Page 425 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
The Improvised Explosive Device (IED) continued to claim the lives of British Service personnel and civilians on Operations. Despite the relatively simple nature of the IED, detecting these devices proved significantly challenging for the British Army. IEDs, such as the Explosive Formed Projectile (EFP) device, in the hands of the Iraqi insurgents, were sadly very effective against soft skinned military vehicles. That said, using Military Working Dogs – relatively easy to train and to adapt to detect various types of IED used in Iraq – undoubtedly saved the lives of countless Service personnel in Iraq thereafter. Having the search MWD deployed to specific sites became essential considering the gained knowledge that once a conflict or insurgency takes hold, within two-three months the use of IEDs by enemy forces against security forces, becomes much more prevalent. The use of the AES dog became much more widespread to search for IEDs and other munitions.
One of the dogs that proved the worth of all MWDs, was AES dog “Buster”.
In March 2003, in Safwan, Southern Iraq, Buster handled by Sergeant Danny Morgan RAVC, located a hidden cache of arms, explosives and bomb making equipment in buildings thought to be the Headquarters of insurgents responsible for attacks on British Forces in that area. The actual haul, concealed behind a false wall, included AK47 assault rifles, a pistol, six primed grenades, grenade fuses, and ammunition loaded into magazines, loose ammunition and large quantities of cash, drugs and propaganda material.
The significance of the Springer Spaniel’s find spread through the entire community right away. All attacks in the area ceased, meaning that Coalition troops were in a much safer environment, to the point that the Forces were told to replace helmets with berets as the security posture changed. Buster was considered responsible for having saved the lives of countless civilians and Service personnel. Had the arms and drugs entered circulation they would have inevitably caused untold misery for thousands of people. Soldiers had searched the property ahead of the dog but found nothing. As one Officer put it at the time: “Buster succeeded, where humans failed.” And for his life-saving action in conflict, Buster was duly awarded the PDSA Dickin medal for his actions in Iraq. He was presented with his medal, in the presence of his handler Sgt Morgan and their RAVC colleagues, at a special ceremony hosted by the Imperial War Museum in London on 9th December 2003.
Major Jane Rose-Larner RAVC was the OC of the first deployment and was for a short while replaced by Major Mary Logan RAVC. WO2 Alan Inkpen RAVC had much to do with all organisa- tional aspects of the deployment, and so much so that the troops used to joke about the many titles that he held at differing times – OC, USM, 2IC, Theatre MWD Advisor (TMWDA) – all appeared on his signature block. His experience was crucial in every respect.
Once again the RAVC’s unwavering ‘can do’ attitude prevailed. This ‘One Army’ concept, highlighting how all ranks both Regular and Reserve components could bond together, alongside the whole fleet management of MWDs and bespoke equipment sharing, ensured that the RAVC were able to deploy and ultimately influence TTPs and other doctrine, paving the way for the even more significant structural changes that were to follow.
As one would expect, the dogs gave advance warning of intruders, and the dogs also gave the RAVC an edge on NBC drills that were frequently practised in case of chemical attacks by Saddam Hussein’s Scud missiles. As the distant alarms sounded, the dogs heard them first every time. Then the inevitable sudden movement of personnel conditioned the dogs to become excited and bark, a move that gave RAVC personnel advance notice (ahead of anyone else) and a warning that it was time to don protective NBC clothing and seek cover in the trenches.
Liberation
Following the successful liberation of Iraq in June 2003, the coalition began the transition from the war fighting phase to an attempt to stabilise and regenerate the country after years of repression.
The British Expeditionary Force, made up over thirty thousand Service personnel from the three Services, began to be replaced by a consolidated Force. This included the original RAVC contingent of Regular and Reserve personnel, many of whom had already served six-months in the in the Middle East. The RAVC contingent was part of 101 Logistic Brigade and under command of the NSE (National Support Element), providing dog support, both Protection and Specialist dogs, to enhance Force Protection at strategic military bases within the Southern Sector – notably within Kuwait and, following the liberation in Iraq, at the port of Umm Qasr, Basra Palace and Shaibah Logistics Base (SLB).
At the end of July 2003, replacement Regular and Reserve personnel began to arrive in theatre.
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