Photo By Ericka Gillespie | Military Work Dog Handler Spc. Parker Prewitt with his MWD partner Dolf. (Photo by:...... read more read more
Name: Spc. Parker Prewitt
Age: 21
Hometown: St. Louis, MO
Marital/family status: Single
Unit: 544th Military Police Detachment (MWD)
Place of duty: Fort Gregg-Adams
Title: Military Working Dog Handler
Time in service: 3 years 3 months
Military Occupational Specialty: 31K - Military Working Dog Handler. Works with K-9 units and is responsible for training and caring for dogs, both at home and abroad, supporting missions and daily law enforcement, according to www.goarmy.com. They work with Military Working Dogs while searching for narcotic drugs or explosives to neutralize threats in law enforcement operations.
Background: Prewitt was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri where he attended Pattonville High School, and graduated in 2020. Eleven days after graduation he arrived at Fort Leanard Wood, Missouri for Basic Training. Upon graduating basic training, he attended MP school at Fort Leanard Wood then the Military Working Dog Handler’s course at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio Texas. “Upon completion of my training I arrived at Fort Lee (now Fort Gregg-Adams) in September of 2021 where I was assigned to MWD Batman, a Patrol Drug Detection Dog to whom I worked with for several months,” he said. Prewitt then was assigned to MWD Dolf a Patrol Explosive Detection Dog with whom he deployed to Iraq and further rotated to Syria in support of Special Operations Joint Task Force OIR back in April 2022. “Upon my return to the U.S., MWD Dolf and I attended PEDD-E, an off-leash directional course available to PEDD teams to allow the ability to work MWD’s off leash at an extended distance utilizing directional commands. MWD Dolf and I are still a team currently.”
His motivation for joining the Army:
“I joined the army to provide myself structure and stability in my life as well as to challenge myself to become a better person. Since being in I continue to challenge myself, and now my soldiers, to continue to progress each and every day in all aspects of life.”
Why he chose the 31K MOS:
“I was aware of the importance of a Military Working Dog’s handler in a deployed environment as well as in garrison and wanted to help as many people as possible.”
The excitement in serving:
“I’ve been given the opportunity to train and learn from MWD Dolf. He makes all aspects of work enjoyable. As a team, MWD Dolf and I have been able to travel to several countries together and have been able to support numerous of missions with different groups of people.”
Most valuable lesson learned:
“Being able to communicate with people. Building bridges and making connections goes a long way as a Military Working Dog handler and opens opportunities that I would have never been able to participate in if I was not able to communicate well with others.”
Toughest challenge as a Soldier:
“Effectively managing all responsibilities, as well as providing my soldiers with the best possible work environment.”
Good leaders are …
“Good leaders are leaders that take the initiative to put their soldiers first. When a soldier has a good leader, it makes them stronger, physically, and mentally. Leaders that are selfless, and prioritize their soldiers needs first, will make the most impact, while creating future leaders in doing so.”
Best thing about the Army:
“The opportunities you are given. I never would have expected to have been able to have gone and done as much as I have at this age before joining the Army.”
His advice to people thinking of military service:
“Find your calling. Find something that interests you and stick with it. Many of the jobs in the military can translate into civilian jobs when you get out. If the military turns out not to be for you, you will have learned skills in a certain job that will make the transition process much easier for finding a job as a civilian.”
His future plans:
“I plan to continue working with my partner MWD Dolf as long as possible. Currently, I plan to remain in the army up to the 20-year mark as it has been the best job I’ve ever had.”
--compiled by Ericka Gillespie
| Date Taken: | 09.08.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 09.08.2023 15:09 |
| Story ID: | 453005 |
| Location: | FORT GREGG-ADAMS, VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, US |
| Web Views: | 220 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Meet Your Army: Fort Gregg-Adams Military Working Dog Handler establishes bond with partner, by Ericka Gillespie, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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