US Military Sets Up Special Iraq Canine Unit
Admin: Melody Chen
Categories: Military, News, Working Dogs
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Mar 5, 2010 - View Comments
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United Kingdom — An army search dog who saved lives in Afghanistan is to be honoured with the animal version of the Victoria Cross.
Black Labrador Treo, eight, will be awarded the Dickin Medal at the event at the Imperial War Museum in London.
The now retired dog, from 104 Military Working Dog Support Unit, North Luffenham barracks in Rutland, twice found hidden bombs in Helmand province.
Treo will be the 63rd animal to receive the medal created by veterinary charity the PDSA to honour gallantry in war.
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When we profiled Sgt. Clay Rankin in early November, he was celebrating life. Not only had he overcome spinal cord injuries sustained during his deployment to Iraq, but Archie, the service dog that helped him regain independence, was awarded “Dog of the Year” by the ASPCA.
Much changed the following week when Archie died of a heart attack.
“He was more than a dog,” Rankin said. “He was my friend. He was part of my body and soul. He gave me the ability to walk like a man, interact with other people and get on with my life.”
Patriot Paws of Rockwall – a nonprofit that trains and donates service dogs to veterans with mobile disabilities – came to the rescue. Founder Lori Stevens had provided Rankin with Archie more than three years earlier.
“When she found out he had died, she flew to my home in West Virginia and stayed for two weeks to help get me through my grief,” Rankin said.
At Stevens’ urging, Rankin returned to Patriot Paws last month to explore the prospect of finding a new service dog.
“No dog can replace Archie,” said Rankin. “Losing him was like losing a child, but I’m open. I’m open to the possibility.”
And while Rankin has not fully recovered emotionally from Archie’s death, moving on is a necessity if he wants to resume the freedoms he enjoyed when Archie was alive.
Rankin works for the Army Wounded Warrior Program, which assists and advocates for seriously ill and injured soldiers, veterans and their families. It is a job Rankin loves, but since Archie’s death, has been unable to perform.
“You have to understand what this dog did for me,” he said. “He braced me so I could walk. Without him, I can’t visit my soldiers because I can’t get around.”
Stevens is hoping Rankin’s visit to Patriot Paws will change all that.
“We’ve narrowed it down to an 18-month-old yellow lab named Harley Davidson,” she said. “I know Clay’s heart is not completely open to getting a new dog just yet, but it’s time.”
Rankin worked with Harley for a week, then took him home for a three-month trial run.
“What you go through makes you who you are,” he said. “My whole heart exists to serve other people. As long as I can do that, I am happy. Maybe Harley can get me there again.”
To assist with Patriot Paws’ mission, call 972-772-3282 or visit patriotpaws.org.
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This goes a bit back into 2009, but it’s great and I thought you guys would love to see it
– Kenn
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By Chelsea J. Carter for The Associated Press
BAGHDAD – The U.S. military is rushing delivery of dozens of bomb-detection dogs to Iraq after accusations that widely used mechanical devices are ineffective to pinpoint explosives at checkpoints and other sites.
The first shipment of 25 dogs is expected today. Another 120 bomb-sniffing dogs are scheduled to arrive in Iraq over the next 12 months, said Army Maj. Sylvester Wegwu, a senior military adviser at the Baghdad Police College.
“We have more requests than we have dogs and handlers,” said police Brig. Gen. Mohammad Mesheb Hajea, who is in charge of Iraq’s K-9 training program.
Pressure has risen on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to address security lapses after suspected Sunni militants carried out a series of major bombings in Baghdad, killing hundreds since August.
The worries over security are strong enough to overcome reluctance among Iraqi forces to use canines because of Islamic religious taboos that consider dogs unclean. While U.S. troops and foreign private security firms often used sniffing dogs, Iraqis relied on them far less – both because troops didn’t like using them and Iraqis didn’t like being searched by them.
“Our culture is different from the European culture and the American culture,” said Hajea, who also runs a veterinary clinic in Baghdad.
Iraqi authorities instead requested scanners capable of peering inside sealed portions of vehicles. But there were reports that device used – a wandlike, handheld mechanism known as ADE-651 – was flawed.
Last month, British authorities banned its export to Iraq and Afghanistan after a BBC report raised questions about its ability to detect explosives.
U.S. commanders have been urging Iraqi forces to abandon the ADE-651, telling security officials they did not work following major bombings against government sites in August, October and December, according to a U.S. military officer with knowledge of the discussions.
Use of bomb-hunting dogs has become more pronounced in some areas of Baghdad in recent weeks, appearing to coincide with news that the detection devices were faulty.
The order for the dogs was put in last year, but the U.S. stepped up delivery of the first group at the Iraqi government’s request.
Because of the sensitivities, the job of dog handler is volunteer only, and dogs will be used to search cars, buildings and other areas – not people, unless they are suspected of being a bomber, Hajea said.
Iraqi policeman Saadun Mazier, who works with a Belgian Malinois named Gina, does not believe the police dogs will change some Muslim feelings about canines. But he does believe many will come to understand their usefulness.
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Tosca, a Belgium Malanois explosive detector dog works to sniff out explosives during a training exercise with the Afghan National Army (ANA) in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010. Canadian forces are working with the ANA to assist them in conducting searches with dog teams. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
By Eric Talmadge for Associated Press
KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN – The U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan has led to a dog surge — and unexpected problems in procuring high-quality dog food with enough protein and nutrients for hundreds of canines used to find explosives and perform other energy-intensive missions.
Along with about 37,000 U.S. and NATO troops, the number of military working dogs being brought into the country to search for mines, explosives and to accompany soldiers on patrol is increasing substantially, according to Nick Guidas, the American K-9 project manager for Afghanistan.
Guidas, a civilian contractor who primarily oversees dog operations in southern Afghanistan, said he has 50 dogs on operational teams and about 20 more awaiting missions. He expects that number to go up to 219 by July. “It may go as high as 315 dogs in Afghanistan,” he said Saturday at a crowded kennel full of highly trained German and Dutch Shepherds, Belgian Malinois and Labradors on this air base, the hub of U.S. and international security forces’ operations in the volatile Kandahar area.
“Because of the surge there is more need for working dogs. But one of my main problems is getting dog food,” he said. “It’s hard to convince people sometimes that it’s a priority, but it’s a necessity if we are to keep these dogs working.”
Guidas said because of the energy-intensive demands of their missions, the dogs require special food and can’t just eat scraps.
The dog food, which is made commercially in the United States and has extra protein and nutrients to keep the dogs healthy while working in the heat and cold, must be shipped to Pakistan and then trucked to Kandahar. But space on trucks is limited and prioritized. Food and supplies for humans come first, and logistics planners are still adjusting for the eating needs of the bigger pack of dogs to be put to work.
“It doesn’t get a higher priority than a Coke or some potato chips,” Guidas said of the dog food. “It moves when it moves.”
Even so, the dogs have become an essential component of many units because of their versatility. They can be trained to search for a wide variety of explosives and parts used in making improvised bombs.
In the past month alone, military dogs in southern Afghanistan have made 20 finds of unexploded devices, weapon caches and other materiel.
The U.S. has about 2,800 military dogs, the largest canine force in the world. It has used dogs in combat since World War I.
The dogs don’t come cheap. It costs about $40,000 per dog a year, and each goes through about five months of training. This year, Guidas expects the cost of the dog food that he needs to reach $200,000, up from about $80,000 last year.
He said each dog can work for five or six years, but the demands of the terrain and of the mission are harsh, particularly on the dogs’ joints. If a dog is injured or sick, it is not sent out on operations.
Only two military dogs have been lost in southern Afghanistan in the past five years, Guidas said. “We take very good care of these dogs,” he said. “In some cases they are treated better than us.”
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British soldiers fighting in Afghanistan yesterday launched a campaign to save their brave “mascot”.
Tangye, a black Labrador, has patrolled alongside the men, surviving many gun battles and explosions.
But the lethal threat from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) is now higher than ever and the soldiers are worried that Tangye could be blown up.
So the men from C Company, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, want to find the pet a new home in the UK.
Lance Corporal Brent Meheux, 44, from Exeter, said: “It would mean an awful lot to the lads to know he was safe. He’s been such a morale-booster.
“But we had to stop him coming out on patrol about a week ago – the IED threat is just too high.”
Tangye – named after a village on Helmand river – has lived at the UK base since a soldier bought him as a puppy five years ago.
L/Cpl Meheux said: “We want someone in Britain to give him a safe home.”
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Sabi laps up the attention of her handler as she waits to return home
When Sabi the Australian sniffer dog was reunited with her army handlers in Afghanistan more than a year after she went missing during a battle, officials said she had been found by chance, living wild, by an American soldier.
The reality of the feel-good story appears to be very different: Sabi was allegedly kidnapped by the Taleban.
Officials billed her return as a miracle and only released the news once she had been photographed with the top US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, and the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, who were in Oruzgan for a Remembrance Day visit.
But tribal elders say the Australian troops knew who had Sabi all along and at one point even arrested the kidnapper’s father and orchestrated a dog-for-dad swap. Khadeeg Rakim, the region’s deputy governor, said that Sabi was held hostage by a Taleban commander called Mullah Hamdullah. Afghans said that the Australians made it known on local radio that they would exchange the dog for the father, according to a report by a former Dutch diplomat, Martine van Bijlert. The locals said that Mullah Hamdullah refused to negotiate and his father was released soon afterwards.
In the version of events told to Ms van Bijlert, Mullah Hamdullah tired of his prize and sent the dog with a local cleric to negotiate a ransom. He wanted $20,000 but his envoy returned more or less empty handed. “They might have given him some pocket money,” she said.
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LOS ANGELES — For several years, Jude Stringfellow and her Lab-chow mix have toured the country with a simple message: Faith walks.
Born without front legs to a junkyard dog around Christmas 2002, Faith the puppy was rejected and abused by her mother. She was rescued by Rueben Stringfellow, now an Army E-4 specialist, who had been asked to bury other puppies in the litter.
“Can we fix her? Stringfellow, then 17, asked his mom. “No, but maybe we can help her,” she said.
So Rueben turned Faith over to his mother, English professor Jude Stringfellow. At first the family had to carry Faith to keep her off her chest and chin. But with peanut butter and practice, Faith learned to walk on her two hind legs.
Since that day on March 22, 2002, Faith has done the talk show circuit, gone on tour with Ozzy Osbourne and been named an honorary Army sergeant. Jude Stringfellow has become a motivational speaker, written two books about Faith and is working on a third, “Faith Walks.”
They get more than 200 letters and e-mails a day, run a Web site and make dozens of appearances every year, including stops at veterans’ hospitals across the country to cheer injured soldiers.
That mission is special for Stringfellow, whose son left Iraq in September and is stationed in Alaska. He is scheduled to get out of the Army and head home on Jan. 1.
For many, Faith brings a powerful message about overcoming adversity. “Faith has shown me that different is beautiful, that it is not the body you are in but the soul that you have,” Jill Salomon of Montreal, Canada, wrote on Faith’s Web site.
Stringfellow will never forget a woman from New York who happened to see Faith on a street corner. She was depressed and had lost both legs to diabetes.
“She was in her wheelchair and saw us. She was crying. She had seen Faith on television. She just held her and said she wished she had that kind of courage.”
Stringfellow said. “She told us: ‘I was on my way to pick up the gun.’ She handed the pawn ticket to a police officer and said she didn’t need it anymore.”
That sense of hope is especially important for Faith’s visits to Army bases. Last weekend she headed to Washington state, where she met with as many as 5,000 soldiers at McChord Air Force Base and Fort Lewis. Some of the soldiers were headed to war, some were coming back.
“She just walks around barking and laughing and excited to see them all,” Jude Stringfellow said. “There is a lot of crying, pointing and surprise. From those who have lost friends or limbs, there can be silence. Some will shake my hand and thank me, some will pat her on the head. There is a lot of quiet, heartfelt, really deep emotion.”
Faith never fails to bring a smile to a soldier’s face, said Patrick Mcghee, general manager at Fort Lewis.
“To see the children interact with Faith is simply priceless,” he said.
But Faith’s most emotional reunion — with Ruben Stringfellow, who rescued her 7 years ago this Christmas — will have to wait for January. He’s already gotten Faith a birthday present: a peanut butter cookie with her name on it.
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