War Dog

ForeignPolicy.com ^ | MAY 4, 2011 | REBECCA FRANKEL

[Daffynition]

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.

Above, a U.S. soldier with the 10th Special Forces Group and his dog leap off the ramp of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter during water training over the Gulf of Mexico as part of exercise Emerald Warrior on March 1.

[Daffynition]

Awesome images at the link above.

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[caver]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2715888/posts

[Daffynition]

Thanks. Search function sucks. ;)

[Doogle]

...one of my early introductions to meeting a sentry dog close up and personal....

I had met Sport and his handler just by passing and the customary nod....after a few weeks had passed, our encounter took place while Sport was on a break, he was munching away on a snickers bar his handler had given him and was gnawing away like it was the biggest bone ever.
I knew the dog’s name because I had asked another sentry what this dog name was because he was the classic Shepherd colors, but much bigger. I was unaware of a little thing Sport’s handler and he had worked out between them..*smiles*
I walked up to where they were resting and called out, ‘hey Sport!”...bad move,very bad move...he lunged without taken a step, and even being 12 feet away, he missed my forearm by an inch....his handler smiled and said, “he only responds to me and he’s been trained to attack strangers who call him” I said good thing he was tethered, the handler said good thing I replaced his old one....we became friends after that, BUT ONLY when his handler said it was cool..*smiles*

[RightOnline]

Terrific piece. Thanks for posting.

[cavador]

On the Eastern Front in WW2 the Russian soldiers had trained dogs to wear explosive vests and run underneath Nazi tanks and the Russians detonated the explosives by remote control.An effective but cruel (to the dogs)weapon in the russians arsenal.They trained the dogs by feeding them under tracked vehicles.I guess they didn't respect the dogs.

[KDD]

he was munching away on a snickers bar

What ever you do people, never ever give your dog chocolate...it can kill him...same with grapes.

[Daffynition]

Cool story. Thanks.

This song will be stuck in my head all day.....*R-E-S-P-E-C-T*

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Reminds me of what the Muslims do to their children. Strap them with bombs and send them off....

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NO! NO! and NO!

[marine86297]

My sons best friend(and second son to me)is a dog handler for the Marine Corps stationed in Afghanistan right now. The pictures and stories he has are incredible. What a great young man he turned out to be.

Coming home this month, with his Dog!

[KDD]

Great pics.

I love a dog. He does nothing for political reasons.
-Will Rogers ...

[I Buried My Guns]

"...What ever you do people, never ever give your dog chocolate...it can kill him...same with grapes."

Avocados too. That was a surprise. There is a chemical called persin in avocados that dogs cannot tolerate.

[Daffynition]

Gotta love and respect all of these 2&4 legged heroes!

[KDD]

Didn't know that...

We accidentally poison around 7000 of our furry friends annually.