Page 493 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
taking accurate small arms fire (fairly accurate) and approximately 10 x RPGs air bursting with little or no cover before mortars from the DC supplied us with a smokescreen so that we could extract into cover. We then extracted back into the DC under the cover of mortars and from the FST pinning down the enemy with HMG and GMG.
In summary, during the course of the day, I was engaged in contact with enemy forces 11 times and fired off 494 x 5.56mm rounds and threw 2 x HE grenades. The TIC (Troops in Contact) was opened at 0640hrs and closed at 1740hrs. During the TIC we sustained two x human casualties (1x T2, 1x T3). My MWD is working fine despite needing a little attention to detail.
I believe lessons learned should be that a handler on the ground should deploy with at least six times magazines full and possibly a spare bandolier (issued on arrival at Sangin) as I had to be resupplied when the IRT came in. Also, handlers should not have unnecessary weight i.e., full rig of webbing as I did not find it all that practical in contact. Handlers should also be ready for some seriously long days carrying a lot of weight over arduous terrain.
To end, in the int summary on the 11 12 07 it had been confirmed that these contacts had left a significant number of the enemy forces dead or wounded. So, we gave them a good spanking, but it is by no means over. It was a very good day out but will hopefully not become a trend!
All the best, 'Simo'.33
PS. All my rounds issued from your location are gone (hopefully into some bad men). Will divulge more information of what happened on the 10th day of Christmas on arrival at the sandbag chair.
In the 2008 summer issue of Chiron Calling, LCpl Cal Brown shared his experience of Op HERRICK 7, in the following article – A Soldier First: 34
This is a personal account of my tour of Op HERRICK 7. It is not intended to be a definitive account, nor is it a diary. Every Corps’ handler will have a different view of some or all events which happened during the tour. It may not be the gung-ho racing read that you’d expect either. What it will be is a short record of one handler’s experiences in Helmand Province, Southern Afghanistan.
For those of you, who haven’t seen the delights of the Afghan desert, let me describe it to you. It’s not the sand dune, picturesque desert you’re probably thinking of. It’s a rolling bedrock plain littered with fist-sized rocks that’ll snap your ankles off if you’re not looking where you’re going. It’s hot, dry with a sun so bright your sunnies will be stuck on your face every minute of every day. The horizon goes on forever and sometimes you’ll
feel like you Patrol Commander wants you to walk to it. But don’t worry because as a handler, you won’t be seeing much of the desert, you’ll be doing most of your work in the Green Zone and that’s a different kettle of fish altogether.
The Green Zone borders the River Helmand, which is the only major water source for the residents of Helmand Province. It provides the life blood of the Province and as such the majority of the population reside along its edges. Here the busy Afghan will work the land, clearing large areas for his crops. In doing so, he will dig irrigation ditches to channel the water into his fields. These ditches vary from shallow little springs which any handler can step across, to monster canal-type ones which you’ll be chest-deep in, weapon above your head, your dog swimming happily next to you until you drag yourself out the other side. The Green Zone has hundreds of VPs for you to search prior to crossing them, so the AES handler will get plenty of practice doing those checks. Compounds with 15ft high walls are dotted about nicely for you to search and are full of everything from scrap metal to goat meat hanging from hooks. Goats that still have the luxury of mooching about unfenced fields all day eating everything in sight and make for some nice surprises during area searches. Other animals that you may come across during a patrol are chickens (some tethered by one leg) cows, birds of prey in compounds, and huge, angry, Chinese fighting dogs which naturally want to bite your dog’s face off. Watch out for the ones with painted chest and forelegs. They are the local champs!!
Urban Areas are a ramshackle affair, with compounds thrown up in no order. As such they are confusing to navigate, with many narrow alleyways leading off in all directions. These alleyways vary in size. Some you could drive a car down, albeit with a great risk to the suspension, but most will not be much more than shoulder wide, creating possible dangers around every corner. Because most compound walls are at least 10ft high, your field of view is very limited during urban patrols. And watch where you are putting your feet – human faeces is everywhere.
So how does the Dog Handler actually patrol then? Not with his rifle slung over his back, lead held in the “Safe, Loose, Leash” position that’s for sure! Although there is nothing wrong with that, it’s not really a practical method for patrolling. Why? You may ask. Because you’ll need both hands to hold your rifle! You do patrol with both hands on your rifle don’t you? Buy yourself a nice strong karabiner and use that to attach the leash to your Osprey. And don’t worry, your dog won’t drag you all over because he walks to heel when you tell him, doesn’t he?
If like every good soldier you pack your kit prepared
33 A ‘Bluey’ letter reflected the reality for RAVC handlers in Afghanistan by LCpl ‘Simo’ Simpson RAVC. 34 Chiron Calling Summer 2008 ‘A Soldier First Op HERRICK 7’ by LCpl Cal Brown RAVC.
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