A NEW arrival to HMS Campbeltown made such an impression on the ship's company that he was awarded a Good Conduct badge within two weeks.

The recruit in question was a Swedish sniffer dog called Castor, who was embarked in the Type 22 frigate during operations in the Baltic (see Navy News July).

Castor was on board with a 13-strong Swedish boarding team, and it was the first time that the team and their German Shepherd dog had spent a prolonged period at sea.

Baltops 2001 saw 41 ships and submarines from 12 nations participating in a series of exercises, with a strong contingent from Partnership for Peace nations.

Campbeltown took charge of a force including the USS Cape St George (a Ticonderoga-class cruiser), RFS Bespokoiny (a Sovremenny-class cruiser), LNS Zemaitis (a Lithuanian Grisha III frigate) and HDMS Gribben (a Danish Flyvisken frigate).

Castor, who weighs in at 50kg, is trained to sniff out explosives and drugs, and in the initial phases was abseiled, with his handler, on to the deck of a target ship from a German search and rescue Sea King helicopter which was also embarked in the Devonport-based frigate.

Later he was winched in a harness on to ships from a Swedish CH46 helicopter based in RFA Fort Victoria. The team practised on a number of ships in the exercises, including the US military support ship Eugene A. Obregon.

So impressed was the Commanding Officer of HMS Campbeltown, Capt Alistair Halliday, that Castor was awarded his second Good Conduct badge at a requestmen table held on the flight deck.

In particular, Castor's exploits in christening the flight deck on arrival in the USS Cape St George will be remembered by those who witnessed it...