Sgt. Zachary McNew completes an endurance course with Chico on Fort Huachuca. (Melissa Marshall • Herald/Review)
Posted on 12/10/2010 10:12:34 AM PST by SandRat
FORT HUACHUCA — Teamwork, a word involving more than one helping another.
When it comes to the Army, teamwork has a more than special connection in one area — between a being that walks on two legs and another whose four paws hit the ground.
Soldier and dog are part of the service’s military working dog program. And on this southern Arizona Army post is one of nine teams — Sgt. Zachary McNew and Chico — who recently returned from Hawaii, where they won two trophies during an eight-event competition in which 37 teams vied for honors.
“We did way better than I expected,” said McNew, who has been a member of a MWD team for just a little more than a year.
The post duo took a first in the tactical explosive detection competition and a second in the endurance event.
“I was expecting just to learn more from the other teams,” McNew said.
The 23-year-old who calls Marion, Va., home has been in the Army for more than five years. He always has had dogs — “rescued animals” — but being part of a specialized human-and-dog team is different because there is a higher degree of trust needed between the partners.
Chico, a 2-year-old Belgian malinois, “is still a puppy,” McNew said. In dog years, the animal is a teenager, and when he was out on the course at the fort’s kennels, he was full of energy.
The duo deployed to Qatar, where their bonding increased with each other taking the measure of the other, said McNew, the only one who could speak for the team. There was no interpreter available to translate Chico’s high-pitched barks.
The two-legged soldier — Chico is also a soldier and while there no longer is a rank given to military working dogs, unofficially he is a staff sergeant, outranking his handler — said he deployed to Iraq as an MP, where he provided security for convoys and other operations.
But he wanted to become involved in the military working dog program and to do it, “I re-enlisted for it,” McNew said, adding “I thought it would be awesome. I had a passion to do it.”
He took the specialized training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, where all U.S. military dog handlers are trained, as are the animals.
Assigned to the fort, McNew was without a dog for a short period until Chico arrived.
And since McNew and Chico were a new team, the soldier had to use a pink leash until he and his dog were certified.
He said he certified quickly so he could give the pink leash back.
It was a period of bonding, with each becoming accustomed to the ways of the other, the sergeant said.
The growing as a team developed even more when they deployed for five months to Qatar. It was so hot, with temperatures reaching 140 degrees Fahrenheit, Chico had to wear booties to protect his paws.
As an explosive detection dog, Chico’s sense of smell was trained to locate bombs or other devices, McNew said.
However, there is a need for reinforcement, which means continuous training, even when the team is not on a mission, he said.
Preparation pays
McNew’s and Chico’s area of expertise is tactical explosive detection. And while the competition in Hawaii was difficult, their specific training left them well-prepared.
As for the endurance event, it required the teams — human and animal — to crawl under barbed wire and overcome obstacles.
Perhaps the hardest was carrying 70-pound Chico on his back for a quarter of a mile.
If a dog is hurt, the handler is expected to be able to do some basic first aid. One of the stations at the competition called for the handler to put in an IV line.
At the event, a stuffed fake dog was used, and McNew said the veterinarian technicians judging that part of the event said he was the best competitor at inserting the line.
On the course, McNew and Chico went through some of the paces to keep both of them fit.
For Chico, it was play time. For McNew, it was honing his and his dog’s abilities.
To keep the dog focused, the soldier would throw a large red rubber bone, which Chico eagerly retrieved and brought back to McNew, who gave verbal encouragement in a loud high-pitched voice of his own. Normally when talking with a dog, a high voice indicates satisfaction, but a low tone has more of a punishing sound.
When a team goes out, either on a mission or in public settings, McNew said many people just see a pet.
But Chico, “who will protect me,” and other military working dogs are not pets.
When they are in public, Chico watches people, ensuring they don’t do his handler harm.
Children especially want to pet the dogs, which cannot be allowed because a wrong movement could be read by an animal as aggressive, he said.
Some military working dogs are not people-friendly, except when it comes to the animal’s handler, he said.
“The bond between me and Chico is awesome,” McNew said.
BACKGROUND
A long history
The military has used dogs for more than 2,500 years, according to recorded history.
In 628 B.C., the Lydians had battalions of fighting dogs — mainly large breeds such as mastiffs.
Dogs were used by Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Persians and early Britons.
In the Middle Ages, some dogs were armored and were capable of taking a knight off a horse.
King Henry VIII sent 400 mastiffs to support Spain. His daughter Elizabeth I sent 800 dogs to counter an Irish rebellion.
During World War II, the Japanese used dogs as part of attacking forces to fend off U.S. forces in the Pacific.
Meanwhile in the same war, forces of the Soviet Union strapped explosives to small dogs’ backs and sent them under Nazi tanks to blow them up.
Today’s American military working dogs are engaged in explosives detection, narcotics detection, guard duty, search and rescue, and other procedures.
Military dogs no longer fit for duty can be adopted, but only if they are found to be no danger to humans.
Bill Hess, Herald/Review
Congratulations. Being in TX; i bet I know where he got his dog.
Malinois tend to be "one man dogs". My Labs are more indiscriminate. In fact, they love EVERYbody, even people who go "ewwwww!" when faced with a dog who wants to give kisses.
Thanks..what a beautiful doggie.
Thanks..what a beautiful doggie.
Nice.
I’d like to see more pix of this dog, because that does NOT look like a Malinois.
Go to the source URL for the Sierra Vista Herald.
How do you mean? They have the same pix there.
Click on the pic for more.
Still don’t get it.
Nothing happens; arrows just shift the window.
Should have been a total of 5 images that the right arrow of the enlarged image clicked you through. That’s odd ........
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.