Page 464 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
A few days later we participated in an attack on an enemy position. Everyone was inserted by Chinook; a terrific opportunity for familiarisation training both for handlers and their dogs.
As the Exercise progressed, the Protection Section supported the QRF. It wasn’t long before a loud metal bang and crash came from the direction of the main gate. A large crowd had arrived outside trying to break in. They demanded to see someone in charge and were threatening the camp. A Company Sergeant Major (CSM) entered the area to impose order and asked for support from the Protection Section. First out to assist was me with MWD Pista.
Upon approaching the gate, three soldiers had been struggling to hold back people from entering the Compound. When the dog deployed however, the crowd quickly fell back. She instantly pushed back twenty-thirty protesters to a safe distance. Pista’s aggression and constant barking made a quick impression. Pista and I kept them at bay until support arrived from other Protection teams led by Pte Eden Howarth and Pte Jess Moon. Both the crowd and 4 SCOTS saw how one dog can effectively control and manage a crowd, compared to several troops.
As the night approached for the final attack the whole battle group was prepared for action and knew the plan. Protection Handlers would secure key points to prevent ‘runners’ while 4 SCOTS took the town. A long infil- tration into the area was met with fierce resistance. This heavily defended area was attacked during a bright night, smoke, illuminating flares, the sound of small arms and indirect fire filling the night sky. Once the gaps were created in the enemy’s defences, the MWD teams entered the town.
MWD Pista and I set up a static sentry in the doorway of a building, just in front of the casualty point where Medics were located. We needed to remain vigilant throughout and our professionalism paid off when we identified people attempting to escape, whilst wearing a bite suit! I released Pista to chase down an enemy combatant. The determination of Pista ensured that he surrendered without posing any further threat to friendly forces.
After more fighting, in the distance to everyone’s surprise we heard something; bagpipes signalled that End Ex had been called.
For 4 SCOTS, the dog handlers and their MWDs, this was vital training. 4 SCOTS made effective use of the MWDs where possible. The handlers learnt how they would fit in with a Mechanized force. The Exercise left us well prepared and integrated, ready for our role in 2017.
The year 2017 proved pretty full-on for the Regiment. Op VAST was one of several UK training support Operations.
For a week in March 2017, 1 MWD Regt deployed four x MWD teams and one SNCO (C2 node) on Op VAST in support of UK Border Force (UK BF). This was in response to a period of heightened awareness of the terrorist threat. As training had already been carried out in the year with UK BF, and previous MACA (Military Aid to the Civil Authorities) requests twelve months before, the Regt was well-placed to deliver effective support to bolster the BF’s capability.
At the time of the Op VAST request, 104 MWD Sqn was conducting training serials across the country as part of the Sqn’s UK Ops Collective Training 2 (CT2) training exercise. Designed to test the entire fleet on MWD deployment, Command and Control, and Search Tactics, Techniques and Procedures, searches took place in Scotland including the Lothian Bus Depot, Edinburgh Castle and Forth Port. The final phase of the exercise moved to London including a search of The Shard in the early hours before the venue opened for daily business.28
Also in 2017, when it came to troop training the following personal account for Chiron Calling describes a dog and handler giving and receiving their best experience on Field Exercise:
Troop Training in Germany – 105 MWD Sqn (2017) My first Field Exercise as a new Pte within 1 MWD Regt was a highly enjoyable and challenging experience. I had completed my basic training a year before, so I felt confident to go back into the field and revise my basic military skills.
As expected, it rained incessantly throughout the exercise. The difficult conditions required everyone to work harder and pull together. The challenging weather gave an excellent insight into how people performed when things got difficult. It always changes the mood with people but you just have to adjust and carry on, as complaining about it never solves anything.
Over the time, as we applied our basic skills to administrate ourselves, we were reminded of the skills we had learned and it rapidly came back to us as second nature. During the night we conducted stag within our sections, each taking our turn to watch the harbour area for an enemy contact.
The Exercise was also a chance for me to work upon areas where I had little confidence and experience such as map reading. The night
28 Sapper Magazine dated circa 2017, No 44.
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