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U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class “Lucky” sniffs for weapons and explosives while manning a traffic control point at the Sadr al Yusufiyah water treatment facility May 14, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Doug Pfeffer Soldiers Have ‘Luck’ On Their Side Sgt. 1st Class Lucky is a two-year-old white lab that specializes in locating weapons caches by scent. By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Doug Pfeffer2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment CAMP STRIKER, Iraq, June 13, 2006 — While deployed to Iraq, soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, have gained assistance in the searching of...

War Dogs The Army Quartermaster Corps began the U.S. Armed Forces first war dog training during WWII. By 1945 they had trained almost 10,000 war dogs for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Fifteen War Dog platoons served overseas in World War II. Seven saw service in Europe and eight in the Pacific. In 1951 the responsibility for training military dogs was given to the Military Police Corps. Dogs continued to serve the armed forces with distinction in Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq and many recent contingency operations. WE FEARED NONE My eyes have seen...

Military working dogs first entered the service in March of 1942 to serve in the Army’s K-9 Corps. Today, the dogs, who have an actual military service record book assigned to them, are still playing an active role in searching for explosives and seizing the enemy. ---Turn your Speakers up get out the Pop-Corn n Sodas Sit Back Relax and CLICK to start the show.

Trainer Rescues Dog from Fire Sergeant low-crawls through smoke to save his military working dog from blaze. By Chrissy Zdrakas 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga., March 16, 2006 — It was a clear, cool night at Forward Operating Base Wilson near the city of Tikrit in central Iraq. Staff Sgt. Christopher F. McCleskey gave his canine partner, Katja, food and water and left her in their quarters after a mission.      He ducked into a dining hall shortly before 9 p.m. Jan. 28 for a quick bite to eat.  A half hour later,...

KIRKUK, Iraq (Army News Service, March 14, 2006) -- With a modified ballistic vest, a Screaming Eagle combat patch and a Combat Action Badge, Zeko still may not look like the average Soldier, but he has become a valuable asset to the troops of Forward Operating Base McHenry. The explosive detection dog has found improvised bombs buried several feet in the hard desert ground. Zeko has brought new meaning to the phrase “man’s best friend,” said Bastogne Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, stationed at FOB McHenry. “He’s got a good rapport with the Soldiers,” said...

3/10/2006 - KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- “Get 'em!” With one swift movement, military working dog Breston is off like a flash, covering the distance between his handler and his target in just a few fluid strides. The reward for his speed and agility is a nice juicy bite. Of course the juicy bite was just the “bite suit” but Breston, a Dutch shepherd, delivers an impressive 900 pounds of pressure per square inch -- enough to tell any offender he means business and enough to knock a full grown man to his feet. Breston is one of the...

CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Feb. 14, 2006) -- Inter-service rivalry is almost a tradition in the armed services, Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen have all, at one time or another, joked about believed deficiencies in other services. Nothing is truer than the rivalry between the Marine Corps and the Air Force. Conflicts in the 21st Century, however, have yielded more opportunities for service members of all branches to work together toward a common goal. The western Al Anbar province of Iraq is no exception. Air Force Staff Sgt. Matthew D. Pierce, a military working dog handler with the 62nd Security...

...Was watching the CBS Evening News tonight (which I'm not usually in the habit of doing) and heard some sad news. ...Not sure if anyone recalls this story from back in November (see below) but apparently Capt. Smathers died last week, after collapsing during Reserve training. Capt. Smathers was an attorney in Maryland. During his year in Iraq, he earned four Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts and an Army Commendation medal during his year in Iraq. Might be nice if we shared our expressions of sympathy, as well as our gratitude for his service to our country. If you'd like...

AL ASAD, Iraq (Feb. 7, 2006) -- On Jan. 5, a suicide bomber tried to interrupt Iraq's rebuilding process at a police academy in Ramadi, but honor, courage and commitment by Iraqis and Marines alike was the only lasting result from the attack. The bond between one Marine, Cpl. Brendan N. Poelaert, a military working dog handler with 5th Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment Provisional Military Police Battalion, and an East Kingston, N.H., native, and his MWD, Flapoor, a 4-year-old Belgium Malinos, came through the carnage unscathed, even if the pair did not. Poelaert, an Exeter High School graduate, joined the...

(CBS) You weren't seeing things if you thought you saw a German shepherd in the audience during President Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday night. Rex, a 5-year-old German shepherd who served as a military bomb-sniffing dog, was "seated" near first lady Laura Bush, as was his handler, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jamie Dana. Dana and Rex trained together for three years before deploying as a team to Pakistan and then to Iraq, according to the White House. On June 25, 2005, they were riding in a Humvee in Kirkuk, Iraq, when a roadside bomb exploded, injuring Dana. "The...

2/1/2006 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- As the president spoke to the nation during the State of the Union address, an Airman sat in the gallery, dressed in blues, displaying the combat medals she earned in Iraq. America’s most prominent leaders were gathered in one room on Capitol Hill for the annual speech Jan. 31. Sitting attentively at her feet, the Airman’s German shepherd attended the speech too. Tech. Sgt. Jamie Dana is an Air Force security forces specialist and military working dog handler. In June she was severely injured by an improvised explosive device while on duty in Iraq with...

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq (Army News Service, Jan. 23, 2006) – Staff Sgt. Archie, 67th Engineering Detachment, greets everyone with warmth and friendliness. His tail wags and his tongue lolls from his mouth as he places both huge paws on his visitor’s chest and gives them a dead-on look in the eyes. Staff Sgt. Figo greets her visitors with a serious stare, more aloof than her counterpart, but still friendly. She’ll gladly accept a pet on the head for a moment or two before turning to more important business. The 67th Engineering Detachment adopted the program, began by the British Army,...

MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, Calif. (January 19, 2006) -- "We were looking for weapons caches, improvised explosive devices and mines. That was our primary job," said Sgt. Neil Fucci, MCLB Barstow dog handler. Fucci and his Belgian Malinois, Rambo spent the majority of last year deployed to Iraq. While most Marines would try to avoid IEDs and mines, Fucci and Rambo, were searching specifically for them. In April 2005, Fucci and Rambo deployed from MCLB Barstow and arrived in Al-Asad, Iraq in mid-May. Forward Operating Base Camp Gannon in Husaybah, a town that sits very near the Iraqi and...

Ron Aiello's vision glows in bronze. The long-awaited statue, depicting a U.S. Marine kneeling beside his military service dog, stands tall in artist Bruce Lindsay's studio. In a few months, the monument will be moved to a Holmdel site, where it will become the nation's first sanctioned U.S. War Dog Memorial. "It is life-sized," he said, "but it is larger than life." Aiello, a Burlington County resident, was among a handful of veteran dog handlers who took on a mission six years ago to see that their canine partners and other war dogs were not forgotten The Memorial will be...

WASHINGTON - Severely injured when her Humvee was bombed in Iraq, Air Force Tech Sgt. Jamie Dana woke up in a military hospital and cried out for Rex, her bomb-sniffing dog. She was told Rex was dead. Later, she found out he was alive. But her joy soon turned to sadness when she was told she couldn't adopt him. Now, under a compromise announced Thursday between House-Senate negotiators, it appears Rex, a German shepherd, will join Dana full-time. He might even make it there by the holidays. "I don't really know how to put that into words," said Dana, a...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 10, 2005) -- Some Marines stationed in Iraq have had the unique experience of deploying or crossing paths with a relative or other loved one while here. For one Marine serving with 2nd Military Police Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD), she had the opportunity to deploy with her best friend. Lance Cpl. Megan Leavey, 22, military police dog handler, arrived in Iraq late May with her partner Rex, a German Shepherd, to provide force protection for Camp Fallujah as well as security at entry control points in the city. Leavey and Rex began training together...

AR RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 25, 2005) -- ‘Man’s best friend’ is a term of endearment that has been used by dog lovers for years, and in Iraq that brotherhood continues saving the lives of hundreds of service members. The noses and training of the military working dogs here assist in finding some of the largest weapons caches in Al Anbar province. Leading this pack of dedicated canines is a select group of Marines and an Airman. For Cpl. Justin T. Hanna, his dog Chang, 6, Lance Cpl. Andrew D. Johnson, his dog Charlie, 4, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Brook...

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq — A call for help is being answered. But this time, instead of sending in the Marines, it is the Leathernecks who are seeking the help of the 69th Signal Company’s cable dogs. A group of soldiers from the unit’s 1st Platoon, who will help put in a 40 miles fiber ring at an undisclosed Marine headquarters in this war-torn nation, left late Monday night on the assignment. When the job is done, Sgt. 1st Class Bobby Brown said it would not surprise him if 70 miles of communication cables of all types are installed. Since the...

Military Working Dog Takes Away Bomb's Bang. By Lance Cpl. James B. Hoke Marine Corps Air Station Miramar MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif., Oct. 26, 2005 -- From the deserts of Iraq to the grassy slopes of Afghanistan, there has always been an impending threat of disaster. However, with the help of one of man’s best friends, Kwinto, this threat has been slightly reduced. Kwinto, a military working dog on Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, is an 8-year-old Belgium Malinois whose area of expertise is patrolling for and detecting explosives.“Kwinto was accepted for training in September of 1999,”...

Laurel lawyer John E. Smathers, a captain in the Army Reserve, returned from a year in Iraq with a broken arm, a wrecked knee and a chest full of medals. During his tour, Smathers helped thwart a bank robbery and assisted in recovering stolen Iraqi artwork. He survived an ambush and a high-speed auto crash. After a 17-month quest to bring his adopted dog from Iraq to Maryland, Capt. John E. Smathers was reunited with Scout in late August at Dulles International Airport. Scout had acted as a watchdog for Smathers's Army Reserve unit, above, in Iraq. After a 17-month...