Military dogs becoming work horses in war zones

Army Staff Sgt. Joseph Secrist was at his desk in a cramped office in Baghdad when the call came in: The American unit he was supporting in Iraq had a new tip about a nearby car repair shop. They were almost certain it was a front for an insurgent bomb-making factory, and they needed Secrist's help.

He turned to his partner, Clara, who was lying on the floor next to him. It was time to go to work.

By 1 a.m. the next day, Secrist recently recalled, they were at the repair shop. It was the fall of 2007 and they were in one of the capital's most volatile neighborhoods, Adhamiyah. Clara went inside first and immediately tensed up. Secrist read her signals: The tip was dead on - the shop was stockpiled with explosives.

Clara, now back home at Fort Eustis, is a military working dog. At 6 years old, she can carry out patrols, take down hostile suspects in war zones and sniff out bombs with an accuracy rate of more than 95 percent.

She is one of roughly 1,900 K-9s working for the U.S. military, doing jobs that range from base security to overseas narcotics detection. Dozens of dogs are stationed in the Hampton Roads area, and officials here say their contribution to America's war-fighting capacity is growing increasingly important.

"Military working dogs are a force multiplier," explained Secrist, who manages Eustis' K-9 unit. "With the kinds of enemies we're facing today and with all of our resources being stretched the way they are, their skills are in very high demand right now."

Ten Virginia military installations keep K-9 units, including Langley Air Force Base, Oceana Naval Air Station and Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.

Fort Eustis is home to about a dozen military working dogs, mostly herding breeds, including German shepherds and Belgian Malinois. They are cared for, trained and handled by the base's 221st Military Police

Detachment. In May, the unit was named the military's top working dog kennel in a national competition.

The dogs' main job is to provide on-base law enforcement, including walking Eustis' perimeter, searching barracks and cars and guarding the front gates. Some of the dogs are trained to find narcotics and some to find explosives. Off base, they've assisted local police departments in responding to bomb scares at high schools and shopping centers, Secrist said.

But their real time to shine is during overseas tours to combat zones, said Staff Sgt. Fred Lambert, who recently returned from deployment with his K-9 partner and will soon take over as Eustis' kennel master.

"When we're in Iraq or Afghanistan, that's like our Super Bowl," Lambert said. "That's when you feel like you're really making a difference - when you and your dog are actually saving lives."

Half of Eustis' dogs have deployed to war zones. Two are overseas right now, completing 12-month tours in Iraq. When they're home, they live in indoor kennels at the base. They train with their handlers daily, Lambert said.

During the year that Secrist and Clara spent in Iraq, beginning in 2007, they had four major explosives finds, including the caches at the bomb-making shop

in Adhamiyah. Secrist estimated that Clara cleared thousands of structures ahead of soldiers conducting searches and making arrests.

"Sometimes when I'd show up with her, I'd actually see the demeanor of the soldiers change," Secrist said. "They'd relax because they'd know before they walked into a building whether it was rigged to explode."

He and Clara were rarely separated during their deployment. "We went pretty much everywhere together - ate all our meals together, traveled together, slept in the same bed at night.... When we got back I think it was really hard on both of us to be apart."

Secrist said he learned basic veterinary medicine before he went to Iraq, just in case Clara became sick or injured.

Unlike explosive ordnance disposal technicians, bomb-detecting dog handlers receive no extra pay for taking on such dangerous assignments.

"The work is the reward," Lambert said.

To gain the certifications necessary to deploy, military working dogs and their handlers undergo several months of training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, where all working dog operations are headquartered.

Lackland sends buyers to breeders in Europe to pick out new K-9 recruits. The military purchases roughly 750 dogs per year, according to Lackland. Each one typically costs between $3,500 and $6,000, a base spokesman said.

After finishing initial training in Texas, dogs that pass muster are individually matched with handlers. They're then given as long as necessary to grow as a team and learn each other's habits, cues and body language.

"Before you go into a dangerous environment with your dog, you have to be very comfortable together," Lambert said. "You have to know how your dog is going to react in any given situation."

Added Secrist, "You're putting your life in your dog's hands. I don't know what bond is stronger than that."

Corinne Reilly, (757) 446-2949, corinne.reilly@pilotonline.com