Page 4 - RADC Bulletin 2021

FOREWORD
Foreword
Col T Davies, QHDS Chief Dental Officer (Army)
Not even Covid-19 can stop the RADC Bulletin and the Editor, Maj Serena Darke and her erstwhile assistant Sgt Gordon Shaw, have earnt my gratitude for compiling this year’s issue. I must also thank you
all too, the writers, for the contents. We must be grateful that the Bulletin remains, in our Corps’ Centenary Year, a solid physical object and not yet another virtual experience.
Covid-19 remains a threat, especially
from new variants which continue to cause disruption. RADC personnel have continued in their agile and flexible fashion to support the nation in the fight to return our troops to the high levels of Dental Fitness they held as a whole pre-pandemic as well as supporting Military Aid to the Civil Authority (MACA) tasks where our participants shone and expressed in such environments, leadership and delivery above the requirement. As I write RADC personnel are again deploying on such tasks and I know they will all provide excellent support.
Last year I introduced Dental Readiness Preparation Teams (DRPT) which throughout the year saw RADC Teams from Field Army and DPHC working together to support, extremely successfully, deploying units who had been affected
by the restraints to delivery caused by the pandemic. This Bulletin contains articles on DRPT so I shall say no more here except to mention that they are now part of our Dental Doctrine (Field Army Dental Capability Doctrine Note 21/08) which was published following intense work by a team of you in March.
The Integrated Review (IR) was recently published and there are consequently changes for the Army. Due to some incredibly intense but ultimately successful work by the Medical Capability component in Army HQ the original idea for CSS Regiments, which would have seen large changes to AMS numbers and career pyramids, were argued against such that the IR resulted in a successful move forward for the AMS in developing our forces for the future. Currently two of five Regular AMS Medical Regiments have RADC COs with the addition of a third part way through next year. Although there have been losses, the number of squadrons within which Dental Teams are embedded are not part of them. However, there will be future scrutiny from UK Strategic Command (UKStratCom)
on the RADC Contingency Component who deliver within DPHC for savings by civilianisation.
The Field Hospital Review (pre-IR) is delivering an Army Reserve (AR) that will
be as aligned as possible to the Regular Force. For the RADC Reserve this will
see the removal of Dental lines from Field Hospitals but as IR has all such units converting/amalgamating to Multi-Role Medical Regiments (MMR), which will
have an integrated Hospital Squadrons alongside the Medical Squadrons, there remain many opportunities for the RADC Reserve to develop. It was also hoped to bring in a form of clinical assurance for both Reserve DO and DN personnel but this had to be delayed due to lack of capacity in what has been an extremely busy period but time has been set aside for this to be developed in 2022. This is necessary because the
Army is completely unsighted as to clinical assurance of the majority of the RADC Reserve standfast those that have just left Regular service or those already working within DPHC. One thing that became very apparent for those associated with the DRPT deployments, was that because everyone understood and worked within the same SOPs, whether they were from a Medical Regiment or a DPHC Dental Region, efficient and effective delivery of care was achieved, and it is only right to endeavour to have our RADC AR colleagues supported to do the same.
There are three 4* led Services that make up the Armed Forces of the UK; the RN, the Army and the RAF, and although we have personnel held on strength of Field Army the majority of our personnel work
for DPHC under a 4* led Joint organisation, UKStratCom. Unified Career Management (UCM) is taking on Career Management (CM) from Army Personnel Centre for some cadres which was to start for the RADC in early 2021 but this has been delayed until mid-2022. CM will then be delivered by UKStratCom but all RADC will still belong to the Service they joined, the Army - UKStratCom is not a Service. There is still much work to be undertaken before this change occurs and those serving will be kept informed by the CoC.
The Army value what RADC personnel deliver but we are engaged in a continual fight to prove ourselves to UKStratCom leaders who see the whole of the DMS as extremely expensive. When you consider that UKStratCom are responsible for Cyber, SF and Space you can see that the rivalry for finance is extremely competitive and that they will look to make savings where possible. Military personnel are more expensive than civilian counterparts which sets minds turning to civilianising roles
to save money especially when they see civilian equivalency. Our civilian colleagues
with DPHC are highly valued but they have not signed up to do what military personnel have and have different priorities. I wish
to express to you (and to those who are reading this from UKStratCom) that there
is no whole time equivalency in the RADC clinical Cadres compared to the civilian sector. The latter have not gone through selection and training to deliver such personnel who achieve what you do for
the Army, Defence and the UK; Soldiers and Officers who go above and beyond to deliver what is required and more, ready to work with agility at multiple locations and be called upon at short notice to deploy and successfully engage with whatever tasks they are required to perform. I will continue to impress upon UKStratCom that the value of the RADC to Defence; there is no real civilian comparison.
Although curtailed, the Corps’ Centenary celebrations did go ahead although some were postponed and will not occur until 2022. I must thank those who were involved in any of the events and especially those
on the Centenary Committee who have all leant in to deliver a series of events that have celebrated and promoted the RADC’s achievements and the people who have served and who remain serving in our RADC family. Obviously, the celebration and Centenary Stone Unveiling at the NMA in September was the highlight especially attended as it was by our Colonel in
Chief, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester; it really was a great day with so many of you there. The RADC’s achievements should continue to be celebrated as we go forward.
Thank you for everything you have delivered over the past year and I hope you have time to sit back and enjoy reading your Bulletin.
Ex Dentibus Ensis
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