recruits fully trained Veterinary Nurses or Registered Veterinary Nurses direct from civilian life, they complete Basic Training at ATR Pirbright and complete ITT training with their DH counter- parts; they then conduct an employment Transition to Military Practice period. Their role is to support the Veterinary Officer in the management of all MoD MWAs. Of course, the highly trained and very experienced Veterinary Technician is still seen in the WO and SNCO positions across 1 MWD Regt and the DATR and provides a very valuable service in many roles from Equine to senior WO posts across the RAVC.
The RAVC Farrier trade was sadly disbanded in 2002 mainly due to the difficulties of managing such a small niche employment group within the RAVC.
Training the Soldier to be a Handler:
In June 1985, the Corps took what could still be considered a retrograde step. From that date, RAVC soldiers ceased to be trained at the Queens Division at Bassingbourn where they had previously received eighteen weeks of basic Infantry training before progressing to Trade Training at Melton. When you consider that the RAVC soldier generally works with the Infantry or Search teams when on operations, this grounding had proven particularly beneficial. However, the first RAVC soldiers to receive basic training at Keogh Barracks at Mychett near Aldershot, with the ‘Medics’, did so in June of the same year – prior to all non-Infantry personnel training at Army Training Regiments.
Both the ADU NI RAVC and the DAC were accredited to deliver NVQs in Animal Care. Related NVQs, which initiated in early 2000, through to the now Modern Apprenticeship or Army Appren- ticeship Scheme – designed to fit around the RAVC soldier’s military training and be most relevant to a role – are mapped across from RAVC Trade Training Objectives in many cases.
The DAC was accredited to deliver ‘in house’ Basic Instructional Techniques courses during 2002. Not only did this assist DAC personnel, but it was also open to all other RAVC members. Instruc- tional training came to be an integral part of the future Command Leadership and Management (CLM) courses that were developed for pan Army personnel – now replaced by the Army Leadership Development Programme (ALDP).
All RAVC soldiers still undergo a rigorous
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