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Townhall of Fame

Honoring the Leaders Among Us

Sgt. Sabrina Curtis and her military working dog Jessy participate in a three-week pre-deployment training course at Yuma Proving Ground, a Marine base in
Arizona, earlier this year. (Photo courtesy of Rebecca Frankel)

Superhero Canines
By Leah Barkoukis

Military working dogs play an


invaluable role in U.S. operations.
Mans beloved best friend has emerged as a beacon of hope in
the darkest of human conflicts from Vietnam to Afghanistan
but dont let the tail-wagging fool you. Making their official
debut in the U.S. Army in 1942, war dogs have quickly become a
huge asset to the military and play an invaluable role in todays
war on terror.
Theyre [military working dogs] saving lives every day Ron
Aiello, president of the United States War Dogs Association,
tells Townhall.
Military working dogs are not your typical sleep-all-day, playall-night animals.
Donned in protective eye doggles, boots and body armor
with video and two-way radio, a dogs typical day could include
jumping or repelling out of helicopters, skydiving, finding IEDs
and weapon caches or conducting amphibious assault ops. For

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TOWNHALL July 2012

these reasons, one might say these canines are the James Bonds
of the dog world.
Beneath the high-tech equipment, however, the traits and
capabilities of the military working dogs are what make them so
priceless. War dogs are chosen for their athleticism, trainability,
loyalty, courage, intelligence, aggressiveness, adaptability
to climactic variations and, not least of which, their noses.
According to the Lackland Air Force Base website, the olfactory
capabilities in explosive detector dogs are so heightened that in
special tests they could detect odor concentrations as small as
one to two parts per billion and, in many other tests, in amounts
too small to measure. The Department of Defense harnessed
this capability, adding single purpose dogs (typically Labrador
retrievers) to their literal and figurative arsenal of weapons to
combat the growing problem of IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan
in the war on terror. German shepherds, Dutch shepherds and
Belgian Malinois are also utilized for dual-purpose detection
and patrol work.
Theyre [MWDs] kind of the first line of defense. They go

everything together, youre like


one entity, Aiello recalls of his
time with his military working
dog, Stormy.
In the way that family members
or partners can sense an emotion
in one another, so too can
handlers and their dogs read
each other. This bond is vital for
success in combat. When dogs
are tired or overheated, they can
miss IEDsmaking it all the
more crucial for handlers to be
able to understand their dogs
cues. Likewise, dogs likely arent
going to feel comfortable when
their handlers are unsure of
themselves, Frankel says.
You depend on your dog to
save your life or the life of your
troops that are walking behind
you, Aiello says. If you have
confidence in your dog, its the
two of you out there, and you
dont worry about anything. You
U.S. Marines and a device detection dog are pictured at Patrol Base Barcha following a security patrol in Afghanistan.
(Photo courtesy of Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System)
know, when I tell people what I
did in Vietnam, they say, Youre
crazy. And I say, Nah, I had my dog with me.
out and patrol and hopefully detect the IEDs or snipers or any
Whether it was sniper fire or booby traps, Stormy did save
danger that lay ahead, says Aiello.
In 2011, IEDs caused more than half the casualties of NATO Aiellos life and the lives of countless other Marines a number of
times. In Vietnam, Aiello recalls, They actually put a bounty on
forces in Afghanistan, according to NATO.
the dogs head of about $20,000. And the handlerif they kill
And the problem with IEDs is not going anywhere, Rebecca
Frankel, chief canine correspondent for Foreign Policy, tells uswe were only worth $10,000.
We werent worth as much as the dogs, he laughs.
Townhall. In countries outside of Iraq and Afghanistan, the rate
The bond between war dog and handler is unlike any other.
of their use is growing, which is frightening because theyre so
Stories abound detailing the until death do they part connection.
easy to make, so inexpensive, and anyone can do it.
The way theyre used, unfortunately they dont just target Aiello tells the story of a Marine who ran into a fire and gave his
enemy, continues Frankel, who is also writing a book about life to try to save his dog. Similarly, there are countless stories of
canines in combat to be published by Free Press. There are the protective nature war dogs develop toward their handlers.
civilians who are probably going to be affected in some way or In addition to physical protection, the dogs also provide
psychological refuge and therapy.
another.
You would do anything for your dog, and your dog would do
Aiello remembers when he was a Marine scout-dog handler in
Vietnam, the upper brass of the military didnt fully realize the anything for you, Aiello says.
For what the military working dogs represent and have
vital role the war dogs played. Today, things have changed. In
dealing with IEDs buried several feet underground along roads, accomplished, Aiello hopes that the Canine Members of the
Armed Forces Act currently in the House and Senate will pass,
the war dogs skill and precision is unsurpassed.
They [MWDs abilities] cant be replicated by any equipment, changing the status of the dogs from their current designation as
equipment. He also suggests people visit www.uswardogs.org for
says Aiello. A dog could do it a hundred times faster.
While these dogs have proven themselves to be resilient more information on the canine superheroes.
In light of a tenuous budgetary future, Frankel stresses
adversaries on the battlefield, their success is largely dependent
on the training and devotion their handlers put forth every the importance of war dog programs and the need for their
single day. Frankel says a misperception people often have preservation. Detecting IEDs is just one of the war dogs many
about war dogs is that their sense of smell is so superior that formal and informal duties and roles, she tells Townhall.
Its [military working dogs] a fighting force we need whether
you can just drop them somewhere and expect that theyll
find where it is [IED], whatever danger that sort of lurks in the were in a time of war or not, Frankel says.
unknown.
Its crucial that they work as a unit, she says.
And they do.
Leah Barkoukis is an editorial intern at Townhall.com and Townhall
You work together, you play together, you eat together, you do Magazine.
July 2012 TOWNHALL

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