Photo By Lt.j.g. Bryan Mitchell | Afghanistan's only therapy dog spent a day touring Camp Marmal in northern Afghanistan...... read more read more
CAMP MARMAL, Afghanistan – The Army produced a recruiting campaign several years ago highlighting the 212 ways to be a soldier.
From classic infantry and combat medic to civil affairs and counter intelligence, the Army sought to demonstrate its broad spectrum of opportunities.
But few of the jobs in the Army are as a unique as the one currently occupied by Private 1st Class Alex Fanning.
Fanning, who serves in Afghanistan as a behavioral health specialist, is currently the handler for Maj. Eden, the only combat stress animal assistant or “therapy dog” for short in country. His job is to travel the country with four-legged officer, boosting morale one belly rub at a time.
A few weeks before Christmas as cold wintry rain and slate skies descended on Camp Marmal, the 26-year-old Birmingham, Ala., native took three days to tour the base with man’s best friend in tow.
“We try to get out and participate in as many of the fun runs as we can and then simply walk around and interact with people,” he said. “She has an immediate impact on people and spreads a lot of love wherever she goes.”
Along his ambling journeys through regional commands and smaller forward operating bases, Fanning also subtly informs troops about the combat stress program offered at Bagram Air Field, his primary duty station and Maj. Eden’s home on the warfront.
“She helps us get a foot in the door with people because she puts smiles on faces,” he explained. “Then we tell them what we offer and how we can help them out.”
The 98th Medical Detachment, also referred to as the Combat Stress Control office, offers a three-day program that allows troops to temporarily escape the pressures of life in a deployed environment. There, with a team of trained mental health professionals, troops can talk through their problems at work, back home or anywhere in between.
Equally important, the specialists on hand teach coping mechanisms to held troops effectively deal with the unique stress associated with life in a combat zone and long-term separation from family and friends.
Ninety-five percent of participants return to active duty and successfully complete their tours.
With his easy going Southern style and affable canine companion, Fanning is well positioned to advertise the program without appearing pushy or didactic. He’s genuinely concerned about the welfare of the troops, and Maj. Eden, well, she just wants to chase that slimy tennis ball.
The two’s unique long-but-always-leashed stroll through a war zone halfway around the world from home is the result of both taking unconventional routes to Bagram Air Field.
Fanning was working as jailer in southern Alabaman when he sought greater opportunity in life. His recruiter recognized his maturity and likability would lend itself well to a support role like behavioral heath specialist.
Nowhere in his training was he expected to be handy with a leash and poised with a doggie do-do bag.
Here in Afghanistan, he’s the first line of support for troops coping with combat-zone stress that’s challenging to define and difficult to ignore. After an initial consultation, he’ll refer a patient on to an officer with a more thorough background in behavioral health.
“It’s a great feeling to work where I do, watching the troops come in and get the help they need to perform their jobs and knowing we’re really making a difference,” he said.
When Maj. Eden’s original handler had to return home prior to the end of his prescribed tour, Fanning stepped and took hold of the leash.
As for Maj. Eden, who received a direct commission as a major from a general, she’s got a backstory every bit as endearing as her watery eyes and floppy ears.
The 3-year-old red lab was part of a group of dogs training in counter narcotics work. She washed out not for a lack of olfactory prowess, street smarts or unyielding obedience. She was just too sweet and deemed insufficiently aggressive for work on the front lines of the war on drugs.
Busting pushers and smugglers might still be in here future, but for now she’s taken up residence as the lone therapy dog in Afghanistan. And judging by the affection she showered with all day, every day, it’s easy to see she’s exactly where she’s meant to be.
And so it is that the former Alabama corrections officer turned soldier and the shiny coated, anti-narcotic pooch turned well-mannered stress reliever walk foot-in-paw across this combat zone,
“I feel very lucky to have this job right now and am going to enjoy every minute of it,” Fanning said.
Maj. Eden nodded the same.
| Date Taken: | 12.11.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 03.15.2014 02:18 |
| Story ID: | 122058 |
| Location: | CAMP MARMAL, AF |
| Hometown: | BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 111 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Therapy dog tours Afghanistan, by LTJG Bryan Mitchell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
