Page 78 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
imately six yards in front. Then heavy firing took place. The enemy proved to be of greater strength than first thought. LMGs, mortars and small arms were used against us. We then started to withdraw slowly. On moving back 100 yards we found the rest of the patrol had withdrawn. This left five of us. We withdrew to the LZ and camped off the track for the night. The dogs’ tracking was 1.5-2 miles.
The following morning, 22nd March 1964 at approxi- mately 0700 hours, helicopters started to arrive with the remainder of the Tracking team and sections. We then returned to the contact area. On arrival, we searched the area while a relief Tracker team took over follow-up. Nothing was found in the enemy camp except a small pack with a beret. We were then lifted by Whirlwind to Lundu where we stood down.
That is all I have to report, Sir. Cpl. Op. Dog. Sec. (M J Joslyn).28
The ever-present danger kept dog and handler in a constant state of trepidation, as described in the following extract from Nick van der Bijl’s Confrontation: The War with Indonesia 1962-66:
The following was an event a fortnight after the battle of Plaman Mapu, 25/26.04.66. When elements of 3 Regiment Pasukan Komando Angatan Darat – Army Para-Commando Regiment (3 RPKAD) attempted to cross the border.
‘In a planned battalion operation, Recce Platoon (Captain John Collinson-Jones) and a Combat Tracker Team, commanded by Sergeant Murray, then joined 10 Platoon. As the Australian gunners shelled suspected withdrawal routes, the dog, which was handled by Corporal Mick Joslyn, led both platoons along the track until it split into three at a junction. When the dog indicated spoors along a track and up a stream Murray was suspicious of an ambush and led the two Para platoons around a hill and then charged into it from a flank, during which Private McLeod was killed.
The ambush collapsed and the enemy withdrew, taking with them five casualties. Outnumbered, D Company called up artillery fire. During the follow up, Joslyn and his dog became exhausted and the Iban tracker, Rayong, took over...’ 29
Experience in Malaya had taught the jungle bound dog handler that it was expedient to avoid the well-trodden tracks. The risk of mines or ambushes was very real and as a result of the need to hack away at the dense undergrowth at every step any progress made was slow through the thick secondary forest – usually around 200 metres (656 feet) per hour. If any indication of the enemy was found, or the patrol was following-up
an enemy attack, a dog team was brought in. Each battalion serving in the jungle had trained Patrol and Tracker dogs. Labradors proved to be the best Trackers, capable of following scents up to eight-hours old and even more in the ideal conditions of the jungle, while German shepherds were the best Patrol dogs, able to protect the troops whilst patrolling and when in the harbour area. Infantry Patrol dogs detected the presence of the enemy ahead, so preventing a surprise ambush. It was then the job of the Tracker dog to follow the
retreating enemy.
The dogs were always worked on a long lead,
which had an annoying reputation for getting caught in the undergrowth. If the dog detected an approaching or concealed enemy, the highly trained dog would ‘point’ – alerting the handler and allowing the rest of the patrol to deal with the threat. However, there were times when encounters with the enemy turned into frantic, close range fire fights which locked the two opposing forces into a short, bitter, burst of action before one or both sides melted back into the jungle. The dogs worked hard, day and night for about two days at a time in the tiring humidity – the handlers’ priority being to take great care that the dogs didn’t become exhausted or dehydrated.
The skills and the learning covered by the RAVC trainers meant very little to the ‘students’ until translated into the reality of the jungle. Instruction was only part of the process, the growth in each team’s confidence and the development of their trust in others around them was equally valuable when on the ground. There, deep in the lush green and overpowering humidity it was the inspira- tional words of the seasoned veteran trainers that echoed good dog sense and survival wisdom.
It was important to those who had gone through the training to prove their worth to personalities such as Sgt Raymond ‘Jock’ Hardie.
It was when posted to Malaya that ‘Jock’ Hardie was able to fully demonstrate his prowess as a dog trainer and his particular expertise in the training and deployment of specialist dogs in the jungle. It was from training with Gurkha Regiments that his admiration grew from what he termed, “the happy little psychopaths” – an endearing reference to their ability, when acting as the opposing force on Exercise, to invariably eliminate the trainees by popping up from the foliage chanting: “All dead, all dead!” Jock had great respect for the Gurkhas’ innate woodsmanship and their expertise in the jungle.
28 Adv & RS OC2 MWDU West Brigade File RAVC Archives.
29 Extract from ‘Confrontation: The War with Indonesia 1962 – 66’ by Nick van der Bijl. Pen & Sword Military, 2007 p.180.
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