Page 26 - RADC Bulletin 2022

Ex ASKARI SERPENT: DO perspective
Maj Tom Marriott
After a mere 2 weeks at 4 Medical Regiment, I deployed on Exercise ASKARI SERPENT 22. At 01:15 on the morning of the 1 May, 4 Squadron including LCpl McNally, LCpl Sahi and myself, met outside RHQ and conducted a last document check before loading our kit onto a coach and heading to JAMC South Cerney.
Our dental modules had been packed previously, all the hard work of Maj Moxon- Wiggins, LCpl McNally and LCpl Sahi,
and sent over in advance. We were called forward to Brize and set off on our flight
at 11:00, touching down in Nairobi at 21:55 Kenyan time.
After a night at Kifaru Barracks, we set off in convoy up to Nyati Barracks in Nanyuki. It was hot, exceptionally hot! I don’t think anything prepares you for the chaos of the Kenyan roads. The cars are not well looked after and the driving is scary.
Acclimatisation Phase
We spent 10 days acclimatising to the heat. Nanyuki is situated at approximately 2000m above sea-level, higher than Ben Nevis
by 700m, which we certainly felt when completing our acclimatisation. The phys package started light and increased over the course of the 10 days starting in shorts and t-shirt but ending with full body armour, helmet, bergen and webbing.
During this time, we also had to attend numerous briefs and managed to sort
our dental kit before the deployment. A big thanks must go to Capt Bell and Cpl Williams from 5 Med, as they were a huge
help due to the delayed arrival of our kit. Unfortunately, the consumables component of the 301 module did not arrive and we had to rely on the Med Stores Sgt at BATUK
to help us order some basics which would be enough to get us through the Exercise phase.
Exercise Phase
Once all acclimatisation and the dental
kit check was complete, we were ready to deploy to FOB Simba. Due to lack of rain, and with local elections coming up, we had to be careful about how we conducted our exercise so as not to cause any problems between the 3 tribes whose boundaries meet around the FOB Simba location. The Rendille and Samburu tribes have a good relationship, but the Rendille and Oromo tribes have always been against each other generation after generation. We were right in the middle.
FOB Simba is a dry, desolate place. Without question the hottest location I have ever been to. We started the drudgery of putting up the tentage needed for the MRS. This carried on into the night, but it was worth getting it sorted asap so we didn’t have to continue the next day in 38o heat.
Multiple problems had to be sorted as we progressed through the exercise. We had a 12x12 tent with a 9x9 tent attached to the side used as a CSSD. The 9x9 was a new ‘clinical tent’ which was very good at keeping the heat in. This meant that whoever was working in there had to have a lot of water and regular breaks. During
the Exercise we were available for RLS and Exercise practice. Interestingly, the ExCon staff didn’t know too much about dental, so this really ended up being teaching sessions for the Medics involved.
Overall, the Exercise was interesting and a great experience for us. It certainly gave us a great perspective as to how we fit into the MRS and how important it is to be involved in the planning phase.
By a fortunate stroke of serendipity, the last couple of days brought light relief to the heat. It’s a shame this article couldn’t have a soundtrack – Toto’s Africa would be fitting at this point.
Community Engagement Phase
The community engagement phase saw us punching out to numerous locations with
a charity called ‘Beyond Zero.’ They are based at a hospital in Nanyuki but regularly travel around delivering medical care to the communities. I was surprised to learn that the majority of Kenyans in remote places actually had access to dental care. The issue was money and if they had enough to pay for it. In some ways it is very similar to some locations in the UK in that care is available but it’s access and lack of money that is the deciding factor. The most rewarding part of this phase was when we set up close to an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp. These people had fled from the North of Kenya, close to the Somali border, where they were both not wanted and unable to grow their own food. We managed to see quite a few patients with a whole variety of
24 RADC BULLETIN 2022
DEPLOYMENT