Bernadine Green stands tall amid a group of young military recruits in training, assessing their behavior for signs of future excellence. In the coming months, some of these troops will “wash out” of training, while others will go on to serve their nation, saving lives and ensuring security in locations around the world. But for…
Veterans returning from wars can often count on a reservoir of goodwill from the public to help them make the transition to civilian life. And there are programs to help them begin new, post-military careers. But sometimes, it gets complicated. Eric Falconer, for example, has spent months trying to match up some of the nation’s…
They have four legs, cold wet noses and tails that often wag furiously. Yet the Defense Department classifies its working dogs as equipment. Advocates for the four-footed troops want this to change. “When you lose a military working dog, you can’t just take another one off the shelf,” said Debbie Kandoll, founder of Military Working…
When an insurgent rocket attack badly injured Cpl. Dustin Lee while he was on patrol in Iraq, his shrapnel-impaled partner, Lex, picked himself up to lie over Lee – an effort to protect him. “He knew Dustin was injured,” said Lee’s mom, Rachel. Lex was his bomb-sniffing dog. Lee didn’t survive his injuries, but Lex…
Now that military dogs are taking on a larger role in combat, they’re also taking on more of the risks that come with going to war, including developing post-traumatic stress disorder. The New York Times reports that more than 5 percent of the approximately 650 deployed military dogs are developing some form of canine PTSD. While…