Page 441 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
The narrow barrack gate to St George’s was snarled up when seven forty-foot ISO containers, on the back of a small convoy of trucks, tried to enter with all the Unit’s possessions. The ISOs crammed full of everything except military equipment – this was to follow later in the autumn straight from Bicester – MFO boxes, furniture, and flag pole to name just a few items. Our main pieces of kit, the dogs, were and are currently housed in half a dozen, or so, field kennels and the second generation of converted ISO containers and some old Melton kennels. The dogs had to wait a long cold winter before they could be housed in new kennels... thanks to the delay caused by local objections.
The pointless delay saw the Unit go on tour before the kennels were occupied late into 2008. Even then, with no dogs in the kennels, complaints were made about the ‘noise’. Some of the locals must have had good hearing if they could hear the dogs barking in Afghanistan or Iraq!
The Unit was beset with challenges. However, with much perseverance, many of these problems are slowly being resolved one by one. For instance, the recruiting of civilian staff is not like the experience in Germany. The process in the UK is slow and laborious, and five-months on we have no interviews completed, but we have plenty of applicants. We had to await security clearance before the new staff could commence work. No vehicles meant that we had to ’badger’ the local Bde daily before they were duly authorised.
All serving personnel are fully conversant with the JPA bow wave, (the Joint Personnel Administration computer program which deals with all pay, allowances, assignment orders, gone was the Posting Order!), which we have all had to learn to live with. Sadly, in the case of 104, learn to live... without. Bow ‘wave’? More like, a tsunami ...with no JPA, no civilian orderly room staff, and no military clerk to sort things out for the troops. A plea for help went to the DAC and, thankfully, the AGC (SPS) SSgt gave 104 untold support and guidance.
All serving readers know that JPA is electronic and, that’s right you have guessed it – 104 MWD was not connected to anybody else’s computer system for several months. Santa did come early, and in mid-December we did connect, with a form of email, to other Units.
Other problems have ensued, such as poor accom- modation, initially, for our male handlers, no storage for explosives; difficulty getting clothing and that was, again, all down to computers and personnel elsewhere. However, unfazed, the Unit ‘chipped away’ at the problems and most were resolved by the summer of 2008.
Whilst the HQ had been busy, so was the ‘backbone’ of the Corps. Our handlers were busy lugging kit, and, more importantly, preparing for their deployments. This
was the priority or Main Effort over everything else. The lack of JPA, emails and computers would not hurt anybody, but a lack of balanced military and continu- ation training for both dog and soldier, may well.
Training, or the preparation for Ops, started in early September 2007 a few weeks after arriving from Ballykelly. All 104 MWD staff went to Bramley Training Area in Surrey, where basic skills such as contact drills, weapon handling and mine drills were practised and refined. The assessment of all Military Dogs in the Unit took place and further training exercises were rapidly completed to further hone skills of all deploying personnel. Departing to both Iraq and Afghanistan with varying threats, training had to be tailored to suit all personnel and all threats that may be encountered; there could be absolutely no half measures.
By the time 104 MWD deployed in March 2008, the Unit had completed over a dozen exercises, many alongside the battle groups that the handlers were being assigned to. From barracks to battlefield, this regular training did much to improve the confidence of some of the very young handlers and improve their under- standing of how the wider Army works on Ops. At the same time, the battle groups received instruction on how to effectively use our capability to good effect, and again instil confidence in the MWD teams who they will have beside them on war fighting Operations.
The Unit has had many a busy month, but it took the opportunity to integrate with the local community, and probably, more importantly, contribute to it, by assisting in a local charity event, showing our expertise at a local show and attending the Remembrance Service.
Ours was a new Unit but determined and prepared to be ready for deployment to the two conflict zones.
Preparing for war – deployment to
Iraq and Afghanistan
Less than seven months after re-role and re-location, 104 MWD Sp Unit was ready for deployment.
It had been a tall order – to sort and deploy troops to two separate theatres of war, forming a new base location with no support in only seven months. In his article ‘Upholding the Standing of the Army in Society’, for the summer issue of Chiron Calling in 2008, OC 104 MWD Sp Unit RAVC, Major Chris Ham, shared more of his memories of the poignant pre-deployment events:
Over one hundred and twenty parents, relatives and friends were invited to 104 MWD Sp Unit at North Luffenham on Saturday 8th March 2008 to say farewell to their loved ones as the vast majority were proceeding on Ops to either Iraq or Afghanistan the following week.
The day started with a church service, held in the nearby village of Edith Weston. St Mary’s, the village’s
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