War Dogs

“The only creatures that are evolved enough to convey pure love are dogs and infants.” — Johnny Depp

As the owner of three German Shepherds (one deceased) I love to read stories about hero war dogs. These dogs have saved countless lives and get little or no recognition in the MSM.

This morning I saw a story about and Air Force dog who lost a leg saving his handler and other members of the squad in Afghanistan. Her name is Layka and she is a Belgian Malinois, a close relative of the German Shepherd.

Belgian Malinois

Mike Joseph reports on the U.S. Air Force Web Site:

“A Belgian Malinois became the first military working dog honored by the 341st Training Squadron for her heroic actions while assigned to a U.S. Special Forces unit in Afghanistan.

Layka, an almost 3-year-old female, was recognized Sept. 12 at Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland, Texas, for saving several Coalition Forces team members during a June 4 special operations mission.

Layka had been dispatched to clear a building of explosives and help look for enemy combatants after a brief fire fight.

During her search, the dog was ambushed by one of the assailants. Layka received multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen and a limb, which later had to be amputated.

Severely wounded, she attacked and subdued the assailant, protecting the lives of her handler and other coalition team members behind her.

Once the area was secured, Layka's handler and a physician's assistant began treating the injured canine. Layka was then flown to a theater hospital for the first of several surgeries, eventually losing her right front leg. She arrived in San Antonio in early July for rehabilitation at the Daniel Holland Military Working Dog Hospital.

"This has never been done before by us, but we wanted to thank Layka," said Maj. Jason Harris, 341st TRS commander, who presented the dog with a medal of heroism from the unit's parent organization, the 37th Training Group.

The squadron provides trained military working dogs used in patrol, drug and explosive detection, and other specialized mission functions by the Department of Defense and other government agencies.

"The medal is unofficial because no decoration exists for military working dogs, but we felt Layka deserved recognition," Harris said. "What these dogs do, day in and day out, is phenomenal. They do save lives.

"Layka was shot and still attacked the person shooting her. She's been through a lot, and what she did is nothing less than heroic."

Following the ceremony, Layka was flown to Georgia to be reunited with her handler, who is still on active duty.

No longer able to serve because of the injuries, Layka has been adopted by her handler, who cannot be identified for reasons of security.

"He's very excited to get her and thankful he had her that day (in Afghanistan)," Harris said. "Layka is very handler-protective, which led to what she did over there."

Tech. Sgt. Joseph Null, the 341st TRS military working dogs adoptions coordinator, said MWDs are invaluable to the armed services.

"She surprised the terrorist, who was waiting to lay down fire on the team. I heard from people on the mission that if Layka hadn't reacted like she did, there was a potential for multiple casualties," Null said. "Layka needed to be recognized for her sacrifice."

When I saw this story this morning on Fox and Friends I could not help but think of my two German Shepherds, Baina and Blaze, and give them a hug. I also harkened back to a documentary I saw about war dogs on the National Geographic Channel several years ago. The documentary focused mainly on the dogs that were used in Vietnam by the Army and Marines. It was a great story until the end where a veterinarian, who served in the army during the Vietnam War, was interviewed. At that time the military considered the war dogs as equipment and like any other equipment were considered surplus when we withdrew from Vietnam. The veterinarian explained that his job was changed from caring for the dogs to putting them down as surplus. He said that to this day he cannot look into the eyes of a German Shepherd without welling up in tears.

Baina

Blaze

It was just one year ago that the world first heard of Cairo, the dog who joined the mission that took down the world's most hunted terrorist, Osama bin Laden. The news sparked something of a sensation, and while Cairo might be the world's best-known war dog, he's far from a lone fighting force. The world of combat canines is vast, with a long and rich history, and these dogs have footholds on war fronts where you'd least expect to find them. From patrolling Moscow's train stations to thwarting insurgent ambushes in Afghanistan to guarding the borders of the West Bank to serving on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's private security detail, war dogs are essential to many of the world's most elite units, detecting bombs, detaining enemies, and saving lives.

Dogs have been fighting alongside U.S. soldiers for more than 100 years, seeing combat in the Civil War and World War I. But their service was informal; only in 1942 were canines officially inducted into the U.S. Army. Today, they're a central part of U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan — as of early 2010 the U.S. Army had 2,800 active-duty dogs deployed (the largest canine contingent in the world). And these numbers will continue to grow as these dogs become an ever-more-vital military asset.

So it should come as no surprise that among the 79 commandos involved in Operation Neptune Spear that resulted in Osama bin Laden's killing, there was one dog — the elite of the four-legged variety. And though the dog in question remains an enigma — another mysterious detail of the still-unfolding narrative of that historic mission — there should be little reason to speculate about why there was a dog involved: Man's best friend is a pretty fearsome warrior.

[Rebecca Frankel, who specializes in writing about war dogs, has a great photographic essay in Foreign Policy Magazine.]

There are several memorials to these magnificent dogs around the world. One is located at March Air Force Reserve Base near my home in the city of Riverside, California. It’s a great memorial to the many dogs that served, and are serving our military throughout the world.

War Dog memorial at March AFRB in Riverside, California

Also there are several books on the subject of war dogs with the most recent being Sergeant Rex by former Marine handler Mike Dowling, a book I read cover to cover in one night with Baina and Blaze by my side.

Everyone has heard of Rin Tin Tin, but Sergeant Rex is the real-life German Shepherd military dog. By all accounts, he had a great reputation for being a superior working dog, whose duty was to patrol and detect explosives. Rex was so special. Mike Dowling wrote Sergeant Rex to honor him, and Megan Leavey never gave up her dream of being reunited with Rex after their retirement.

Rex was born in Germany in 2001, and he came to America as a puppy to go through the military dog-training program at Camp Pendleton, California. Mike commented that Rex had all the qualities needed for a military working dog: "Stamina, loyalty, athleticism, intelligence, and a drive to work. In fact, he was nicknamed 'Sexy Rexy' for his handsomeness, and 'T-Rex' for his aggressiveness when necessary."

In March 2004, Corporal Mike Dowling and Rex were deployed to Iraq. They were one of a dozen working dog teams sent to the frontlines since the Vietnam War. Their mission was to save American soldiers' lives while enduring the dangers of trigger-happy insurgents who planted explosives.

Another informal assignment for the dog-handler team was for Rex to serve as a therapy and morale dog. Mike stated that stress affects every single military person, yet "[t]he great thing about having Rex is that after the battle we were able to get back to the base and play with each other. Having a dog attached to a combat unit improves people's morale. Most everyone loves dogs, so we were immediately welcomed. From the highest to the lowest ranks, everyone wanted to interact with Rex and talk about their own dog. He was able to take everyone's mind away from combat for a few minutes."

Mike and Rex were together for two and a half years, and never once did Rex forget what he was taught. "In his book he refers to Rex as a sergeant because dog handlers treat their dogs as if they are one rank higher than them, even though dogs are not given official ranks. This is to remind them that they never disrespect them. It got to a point that he knew what Rex was going to do before he did it." Before leaving the Marines, Mike worked with Rex's next dog handler, Megan, "giving her advice on how to handle and approach Rex." Both Megan and Mike noted that they looked upon Rex not as "a dog," but rather as a Marine, a partner, and an extension of themselves, learning his mannerisms and personality.

Rex was the only dog Megan worked with, and they were together from October 2004 until December 2007. They worked together for over a hundred missions during their two deployments to Iraq. Megan's time with Rex was very different from Mike's because of the harrowing experience they had together.

On September 4, 2006, Rex and Megan found a large number of IEDs. While they continued the search for more explosives, an insurgent watcher detonated an IED while Rex and Megan were directly over it. Megan became unconscious, bursting all the blood vessels in both ears. As she came to, even though the atmosphere was smoky, making it hard to see, and the only sound she could hear was a ringing in her ears, one of her first thoughts was of Rex: "Thank God Rex was attached to my flack jacket. I made sure Rex was all right and found that he had a severe shoulder injury, had shut down, and was very scared." They did not leave the scene of the intense firefight, instead waiting for the detonation team to arrive. Megan received the Purple Heart for the true heroism she and Rex displayed.

Due to their injuries, Megan and Rex were not involved in future missions, and in December 2006, they were sent back to Camp Pendleton. Megan's last year was spent taking Rex to physical therapy sessions and helping other Marines get ready for deployment. In 2007, after finishing her service, she filed papers to adopt Rex. Because Rex recovered from his injuries, he remained on active duty, so her request was put on hold.

Megan explained that military dogs are kept working as long as they are physically able because of the money invested in them (about $50,000). She also dispelled the rumor that once a dog is no longer able to work, it is "put to sleep. The military puts dogs to sleep only if they have a medical condition or are too aggressive and unable to adapt to pet life."

Megan felt that having Rex beside her gave her strength. She never wavered from her determination that one day she and Rex would be together. She stayed in touch, calling Rex's handlers on a regular basis. A year after leaving the Marines, she visited Rex at Camp Pendleton, enjoying their time together since "everyone knew Rex was my dog. All I wanted was to be reunited with Rex and take care of him."

By the time Rex turned eleven, Megan had enlisted the help of the public and Senator Charles Schumer to push through the adoption papers. After supposedly being diagnosed with facial palsy, a disease that causes the left side of his face to be droopy and numb, Rex was retired and adopted by Megan on April 6 of this year. She noted, "I had not seen Rex in three or four years, and as soon as I took the leash, we just picked up where we left off. It seemed like no time had passed between us."

Ever since I was a young child I had had a fascination with German Shepherds. I loved the Rin-Tin-Tin films and have purchased a DVD of them. They are powerful, smart, and loyal dogs. But, as the military vet stated; it’s the eyes. When you look into the eyes of a German Shepherd you cannot doubt they understand and love you.

What About the Dog?

“Any man who does not like dogs and want them about does not deserve to be in the White House.” — Calvin Coolidge

Fox News reports that President Obama on Friday met with the assault forces who carried out the strike on Osama bin Laden, awarding them a Presidential Unit Citation and praising them for a "job well done."

After the president's private meeting with those Navy SEALs at Fort Campbelll in Kentucky, he delivered a rousing speech to about 2,200 troops recently back from Afghanistan -- where the fighting and search for an endgame continues despite the death of the terrorist who masterminded the killing of nearly 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11, 2001.

I have one question for Mr. Obama, what about the dog?

Dogs have been fighting alongside U.S. soldiers for more than 100 years, seeing combat in the Civil War and World War I. But their service was informal; only in 1942 were canines officially inducted into the U.S. Army. Today, they're a central part of U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan — as of early 2010 the U.S. Army had 2,800 active-duty dogs deployed (the largest canine contingent in the world). And these numbers will continue to grow as these dogs become an ever-more-vital military asset.

So it should come as no surprise that among the 79 commandos involved in Operation Neptune Spear that resulted in Osama bin Laden's killing, there was one dog — the elite of the four-legged variety. And though the dog in question remains an enigma — another mysterious detail of the still-unfolding narrative of that historic mission — there should be little reason to speculate about why there was a dog involved: Man's best friend is a pretty fearsome warrior.

According to a New York Times report; “The tensest moment for those watching, he said, came when one of two helicopters that flew the American troops into the compound broke down, stalling as it flew over the 18-foot wall of the compound and prepared to land. After the raid, the team blew up the helicopter and called in one of two backups. In all, 79 commandos and a dog were involved.”

According to Mike Dowling, a former Marine Corps dog handler who served in Iraq, there's a simple explanation for why the Navy SEALs took a dog along on the Osama raid: "A dog's brain is dominated by olfactory senses." In fact, Dowling says, a dog can have up to 225 million olfactory receptors in their nose — the part of their brain devoted to scent is 40 times greater than that of a human.

"When you're going on a mission," Dowling says, "a raid or a patrol, insurgents are sneaky — they like to hide stuff from you. But a dog can smell them. .... [Think about] Saddam Hussein ... what if Osama had been [hiding] in a hole in the ground? A dog could find that. A dog could alert them to where he's hiding because of the incredible scent capabilities. ... You can only see what you can see. You can't see what you don't see. A dog can see it through his nose."

Military working dogs (MWDs in Army parlance) may not enjoy all the privileges of being full-fledged soldiers, but the U.S. military no longer considers them mere equipment. (The war dogs deployed to Vietnam during that conflict were classified as "surplus equipment" and left behind.) Today, MWDs are outfitted with equipment of their own — a range of specialized gear that includes Doggles (protective eye wear), body armor, life vests, gas masks, long-range GPS-equipped vests, and high-tech canine "flak jackets."

In August 2010, The Register, a British online tech publication, reported that "top-secret, super-elite U.S. Navy SEAL special forces are to deploy heavily armored bulletproof dogs equipped with infrared night-sight cameras and an 'intruder communication system' able to penetrate concrete walls." The article also reported that the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Group had "awarded an $86,000 contract to Canadian firm K9 Storm Inc. for the supply of 'Canine Tactical Assault Vests' for wear by SEAL dogs." The K9 catalogue boasts an array of high-tech canine devices, from storm lights to long lines and leads to an assortment of vests — assault, aerial insertion, and patrol-SWAT — which are rated from "excellent" to "good" in protecting the animal from harm due to everything from bullets to ice picks.

Not all military dogs are trained to kill. According to the U.S. Air Force, a dog only enters advanced training after a basic obedience program is successfully completed. The focus of this more intensive training is "controlled aggressiveness" in which the dog is "taught to find a suspect or hostile person in a building or open area; to attack, without command, someone who is attacking its handler; to cease an attack upon command at any point after an attack command has been given. Make no mistake, these animals can be lethal weapons: "The average German Shepherd's bite exerts between 400 and 700 pounds of pressure," according to the U.S. Air Force.

Military dogs and their handlers often form deep bonds — it's an essential part of the canine-handler relationship that is specifically built into their training regimen. The personal attachments are often so intense that it can take weeks of training before a dog can begin working with a new handler.

Not only are these dogs fierce assault weapons, they are loyal guardians. When Private First Class Colton Rusk was shot after his unit came under Taliban sniper fire during a routine patrol in Afghanistan, Rusk's bomb-sniffing dog, Eli, crawled on top of his body, attacking anyone — including Rusk's fellow Marines — who tried to come near him. Rusk did not survive the assault, but Eli was granted early retirement so he could live with Rusk's family.

A canine's olfactory powers are well known — dogs are now even being used to sniff out rare types of cancer — and that natural ability hasn't gone unnoticed by the U.S. military. When President Barack Obama traveled to Asia last fall, an elite team of 30 bomb-sniffing dogs were part of his security entourage. (All in all, it was a pretty cushy assignment: The dogs stayed in 5-star hotels and rode in vehicles tailored to their comfort and safety.)

More remarkable still are vapor-wake dogs. Scientists at Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine have genetically bred and specially trained canines to not only detect stationary bombs or bomb-making materials, but identify and alert their handler to the moving scent of explosive devices and materials left behind in the air, say, as a suicide bomber walked through a crowd — all without ever tipping off the perpetrator. While not as expensive as some military-trained dogs, the cost of breeding and training these dogs cost is not cheap at around $20,000 each.

U.S. and allied forces have been fighting a losing battle against improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Afghanistan. In the first eight months of 2010 there were more roadside bombs in Afghanistan than in the same period in 2009.

In October 2010, the Pentagon announced that after six years and $19 billion spent in the attempt to build the ultimate bomb detector technology, dogs were still the most accurate sniffers around. The success rate of detection with the Pentagon's fanciest equipment — drones and aerial detectors — was 50 percent, but when a dog was involved it rose 30 percent. Katherine Bigelow should have included a dog in her Academy Award winning film the Hurt Locker.

Over the last two years, there has been an effort to rapidly increase the number IED detection dogs in Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently, the Marine Corps has 170 bomb-sniffing dogs, but has plans to deploy as many as 600 dogs to their program before September 2012. In late 2010 the Marines have also awarded a contract to American K-9 Interdiction for "as much as $35 million" to train and kennel their dogs.

In February, Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos stated that he'd like to see "a dog with every patrol."

During World War I, the German and French armies used an estimated 50,000 trained dogs as sentries, scouts, ammunition carriers, messengers, and casualty dogs. The British and Belgians loaned similarly trained dogs to the American Expeditionary Forces late in the war.

In the early 1930s, Germany opened a large dog training school in Frankfurt. By the time the United States entered World War II, the Germans had trained nearly 200,000 war dogs.

The attack on Pearl Harbor sparked the first serious interest in war dogs by the U.S. military services. In May 1942, the U.S. Army received the first nine American-trained sentry dogs from Dogs for Defense Inc., an organization composed of American civilians interested in training dogs for the war effort. From these nine dogs, the U.S. Army Canine (K-9) Corps was formed. It grew to a force of more than 10,000 dogs before the close of the war.

Following World War II, the Air Force began using sentry dogs in both Europe and the Pacific area for peacetime duty. The first Air Force sentry dog school was activated at Showa Air Station, Japan, in 1952. In 1953, the second school was opened at Wiesbaden, West Germany. The Army continued to train and supply sentry dogs to Air Force units in the United States until the Sentry Dog Training Branch of the Department of Security Police Training was established at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, in October 1958.

Through the years, a number of different breeds have been tested for the Military Working Dog (MWD) program. Currently, the German Shepherd, Dutch Shepherd and Belgian Malinois have proven to be the best choices as the standard MWD for patrol and detection work. However, other breeds such as the Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever and other sporting breed dogs have been used in support of the Transportation Security Administration mission and one of the DoD's newer canine capabilities, the Specialized Search Dog. The German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois have the best overall combination of keen sense of smell, endurance, speed, strength, courage, intelligence and adaptability to almost any climatic condition.

A dog's world is significantly different from man's. A dog's vision is inferior to man's although it can detect movement, however slight, at greater distances. A dog depends less on visual impressions than on its superior senses of hearing and smell. A German Shepherd's and Belgian Malinois' hearing ability is much better than man's, though their keenest sense is that of smell. Both the German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois rely mostly on their sense of smell for close examination of the environment. The highly developed senses of hearing and smell, along with a generally superior personality and disposition, make German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois the most versatile working dog breeds, and the ones best suited for military duties.

I have had a love for German Shepherds since seeing Rin-Tin-Tin in the movies during World War Two. I currently own two of these smart, courageous and loyal dogs —Baina and Blaze. When you sit and talk softly with them and look into their eyes you just know they are trying to understand you. They are definitely a gift from God.

I can recall a documentary film I saw on he war dogs of Vietnam and the heroic actions they performed. As I stated above the U.S. Army, in their ignorance, considered these dog as surplus property when we withdrew from that conflict and ordered the dogs destroyed. During the film there was an interview with an army veterinarian who was ordered to perform the euthanasia on these brave and loyal animals. He stated that to this day he cannot look a German Shepherd in the eyes without tearing up. I can totally understand his emotions. As I was doing the research for this blog post I was tearing up as I learned more about the performance and value of the Military Working Dogs. I kept thinking of my two German Shepherds as I was writing this and wondering how they would perform in a military operation. I think they would do just fine.

During Obama’s big deal campaign, “spike the ball” performance at Fort Campbell he made no mention of the role of the MWD in the take down of bin Laden. Shame on him!

Appended on May 7, 2011.

After additional research I discovered the name of the dog that accompanied the Navy SEALs in the bin Laden take down. His name is Cairo and he was presented to Obama during his visit to Fort Campbell. You can read the two articles about the dogs by clicking here and here.