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F-18 pilot returns home to canine friend from Iraqi war zone They spent months in an Iraqi war zone cementing a special bond. Marine Major Brian Dennis greets Nubs early Saturday morning at Camp Pendleton. But after more than a month of being apart, Marine Maj. Brian Dennis began to worry if Nubs the dog would still remember him, especially in a new place like San Diego. Their reunion early Saturday at Camp Pendleton clearly showed otherwise. The 2-year-old old dog, named for his two nubby ears, drenched Dennis' face with doggie kisses and said hello with excited whimpers. “You...

Marine Reunited in San Diego With Dog He Rescued in IraqA San Diego-based Marine major was reunited on Saturday with one of his closest war buddies — a 2-year-old dog named Nubs. Nubs greeted Maj. Brian Dennis at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station when the fighter pilot returned from Iraq. It was the first time the two were together since Dennis' family and close friends helped raise $3,500 to fly the dog to San Diego about a month ago. Nubs wasn't allowed to stay on base in Iraq. Dennis, 36, of St. Pete Beach, Fla., had spotted the mongrel dog...

Dog Saved by Marine Coming to Calif. Published: 2/22/08, 9:05 AM EDT By Chelsea J Carter SAN DIEGO (AP) - It began with a simple act of kindness to save an abused, injured dog from becoming one more victim in the Iraq war. But what followed for Marine Maj. Brian Dennis and the mutt was a tale of friendship and loyalty that spanned miles and overcame long odds - one set to take a turn Friday with the anticipated arrival here of the Marine's best friend. "This dog who had been through a lifetime of fighting, war, abuse ... is...

Nubs, a wiry German-shepherd-border collie mix named for nubby ears that were sliced off as a puppy, will stay in Chicago with the family of one of his Marine colleagues until a final hop to San Diego, where a Marine fighter pilot stationed at Camp Pendleton has been given permission to care for the dog until Maj. Brian Dennis arrives home from his second combat tour. More Photos "Touchdown" was the first celebratory word in an e-mail Marsha Cargo received from her son Maj. Brian Dennis, after a dog who survived a 70-mile Hail Mary trek through war-torn Iraqi...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Feb. 21, 2008 – Hearing a noise in the hallway, Dean gets out of his bed on the floor and trots to the door as he searches the cool February air for a clue. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Vaneta Vaughn, the top enlisted soldier with 64th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multinational Division Baghdad, scratches Dean, the battalion chaplain’s dog, behind his ear at Camp Taji, Iraq, Feb. 16, 2008. Dean deployed to Iraq with the soldiers as the battalion’s therapy dog. Photo by Pfc. April Campbell, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution...

When Maj. Brian Dennis first spotted a scruffy German Shepard-Border collie mix at a fort in Iraq, the dog wasn't interested in making friends. The dog, who lived in the wild with a pack of canine companions, had already been through a lifetime's worth of pain and neglect. His ears had been cut off as a puppy, and he had been trained as a fighting dog. Now that he was finally free of his tormentors, the dog just wanted to be left alone. But Dennis saw something special in the dog, whom he nicknamed "Nubs," because of his missing ears....

Sgt. 1st Class Boe, a therapeutic dog being used in Iraq to help Soldiers relieve stress, sits in the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Operations Center, Jan. 10. Photo by Spc. Richard Rzepka, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs. COB SPEICHER — Ever had a Sergeant 1st Class lick your face? For many Soldiers here, these are not freakish events, but regular occurrences.  Sgt. 1st Class Boe is the newest member of the 85th Medical Detachment Combat Stress Control unit at COB Speicher, and is one of two K-9 therapists being used by the...

One of the great concerns of those who are responsible for our military is morale -- how to keep it high. The most effective way to ensure high morale is efficiency and competence. That is, if soldiers know what's expected of them, have the support of their superiors, and are allowed to do their job effectively, their morale is usually good. In war, winning is a guaranteed morale builder. But these days, unlike WWII, "winning" often has a definition different from simply beating the enemy -- which our troops are doing pretty effectively in Afghanistan. Support of the government for...

"It's not going to bring back my brother, but it's something close to it," said Madison Lee as she played with Lex after the ceremony. Military officials initially told the family that Lex had another two years of service before he could be adopted. But the family lobbied for months — even enlisting the aid of a North Carolina congressman — and the adoption came exactly nine months after the 20-year-old Marine was killed and his dog wounded on March 21 in Iraq's Anbar Province. 2nd Lt. Caleb Eames, spokesman for the Albany base, said Lee and Lex were sitting...

Sgt. Richard Miller, from Floresville, Texas, a military policeman with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Inf. Div., encourages his specialized search dog, Gabriel, before a search exercise at Forward Operating Base Hammer Oct. 24. Miller uses Gabriel in cordon and searches, cordon and knocks, raids, route sanitation and route clearance missions to sniff out explosives, munitions, weapons and ammunition. Photo by Spc. Ben Hutto, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs. FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — The German shepherd trots from rock to rock, ears pricked upward and nose pointed towards the earth, intent on his mission....

Army Honors Its 'Top Dogs' Sep 21, 2007 BY Lynn Davis Sgt. Scott Warner and Junior get below the wires on the obstacle course low-crawl. The team is with the 241st MP Detachment at Fort Meade. Photo by Department of the Army FORT MEADE, Md. (The Military District of Washington, Sept. 21, 2007) -- The Military District of Washington held the 2007 Canine Competition at Fort Meade last week. Twenty-four teams, each consisting of a handler and his dog, from Fort Meade, Fort Belvoir, Fort Myer, Fort Lee and the National Security Agency competed for four days trying to prove...

I remember hearing a short while ago that the Islamic Republic Police had “arrested” dogs, as a part of their “fight against immodesty”. Today, a very good friend sent a set of pictures of the arrested dogs. Clearly, these dogs are not meant to live in the conditions they are being kept, but, anyways, they do not treat human beings anything better.

The small group of veterans gathers at March Field Air Museum in Riverside, Calif., once a year, traveling from all corners of the country, to mourn forgotten heroes of battle. They come to honor the dogs that saved lives by detecting booby traps and watching over military camps, dogs that became trusted friends in times of loneliness. snip The Vietnam Dog Handler Association estimates that dogs saved 10,000 soldiers' lives during the Vietnam War. They would alert handlers to tripwires blowing in the breeze or the otherwise undetectable scent of buried explosives. Depending on their level of aggressiveness, the dogs...

Head over to Eighty Deuce's place and read the story of Charlie, a dog in which Eighty has grown very close to. He could use a bit of help contacting Military Mascots to help get Charlie to the States. Their website isn't exactly working at this moment in time, though. You investigative types mind lending your skills to Eighty? I know he would appreciate it and you'll get a thank you from me, too.

  Military Working Dogs Get New Digs Four-legged war fighters receive new kennels. By U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Ryan R. Jackson2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (FWD) AL ASAD, Iraq, Aug. 10, 2007 — Throughout the theatre service members are continually asking for and receiving operational gear they need to accomplish their mission. The latest troops on Al Asad to get new mission essential equipment were the four-legged war fighters, more commonly known as military working dogs, of Task Force Military Police, 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, who received new kennels during a ribbon cutting ceremony, July 18. "Now, when we...

Members of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, currently deployed in Iraq, are helping their colleagues to fulfil crucial roles that share many of the risks undertaken by conventional 'teeth arms' units. Personnel from 102 Military Working Dog Support Unit based in Germany deployed to the Contingency Operating Base at Basra earlier this year to work with dog handlers from RAF Police and other Army Regiments. Prior to deployment, members were given intensive preparations to enable them to cope with the operational conditions and unexpected situations. This included being able to fulfil tasks whilst under fire or deal with potential bomb...

FORT HUACHUCA — When it comes to using dogs as part of the Army’s military police community, a small number of two- and four-legged teams are involved in providing protection. The 18th Military Police Detachment’s Military Working Dogs section on this Southern Arizona post has eight dogs and handlers assigned, but not all of them work on the fort. As members are being called to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan, so are the working dog teams. One team, Sgt. Stephen Gruden and Staff Sgt. Goliath, is currently deployed. On Saturday, Sgt. James Adolfson and J.R., another four-legged staff sergeant, will...

A medal awarded to the only dog to be officially registered as a prisoner of war in World War II went on public display for the first time. Judy, a mascot on board a torpedoed Royal Navy vessel in southeast Asia, helped dozens of men survive a Japanese PoW camp in Sumatra after she was captured alongside marooned members of the ship's crew in 1942. Frank Williams, a British airman at the camp, befriended the pedigree pointer -- and later successfully persuaded Japanese officers to register her as a PoW. She went on to survive gunshot wounds and alligator bites...

Honor our war dogs, group says By LISA HOFFMAN, Scripps Howard News Service August 3, 2006 Veterans of three combat tours together, two U.S. Marines ran out of luck when they approached a suspicious-looking man outside an Iraqi police-recruitment center in Ramadi in January. Marine dog handler Sgt. Adam Cann sensed trouble when Bruno, his bomb-sniffing canine partner, became agitated, signaling the proximity of explosives. In a flash, the suspect detonated the pounds of explosives he'd hidden in his suicide-bomb vest, leaving dozens of dead and injured all around. Cann, 23, fell fatally wounded as he tried to shield his...

Veterans of three combat tours together, two U.S. Marines ran out of luck when they approached a suspicious-looking man outside an Iraqi police-recruitment center in Ramadi in January. Marine dog handler Sgt. Adam Cann sensed trouble when Bruno, his bomb-sniffing canine partner, became agitated, signaling the proximity of explosives. In a flash, the suspect detonated the pounds of explosives he'd hidden in his suicide-bomb vest, leaving dozens of dead and injured all around. Cann, 23, fell fatally wounded as he tried to shield his German shepherd from harm. In the aftermath of the blast, Bruno, his fur bloodied by his...