Page 454 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
The next morning everyone was up bright and early, and quickly got to Chiron Lines, ready to begin. The Regiment was formed up around the corner of the parade square, whilst important guests and families were seated in tents. Before going on parade everyone was chatting about the great night it was going to be, with some very encouraging words from Sgt Dave Blackmore, who did much to try and ease the tension, but without any luck. We were then brought up to attention by 103 MWD Sqn’s SSM WO2 Iain Carnegie and we were all marched on to the parade square. WO2 Carnegie handed over the parade to Major Jack Kemp RA, who in turn handed over the parade to the CO Lieutenant Colonel David Thorpe.
An inspection of the parade was carried out by Major General Bruce Brealey GOC Theatre Troops. During this inspection he spoke to each individual soldier on parade, which everyone thought was really good and most appreciated by all. He then addressed the whole Regiment and Padre Stevenson gave the Regimental Blessing. The Last Post sounded as 102 Logistic Brigade’s flag was lowered; on reveille the 8 Force Engineer Brigade flag was raised.
On the conclusion of this we were marched off the parade square and were given a well deserved ’pat on the back’, as everything had gone well so far. Next, were a series of MWD demonstra- tions held on the square, for the Protection dog demo, Major Jack Kemp was put in the baiting suit, much to everyone’s amusement. After lunch all were dismissed for the evening. The Friday evening was a very big social night, with many people heading into Paderborn. That evening everyone was getting ready to go out and the guys were even ironing their jeans and shirts. As everyone knows, girls take a lot longer to get ready, so many of us started straight after we got back from the parade.
Everyone was coming back into barracks in the early hours of the following morning, only the Lord will know how many got home! It was great night out for all and many did not really remember getting home.
On Saturday suffering from hangovers, that no amount of medication could make go away, we flew back to the UK. Everyone returned safely and after such a good, few days in Sennelager (and Paderborn) we all were more than ready to get some sleep in our own beds.17
Support to Defence by 1 MWD Regt:
1 MWD Regt, as the only MWD Regt in the British Field Army, played a pivotal role in supporting a number of key activities following its formation in 2010.
The Regiment offered a veterinary capability which could reach a broad spectrum of User Units which operated in countless different ways, including Counter Insurgency Operations; the detection of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs); assistance in the searching of routes, buildings and vehicles, and enhancing security and patrolling key installations. In doing so, 1 MWD Regt provided support in a variety of operations ranging from deterrence and detection, right through to the use of sub-lethal force.
This new and unique Regiment soon found itself immediately in demand to assist activity at Very High Readiness in support of 16 Air Assault Brigade, 3 Commando Brigade and other alignments to different cap badges including the Light Manoeuvre Brigade, the Armoured Infantry and Capability Development supporting units such as the Specialised Infantry from 6th Division...and more.
As mentioned previously, 1 MWD Regt had, from the beginning, a wide range of Military Working Dog capabilities and been responsible for the provision of trained dog teams to support British troops deployed on Operations as well providing handlers and dogs for military Exercises overseas in a string of countries including Kenya, and Eastern Europe. On Exercise in the UK, the skills of the MWD utility are further honed, in conjunction with Infantry User Units.
The Regiment is committed to continued development of its Search MWD capability and to working closely with the EOD and Search Task Lines – with 29 EOD and Search Group – making trained dogs available to support Search Operations across the globe. The Regiment’s relationship with the EOD and Search community is exceptionally close and a reason why the two elements continue to work in perfect synergy. It is a relationship based on trust, developed over the years supporting Search Teams deployed to NI on Op BANNER at the height of ‘the Troubles’, and a partnership that grew closer during Op HERRICK.
Throughout many years on war fighting Operations, the use of MWD with EOD and Search has become a recognised partnership capable of saving lives and limbs. The relationship also established MWDs as an essential part of the layered approach to Counter IED Search
17 Chiron Calling dated Summer/Autumn 2010.
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