K-9's dangerous mission makes them man's best friend

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

06.26.2008

Courtesy Story

Multi-National Division Baghdad

By Multi-National Division-Center Public Affairs Office

CAMP STRYKER, Iraq –It takes Azor, a German Shepherd, about 15 minutes before he stops, becomes excited and directs his attention at a small plastic package hidden beneath a pallet of rubber tires.

The package contains real C-4 explosive, a training device. His mission complete; Azor now wants his reward— a rubber play toy that Staff Sgt. Brian Oliver, a K-9 handler, tosses him.

"Azor is very good at what he does," Oliver, a native of Lexington, Ky., explained. "There are times when I might not have my head in the game, but Azor always has his game on."

The mission of the Multi-National Division-Center working dog is to sniff out explosives and contraband when called upon, said Staff Sgt. Joshua Franklin, who heads the program for MND-C.

Those missions range from searching hundreds of bags that arrive at Baghdad International airport, to going on patrols with units, searching vehicles and buildings for weapon caches and improvised explosive devices.

"It normally would take up to 30 Soldiers to go from room-to-room looking for explosives, trip wire or explosive contraband," said Franklin, of St. Charles, Mo. "The dogs are a force multiplier. A handler and his dog can search a room in 30 seconds. This cuts down on the amount of time Soldiers are in harms way."

There are two types of military working dogs here assisting MND-C. The patrol explosive-detector dog is trained to search for explosives on leash; the specialized search dog searches for explosive material off leash.

Franklin said in order for the dogs to perform their mission, they must form a special bond with their handlers. During training, dogs and handlers spend as many as five months working together, learning search techniques.

"It can be difficult to train a dog to search, and it takes a lot of patience and time to achieve the desired behavior from the dog," he said. "You have to train on a daily basis to build a relationship needed to conduct thorough and proper searches."

"We've worked together for four months now," Marine Cpl. Patrick Chadbourne, a native of Mesquite, Texas, said of his dog Sindy, a Belgian Malinois. "She is very laid back and easy to get along with. I worry about her when we go on missions, because she's usually the first one in, but I know this is what she is trained for."

The relationship between K-9 and handler goes beyond training and the mission here. The dogs are part of the handler's everyday life. They spend most of the days feeding, exercising and training their K-9. Each dog gets between 6-8 hours of training each week. At night, they sleep inside containerized housing units with their handlers.

"He lives in my room with me, I take care of him as I would if he was my son," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Blake Soller, a native of Michigan City, Ind., of his dog, Pluto, also a Belgian Malinois, perhaps the most temperamental of the working dogs here. "Pluto is definitely my battle buddy and partner. He's like my child. It's just him and me."

Chadbourne added, "We can't take them to chow, and that's pretty much your only break. The dogs are our best friends and always with us. We build that rapport with our dogs when we live with them; they're just always at our side; no question about that."

The bond between dog and handler is sometimes the most difficult part of their job, Franklin explained, "The handlers become (very) attached to their dog."

"When we leave a post or assignment our dog does not come with us," Franklin explained. "This can be hard, because we spend a lot of time building a relationship with the dog."

"Some dogs suffer from separation anxiety when you leave," Soller said, noting that dogs may think they did something wrong. "Some dogs have bad reactions while other dogs are like people and they can just adapt."

The military does allow for handlers to adopt working dogs, Franklin said. "When a dog cannot work anymore, it has become very common place for a handler to adopt a previous dog they had, but if the dog is still mission capable, he has to be left on station when they leave."

That will likely be the case for Azor. The shepherd is good at tracking down explosives; Oliver understands when the time comes to leave his home station at Fort Campbell, it will likely be without his partner.

"It will be very difficult to leave him after being with him every minute of everyday for a year, you get attached...he is my best friend," Oliver said.

• Date Taken: 06.26.2008
• Date Posted: 06.26.2008 03:54
• Story ID: 20859
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ