Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Natalia Murillo | CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti (March 12, 2021) -- U.S. Navy Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Miles...... read more read more
Subscribe
Fredy enjoys playing with toys but his favorite is a tennis ball. He is a three-years-old Belgian Malanois with lots of energy. When U.S. Navy Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Miles Lamontagne, a military working dog (MWD) handler, found himself with downtime between missions in East Africa, he knew he had to find ways to keep himself and Fredy busy. Lamontagne found a solution. He stepped up and offered to help his fellow MWD handlers by taking over a bit of their workload here, on Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti (CLDJ).
“He volunteered to augment the daily operations on base and it’s made a significant impact,” said Master-at-Arms 1st Class Norris Howard, Kennel Master at Camp Lemonnier.
CLDJ is a forward operating base that enables U.S., allied and partner nation forces to be where and when they are needed to ensure security in Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia.
According to camp’s security forces leadership, Lamontagne’s assistance has lightened the workload for every member of the MWD team, allowing for shorter shifts. The result has been a more effective unit because the handlers and the dogs get more rest and training time.
A bonus to keeping them busy, Lamontagne says that continuing to work helps him and Fredy keep their Navy training requirements current, making their team ready for the next mission. Fredy serves both as an explosive detecting and bite work dog.
“The Navy has a system that lists requirements. We have to keep up with them all the time,” said Lamontagne. “Obedience training is also something you need to do everyday because if you don’t the dog will lack on that.”
Lamontagne and Fredy were removed from their mission in Somalia as part of Operation Octave Quartz in December, 2020. They were the only MWD presence on site.
“I was given the opportunity to run the entire MWD program alone in Somalia.” said Lamontagne, who worked in Somalia through December as troops scaled back to other locations. “The mission was complex,” he said. “But with the utmost professionalism from all parties, we were able to finish the mission and close the base down. I got really good training with the team here at CLDJ and it has greatly benefitted Fredy, too.”
The level of responsibility Lamontagne took on is not typical of a third class petty officer, but this isn’t his first experience with military service.
He previously served as Marine Corps infantry. In 2006 he began his career as Active Duty for four years and then followed on with the Reserves for four more years. He deployed to Iraq in 2007. He completed his first military term but would soon return to service shortly thereafter.
Lamontagne always wanted to do law enforcement.
In 2018, He returned to Active duty with the U.S. Navy. He was interviewed and screen to be a dog handler during his preliminary military job training. Fredy was only a year old when he began working with Lamontagne.
These few months Fredy and Lamontagne have been accepted as part of the CLDJ family. He is ready to see his own family back in Atsugi.
Fredy is not the only four-legged partner Lamontagne has in his life. Lamontagne has a one-year-old Golden Retriever named Daisy whom he looks forward to seeing again when he returns home.
When not deployed to East Africa, Lamontagne and Fredy support the security forces for Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. He lives there with Daisy, his wife and his newborn daughter.
“We found out we were expecting, and I left the next month,” said Lamontagne. “We had a baby girl on January second of this year and I had the opportunity to watch the birth over FaceTime. I am looking forward to go home because I have a daughter I haven’t met in person yet.”
| Date Taken: | 03.24.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.24.2021 10:25 |
| Story ID: | 392165 |
| Location: | CAMP LEMONNIER, DJ |
| Hometown: | ATSUGI, KANAGAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 138 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Fredy and His Sailor Make a Difference at Camp Lemonnier, by PO1 Natalia Murillo, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
