One team, one bite

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Chuck Broadway
  • 9th RW Public Affairs
BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., --  Sitting proudly next to its owner a German Shepherd sticks its tongue out, almost smiling at the people walking by. Onlookers point, smiling and exclaiming, "Aw, how cute is he?" wanting to run their fingers through the black and brown coat. 

One audience member asks the owner, "What's his name?" 

His name is Jimmy K-193; he's a military working dog, a dog whose bite is definitely bigger than his bark. 

Staff Sgt. Curtis Lewis, a 9th Security Forces Squadron handler, spends 12-to-14 hours a day with Jimmy K-193. The daily routine consists of feeding, obedience and obstacle course training, patrolling the grounds on base and receiving daily anti-terrorism briefings. 

The nine dogs assigned to Beale got here much the same as the enlisted personnel. 

All training for MWDs begins at the hub of the Air Force; Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. The length of training depends on how easily the dog learns and how fast they demonstrate their abilities....sound familiar? Training begins with the basic commands such as sit, down, stay, heel and out, which means to release an object. 

When the dog has completed training they are assigned a base and sent off to begin their career.....again, sound familiar? 

Once at Beale, each dog is paired with a handler, essentially a best friend. The handler cares for the dog and spends hours upon hours training and building rapport with the animal. Building that rapport takes anywhere from two to six months. This process includes things such as hearing the handler's voice, handling tactics and playtime, an essential part of rapport. 

"These dogs are like kids and they need downtime as well," Sergeant Lewis said. 

Like parents to their kids, handlers are often required to come in on scheduled days off. If a dog is sick or injured, the handler must be first one to assess the dog and care for it. 

"You want them to know who's going to be taking care of them," Staff Sgt. Tasia Trombley, a 9th SFS MWD handler said. "We have to read their body language and take care of our dog just like a child; it builds trust." 

Trust in a partner can be crucial to survival, especially in a deployed environment. Handlers like Sergeants Lewis and Trombley usually deploy every six months and when they receive notice it's also means their dog will deploy as well. 

"It's not until you get to the deployed location that you really develop a 110 percent trust in your dog," Sergeant Trombley said. 

Much like others who deploy, dogs and their handlers must go through pre-deployment training before going overseas. Regional training centers at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., and in Yuma, Ariz., provide advanced training for deployment. After training, they ship out for their overseas mission. 

According to Sergeant Lewis the dog teams are an extremely high target for terrorist activity. Dogs can use their keen sense of smell to detect explosives from as little as a downwind scent; something humans are incapable of. This triggers enemy attacks on the team so terrorists might be able to complete their mission. 

At home station, handlers often take the dogs around base to make them visible to personnel. This is so people can see they are here, working to protect the population. Often dogs can be spotted at entry control points performing random security checks and inspecting vehicles. 

"We're not trying to harass people," Sergeant Lewis said. "You're not always with your vehicle and all it takes is five minutes in a store for someone to plant a device on your vehicle." 

As frustrating as it can be, especially when someone may be in a hurry, Sergeant Lewis said the process is completely random and they are not targeting anybody specifically. It's done to keep the person in the vehicle safe as well as innocent bystanders. 

Military working dogs are considered non-lethal weapons much like pepper spray or an expandable baton. They are used for detection of narcotics, IEDs and active resisting apprehension and it's against Air Force regulations to pet a MWD. 

"The dogs are taught to cue on behavior and could attack," Sergeant Trombley said. 

While the dog may look like your average pet, cuddly and cute with eyes that could make your heart melt; he's a weapon, a tool used by the 9th SFS to protect the community.