Photo By Staff Sgt. Deven Schultz | U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Juan Salinas, Security Forces Manager, Joint MWD (JMWD)...... read more read more
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. - What happens when you pluck a Military Working Dog (MWD) Handler from the kennels and drop him in the middle of a bunch of chemists, toxicologists, and laboratory technicians? He gets right to work.
U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Juan Salinas, Security Forces Manager, Joint MWD (JMWD) Program, provides narcotic training aids to 164 Department of Defense (DoD) installations worldwide. The aids help train and certify all DoD MWDs on odor detection for narcotics that are commonly found within the continental United States and on overseas installations.
“We monitor and enforce standards based on a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Defense Health Agency (DHA) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA),” says Salinas, “to maintain DoD units’ compliance with the DEA and the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).”
These maestros put small amounts of drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin into metal disc-shaped training aids. As useful as the training aids are, they do have one major flaw.
“Drug training aids have never had a hard protective outer container”, explains Salinas from first-hand experience. “It can be challenging for handlers to expand their training without fear of damaging the current aids we send out.”
When a training aid is damaged an investigation is immediately started and the unit can no longer utilize that aid to train which can be a huge setback for advancing their MWDs. Many factors can cause an aid to become damaged including accidents during training, intentional tampering with the device, or even due to changes in weather/atmospheric conditions. Surely there must be a way to protect these things, right? Staff Sgt. Salinas was put in charge of finding the answer.
“We teamed up with the professionals here at the BEDROCK Innovation Lab on Dover Air Force Base to create a prototype that will keep the training aid safe from the elements,” Salinas says proudly. “The neat thing about these is that handlers can plant the aids in brand new locations due to its magnetic capability without fear of dropping, losing or damaging the aid in any way.”
The BEDROCK Innovation Lab was brought to Dover in 2019 creating an opportunity to leverage technology and off-the-shelf solutions to fix the military’s problems and bridge the gap between Dover's Airmen and industry experts. This new prototype will allow the training aids to remain in circulation, preventing unneeded damage when handlers conduct training, validations, and/or certifications across the globe.
Salinas illustrates, “Before this product, if you wanted to hide a training aid in a small area within a vehicle, it was a challenge to ensure the serial wires weren’t caught up which could cause considerable damage to the device. Additionally, the training aides need to be protected from moisture. Now, you can place the original aid inside the prototype, screw-on the lid, and from there handlers can better provide comprehensive training for their dogs.”
Innovation can begin anywhere. From the flightline, to medical treatment facilities, and even out in the field, servicemembers are always finding new, exciting, and better ways to get the job done. Utilizing programs, such as the ones at the BEDROCK facility, help reaffirm the DoD’s commitment to accelerating the adoption of commercial and dual-use technology to solve operational challenges while strengthening national security.
“The team we worked with at BEDROCK was phenomenal from start to where we’re currently at, which is nearly finished,” exclaims Juan. “With JMWD as the sole provider for drug training aids, we can easily distribute the prototypes to each base without changing our current shipment process.”
Two years ago, when Staff Sgt. Salinas walked through the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s (AFMES) doors, he had no idea what to expect. The time spent at AFMES has allowed him to reflect and appreciate all that has been afforded to him.
“Working here and doing this job is the opportunity of a lifetime. I’ve traveled, educated myself on various topics, and found a new sense of respect for those in the laboratory career fields,” remarked Salinas. “Being afforded the opportunity to create this prototype, I get to help Kennel Masters, Trainers, and MWDs across my career field which is something I take tremendous pride in.”
Whether MWD handlers find themselves in Montana or Japan, they can rest assured there are teammates at AFMES, like Staff Sgt. Salinas, looking out for them.
| Date Taken: | 06.17.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.24.2024 09:19 |
| Story ID: | 474645 |
| Location: | DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, DELAWARE, US |
| Web Views: | 203 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, UPGRADED: MWDs Get New Training Aids, by SSgt Deven Schultz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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