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For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces. Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!! Good morning TROOPS!!Today we look at Military Dogs 1) When did using dogs for war efforts begin? 2) What breeds of dogs are used? One breed of dog. 3)Are dogs being used currently in the Iraqi Freedom effort? 4) Training the dogs.Click this link... bentfeather/Peanuts and Canteen Crew.

HADITHA DAM, Iraq (Oct. 18, 2005) -- The use of dogs as guardians of military camps to protect against surprise attacks dates back to ancient Egypt. Today, dogs are not only guarding bases but also patrolling with Marines of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in Iraq. Sergeant James J. Wasmer, a Chatham, Mass., native, and his search dog, Euro, are one K-9 team busy doing weapons caches sweeps and entry control point searches to keep citizens of Iraq and Marines safe. Recently the team conducted a sweep with the battalion’s Company L to look for weapons caches and other explosives...

The mother of Cpl. Jeffrey Boskovitch, killed in Iraq on Aug. 1, wants to honor her son's wishes and adopt a fellow Marine from his company -- a scruffy dog named Beans. Kathy Wright of North Royalton cherishes a photo of her son holding the mixed-breed puppy that Weapons Company Marines bought from Iraqi villagers. "They paid three jelly beans and a quarter for her and that's how Beans got her name," she said Friday. "In July, my son e-mailed me saying he was trying to figure out a way to bring Beans home with him when his time was...

At a checkpoint leading to the US-protected Green Zone, Gordy stands sentry. The affable Belgian Malinois has a nose finely tuned to detect the nitrates, plastic explosives, gunpowder, and detonation cords that suicide bombers use to blow up people. On a barren stretch of road in northern Iraq, a dog rigged with explosives approaches a group of Iraqi police officers. Detonated by remote control, the bomb rips the dog apart but does not harm the officers. Abdel Salam Kubaisi, a spokesman for the Muslim Scholars Association, a hard-line Sunni Arab clerical organization sympathetic to insurgents, called the practice un-Islamic. ''Our...

BAGHDAD -- These are the dogs of war. At a checkpoint leading to the U.S.-protected Green Zone, Gordy stands sentry. The affable Belgian Malinois has a nose finely tuned to detect the nitrates, plastic explosives, gunpowder and detonation cords that suicide bombers use to blow up people. On a barren stretch of road in northern Iraq, a dog rigged with explosives approaches a group of Iraqi police officers. Detonated by remote control, the bomb tears the dog apart but doesn't harm the cops. In a war where the line between civilian and soldier is blurred, even man's best friend has...

At a checkpoint leading to the U.S.-protected Green Zone, Gordy stands sentry. The affable Belgian Malinois has a nose finely tuned to detect the nitrates, plastic explosives, gunpowder and detonation cords that suicide bombers use to blow up people. On a barren stretch of road in northern Iraq, a dog rigged with explosives approaches a group of Iraqi police officers. Detonated by remote control, the bomb tears the dog apart but doesn't harm the cops.

At a checkpoint leading to the U.S.-protected Green Zone, Gordy stands sentry. The affable Belgian Malinois has a nose finely tuned to detect the nitrates, plastic explosives, gunpowder and detonation cords that suicide bombers use to blow up people. On a barren stretch of road in northern Iraq, a dog rigged with explosives approaches a group of Iraqi police officers. Detonated by remote control, the bomb tears the dog apart but doesn't harm the cops.

CAMP HURRICANE POINT, AR RAMADI, Iraq (August 6, 2005) -- Shawn M. Gallagher routinely puts his life on the line to support the ongoing war on terrorism, but he doesn’t let the risks get him down. “It’s an adventure out here for me,” said Lance Cpl. Gallagher, “and I enjoy it.” Each day the 21-year-old from Fairfax, Va., takes to the streets of the Al Anbar capital with Marines of 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment and conducts security and stabilization operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Gallagher has maintained a high level of motivation throughout his deployment, which is...

ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Dogs are known as man’s best friend, but to Airmen and Soldiers here, military working dogs are considered a four-legged partner in the war against terrorism. Security forces Airmen and Soldiers, along with their military working dogs, have partnered together to provide force protection on this sprawling air base that is home to thousands of coalition servicemembers and civilians. In the eyes of the Air Force, the dogs are considered valuable property, like an F-16 Fighting Falcon, said Tech. Sgt. Terri Frye, 407th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron’s kennel master who is deployed from Hulburt Field,...

From The Antelope Valley Press in California comes the story of our K-9 contingent in Iraq. Chief Warrant Officer Peter Zorba, of Squadron HMM-764 "The Moonlighters" writes: I fly into Baghdad almost every night, but this night's mission was a special ASR (assault support request). A Marine K-9 had been killed and another dog wounded earlier in the day and we were going there to pick up the dead K-9, the wounded K-9 and their Marine handlers. How these Marines were attacked, whether in contact with insurgents, a sniper or an improvised explosive device (IED), we never knew. We took...

Dear Friends and Family, Weather is beginning to climb up into the 100s now. With the heat comes the dust and sandstorm season here, so many of our days are spent working and living in an orange haze of diffused sunshine, wind, heat and dust that gets everywhere and covers everything (aircraft, equipment, skin, teeth, weapons, even the food in the chow hall). We're all glad to be at the two-month mark, though it feels more like our ninth. Hard to believe we were home at all sometimes … that we haven't been here, doing what we do, day after...

John F. Flannelly, 57, who died Monday in Salem Hospital, was a decorated Vietnam War veteran who learned through experience that dogs are indeed man's best friend. He owed his life to a military dog named Bruiser. The year was 1969. It was the middle of the night, and Mr. Flannelly was a 21-year-old Marine on patrol in the rice paddies south of Da Nang in a dangerous area nicknamed ''Rocket Alley."

Vet is shepherding war-dog honor By Mike McPhee Denver Post Staff Writer Thursday, March 31, 2005 A Vietnam War veteran and Denver-area native is on a mission to create a national monument in Washington, D.C., to the dogs that soldiers used in combat. John Burnam, who served two tours of duty as a war-dog handler in Vietnam during the 1960s, presented his case Wednesday to the Colorado legislature, which passed a resolution supporting his efforts. More than 4,000 dogs, mostly shepherds, were used in Vietnam for scouting, finding hidden explosives and tracking. Most died in Vietnam, with only about 250...

BANGOR, Maine -- A little Iraqi has a new home in Maine. H.P. the cat was adopted by National Guard troopers serving with the 152nd Field Artillery Battalion. Spc. Jesse Cote said the cat was starving and toothless when they found it. But the GI's were able to nurse H.P. back to health. The cat ate and slept with the soldiers and even helped them. Cote said H.P. would be the first to react to mortar fire and was their warning of incoming. When the soldiers were returning to Maine, they raised $700 to fly H.P. to the United States...

A little Iraqi has a new home in Maine. H-P the cat was adopted by National Guard troopers serving with the 152nd Field Artillery Battalion. Specialist Jesse Cote says the cat was starving and toothless when they found it. But the GI's were able to nurse H-P back to health. The cat ate and slept with the soldiers and even helped them. Cote says H-P would be the first to react to mortar fire and was their warning of incoming. When the soldiers were returning to Maine, they raised 700 dollars to fly H-P to the states. No one's sure...

Iraqi Cat Who Helped U.S. Troops Finds American Home POSTED: 9:46 am EST March 1, 2005 BANGOR, Maine -- A little Iraqi has a new home in Maine. H.P. the cat was adopted by National Guard troopers serving with the 152nd Field Artillery Battalion. Spc. Jesse Cote said the cat was starving and toothless when they found it. But the GI's were able to nurse H.P. back to health. The cat ate and slept with the soldiers and even helped them. Cote said H.P. would be the first to react to mortar fire and was their warning of incoming. When...

  MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE - His name was Ken. He was smart and assertive, and he was Mike McKelroy's best buddy in Vietnam. When the last of McKelroy's three tours ended in 1969, he returned home and continued his career in the Marines, eventually retiring after 23 years as a master sergeant. His canine partner was not as fortunate. Ken was euthanized, the fate of nearly all U.S. war dogs that served in Vietnam. Terry Pierson / The Press-Enterprise Retired Marine Mike McKelroy of Riverside, who was the handler for a war dog named Ken in Vietnam, stands...

Staff Sgt. Jason Winge never walks alone when he goes to war. Four paws pad along beside him, swathed in special scorch-proof booties to protect against hot sand in the Middle East. By day, Rex the military working dog sniffs for explosives that could endanger U.S. troops. After work, the 3-year-old Belgian Malinois behaves much like a loyal pet, gazing quizzically at his master as if to ask what's on his mind. The bond between man and beast is perhaps never stronger than during deployment, said Winge, who soon will head overseas with Rex at his side. "They get to...

LAS VEGAS -- The commander of an Army Reserve detachment is begging friends back home to send food for Iraqi police dogs. "The dogs are starving and urgently need dry dog food," Capt. Gabriella Cook, commander of the Las Vegas-based 313th Military Police Detachment, said in a Dec. 28 e-mail reported Wednesday by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Some of them have already died," Cook wrote. "Half of them are sick. We have no way of buying actual dog food here." Cook's unit arrived last month in the Iraq capital. She said 12 German shepherds and one black Labrador retriever trained...

MILITARY DOGS SHOW THEY HAVE THE RIGHT STUFF Air Force Academy Animals Bring In Honors AIR FORCE ACADEMY - Taint's checkered past finally caught up with him. The 70-pound Belgian Malinois was on doggy death row at a military base for aggression and biting until Air Force Academy kennel master Tech. Sgt. Chris Jakubin came to the rescue. "They were going to put him down because he has behavioral issues," Jakubin said recently. Jakubin had worked with the dog in Texas and thought he deserved another chance. "I called and said, 'He's a good dog. I'll take him,'" Jakubin recalled....