Photo By Janecze Wright | The staff at the Fort Cavazos Veterinary Center pose with mascots Woodsy the Wanderer...... read more read more
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FORT CAVAZOS, Texas — Two very special ambassadors went through a thorough check up Nov. 10, 2023, at the Fort Cavazos Veterinary Center here.
The four-legged characters endured complete physical exams to ensure they were healthy and could maintain the responsibilities of representing the installation.
Each has its own unique mission, but both are working together to keep the Great Place great.
Fort Cavazos officials strive to promote and maintain safety for service members, their families and civilian workers, and they have employed Sgt. Woof to help spread the word.
Sgt. Woof is a uniquely trained canine that specializes in educating and informing the Fort Cavazos community about the three Rs of explosives safety: recognize, retreat and report.
It’s imperative to recognize what may be ammo, safely retreat from the area and report it to local law enforcement.
“If you did not drop it, do not pick it up,” Sgt. Woof says about anything that looks strange on the ground. He implores youngsters to be sure to stay away, tell a grown up and call 911.
Sgt. Woof stresses to never touch or move foreign objects. Instead, call and report them.
Dustin Shuffler, occupational health and safety specialist for Fort Cavazos Garrison Safety, explained why Sgt. Woof’s job is so important.
“Unfortunately, ammunitions do show up outside of normal bases and when they do, we like to make the community that’s immediately involved around these areas aware of what munitions are and what to do in response to them.”
“Every kid likes dogs, cats, animals, stuff like that,” he continued. “He’s a character that gets out there and gets their attention, so they’ll pay attention a little bit more when we put out messages about the three Rs.”
This theory mirrors the inspiration behind Woodsy the Wanderer, said Thomas Kenney, outdoor recreation chief for Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation.
As a cute little raccoon who wanders all over the Fort Cavazos community and attends various events and activities, Woodsy is part of a marketing campaign designed to promote the Outdoor Recreation Branch of DFMWR.
Drawing from inspiration from iconic mascots such as Buc-ee the Beaver and Chuck E. Cheese, Kenney said MWR is trying to capitalize on children’s affinities for animals and have them to identify Woodsy with events and activities, with the hope they will want to come to events to see him.
“The idea is to get kids to tell their parents, ‘I want to go see Woodsy’. If that gets 15% more people at these events, then we succeeded,” he said. “It makes it fun. We support families. With families, you want to make sure that you have an audience that you attach to.”
Shuffler says the partnership between the two mascots serves one goal.
“The hope is Woodsy and Sgt. Woof working together gets more interaction with the children and gets them involved more.”
To find out where Woodsy will wander next, visit https://www.facebook.com/fortcavazosmwr, and to get more information about Sgt. Woof and the three R’s program, visit https://3Rs.mil.
| Date Taken: | 11.16.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 02.08.2024 12:07 |
| Story ID: | 462296 |
| Location: | FORT CAVAZOS, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 26 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Animal mascots are helping to keep Great Place great, by Janecze Wright, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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