Page 14 - Chiron Winter 2020

New Chairman of the RAVC
Association from January 2021
Major Sean Robert Jones, Royal Army Veterinary Corps
After leaving school
in 1986 and spending a year as a Zookeeper on a Government
Training Scheme, Major Sean
Jones enlisted into the Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC) as a Dog Trainer on the 7th July 1987. After completing Basic Training at Keogh Barracks, Private Jones was posted to the Army Dog Training School
at the RAVC Training Centre at Melton Mowbray for his Phase 2 Training. Following his B3 Dog Trainers Course he spent the next two years mainly training Protection Dogs but was also fortunate to train Police Dogs and an Arms Explosive Search (AES) Dog for his B2 Dog Trainer Practical Assessment. He also instructed Reteams, Baiters Courses and Police Dog Handler Courses and was promoted to LCpl in July 1989. LCpl Jones was posted to the Defence Animal Support Unit in Sennelager Germany in 1990, where in between the maintenance of the fleet of dogs in BAOR and instructing dog handlers, life was kept interesting by participation on exercises with the SF in Southern Germany and by conducting taskings with an AES Dog for Public/Military Events especially prior to the arrival of VIPs. During this posting he was also detached for two months to the RAVC Dog Unit in Emblem, Belgium to cover the gapped Sgts post. Promoted to Cpl in 1992, he was posted back to the newly named Defence Animal Centre (DAC) in July 1993 where
he spent 2 years teaching young soldiers in Phase 2 how to be Dog Trainers and passed his B1 Dog Trainer Course.
In 1995 he was posted to the Army Dog Unit Northern Ireland (ADU (NI)). Initially based at the
SHQ in Ballykelly, he was Section Comd for the Guard Dog Section as well as being the Chief Trainers 2IC, responsible for all initial reteams in Province and preparing licencing scenarios. During this period, he was also handled both a Guard Dog and a Drugs Detection Dog. Just as the Provisional Irish Republican Army ceasefire broke in February 1996, he was fortunate to move to
8 Infantry Brigade Specialist Dog Troop based in Londonderry. Along with handling a Vehicle Search and Tracker Dog in some of the livelier areas in the AO he also deputised for the Tp Sgt as required, responsible for around 18 E2 handlers from a multitude of cap badges.
In July 1997 posted back to
the DAC and after a brief spell instructing handlers how to
handle Search Dogs in NI, Cpl Jones deployed to Bosnia on Op LODESTAR as an AES Handler in September 1997. During this tour, he was based at the Metal Factory in Banja Luka but was available
for tasking throughout the whole Multinational Division (South West) AO. On his return from Bosnia in March 1998, he spent another year training Phase Two Dog Trainers before redeploying to Bosnia on
Op PALATINE in March 1999. This time he held the rank of ASgt and was IC of the small RAVC Det in Theatre as well as having technical responsibility for the All Arms Handlers across the AO. With the security situation worsening across the Balkans as the campaign in Kosovo developed the dogs were in great demand. This was therefore
a busy tour and one that enabled ASgt Jones to regularly deploy
with a Guard Dog in support of multinational operations to return refugees to their homes.
On his return to the UK at the end of August 1999, ASgt Jones had a brief turnaround before
being posted back to ADU NI in September 1999. After a short term in charge of the Guard Dog Troop at Ballykelly, he was posted again to Londonderry to be in command of the 8 Inf Bde Specialist Dog Troop. As well as managing the troop, he was responsible for advising Bde G3 Ops, RESA and the Resident Infantry Battalions on all MWD matters in 8 Inf Bde AO.
Directly after this posting Sgt Jones was fortunate to be posted with his family to the Cyprus Military Working Dog Support
Unit in Jan 2002. Initially based in Dhekelia conducting AES taskings across the Eastern Sovereign Base Area (SBA) and providing technical advice to the Security Force Police and the SBA Police he moved to Episkopi on promotion in August 2002. As the SSgt of this Det, he was responsible to the OC for all matters J1-J7. This was a good introduction to a broader spectrum of duties as the unit supported Op TELIC and Op FINGAL, both by deploying handlers for these operations and by providing Real Life Support to those transiting through Cyprus en route to Theatre. Due to the high tempo
of security operations at this time, SSgt Jones was again fortunate to be licenced with an AES dog and conducted taskings Island wide.
In July 2004, SSgt Jones was posted to the Army Medical Directorate (AMD) based within RMAS to head up the Veterinary Services Inspection Team (VSIT) and promoted to WO2 in March 2005. This small team was responsible to the Director Army Veterinary Remount Services (DAVRS) for Quality Assurance and Animal Welfare of over a thousand MWD in UK and abroad. Although the main effort was to inspect MWD Sections across the MOD and ensure that the teams were operationally
fit for purpose, WO2 Jones was
12 / Chiron Calling