Posted on 01/23/2006 3:10:20 PM PST by SandRat
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq (Army News Service, Jan. 23, 2006) – Staff Sgt. Archie, 67th Engineering Detachment, greets everyone with warmth and friendliness. His tail wags and his tongue lolls from his mouth as he places both huge paws on his visitor’s chest and gives them a dead-on look in the eyes.
Staff Sgt. Figo greets her visitors with a serious stare, more aloof than her counterpart, but still friendly. She’ll gladly accept a pet on the head for a moment or two before turning to more important business.
The 67th Engineering Detachment adopted the program, began by the British Army, using dogs to find explosives and contraband almost three years ago. Most of the dogs are found in pounds or donated to the program. They undergo a training period of about three months before being placed with a handler.
Handlers share lives with dogs
“I went to train under Roger Tredwell, who’s been doing this kind of thing for 30 years,” said Sgt. Daniel Broda, of 67th Engineering Detachment, the handler for Staff Sgt. Figo. “I didn’t see my dog for quite a while. He can judge in one week which dog to team up with each handler. He makes the choice based on personality and temperament of both the dog and the handler. Most of the time it works out.”
“Figo is a Lab and Springer spaniel mix, so she’s a bit high strung. She’s very independent,” said Broda. “It took quite a while before we were able to bond. I didn’t think it was going to work out because she wouldn’t listen. Then one day it just clicked. Now we’re inseparable. She goes with me everywhere.”
The pair has been together for almost two years now, sharing the same sleeping space and daily routine. “It feels weird when she’s not with me, like not having my weapon with me. Our dogs are actually more important than our weapons because we can’t do our mission without them,” said Broda.
Dogs one rank higher than handlers
Each dog is awarded rank in the Army system and receives special treatment by the system and their handler.
“The dogs are always one step higher in rank than their handler in case of abuse,” said Broda. “If a handler abuses the animal, he’s subject to UCMJ action. If I get promoted, she gets promoted as well.”
The dogs, usually Labrador retrievers or a Labrador mix, are given rigorous training and their relationship with their handlers is very important. When working, they wear a special harness and they know that when wearing it, it’s time to work. “They won’t work without their harnesses,” said Broda.
Figo earns recognition
Staff Sgt. Figo has been at the Victory complex almost two years. During that time, she has found many caches of weapons and stockpiles of munitions. She was awarded a Bronze Star and a Combat Action medal during her deployment to Iraq. Because she is so good at her job, she has become quite well known amongst the insurgent populace.
“They can clear an area one hundred times faster than Soldiers can,” said Sgt. Mathew McKee, Staff Sgt. Archie’s handler, “because they can smell through the walls.”
“They’re very aware of what the dogs can do,” said Broda. “She has put a lot of people in prison. Staff Sgt. Figo has taken sniper fire – and it was directed at her specifically. I’ve heard that there is a $200,000 bounty for the man that brings back her ear.”
Dogs in danger
All the dogs trained for this mission have a tattoo of their ‘serial number’ in their ear to identify them. Somehow the insurgents learned of this and have identified which animal to target. This has made it more dangerous for Staff Sgt. Figo to work outside the parameters of the Victory complex.
These dogs are now assigned to Force Protection inside the walls of the complex, which keeps them sharp for missions in the field and safe from sniper bullets.
“She’s only got a little while left here,” said Broda. “Our tour is almost up and we’ll get to go home. Then we’ll get some time off and she can play all she wants for a while.”
Playing is a special treat for dogs with such an important mission. “They have special toys they like to play with, like the tennis balls. Play is her treat for doing a good job. We don’t give them food treats, that would make them lazy, but when we play ball with them, and they don’t have to wear the harness, that is a treat.”
“Engineer Specialized Search Dog Teams are definitely a force multiplier for all combat and combat support operations and have proven their ability and worth during multiple military operations,” said Brig. Gen. Robin Timmons, commander, 16th Engineer Brigade. “The dog teams are highly-trained professionals and perform every mission in a superior manner. From a command perspective, they are invaluable.”
Staff Sgt. Figo is returning home with Sgt. Broda, and Staff Sgt. Archie will pick up where she leaves off. He’s been learning the ropes from her for the last three months and is ready to take over for his teacher.
The dogs and the handlers share the routine, and the dangerous missions, as special teams – helping keep the forces on the Victory complex safe.
(Editor’s note: Sgt. Anne Drier serves with the 636rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)
So sorry to hear about your loss. It is never easy to say good-bye.
I tried to find ... but could not ... a free republic post from a few months back where a particularly talented Israeli trainer was working with dogs and pigs for that reason. Given that the Muslims don't mind goats, he was working on his technique for training them, but it was too soon to tell if one goat that learned to sniff explosives was the start of a trend.
FYI
How about the largest razorback hogs available?
Oh I am so very sorry for your loss, I know the feeling
She is a beautiful animal.
They love their people and it's great they can save lives .
You should train your dogs to find diamonds.
He could be the Diamond Dog!
I needed a good dog story. The vet had to put my 14 year old German Shorthaired Pointer to sleep this afternoon. He had a great life and I'm really going to miss him.
I'm so sorry Centexan...
I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren't certain we knew better.
They fight for honor at the first challenge, make love without moral restraint and they do not for all their instincts appear to foresee or dwell on their own death. Being such wonderfully uncomplicated beings, they need us to do their worrying.
There will be an occasional clash of intents if not of wills, and you must work this out without loss of intimacy.
~George Bird Evans, Troubles With Bird DogsMISSING OUR DOGS
Old Men miss many dogs.
They only live a dozen years,if that,
And by the time you are sixty, there are several
The names of which evoke remembering smiles.
You see them in your mind,heads cocked and seated.
You see them by your bed, or in the rain,
Or sleeping by the fire by nights
And always dying.They are remembered like departed children
Though they gave vastly more than ever they took,
And finally you're seeing dogs that look like them.
They pass you in the street but never turn
Although it seems they should,their faces so familiar.
Old men miss many dogs.
A Little Dog Angel
High up in the courts of heaven today
a little dog angel waits;
with the other angels he will not play,
but he sits alone at the gates.
"For I know my master will come" says he,
"and when he comes he will call for me."
The other angels pass him by
As they hurry toward the throne,
And he watches them with a wistful eye
as he sits at the gates alone.
"But I know if I just wait patiently
that someday my master will call for me."
And his master, down on earth below,
as he sits in his easy chair,
forgets sometimes, and whispers low
to the dog who is not there.
And the little dog angel cocks his ears
and dreams that his master's voice he hears.
And when at last his master waits
outside in the dark and cold,
for the hand of death to open the door,
that leads to those courts of gold,
he will hear a sound through the gathering dark,
a little dog angel's bark.
So sorry for the loss of your much loved companion....
Thanks - the last thing I told him was that I'd see him again at the Rainbow Bridge.
Then we could put him in the infantry.
My sympathies for the loss of your good boy.
It does get easier. I still remember with great affection the dogs I had before the current two. They all have distinct personalities, but occasionally one of them will do something that reminds me of those others - a funny quirk or even just a certain look in the eyes.
He is cavorting with My Brittany.
She has been there a little while. I'll have her show him around.
I bet I could do camoflauge if I made a stencil...
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