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A small figure drifts down a dimly lit hallway. Its silhouette a
murky shadow against a white background.
The sound of its
feet are a faint drum against the hall's linoleum flooring, and it
breathes in soft pants.
Its pointed nose sweeps low to the
ground, and its ears are perked high—listening… In search of what
lurks beyond the shadows.
In a flash, a broad man leaps from
the darkness.
The dog charges forward and pounces, latching
onto his arm with a vise-tight grip.
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December 7, 2016 - Jop, a military working dog with the 49th
Security Forces Squadron, chews on a rubber toy during a “play time”
session with his handler at Holloman Air Force Base, NM. Holloman's
MWDs are afforded play time daily. Oftentimes, basic obedience is
incorporated into the dog's play time. Handlers are required to do a
minimum of one hour of obedience training every day, which involves
commands such as sit, down, stay, heel and out. (U.S. Air Force
photo by Airman 1st Class Alexis P. Docherty)
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Doesn't sound like an average day, but this specialized
patrol simulation is just one of the many routines that
military working dogs at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.
engage in.
To become an MWD, a dog must undergo a
certification process that encompasses a diverse training
course. This training course covers such skills sets as
basic obedience and aggression, explosive or narcotics
detection, and patrol work. The MWDs are selected for
service between the ages of one and a half and four years,
from European breeders or Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
“In order to become qualified or certified as a
working dog, [each dog] starts their life at Lackland AFB
where they go through dog training school,” said Senior
Airman David, a MWD handler with the 49th Security Forces
Squadron. “There, they learn the basics on how to do their
job, as far as detection and patrol work. They will go
through testing, and then they will get certified as a dog.”
From there, the dogs ship out to their respective
bases.
“Once they get to their base, they will be
assigned to a handler,” David said. “The handler and the dog
will work together as a dog team for about 60 days. In that
60 days, the handler will work on the dog's detection, and
will go into a little bit more detail about how to work the
dog and how the dog works specific to that base. They will
also do patrol training, where they will work on their bite
work and their searching. Once they are trained with the
handler, they will get validated.”
Validation is a
test that determines whether or not a dog is proficient in
their skill sets and if they can accurately perform their
job. Certification comes from the search grant authority of
a base. In Holloman's case, this would be the Mission
Support Group commander.
“The whole process takes
less than about six months, from the time they [arrive at]
Lackland AFB, to the time that they are certified as a dog
team with a handler,” David said. “It's a pretty quick
process.”
Though Holloman's MWDs are not permitted
to play with one another, each dog is granted a routine dose
of “play time” with their handler, to relieve any stress or
anxiety they may experience. This also helps the dogs to
work on basic obedience and training.
“The dogs do
not ever get to interact with each other,” David said. “We
do not let them socialize with each other or with other dogs
as far as base populace goes. The reason for that is because
they may end up fighting. Because they are trained in patrol
work and in aggression, they are trained to protect
themselves. We do not want to take the chance of them
fighting out here in the yard or in our kennels.”
Though the dogs are not allowed to play with other dogs or
people, they do not miss out on play time.
“They get
plenty of time to play with their handlers, we play with
them every day,” David said. “It's up to the handler how
much play time they get, whether it be 10 minutes, 30
minutes, an hour, two hours, whatever it might be for that
day.”
However, to play hard the dogs must also work
hard.
“We're required to do a minimum of one hour of
obedience every day, and we like to make the obedience fun,”
David said. “We throw their toy around, we run around with
them, we pet them. The obedience we do is sit, down, stay,
heel and out. But, we will do that as a bare minimum, and we
will work on different things that are more complex. So, if
we want the dog to sit at one end of our yard, we will have
them sit, then we will tell them to stay, then we will walk
to the other end of our yard, and then we will give commands
from there, whether it be down, sit or heel. So, though we
do very few actual commands, we can make them a little more
complicated, make them a little more fun.”
Training
an MWD can be a rewarding process for a handler.
“The best part of this job is taking a dog that has issues,
working with them, and then seeing that ‘lightbulb' click
on--seeing them get and understand something--and having
them perform the way in which you want or need them to
perform,” said Staff Sgt. Krystle, a military working dog
handler with the 49th SFS.
Holloman's MWDs may
appear strong as steel, but they struggle with health and
medical related issues like any other domesticated animal.
To combat illness, the dogs routinely attend dental and
medical checkups.
“We have four dogs who are facing
medical challenges,” David said. “Two of them have cancer,
and one has a bad knee that is going to need surgery. So,
medical issues are a huge [concern] with working dogs,
especially with how active the dogs are, how much physical
activity they have to do, and how much demand they actually
have in their everyday lives. We have a vet on station who
sees [the dogs] whenever we need them--24/7, 365. So, care
is never an issue. It's just that as they age they have the
normal issues that every dog is going to have.”
The
relationship between an MWD and their handler is unique, and
specific to every handler and dog.
“Personally, I
look at my dog as a partner at work,” David said. “He stays
here at the kennels overnight. This is where he lives. I
come to work. I pick him up. We get in our patrol car; we do
our job. We come back, and we relax for the day. [I] let him
have some fun and play around. Then, I go home. I would
trust my dog with my life, and I would hope that he would
trust me with his. I don't see him as a pet. He's a great
dog, he works really well and I trust him.”
Holloman's MWDs exemplify the Air Force's core value of
service before self.
“What makes these dogs special
is that they do not get paid to do this,” Krystle said.
“They do it because we ask them to. They do not get a
paycheck, they do not get leave. They do not ask for
anything in return.”
Being an MWD handler is a
calling that requires patience and resourcefulness. Security
forces K-9 units, no matter their station, are a vital asset
to the Air Force and the Department of Defense.
“I
find this job to be very rewarding, depending on what we do
in a day,” David said. “If I come in and the dog is having a
bad day, it is not very rewarding because we get nothing
done. Sometimes, we actually backtrack on what we end up
doing. But, on a day-to-day, I find it very rewarding
because we have opportunities to protect and defend the base
or important people, like the president, distinguished
visitors or foreign dignitaries.”
By U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Alexis P. Docherty
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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