Courtesy Photo | Staff Sgt. John Martin, a specialized search dog handler assigned to the 67th SSD...... read more read more
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. – The 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade command group welcomed two engineer canine specialized search dog teams home from a ten-month deployment in the Diyala province of Iraq Friday here on post.
Staff Sgt. John Martin and Spc. Jonathan Nathan are both assigned to the 67th Engineer Detachment.
The teams met with Col. Frank Y. Rangel, the 4th MEB commander, to talk about their experiences downrange and the importance of individual augmentee deployment recognition.
“It’s important, and the reason it’s important is because units that deploy are always recognized in the newspapers and in the community but you guys do it, without a band and all those other things happening,” Rangel said.
“You guys are probably the busiest element in the Army, we are zero balanced on dog handlers, MPs and engineers alike” said Rangel. “That just talks about how critical you are in the mission.”
The 4th MEB is currently home to the only engineer canine specialized search dog unit in the Army.
“Engineer dog teams have been successfully incorporated into full spectrum operations since the inception of the program in 2004,” said 1st Lt. Sean Flachs, the 94th Engineer Rear Detachment commander.
Since 2004, the Army has authorized the military working dog handler additional skill identifier to military police, engineers and Special Forces.
“Being a [engineer] dog handler is an exciting experience and I’ve learned a lot but the best part is being out front on the battlefield, making sure that our Soldiers are taken care of,” Martin said. “Of course we’re putting our lives at risk but that’s our job, it’s what we do; that’s why we have to know our dogs and know how to handle them in a tough situation.”
Both Martin and Nathan said they look forward to enjoying some quality family time as they reintegrate back to their home unit and their local community.
| Date Taken: | 08.10.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.10.2010 21:55 |
| Story ID: | 54298 |
| Location: | FORT LEONARD WOOD, MISSOURI, US |
| Web Views: | 613 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Fort Leonard Wood Engineer K9 Teams Come Home, by MSG Heather Denby, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
