us-war-dog-association

It’s a Wrap for Q1 of 2026!

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:25:28 GMT

It’s a Wrap for Q1 of 2026!

Our president, Chris Willingham, takes a look back at the first three months of the year.

What’s going on, K-9 fam? It’s that time again where we look back and take stock of the last three months. It always provides me and the board with a welcome opportunity to see where our organization is going and how we can make improvements to provide an even greater depth of support to the K-9 community, which – let’s face it – is what we are all about! Let’s get into it…

Care for our K-9s

We really are thrilled to continue to see an upsurge in the numbers of handlers and families requesting our help – it means the word is continuing to spread and we love nothing more than stepping in and providing care when it’s needed most.

During Q1, we signed up 31 new RMWDs to our Rx program and spent $32,677.45 on medications for our K-9s. We helped 33 dogs with emergency surgeries and treatments, at a cost of $68,279.36.

We issued 5 MWD Service Awards, which also includes a retired MWD care package and the offer of a quality dog bed, should the family like one.

We continue to see a rise in families utilizing the Rainbow Bridge Assistance program, with 9 cases settled throughout Q1.

As always, we couldn’t continue our vital work of supporting our K-9 community without the generosity of our incredible supporters… Know that you are making a difference to the lives of RMWDs and their families across the country. Thank you – we are so blessed to have you here with us.

Spreading the Good Word of War Dogs

It’s been a busy few months for spreading the word about War Dogs and taking our mission out on the road. To that end, you can read all about the culmination of our 25 ^th anniversary celebrations that took place back in January: Legacy Week, which aimed to pay forward some of the skills and experience our board members and extended network of K-9 legends can impart to the current and future generation of dog handlers. Click here to read all about it !

Taking to the Airwaves

Fellow board member Chuck Rotenberry and I were honored to be invited to join Joe Phillips on his new podcast, K9 Legends and Trailblazers , designed to capture stories from various perspectives across the K-9 community. Joe began his journey in the U.S. Air Force in 1996, becoming a dog handler in 1999 and quickly rising through one of the largest stateside kennels. His career took him from deployments in Kuwait and alongside the 101st Airborne Division after 9/11, to instructor roles at Lackland – including as one of the first instructors for the specialized search dog (SSD) program – and leadership positions shaping the next generation of K-9 teams.

Joe’s service extended beyond the Air Force, supporting Marine Corps programs, managing IED detection dog teams overseas and working alongside British counterparts in Afghanistan. After years of operational and training leadership, he continued his impact with TSA, overseeing more than 100 K-9 teams before retiring in 2025.

The mission of his podcast is to make sure the rich stories and life lessons are told – and the sacrifices behind them – are never forgotten. Thanks so much for including us, Joe!

RMWD Rider Reppin’ War Dogs

RMWD Rider was reppin’ for War Dogs and the K-9 community when he and his former handler and adoptive dad, Josh, were invited to enjoy the spotlight pre-game at the Pensacola Ice Breakers ice hockey game. They were invited out onto the ice before the game where Rider was acknowledged as Center Ice Hero. They spoke about Rider’s service and accomplishments and while Rider sported his US War Dogs MWD Service Medal, Josh was presented with a custom jersey each, from the team. Way to go, Rider!

K-9 Veterans Day

March brought with it one of the most significant dates in the K-9 calendar: K-9 Veterans Day. We were honored to be asked to play a part in the US Navy’s USS Bougainville K-9 Veterans Day events, which were executed simultaneously across the Pre-Commissioning Detachment in Norfolk, VA, and the Pre-Commissioning Unit in Pascagoula, MS. On the event, Captain Jimmie Jensen commented that it “was a monumental coordination effort. It would not have been possible without the seamless integration between our Bougainville Sailors, the U.S. War Dogs Association, the Marine Corps Working Dog Program, and our local Air Force and Navy installation teams.

“Because of your efforts, over 200 Sailors across two states were able to pause and reflect on our ship's deep historical connection to the K-9 community, specifically honoring the legacy of "Jack" and the Marine War Dog Platoon at the Battle of Bougainville.”

We recorded a film that laid out the history of illustrious service of MWDs, which was played at both events. We also helped coordinate a dog team demonstration to showcase the capabilities of our nation’s MWDs. Events like this only stand to strengthen the depth of understanding for what our K-9s bring to the fight. Thank you to the whole team at USS Bougainville for highlighting MWDs in this way.

National Service Animals Monument: Bonds of Service

In the week leading up to K-9 Veterans Day, the incredible team behind the National Service Animals Monument organization, which is working to situate a national monument in Washington D.C, held a special event entitled ‘Bonds of Service’, to raise awareness and funds for the project.

US War Dogs was the headline sponsor of the event and members of our team joined RMWD Peggy to celebrate with dignitaries and supporters as the vision for the monument was brought to life. I was honored to speak alongside the likes of Susan Bahary – chair of NSAM and sculptor for the monument and Gold Star Family member and friend to US War Dogs, Chan Folen. Chan spoke of her brother, MA1 John Douangdara, who was killed in action alongside his MWD, Bart, in 2011.

As part of the speech, I was thrilled to confirm a very special donation of $1 million from US War Dogs to the monument fund. For US War Dogs, a national monument that raises the status of our military K-9s is an essential education tool and a way to honor the legacies of MWDs past, present and future.

In the lead-up to the event, Susan, Chan I were given the distinguished honor of laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was an incredibly moving moment and one that I will never forget.

As well as meeting new friends and enjoying the fellowship of familiar faces, we were also granted the opportunity to talk to the press about the monument. I spoke about my service in the US Marine Corps with specialized search dog (SSD) Lucca and RMWD Peggy stole the show, alongside her former handler and adoptive dad, Josh. These experiences further helped to raise awareness of what our military K-9s do for this country, which is what we’re all about here at US War Dogs.

If you’re interested in supporting the National Service Animals Monument project, visit their website and be part of something very special.

Happy 250th, America!

The celebration of 250 years of the US Military have kicked off in earnest and we were honored to be invited to the Museum of the Pacific Wars’ Stories of Service festival in Fredericksburg, TX. After giving a speech at the opening ceremony, fellow board member Aaron Stice and I manned a US War Dogs booth, which gave us the chance to make new friends and meet up with some familiar faces too.

Our Heartfelt Thanks

I can’t say this enough, but we really couldn’t continue to provide the range and reach of support for our MWDs without your treasured support. Whether you are buying swag from the War Dogs store, joining up as a War Dogs Guardian or making a donation to our fundraisers, we are so very grateful for your capacity to give to our cause. We are so lucky to have you as part of our K-9 family.

Thank you and until next time, K-9 leads the way!

Paying it Forward

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:03:31 GMT

Paying it Forward

As you’ll know, 2025 was our 25 ^th anniversary year and our celebrations were designed to echo key parts of our mission – supporting MWDs, their handlers and families, past, present and future.

You’ll be familiar with many of our birthday initiatives, from sending special care packages; funding additional support for retired K-9s and even building a fence for one RMWD family.

The final chapter of our anniversary celebrations took place this January, focused on supporting both current and future war fighters. By bringing together some of the sharpest and most experienced minds in the K-9 world, we created a week of training, knowledge sharing, and mentorship – paying it forward to the dog teams who are answering the call and carrying out the mission to safeguard our freedoms.

Legacy

“This is our way of enhancing the legacy of our dog handlers,” explains US War Dogs President, Chris Willingham. “We brought together some of the most experienced trainers and subject matter experts to deliver a training evolution covering all mission-critical elements for our military’s dog teams.”

US War Dogs board members Chris Willingham and Aaron Stice were joined in San Antonio, Texas – home of the Department of Defense’s puppy and MWD training programs – by a distinguished group of K-9 experts.

Paul Bunker served in the British Army for 22 years before being invited by the US military to help establish the specialized search dog program. Since retiring, he has founded Chiron K9, providing access to his unrivalled expertise in detection across a variety of challenging environments.

Antonio “ARod” Rodriguez has held nearly every key position within the K-9 field. A US Air Force handler, trainer, and combat veteran, he has also led programs for both the Air Force and US Army Special Operations Command. In 2018, he founded Old Republic of Canine (ORO-K9), delivering performance-based training and critical skills development for special operations, law enforcement, and military professionals.

K-9 trainer Jesi Knight brought her 20 years of dog training to the table for the dog teams. Jesi’s approach blends technical expertise with a passion for teaching, allowing her to develop both dogs and their handlers into top performing teams.

US Army veterinarian Dr. Emily Bingham, whose extensive experience spans multiple agencies, provided valuable veterinary insights to the dog teams throughout Legacy Week.

Reflecting on the training team, Chris said: “We were incredibly fortunate to assemble such a talented panel of K-9 experts. With their combined knowledge and real-world experience, we knew our dog teams were in for a truly exceptional week.”

Recruitment

We aimed to provide up to 25 dog teams with the opportunity to attend Legacy Week, so effective recruitment and information dissemination were essential.

“We wanted Legacy Week to be accessible to dog teams across all branches of service,” Chris explains. “In addition to using our social media channels, we contacted kennels and program managers directly to ensure as many units as possible were aware of the opportunity.”

We also reserved spaces for trainers and kennel masters to observe the training.

“Having trainers present allowed our experts to share valuable insights that could help resolve operational challenges and enhance mission readiness. This was an important element of Legacy Week, and we were fortunate to have four trainers attend.”

In total, 18 of the 25 available dog team spots were filled, with teams traveling from Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps bases across the country.

Training

Dog teams arrived in San Antonio ready to begin Legacy Week on Monday, 19 January, at Lackland Air Force Base – home of the 341st MWD Training Squadron.

Following an initial briefing, teams were divided into groups and assigned to one of four training lanes: detection, apprehension, obedience, and emergency K-9 veterinary care.

Chris explains: “We implemented a building-block training approach that enabled all 18 MWD teams to develop critical skills, refine their capabilities, and enhance their operational readiness.”

Each team was individually assessed, with tailored training and additional repetitions provided to ensure all objectives were met. The week culminated in a final competition that incorporated all aspects of the training. “As it was a competition, there could only be one winner, but without exception, every team left more capable and confident than when they arrived,” Chris added.

We commissioned a special US War Dogs winners’ belt to gift to the victorious dog team…

Feedback

Following the event, we gathered detailed feedback from participating handlers to evaluate the effectiveness of the training.

Handlers highlighted the smooth organization of the event and the relevance of the training content. “We received particularly positive feedback on the patrol-focused lanes and the noticeable growth in the dogs’ confidence throughout the week. That was exactly what we hoped to achieve,” Chris noted.

Handlers also reported clear takeaways from each training lane, demonstrating measurable improvements in their daily capabilities and overall readiness.

“One handler shared that they felt significantly more confident in their abilities after completing the course, with a deeper understanding of their K-9 partner. Reading feedback like that is incredibly rewarding for us as a training team.”

First of Many

Reflecting on Legacy Week – and the overwhelmingly positive feedback from both trainers and handlers – it is clear that this is only the beginning.

Chris said: “The week was a resounding success, made possible by our outstanding trainers and the unwavering support of the 341st Training Squadron. They provided exceptional facilities and support staff who made us feel truly welcome.”

“I am incredibly proud of what we achieved during Legacy Week and honored that the 341st played such a vital role in its success.”

Watch this highlight film from Legacy Week and see the K-9s, handlers, and trainers in action:

US War Dogs 25th Anniversary Ceremony: Honoring Our Fallen

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 01:12:11 GMT

US War Dogs 25 ^th Anniversary Event

Honoring Our Fallen

As is customary whenever we assemble our K-9 family together, we always take the time to remember those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. This formed an important part of our ceremony, with each detail thought out meticulously to honor our brothers and sisters and their families who attended the event on their behalf.

We were honored to be joined by 25 Gold Star family members, who took time out of their busy lives to join us in reflecting on the vital role that their sons, brothers and husbands played within the K-9 community. Their presence made this portion of the ceremony even more pertinent.

At the end of our program, US War Dogs president Chris Willingham invited four US Marine Corps dog handlers to read the names of fellow handlers across all branches of service, who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

K-9 salutes: Dog teams from each branch of service pay tribute to the memorials set up

As a piper started playing Amazing Grace, four active-duty dog teams began their slow march and salute to a traditional K-9 memorial: An empty kennel, upturned water bowl and bible – all placed next to a pair of boots, a rifle and helmet. Each dog team formed up in the center of the auditorium while the audience stood in silent contemplation for those they had lost.

As the last dog team formed up, the piper left the stage and War Dogs Chapter 3 founder, John Meeks, read Guardians of the Night. At this point, the handlers and dogs stood at ease, sharing pets and loving nudges, demonstrating perfectly the bond that the poem encapsulates.

War Dogs Chapter 3 founder, John Meeks, reads Guardians of the Night

Our president, Chris Willingham, commented: “Honoring our fallen handlers is something we take great care with and so, as part of this monumental event in our organization’s history, it was important for my team and I to get it right.

“I’d like to a heartfelt thank you to the Marines who read the names of the fallen; the dog teams who represented the four branches of service and to John Meeks, for delivering Guardians of the Night with such emotional honesty.

“Finally, I would like to thank all the Gold Star family members who joined us for the ceremony. You are a very special part of our K-9 family and we will always wrap our arms around you. I hope we were able to do your lost loved ones proud.”

Click to watch US War Dogs’ tribute to our fallen brothers and sisters:

US War Dogs 25th Anniversary: Recognizing Our Supporters

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 01:02:26 GMT

US War Dogs 25 ^th Anniversary Event

Recognizing Our Supporters

An important moment in our anniversary program came when president Chris Willingham reflected on the incredible support we have received from the generous donors who have enabled us to continue our vital work.

US War Dogs relies solely on donations from individuals, trusts and businesses to keep going. Our mission is a compelling one, but without word being spread and people connecting with our cause enough to support us financially, we simply couldn’t continue.

Chris outlined some of the support received specifically for our birthday event: The Robert Irvine Foundation and the Gary Sinise Foundation provided financial assistance so that our Gold Star family members could attend the 25th anniversary celebrations and enjoy the camaraderie and brotherhood with their wider K-9 community. The Robert Irvine Foundation funded the hotel rooms for our 26 Gold Star families and the Gary Sinise Foundation made a donation towards the flights to make sure that our brothers and sisters could join us without financial burden, for the weekend.

Chris took the opportunity to shout out some other key contributors who have been huge champions of US War Dogs, providing huge financial and practical support to our organization.

In 2014, US War Dogs forged an important partnership with Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in New Jersey, whose board members offered to cover the cost of specialized care for retired MWDs. If a K-9 was approved by Red Bank’s board and could travel to New Jersey, they could receive care under US War Dogs’ program.

Since the start of the program, Red Bank’s team has covered in excess of $634,000 in surgeries and specialist treatments. Their incredibly passionate and skilled team remain a great friend of ours and we are ever grateful to them for the kindness they have shown to our nation’s retired K-9 heroes.

We are hugely grateful to the individual supporters who send us monthly donations and checks around the holidays; to the patriot organizations who hold fundraisers for us and for those who leave us generous gifts in their will.

To the corporate supporters who hold fundraisers and choose to support us in a multitude of ways. Our organization has been so fortunate to receive unwavering support from the incredible team at Pet Supermarket, who – over the last several years – has held in-store donation drives for US War Dogs, raising vital funds to keep our programs going.

And to the trusts and foundations who exist to make donations to organisations like ours, that align with their values – we simply couldn’t continue without your kindness and care. Miranda Lambert’s charitable foundation, MuttNation, has also been a constant and generous supporter of our work and the audience was treated to a special message from Miranda herself, wishing US War Dogs a very happy birthday.

Our birthday celebrations gave us the chance to celebrate our incredible supporters. You have made our past successes possible and will support our future endeavours to continue to be there for MWDs, their handlers and families. Without you, there is no us. Thank you.

US War Dogs 25th Anniversary: Reflections on a Quarter Century of Care

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:56:47 GMT

US War Dogs 25 ^th Anniversary Event

Reflections on a Quarter Century of Care

The evolution of US War Dogs as an organization that provides a lifetime of practical support for MWDs, was a story that had to be told during our 25th birthday celebration. Two sections of the program were dedicated to detailing the ways our mission grew to meet the needs of the K-9 community.

With the organization formed in 2000 to raise funds for the first MWD monument in New Jersey, the mission quickly pivoted following the deployment of dog teams to the Middle East, in response to 9/11. Our volunteer board member and vice president, Chuck Rotenberry, addressed the audience about how US War Dogs worked in partnership with K-9 units at home and abroad to make sure that we were fulfilling practical needs while bringing a welcome taste of home to those who had taken up the fight.

As part of his speech, Chuck said: “We are proud to have provided over 20,000 care packages since 2002 and since 2021, have sent packages to 31 K-9 installations in 19 countries, across three continents.

US War Dogs vice president Chuck Rotenberry talks about the organization’s care package program

“Crucially, in collaboration with active-duty handlers, we have continued to evolve our offering to make sure our support furthers the K-9 mission.”

War Dogs care coordinator and volunteer board member, Aaron Stice, took to the stage to outline how – as MWDs who had served their country with faithfulness were retiring from duty – the mission of US War Dogs shifted again. Aaron detailed how our Rx prescription program has provided over $1.8 million in medications for retired dogs since 2014. He outlined how our Specialized Care program – in partnership with Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in New Jersey covered over $634,000 of treatments since 2014. He also talked about the other programs that were brought in to support the specific needs of the K-9 community, from help with PTSD therapies to wheelchairs and financial support to cover the cost of end-of-life care and cremation, through the Rainbow Bridge Assistance program.

US War Dogs volunteer board member and care coordinator, Aaron Stice, talks about the evolution of our programs to support retired MWDs

Finally, Stice explained about yet another evolution in US War Dogs’ care of this community, with the introduction of the Emergency Care program, designed to cover the cost of emergency treatments in the retired MWD’s hometown. The impact of this initiative has – we know – been remarkable for the dogs and the families who have been on the receiving end of support. To demonstrate this impact, we were lucky enough to speak to a selection of families from across the country, who were happy to share their stories with us.

This film received an incredible reaction from the audience during the ceremony. We’d like to thank each and every person and MWD, who took the time and effort to help us make this very special film:

US War Dogs 25th Anniversary Celebration: A Year of Celebration

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:50:42 GMT

US War Dogs 25 ^th Anniversary Event

A Year of Celebration

Our president, Chris Willingham, took to the stage to reflect on US War Dogs’ birthday year – which has provided a unique opportunity to add even more initiatives and moments to give back to the K-9 community.

From providing 25 retired MWDs the opportunity to enjoy wellness plans with Banfield Pet Hospitals to sending care packages and specialized gear to 25 dog teams across the world, we kept our mission at the heart of our birthday year.

In addition, our volunteer – combat veteran dog handler Ray Myers – wanted to lend his unique talents to one retired K-9 family, by building them a bespoke fence that would securely enclose their yard and provide peace of mind for their MWD’s safety.

Ray, retired MWD Rider and his adopted parents, Josh and Rochelle, were all in attendance and after we played a special film to show Ray in action, Chris invited Ray to the stage to present him with a very special gift to thank him for his time and efforts to make US War Dogs’ birthday so special for MWD Rider and his family.

Chris commissioned a unique design on a barnwood star, handmade by Gold Star dad Kevin Wiens. The star depicted the specialized search dog (SSD) logo, which features Ray and his MWD, Eros. Kevin’s son Kory was also an SSD handler with the US Army when he – along with his SSD Cooper, were KIA in Iraq in 2007.

War Dogs volunteer Ray Myers and president Chris Willingham share a special moment of thanks

The opportunity to thank Ray – in the presence of the family who benefitted from his hard work and craftsmanship – was a really special moment in the ceremony.

Chris also talked about the last part of our 25 ^th anniversary celebrations, due to take place in January 2026. Legacy Week will assemble 25 active-duty dog teams to undergo a week of specially curated training by some of the most respected and experienced K-9 mentors working in the field today.

A Moment for MWD PPuritan

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:44:28 GMT

US War Dogs 25 ^th Anniversary Event

A Moment for MWD PPuritan

Our aim for US War Dogs’ 25 ^th anniversary celebration was to share some special moments that brought our mission to life and one such moment came when War Dogs volunteer team member, Suzette Scott, took to the stage to help us present an MWD Service Award to MWD PPuritan.

Suzette – who served as a dog handler with the US Marine Corps – took to the stage to tell the story of how US War Dogs’ MWD Service Award came to be.

US War Dogs volunteer Suzette Scott presents to the audience about the MWD Service Award

As the War on Terror raged on, MWDs fought valiantly in Iraq and Afghanistan alongside their human counterparts; Utilizing their unique skills to save lives and force multiply.

Many MWDs were spending their whole careers in combat and when they completed their service, received no official recognition from the military. Our founding president, Ron, and the other board members, wanted to change this.

They approached their local congressman in New Jersey to petition him to bring in a service medal that would be issued to every outgoing MWD on completion of their service.

After years of trying, political powers were unable to mandate such an award, but the board members felt it was too important to pass over and decided to inaugurate the award as part of US War Dogs’ mission.

Since 2010, any retiring MWD’s handler or adoptive family member can apply for an MWD Service Award from US War Dogs and is a small token of our appreciation for a job well done.

Watch the moment that our current board members Chris Willingham, Chuck Rotenberry and Aaron Stice were joined by founding president Ron Aiello to present PPuritan with his award – in front of 200 cheering witnesses.

Honoring the K-9 Community: The Human Stories Behind Monuments and Memorials

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:39:30 GMT

US War Dogs 25 ^th Anniversary Event

Honoring the K-9 Community: The Human Stories Behind

Monuments and Memorials

As part of our birthday ceremony in San Antonio, TX, we reflected on the heritage deep within the fabric of our organization, of honoring the K-9 community with monuments and memorials.

As founding president, Ron Aiello, took to the stage to introduce the impetus to raise funds for the first monument in honor of our nation’s K-9s and their handlers – past, present and future, the ceremony’s program reflected on what it means to memorialize particular stories or honor the contribution to specific conflicts.

Creating pieces of art that evoke human connection, generate conversation, community pride and educate the public on the role of K-9s in the military – is as important today as it was back in 2006 when the US War Dogs memorial was unveiled in New Jersey.

Sharing some of the projects that US War Dogs had supported or commissioned over the last two-and-a-half decades, the audience were treated to some of the details of the monuments and memorials from our history, including:

The life-sized monument of Medal of Honor recipient, staff sergeant Robert Hartsock and his scout dog, Duke, which stands to honor all those who served in Vietnam, dedicated in September 2020.
The life-sized statue of a female dog handler with her K-9, which stands at Arlington National Cemetery’s Women’s Memorial in Virginia. Entitled, The Pledge, it stands to honor all female service personnel in combat roles.
The sculpture of US Marine Corps specialized search dog, Lucca, dedicated at the Tuscaloosa Veteran Memorial Park, Alabama. The depiction of Lucca with her snout in the air, ready to work, stands to honor all MWDs that served since WWI and features both Lucca’s personal story, alongside a short history of the service of military K-9s.

This roll call of memorials shows the geographical spread and variety of the stories and motivations behind each piece. They become part of the fabric of the community and of its local history and we are honored to have played a part in bringing each individual story or act of remembrance to life.

Although the stories behind these monuments and memorials become a piece of public property, the human emotions and stories behind them, cannot be forgotten.

In 2021, US War Dogs supported the dedication of the Service and Sacrifice monument at the US Navy Memorial in Washington D.C.

The statue depicts a larger-than-life-sized bronze of SEAL Team Six handler, John Douangdara and his MWD, Bart, who were killed alongside 29 US Army soldiers and Navy SEALs in August 2011.

The Service and Sacrifice monument at the US Navy Memorial in Washington D.C.

We were honored to be joined in San Antonio by John’s two sisters – Ari and Chan and Chan agreed to share some words about John and what his memorial meant to their family.

Chan’s speech was as informative as it is moving and we are honored to be able to share it with you here. A heartfelt thanks once again to Chan and Ari for attending and for being so generous with sharing their experiences with us.

US War Dogs’ 25th Birthday Celebrations: Full Circle Moments

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:19:38 GMT

US War Dogs’ 25th Birthday Celebrations: Full Circle Moments

Gathering members of the K-9 family together to celebrate our 25th anniversary was a much-anticipated moment that was almost two years in the planning. Coming together in San Antonio, TX – the home of the puppy program and the place where many dog handlers hold memories as part of their career – felt like the perfect meeting point and a true full circle moment for many of the handlers present: Active and veteran.

The program’s aim was to tell the story of US War Dogs right from the beginning, so it was only right that our founding president, Ron Aiello, opened the program and welcomed everyone to this momentous occasion.

Ron recounted how he and five fellow Vietnam veterans were moved to action, years after returning home from a war where their K-9 companions were treated very differently. With a desire to raise profile about the incredible skills of the dogs and a need to honor K-9 teams – past, present and future – including the five handlers’ own MWDs – US War Dogs Association was born.

US War Dogs founding president, Ron Aiello and his MWD Stormy

The Association’s first task was to raise funds for a monument that honors K-9 and helps to raise the status of MWDs – which had been so badly lacking during the founding board’s era of service.

The United States War Dogs Association MWD Memorial was dedicated in New Jersey in 2006 – six years after the formation of the organization. But as the world changed around them, the mission of US War Dogs pivoted to provide practical help to the K-9 community, whose skills were required once more.

Click to watch Ron’s opening remarks at our 25th anniversary celebrations:

US War Dogs’ Org Update – Q3, 2025

Sat, 04 Oct 2025 15:01:14 GMT

US War Dogs’ Org Update – Q3, 2025

As is our custom, War Dogs president Chris Willingham has penned an overview of what the organization has been up to over the summer months. As always, it’s been a busy one, so strap in and let’s get into it…

What’s going on, K-9 fam?! I hope you have all had a great summer and feel ready to enjoy some cooler temperatures as we move into the fall. The team and I have been grinding and doing our thing to support K-9s – active and retired, while supporting the wider community by attending events and spreading the good word of US War Dogs.

War Dogs Support

We were honored to welcome 41 new retired MWDs to our Rx Program and take care of over $34,799 worth of medications. Our Specialized Care program has evolved to cover the cost of certain long term treatments for RMWDs and Emergency Care program, which covers the cost of surgeries and emergency treatment, has continued to gather pace too: We covered $44,690 of treatments for 19 retired dogs across these two key programs, during the quarter. These initiatives are making a real difference to the lives of retired K-9s and their adopted families – we absolutely love hearing all the positive feedback about the programs and feel truly honored that we can play a practical role in caring for our K-9 heroes.

We are honored to have US Air Force MWD Dex join the Rx Program

We were also honored to issue 11 US War Dogs Service Awards to K-9 retirees. The award is our way of saying thank you to our nation’s MWDs for their service to our nation and provide their handlers and families with a last memento of their MWD. If you have a retired MWD and would like them to receive an award, click here .

Finally, we supported nine families as they said farewell to their retired MWDs, through our Rainbow Bridge Assistance program, ensuring that dignity and respect is extended to our K-9 heroes, to the very end of their lives.

Planning Our Birthday Celebrations

The last three months has been very busy with adding the details and final touches to US War Dogs’ 25th anniversary celebrations in San Antonio, TX, on 17 October. The guest list is confirmed, the program has been finalized and now all that remains is for everyone attending to come together and enjoy everything! If you can’t make it, don’t worry. We’ll keep everyone up to speed on our social media channels and of course, in our newsletter!

War Dogs Volunteer Kim is an Air Force Lifer!

US War Dogs volunteer Kim Roberson enjoyed a very special day back in July when she completed her indefinite reenlistment with the US Air Force. Kim, who is kennel master for the Air Force in Alaska, was joined by her two adopted retired MWDs Sony and Jocky, who provided their own style of celebration to the occasion.

Congratulations on your reenlistment and thank you for your service, Miss Kim!

US War Dogs volunteer Kim Roberson at her indefinite reenlistment ceremony in July

Marking 9/11 with the US Navy

Patriots Day is an important date in the calendar and this year, I was invited to a special ceremony at the Virginia Beach Naval Shipyard, where service personnel, families and dignitaries gathered to mark the 24th anniversary of 9/11. I was asked to share my experiences as a combat deployed dog handler and how the events on 9/11 shaped my military career and the lives of me and my family. I was also able to speak about the troops and dogs I served alongside, remembering in particular, those K-9 brothers who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. You can read more about the event and its attendees by clicking here .

MARSOC MPC Program Divestment

The official closure of the Marine Corps Force Special Operations Command (MARSOC) multi purpose canine program took place on 5 September and former members of the unit, fellow US War Dogs board member, Alex Schnell and I attended the divestment ceremony at the Corporal David M. Sonka Multi-Purpose Canine Facility in North Carolina.

The program stood for 17 incredibly busy years, with K-9s and handlers representing some of the most comprehensive elite forces that the US military has to offer. The event honored the unit’s legacy and also stood as an opportunity to officially retire the last MPCs in the program: Buzi, Jakob, ReXs, Rik, Tessie and Thor. US War Dogs was honored to provide MWD Service Awards for each of the retiring MPCs, which were presented by retiring officer, Captain Carthen.

MPC handler Cpl David Sonka – who was KIA in Afghanistan – was represented by his dad, Kevin, who addressed the gathering and spoke about what being in MARSOC meant to his son.

I was fortunate to serve as MPC program manager from 2017-2019 and will always be grateful for my time in MARSOC. Alex Schnell and his MPC Bass, helped to fly the flag for MARSOC when Bass received the PDSA Dickin Medal in 2022, in recognition for his heroism and devotion to duty.

The event provided a great chance for current and former members of the MPC community to come together and enjoy some much-welcomed brotherhood and fellowship, although we all felt a deep sense of sadness as we reflected on the program closure. Semper Fi.

Current and former members gathered for MARSOC’s Multi Purpose Canine Program divestment ceremony

A huge thank you!

Finally, before I close out this quarter’s update, I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported US War Dogs over the last quarter: From the customers of Pet Supermarket who bought treats to support us as part of the Lend a Paw campaign, to all those who have sent checks, made online donations or shared our content on social media. We are grateful for all of you and I want to say a personal thank you for helping us to continue our vital work. We literally can’t do what we do without you!

Thank you and K-9 leads the way!

Making a Stand for K-9

Sat, 04 Oct 2025 14:49:36 GMT

Making a Stand for K-9

When second year law student Robert Finkbeiner was drafted to join the war effort in Vietnam, he had no idea what was in store for him and the impact that his combat deployment would have on the rest of his life.

US War Dogs was honored to speak to Robert about his service and how he used his unique skillset in fierce defence of military K-9s, whose sad plight we know all-too well. Robert’s son David, reached out to us to feature his dad’s story – we are so grateful for the chance to share his experiences.

Legal Eagle to Dog Guy

At 23 years old, Robert was one of the older recruits to be drafted into the war effort. In December 1968, he was the only one of his close friends to receive the call up, pausing his law studies at the University of Iowa to be inducted as part of the US military’s build up in the Republic of South Vietnam, after the Tet Offensive. As an older draftee and halfway through his degree, Robert was offered the chance to attend Fort Benning’s United States Army Infantry School NCO course, where he specialized in military operations and intelligence. On completion of his training, he was promoted to sergeant and given orders to be a scout dog handler.

“I’d had a German Shepherd when I was in eighth grade”, explains Robert, who was born and raised in Marquette, MI, “but working with the dogs was awe-inspiring. It definitely took my levels of respect to new heights. I couldn’t help but wonder what I’d gotten myself into, to start with, but on seeing how the dogs worked, I knew I would always be safer with a K-9 by my side.”

The 12-week training course (scout dog class 3/10) readied the handlers in “day and night scouting, patrolling and outpost procedures to include helicopter orientation and search operations with scout dogs” – according to their official training documents. Following his K-9 training, Robert was recognized for his leadership and training performance with a promotion to Staff Sargeant – just 12 months after joining the military.

Robert joined the 59th Infantry Platoon Scout Dog after the platoon had suffered heavy losses of both handlers and dogs in 1969. Attached to the 11th Infantry Brigade of the American Division, his team was stationed at Landing Zone Bronco which was near the village of Duc Pho in I Corps. This is where Robert was introduced to his scout dog, Ted.

“My role meant that I had to take on scout dog missions and help with the training of dog teams in country. But the thing that struck me instantly was just how incredible these dogs were. The standard of their skills and training was outstanding. On every mission we would go on, the troops were so happy to have one of our dogs walking point. They knew they would be in capable hands.

“Ted was no exception. He was older and more experienced, having had several handlers before me. The bond we built up was instant and unbreakable – much like my fellow handlers with their dogs. The loyalty and devotion that the dog teams had to one another really was something to witness. They went everywhere together, from the mess halls to sharing bunks and walking point on missions.”

Robert and Ted on patrol in the jungles of Vietnam

The 59th

Robert recalls his time in the platoon and some of the missions that they were required to support. “When a military unit needed a scout dog team, two handlers would be helicoptered out on missions, walking point and leading groups of soldiers of varying sizes.”

The dogs were responsible for finding everything from trip wires attached to IEDs, tunnel entrances and punji sticks. They also alerted handlers to enemy forces before the enemy could detect the presence of the unit. “The unit commanders believed that the dogs senses gave the units a tactical edge – and with good reason”, explains Robert. “The dogs always stood out for their skills and ability to read the terrain. Ted’s senses were impeccable – he knew his way around way better than I did. The level of their training – being able to read voice and hand commands – never failed to impress me.”

The platoon was made up of around 40 handlers and around 46 dogs at any one time. “The colonels always wanted the dogs out in front on missions. They were battle tested and trusted with saving lives.”

During his service, Robert and Ted participated in three campaigns: The Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970 campaign, the DA Sanctuary Counteroffensive and the Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase VII campaign. “Each campaign brought with it a different approach, but all were dangerous and littered with casualties. One dog team was killed a month before they were due to go home. Another handler stepped on a booby trap – just three weeks into his tour. The first words he spoke when he came round in hospital were to assure the command that it wasn’t his dog’s fault. He lost his foot but considered himself very lucky.”

Robert and Ted

Band of Brothers

As the senior dog handler NCO of the platoon – in addition to walking point on scout dog missions – Robert also helped to maintain and sharpen training capabilities of the other handlers. “We were all incredibly close. It really was a band of brothers – the TV series is the only thing close to representing just how special the relationships were, in that environment. The dogs galvanized that sense of team spirit too, of course.

“It didn’t matter where anyone was from or what their background was. The playing field was levelled and we were all in it together. That brotherhood made you realise how lucky we were and how little we really need to survive. We had conversations and shared feelings and emotions – it changes you.

“After I got home and reflected on some of the things I saw and did, it made me realize that I could do anything. I finished school, started practicing law and set up my own business. The momentum and impetus grew, thanks to the experiences I shared with those handlers, and with Ted.”

Letter

The brotherhood and camaraderie enjoyed by the handlers in the 59th Scout Dog Platoon, moved them to take action when one of their own was killed. Dog handler Lawrence Yochum was killed alongside his scout dog, King and this tragedy solidified the platoon’s collective resolve to speak out against the fate of their MWDs, who were – in the majority of cases – handed a death sentence on completion of their service in the military.

“When Yochum and King died, we all felt the quelling of emotion to do something”, explains Robert. “One of the guys started drawing and doodling – capturing the unfairness of the situation that our MWDs found themselves in, even when some of them paid the ultimate price in combat. They were the best dogs and they deserved a retirement back in the US. Every single dog handler in the platoon wanted to take his dog home, so we came together to take some action.”

Robert, along with eight other platoon members, began drafting a letter that laid out the case of their MWDs and the changes they wanted to see to government protocols, so they could come home.

“I was good with words so I did a good portion of the writing, but we had students from Yale and Harvard in the platoon, who all wanted to help. We researched where to send the letter to gain maximum traction and exposure. People back home needed to know about the dogs and that they weren’t being permitted to come home.”

The letter penned by the 59th Scout Dog Platoon, which was published by The Animal Protection Institute of America

The platoon’s letter was printed by The Animal Protection Institute of America, to raise the profile and plight of the military dogs in Vietnam. The organization – and others like it – fought to raise profile of the injustices of America’s war dogs in the war, attempting to raise funds to bring the dogs home.

Historian Mike Lemish compiled a history of MWDs in Vietnam for US War Dogs’ website. In his article, Mike explains: “In an era before the internet, protests opposing this “no dog return policy” took the form of letter writing campaigns, calls to elected officials, and letters to newspaper editors. A couple of bills were floated in Congress but they died quietly in committee. Those involved included dog handlers, animal rights organization, and a number of concerned citizens. At the time most Americans did not even know there were military dogs in Vietnam and how many were employed.”

Public information was made available about the plight of the war dogs in Vietnam, in the hopes that it would put pressure on the government. But in an age where millions of dollars were being spent on the war effort, the dogs were seen as expendable equipment, rather than souls to cherish and return home. Lemish explains that government sought cheap options of rolling up the MWD program at the end of the war: “At one point mass euthanasia was considered but quickly dismissed. That would not fly with anyone back home if word got out. To quell the growing discontent the military adopted an appeasement policy; “medically fit” dogs would be reassigned to other locations or returned to the United States.

“Eventually about 285 dogs were able to board a “freedom bird” and leave Vietnam. Under no circumstances were civilians able to adopt the K-9 veterans. The remaining dogs would be turned over to the ARVN or euthanized for medical reasons.”

The Animal Protection Institute of America issued bulletins to inform the public of the plight of MWDs and raise money for their safe return

The troops within the 59th platoon made their best efforts to support the campaign to change the policies relating to their MWDs. “Our letter received a great response from a lot of influential people, but – try as we might – it didn’t save our dogs.”

Robert was faced with the bitter realities of the policies he had railed against, when orders came to have Ted euthanized before he left Vietnam. “He had served with several handlers and was getting older, but it was felt that I should be his last handler. I’ll never forget that day and there hasn’t been a single day that has gone by where I haven’t thought of him.”

Ted’s Legacy

Robert said a painful farewell to Ted before he left Vietnam, but his legacy lived on in his heart. “When I came home, I returned to my studies in Iowa. I printed a copy of the 59th platoon’s letter and hung it on the wall of my dorm. Everyone who read it was impacted by its contents.”

Robert’s love and respect for German Shepherds also continued back home. “Since Ted, it’s the only breed for me. I’ve had several dogs over the last five decades and I called each one of them Ted. I trained them all – just as we did with the MWDs. They could understand all the commands and it made me feel somehow connected to Ted, even all these years later.”

The resilience Robert forged with his K-9 brothers in Vietnam, served him well. He completed his studies and qualified as a trial lawyer, running his own practice in Michigan. Now retired, Robert is still closely bound to Ted and his time in Vietnam. “I don’t often speak about it – I think it’s the same for many of us who served. But the unspoken words about Ted and memories from Vietnam live in my mind daily. I think they always will.”

Grateful Thanks

The experiences of the dog handlers in Vietnam and the actions of the 59th in campaigning to change the plight of their MWDs, remains an important marker in history. US War Dogs president, Chris Willingham, commented: “We are honored to be able to share Robert’s story and highlight the service and sacrifices of K-9 during the Vietnam era. The military K-9 family will never forget the experiences of our Vietnam brothers and the dogs they worked so seamlessly with. To honor the past will help us to change the future, and the legacy of dogs like Ted is born out through organizations like US War Dogs, whose mission is to honor the role of K-9s, past, present and future.

“Thank you, Robert, for allowing us to share your story.”

During those campaigns, Robert earned the medal he was most proud of, his Combat Infantryman Badge. He also earned an Army Commendation Medal for Meritorious Services during his time in the Republic of Vietnam.

Robert was recognized for his hard work and leadership in the platoon and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and subsequent oak leaf cluster for meritorious achievement in ground operations against hostile forces, in the Republic of Vietnam during 1970.

Thank you Robert, and Ted, for your service.

In Conversation With… US Army Veterinarian, Jim Giles

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 20:26:25 GMT

In Conversation With… US Army Veterinarian, Jim Giles

The K-9 community is blessed to have a richness and diversity of the skillsets within it – and this is something that we at US War Dogs is always keen to spotlight. In this interview, we were honored to chat with former US Army Veterinarian, Jim Giles, about his career that spanned the height of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Jim helps us to peer behind the surgical curtain of what life was truly like for the professionals who were charged with saving our injured MWDs in military theater. He also introduces us to one of the MWDs whose story he is honored to be part of.

James Giles had always wanted to be a veterinarian, but after a wild couple of years at high school, Jim joined the US Army: “It was time to grow up and I knew that the military would give me the discipline and structure to do that. I signed up to join the Green Berets and was fortunate enough to make it through that path.” Ultimately, though, Jim’s calling to be a vet was strong, so he transferred to the National Guard Special Forces and went to Oklahoma University for undergraduate and veterinary school.

On completion of his studies in 1998, Jim returned to full time Army duties in Special Forces, but this time, using his qualifications in veterinary medicine to support the unit. “At this time, the Army Special Forces did not have MWDs assigned to them and although we partnered with DoD MWD teams on training exercises, I didn’t have any responsibility for MWDs as a vet. Of course, this was pre-9/11, so the landscape of the military was very different.”

Jim getting to grips with a horse in Honduras

In 2001 though, Jim was assigned to Schoefield Barracks, Hawaii, where a large kennel provided him with his first taste of life taking care of MWDs. “We learned a great deal about a wide array of animals in veterinary school, but there was nothing specific to care of military working dogs, so it was an eye-opening three years.” The rigors and intensity of veterinary training kicked in once again and – following three years in Hawaii – he returned to Oklahoma to complete his small animal surgery residency.

Dog Center Europe

Almost 15 years into his career with the Army between active and reserve, and having spent 10 years at university, Jim finally received orders to go to Germany. In 2007, he arrived at Pulaski Barracks where Dog Center Europe (DCE) was based. This speciality center received working dog casualties returning from the Middle East. “We were building up the hospital to have excellent facilities and the MWDs really did receive the excellent care there. We did a lot of treatment on dogs with gunshots and IED injuries, as well as the more routine sports medicine-type injuries and other health issues.

“It would take a few days for the MWDs to transfer to us from combat theater and that transfer was often problematic as they didn’t receive the same care in transit that their human counterparts did, which meant that they often deteriorated before the got to us. It was our mission to change this.

“One of the wound treatment modalities for humans that we brought in for the MWDs was vacuum assisted wound therapy (VAC) – also known as negative pressure wound therapy. This kept wounds clean and aided with the healing process while the dogs were being transported to Europe. We successfully introduced this and we saw huge successes with the improvement of the dogs’ condition, even after making the long journey from the Middle East.

“The first MWD that had that treatment in a combat theater was Cujo (Australian SAS MPC) who was injured in 2011. We treated him in Kandahar and he was transported to DCE for definitive care. He had a near amputation from a gunshot wound, but was able to keep his limb in part due to treatment with the wound VAC.”

Jim’s experiences in Germany gave him his first experiences with casualties from combat theater but – after returning to the US to spend 12 months as the Animal Health Branch Chief of the Army Medical Department Center and School, Fort Sam Houston (TX) – he would soon be providing much more immediate care to MWDs, right in the thick of the action.

Afghan

Jim’s deployment to Afghanistan in 2011-2012 would bring with it a number of challenges, but Jim’s enquiring mind and drive to improve facilities for the dogs that needed his care, motivated him to keep pushing forward.

“The hospital was a tent and an expandable metal container for surgery, so both the environment and the facilities proved challenging. In Kandahar, we were next to the human hospital, which enabled us to do more. My goal was to help the human healthcare providers to recognise and understand the value of the MWDs. When we could help the human healthcare providers understand that the actions of the MWDs would save human lives, they became very willing to assist in MWD medical care.

Jim working on injured Australian Special Forces MPC, Kuga

“We did a few things to help establish rapport between the two worlds: Dog demos were a great tactic to letting the human healthcare pros to see the dogs in action. We often got some audience members in bite suits too. There was a constant carousel of people so that education process was a year-round concern.”

The work that Jim and his team put in to help educate the human healthcare community in Afghanistan, didn’t stop at bite suits and demos: “When I had a surgery, I would recruit a human surgeon to help. This really helped to forge that bond that we were striving for. In the end, the human doctors would sabotage each other to make the cut and be in the operating room with us – it really was special.

“In turn, we got to access their expertise, facilities and equipment. It was very encouraging to see them draw closer to us.”

Understandably, with more medical staff on hand to take care of human casualties so – thanks to the work of Jim and his team – a standardized process was introduced: “Our close working relationship with the medical teams and their exposure to our work meant that we were able to draught in human surgeons when there wasn’t a vet present, to help stabilise an injured MWD.

“The fact that this process was brought in really stands testament to the collaboration we had forged and the value that our human medical counterparts saw in our military K-9s.”

But what of the K-9 patients that Jim treated? Were there any stand-out moments that defined his time in Afghanistan? Jim recalls his first encounter with US Marine Corps specialized search dog (SSD) Lucca, who was brought to Kandahar after an IED blast.

Lucca

SSD Lucca and her handler, US Marine Cpl Juan Rodriguez, were the dog team attached to a Special Forces unit. The team was on a clearance job in Helmand Province when Lucca had located an IED but stepped on a secondary device nearby. Jim said: “The SF medic and Juan saved Lucca’s life in the field. They stopped her bleeding and got her pain under control before getting on a helicopter to Camp Leatherneck first. One of our captains there gave Lucca initial care before sending her to us in Kandahar.

“Lucca and Juan arrived together in an ambulance and by this point, she was very stable – she was on IV, morphine, torniquet, bandages.

“We did an initial assessment and looked at what she had left of her forelimb. We had to do some decision making: The IED blast had removed the lower third of her leg in what’s known as a traumatic amputation.

“We called the Director of the MWD Center at Lackland AFB, TX to discuss the pros and cons of limb preservation or full amputation. Often, if the other three legs are good, dogs do well with amputation. Lucca’s other legs were very healthy, so we did the full amputation at the human hospital the following day.”

Jim recalls that Lucca’s operation was very straightforward: A forelimb amputation, including her shoulder blade, meant no cutting through bone. “Of course, it is a major surgery, with lots of nerves and vessels to be cautious of”, Jim explains. “But it is a standard procedure. Lucca had a human anaesthesiologist, plus two human surgeons in the room. Juan was pretty much by her side almost constantly – we told him to go and take a shower, but that was it!”

After a successful surgery, Lucca’s healing journey and transition to life with three legs, could begin. “Adapting to life after a forelimb amputation is a little trickier because of the load bearing aspect, but Lucca was very strong. She wasn’t patrol or attack trained, which also helped. Lucca was a was super easy patient, never showing any aggression or hostility, which is unusual as the dogs can be testy when they are a little confused or in pain.”

So what is it about Lucca’s story that stands out for Jim? “Lucca’s case represents a real stride forward in the care that MWDs received in Afghanistan which – finally – could match and exceed the expectations of her fellow service members and members of the public.

“The handler’s expectation is that we could deliver the same level of care that they would receive. We were going to do everything to make sure that would happen and Lucca’s story really helps to cement this legacy. It also outwardly proves that MWD treatment isn’t contingent on them going back to work. We knew Lucca would retire from service following her recovery – and that was absolutely the goal: To restore her health so that she could enjoy a full and active retirement.”

Lucca’s story also resonated for another reason. Jim said: “I had spent a lot of time in the operating rooms with the human doctors – marvelling at how they maintain their composure and professionalism when faced with some dire situations. But when the human doctors and nurses came into our world, the dogs touched them in a way that brought their emotions to the fore.

“One scene I remember clearly is Lucca laying in her kennel with her head in Juan’s lap – he really never left her side. They were both sleeping and two nurses from the human hospital stood a couple of meters away, sobbing. The bond that dog and handler shared; the sacrifice that dog had made for her country and the rawness of that moment, was too much for them.

“That’s the power Lucca had: To connect people with the military K-9 community on an empathetic level. In her retirement, seeing her visit her human amputee counterparts to provide that solidarity and consolation without words, was so moving. In the years since she passed away, her legacy to act as the strongest ambassador for MWDs, continues to shine bright.”

The bond that Lucca and her handler shared, moved all who cared for them

Jim even attended the dedication ceremony of Lucca’s memorial in Tuscaloosa, AL, earlier this year. “Her legacy lives on and the memorial is testament to that .She saved hundreds of lives but continued to impact so many after that. She is such a great ambassador for the MWD mission. I have told her story countless times at conferences and seminars, where I passionately advocate for the role and service of our nation’s MWDs.”

Jim with Lucca’s handlers, Juan Rodriguez and Chris Willingham, her first handler who adopted Lucca after she retired

Retirement

Jim retired from the military in 2016 and now works at the Blue Pearl Pet Hospital in San Antonio, where his case load still features a large number of law enforcement and MWD patients. “I love maintaining a connection to the service animal community and have been honored to work with a number of retired MWDs along the way too, including retired MARSOC multi-purpose canine (MPC) Bass and retired MWD Ares, to name just two.”

Jim’s advocacy for and professional dedication to the MWD community has seen vast improvements in the way our nation’s military K-9s receive care in conflict and how they are viewed and understood by the wider medical community.

Thank you for all you have done – and continue to do – for our MWDs, Jim.

K-9 leads the way.

Jim’s tireless devotion to MWDs saved countless lives, including Lucca’s

Q2 2025: Talking War Dogs

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 20:26:23 GMT

Talking War Dogs

Q2, 2025 Update

As we bid farewell to another busy three months, it’s my pleasure to give you a round-up of what we’ve been up to: From support provided to our active duty and retired K-9s, to spreading the good word of War Dogs at events and supporting important fundraising efforts that help us to continue our vital mission… Read all about it, right here!

Supporting our MWDs

Delivering our vital programs of support to our active duty and retired MWDs is at the very heart of what we do. Our team of volunteers help to facilitate life-saving veterinary care through our Emergency Care Program; sign up new dogs to the Rx prescription medications program and much more.

During April, May and June we saw:

30 new Rx sign-ups
Supported 19 dogs through our Emergency Care program, to the tune of $24,000
Sent out 13 MWD Service Awards, in grateful thanks and recognition for a career of service to our nation
Supported six families through our Rainbow Bridge Assistance program, covering the cost of euthanasia, cremation and providing personalized urns to the families who wanted them

We also spent in excess of $38,000 on Rx medications over the last quarter, alleviating the financial burden for the families of our retired MWDs and making sure they get the meds they need to stay happy and healthy.

For every person and business who supports our mission, know that you are part of something very special!

EEnoch received urgent cancer treatment through our Emergency Care program

Housekeeping

In line with our obligations as a 501(C)3 non-profit, we completed our annual audit in May, that has been filed to the IRS and will be available to view online very soon. The auditors were impressed with our files and everything passed with flying colors. Even Devil Dogs need to do paperwork!

25th Birthday Support

As part of our 25th anniversary celebrations, War Dogs volunteer Ray Myers wanted to play a special part in gifting one family a bespoke fence for their yard, to make sure their retired MWD remains safe and secure. Rochelle and Josh’s application was chosen and Ray made the trip from his home in Michigan to Florida, to complete the build project.

Retired MWD Rider not only loved having former Marine Corps dog handler around the place – but he fully approves of the new installation.

We’d like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Ray for volunteering his time and giving back to our community in this very special way.

Our birthday celebrations also gave us cause to do a very special care package giveaway. We put a callout for 25 dog teams to make contact and request one of our badass birthday packages. Our K-9 brothers and sisters did not disappoint and we sent packages to installations at home and abroad. K-9!

MWD Shakira with her 25th anniversary care package

Spreading the Good Word of War Dogs

We were honored to be invited back to the annual US Army MWD Symposium in Alpena, MI. We took a vendor booth and had the chance to meet and mingle with so many friends, supporters and handlers who have benefited from War Dogs’ help.

The symposium is a feast of K-9 knowledge sharing, practical demonstrations and brotherhood. We recommend anyone who hasn’t to check it out next year.

Our team at the MWD Symposium

We recently teamed up with Marine Corps veteran Rosendo Madrigal’s apparel brand, Dux Exercitum, to take our latest swag line to market on the War Dogs store. The Never Forget - Memorial line features the image designed by military spouse Megan Brenner, depicting a traditional fallen dog handler memorial, with a dog, standing guard. Megan originally created the design to raise funds for Gold Star families back in 2014 but graciously gave her permission for War Dogs to repurpose the design. The line is still available to purchase on the War Dogs Store .

Dogs and Baseball

A contingent of current serving and veteran dog handlers were invited to enjoy an afternoon of hospitality, care of the Baltimore Orioles and RBR Technologies. Retired MPCs Peggy, Dex and Lara joined in the fun, which included a meet and greet on the field with some of the players - Matt Bowman and Keegan Akin. War Dogs team members Aaron Stice, Chuck Rotenberry, Nick Neumann and I accompanied the dog teams. Spending time together in fellowship and brotherhood is always therapeutic and we’d like to thank RBR Technologies and The Orioles Organization for this special opportunity.

Retired MWDs Peggy, Dex and Lara soak up the atmosphere at the Baltimore Orioles game

Feeding the Dawgs

The incredible team at The Dawgs Project have been busy creating special moments of fellowship and food, with four feeds across the last few months. Luciano and his team have toured Joint Base Andrews, Fort Carson and Camp Pendleton, giving the K-9 teams an afternoon of great food and an opportunity to feel the love from an organization dedicated to creating special moments for our active-duty community. The feed at Camp Pendleton fell on Memorial Day weekend, giving an opportunity for gathered Marines and their families to remember and honor their fallen and say the names of those who paid the ultimate price.

Feeding the Dawgs

The team also made the trip up to Alpena, MI, to lay on a feed for the MWD Symposium delegates, which was extremely well attended and delicious – as always!

Fabulous Fundraisers

You’ll never hear me say this enough, but we simply couldn’t continue our vital work without the support of our generous donors and partners that show up for us year after year to make sure we have funds to carry out our mission.

The last quarter has seen some incredible fundraising activity in the name of US War Dogs: Pet Supermarket’s annual Lend a Paw fundraiser supported us once again, with each of their 219 stores across the country collecting donations at cash registers for War Dogs. This year, three of our retired MWDs represented US War Dogs and visited their local stores in Florida, to say thank you to Pet Supermarket’s teams and have a good sniff around.

Our special thanks to Juci, Baco and Chuky and their wonderful families for making the trips out and to all the staff at Pet Supermarket for making this year’s fundraiser possible. The campaign ends on July 6, so there is still time to get involved if you have a store near you. Remember, each $5 donation will be gifted a bag of Open Farm treats!

US War Dogs In Conversation With… National Service Animals Memorial Founder, Chair and Sculptor, Susan Bahary

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 15:10:47 GMT

US War Dogs In Conversation With… National Service Animals Memorial Founder, Chair and Sculptor, Susan Bahary

As a part of the military community, we at US War Dogs know all-too well, the power that monuments hold in honoring service, commemorating sacrifice and raising awareness. This year, US War Dogs is thrilled to be supporting one of the largest and most important monument projects in recent history. We spoke to the artist whose inspiration and diligence is helping to bring this vision to life: Susan Bahary.

As an artist, sculptor and long-time friend of the military community, it’s no surprise that Susan Bahary was inspired to develop a project to shine a much-needed spotlight on the role of the service animal community in the United States.

“I’ve been very fortunate in my career to be involved with some prestigious and historically important monuments and memorials”, explains Susan, who is based in California, “but after having worked on so many memorials, it struck me that other countries were doing a greater job of honoring their animals than we were at home.”

“I started sketching a vision and felt very deeply that the American story for animals had yet to be told in this way. While we have the War Dogs memorial in Texas, we should extend that to all service animals – and in our nation’s Capital.”

Resume

Having worked on some of the most significant and high-profile monuments and memorials in the military K-9 world, Susan brings a wealth of talent and experience into this ambitious project. ‘The Pledge’ monument honors the role of female dog handlers at Arlington National Cemetery and is the first of its kind in our nation’s capital to recognize all women serving in the military.

The Pledge

Susan also paid tribute to the men and women of the Sea Services – past present and future – as well as all military working dog teams, with the sculpture, “Service and Sacrifice.” The piece features a larger-than-life depiction of Navy SEAL Team Six member John Douangdara and his MWD Bart, who were killed in August 2011 along with 29 U.S. Soldiers – 17 of whom were Navy Seals – when their CH-47 Chinook was shot down in Afghanistan.

Service and Sacrifice

Susan’s close work with the Australian War Animal Memorial Organization (AWAMO) saw her design and sculpt the WWI Animal Memorial in Pozieres, France in 2018 – which has since become a symbol of sacrifice for all animals who served during the Great War. “Visiting the memorial in Pozieres is an almost spiritual experience. It was the site of death and sacrifice for so many - human and animal.”

“The dedication ceremony did a great job of representing the animals that served there: Donkeys and mules, horses, pigeons and dogs, and there was a real sense of going back in time to honor the service and sacrifice of those who died on the Western front.

“It made me so emotional to think of the bond that the handlers shared with these animals and how they must have felt. What has inspired me is how giving of themselves, service personnel are – they have and continue to put themselves on the line for us. When you combine that with the innocence of an animal and how they serve us humans so faithfully, it hit me strongly that we needed to do something and the idea for a national memorial – on federal land in our nation’s Capital – really crystalized.”

Susan’s intricate work features in the WWI memorial in Pozieres, France

Making dreams into plans

As daunting as the task felt at the beginning, Susan made strides to make her vision a reality. “While I believed the memorial should be in DC, I was concerned about how long it could take and how difficult it might be to secure permission for a D.C memorial. With that concern, I started looking around San Francisco for suitable sites, but everyone I spoke to said that Washington was the right place, so I spoke with the National Parks Service and the whole thing started to feel more doable.”

After that, Susan developed a website for the memorial and reached out to some key players in the K-9 world, to ask for their support. “I approached a number of experienced voices from the military K-9 community, such as John Burnham and Ron Aiello, along with a number of advocates and experts from across the service animal space, for their support.”

Susan also set about creating a non-profit, in order to fundraise to make the memorial a reality: “In order to do something like this, I also realized that we needed to be a 501c3 but in twist of good fortune, an animal related nonprofit in San Francisco that I was on the board of was winding down, offering us the chance to take over their organization with our mission.”

With a board of volunteer directors in place and a platform on which to fundraise for the monument, the team’s attentions had to turn to securing a home for the project, in Washington D.C.

Brush with the Law

Planning a memorial on federal land requires congressional approval and support, which would expose Susan and the board to a number of complexities.

“We needed a sponsor in Congress so I reached out to Senator Richard Blumenthal, who spoke at the dedication ceremony for the Sgt Stubby memorial, to see if he might be interested in being the lead on the bill.

“When he heard the story of what we were trying to do and agreed to support us at that level, I teared up. It was the first significant hurdle, but there were so many more to come.”

Sergeant Stubby

In order to have the bill passed, Susan and her team had to present to a congressional committee as to why the project has broad and lasting historical significance in American history. “After our 20-minute presentation we assembled 30 people to speak for one minute each, including the likes of a Vietnam dog handler who talked about leaving his dog behind. There were so many compelling stories told; it was incredibly moving. Those stories played an important role in showing to that gathered committee, just how much this memorial will mean to the American people.

“We received unanimous approval from the committee which meant that the National Service Animals Memorial bill was eligible to be introduced.”

Thanks to the hard work of Susan and her team of volunteer board members, the bipartisan bill passed in 2022 and President Biden signed it in 2023.

Next Steps and Future Plans

The next phase for the memorial is site selection in Washington D.C. “We are working with a consultant in D.C. to look at where the best place for the memorial will be. We want to get the best possible location: Somewhere that allows for both reflection and celebration, while being accessible.

“It should be a nine-month process from start to finish and possibly longer if additional legislation is required once the site is identified.”

US War Dogs has made a contribution towards to the site selection costs, helping to ensure that the process runs smoothly and without funding interruptions.

US War Dogs president, Chris Willingham, said: “We wholeheartedly support the commemoration and celebration of our nation’s military K-9s and having a national memorial in our Capital absolutely needs to happen. The board and I felt like this was the right time for War Dogs to step in and support with funding towards the next stage of the project, and we are excited to see Susan’s incredible vision brought to life.”

On War Dogs’ donation to the project, Susan said: “We really needed an angel and US War Dogs has made this next phase happen. We couldn’t be more grateful to the team for their generosity – fundraising is hard work! To have the next phase catered for and covered means that progress really can gather some pace.

“We’re currently estimating the cost at $20 million to build the memorial but will have a more accurate number through the site selection process. After site selection we will go to the Fine Arts Commission for design approval. It is my hope that all animal-loving Americans will support the memorial in some way – large or small – to help us reach that goal of honoring service animals and their handlers on a national scale.

“After all, this is a memorial for all of us to celebrate the human/animal bond that, once you’ve been touched by it, can’t be ignored.”

Impressions of how the National Service Animals Memorial could look in Washington D.C.

Skill and Will

Reflecting on the story so far for the National Service Animals Memorial, Susan is quick to acknowledge the work of the board: “All five of us on the board have really helped to make everything happen. The board has their whole hearts in this project and I know that between us, we will make it successful.”

With a long road still ahead, how does Susan and the team stay motivated? “We are all driven to do the right thing and bring honor to the animals and the people who work with them. As we move through this process, we keep that front and center of everything we do. “

“By bringing this memorial to life, it is also our hope that it works to raise the status of all animals in society, ensuring that they are treated with kindness and respect, in all cases. The National Service Animals Memorial will be a place of honor, inspiration, education, and healing, and we hope that it will bring comfort to anyone whose life has been enhanced by an animal.”

“The memorial itself is designed to bring everyone together, as we can all agree that these unsung heroes are worthy of honor in this way.”

To find out more about the National Service Animals Memorial, click here .

Q1 2025: US War Dogs Highlights

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 15:06:14 GMT

Q1 2025: US War Dogs Highlights

Our 25th birthday year has gotten off to a flying start and our president, Chris Willingham, has compiled a look back over the last three months’ activities and what our team has achieved, in service to the K-9 community.

What’s going on, K-9 fam?!

I hope that the first quarter of 2025 has treated you and your families well. We are so excited to finally be in our birthday year, which we knew was going to be one of our biggest and busiest yet, as we have been planning some epic ways to celebrate this incredible organization’s milestone. We weren’t wrong – it’s been a great start and we are pumped for the next chapter in this journey to the big 25.

But along with all the birthday preparations (more on that shortly), our business-as-usual work to support military working dogs – active and retired – continues at a pace.

We were thrilled to sign 31 new retirees up to our Rx program – giving them access to the medications they need – and all funded by US War Dogs. Overall, we provided meds totaling over $35,000 .

Jjoseph is the latest RMWD to join our Rx program

We have also provided support to 24 dogs through our Emergency Care program, at a cost of over $48,000 , which continues to offer critical veterinary care to RWMDs, wherever they are in the country. Our latest newsletter features the story of MWD Orca, which gives a small insight into how vital this service is and how it truly helps to take care of both ends of the leash.

We have been proud to issue eight MWD Service Awards this quarter, to RMWDs who are either newly retired, or whose owners have just discovered the initiative and wanted a piece of the action for their K-9 hero.

We are always here to receive care package and specialized gear requests and were honored to send out 12 packages to teams at home and in the Middle East. If you need help with good quality gear or just need a welcome taste of home, drop us a line and we’ll be happy to hook you up: k9family@uswardogs.org

Our mission has always been to support MWDs throughout their lives – right to the very end – and our Rainbow Bridge Assistance program continues to provide care to families when it is time to say goodbye. This deeply emotional time can’t be lessened, but for the families not to have to worry about the costs of end-of-life care and cremation, continues to be an honor that we take very seriously. Five families utilized the program since January, and we wish each and everyone who has had to bid farewell to their RMWD recently, all the love and support we can. Never above you. Never below you. Always beside you.

Remembering Denny: We were honored to support Denny and his family, right through the to end of his life

Repping War Dogs

It’s been great to get out and meet some new friends of US War Dogs over the last few months, who have given us a platform to spread the word about our work and often, who have also encouraged their networks to support us too. One such organization – Paycor – invited me to present a virtual address to their “VALOR” Employee Resource Group (ERG), in commemoration of K-9 Veterans Day.

We were also honored to be invited to the Paws for Heroes event, held by the New York Institute of Technology’s office of military and veteran affairs, earlier this month, where we were offered the chance to address guests on our mission and the support we offer to the K-9 community. We were also able to posthumously present MWD Jade with her US War Dogs Service Medal. She tragically passed away earlier that week but her former handler and adoptive dad, Eric Seelin, attended to accept the accolade on her behalf, which was very poignant, given the timing.

Honoring MWD Jade at the Paws for Honor event in NYC, March 2025

Finally, our vice president Chuck and I were honored to attend the sixth Animals in War and Peace awards ceremony, where the Medal of Bravery - given to military animals, and the Distinguished Service Awards were presented. Four MWDs received the MoB and three law enforcement K-9s were recognized with the DSA. US War Dogs has been a partner of the event since its inception in 2019, as its mission aligns with our own to honor the service and sacrifice of MWDs - past, present and future. Click here to learn more about this years’ recipients.

K-9 Veterans Day

K-9 Veterans Day has become an important date in this community’s calendar – and with good reason. Not only does it commemorate the official date that the K-9 Corps was founded, marking the entry of MWDs into our nation’s military endeavors, it has become a day of reflection, remembrance and respect to all those K-9s and their handlers who fought before us; the MWDs who served alongside us and who continue to support us today.

K-9 Veterans Day memorializes the beginning of the K-9 Corps on March 13, 1942

In celebration of K-9 Veterans Day, we ran a fundraiser to provide anyone who wished to, the opportunity to make a donation to our cause. We were blown away by the generosity of this incredible community and I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to anyone who gave us a donation – large or small. I can’t tell you how much it helps us continue to do what we do for the military K-9 community.

This year, we celebrated K-9 Veterans Day with the unveiling of a MWD monument that holds a very special place in my heart. The monument, entitled ‘Send Me’, now sits proudly in Tuscaloosa Veterans Memorial Park in Alabama and features US Marine Corps Specialized Search Dog (SSD) Lucca.

Lucca’s monument now stands in Tuscaloosa Veterans Memorial Park

The piece stands to memorialize MWDs, past, present and future, with plaques to inform and educate the public about the service and sacrifice of dogs in the military – since the inception of the K-9 Corps on March 13, 1942 – along with Lucca’s story.

Along with my fellow US War Dogs volunteer, Juan Rodriguez, I was proud to service as a Marine Corps dog handler with Lucca and was honored to offer her our family home, where she spent six happy years in retirement.

US War Dogs has a long history of honoring the K-9 community in this way and I am so humbled that the board saw fit to support this project. The portrayal of Lucca – nose in the air and harness on, ready to work – was beautifully captured by sculptor Jocelyn Russell. I’d encourage anyone visiting either Tuscaloosa or the National Cowgirl Museum at Fort Worth, TX, to pay Lucca a special visit.

War Dogs 25

Our 25th anniversary year is in full swing and with it, a suite of special programs that enable us to give back to this incredible community. Our Wellness Plan program is now up and running for 25 retired MWDs in our care to provide Optimum Wellness Plans through Banfield Pet Hospital. Our RMWDs have had their first appointments and will be enjoying VIP treatment with Banfield for 12 months.

We are happy to have Jek join our 25th Anniversary Wellness program with Banfield Pet Hospital

War Dogs volunteer and veteran Marine Corps dog handler, Ray Meyers, has offered up a very special gift to one of our RMWD families… as a skilled craftsman, Ray has offered to build a fence at the home of one retiree, to help keep them safe and secure. Ray will be travelling to Florida in June to build the fence for one special family that was selected from those who applied. We’ll have more on this very soon!

Looking ahead to later on in our birthday year, plans are advancing nicely for our Legacy Week training package, which is offered out to active-duty military dog handlers from all branches of service. We have introduced our incredible team of trainers and veterinarians who will be running the course down in San Antonio, TX, and we’ll be releasing further details about Legacy Week, very shortly. If you’re interested in signing up, click here .

Finally, our big birthday celebration event will be taking place in San Antonio on Friday October 17 and we want as many retired MWDs and their families, supporters and friends to come and share the day with us, as possible! We’ll be releasing more details soon but, in the meantime, mark your calendars and get your plans together!

Thank You

As always, thank you for reading our updates, interacting with us on social media and for your financial support that helps us to continue our vital work of supporting MWDs – active and retired. We are so excited to dive into Q2 and can’t wait to share the ride with you!

K-9 leads the way!

Your War Dogs Store

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 15:04:03 GMT

Your War Dogs Store

Many of you have been supporting us through your love of shopping great quality swag via the War Dogs store, and with more products, collabs and goodies to be found on there, it’s never been a better time to take a look.

Our latest 25th anniversary collabs with Dux Exercitum and K9 Addicts are live and includes a range of products, that display the specially designed motifs.

If there are any products or designs that you would like to see us sell for US War Dogs, please let us know at k9family@uswardogs.org

We have big plans for the store as we draw closer to our big birthday celebrations so keep checking our socials for updates and, as always, let us know your feedback!

US War Dogs swag, out in the wild

A Final Update for 2024!

Sat, 28 Dec 2024 13:03:48 GMT

A Final Update for 2024!

The last three months of 2024 have been action-packed, with US War Dogs’ suite of programs providing well-deserved support for our K-9 community. A busy final quarter means that the overall care we’ve been able to provide this year has been incredible! Let’s dig into the details…

Supporting Our Retired K-9 Heroes

We’ve signed up 91 new retired MWDs to our Rx program and spent over $167,000 on treatments through our Emergency Care program. We are particularly proud of this program, as it was developed in response to the need arising from within the community and through conversations with handlers and adoptive families about the challenges they face.

Since rolling out this program last year, we’ve not seen a single Go Fund Me page for retired MWDs, needing support with treatments. This is something we are exceptionally proud of. Read more about some of the recipients of care through the program, like Rex, SSeneca and Gunner.

SSeneca has been the recipient of care through a number of our programs

Supporting Active Duty Dog Teams

US War Dogs has a long history of supporting our active duty dog teams. We were thrilled to extend an invitation for deployed dog teams to submit their care package and specialized gear requests. Our teams worked hard to mail out over 200 packages to teams across the globe, providing quality gear and a welcome taste of home this holiday season.

Our head of quality control, Murray, oversaw the mail-out of over 200 care packages

Support For US War Dogs

Our team’s dedication to the mission would be nothing without the incredible support we receive from you all. We are so very grateful to every single person, business and organization who has donated vital funds to our cause.

Our special thanks goes out to Vortex Optics for the fundraising campaign they ran in aid of US War Dogs in November, through the sale of their dog collars.

Thank you to the team at Vortex Optics, for supporting us with another incredible fundraiser!

We’d also like to extend a huge thanks and heartfelt congratulations to our long-time supporter and friend, Janet Deltuva, who – alongside her team of volunteer photographers – curated and published Tails of the Hill Country – A Dog’s Adventure Guide, to raise money for US War Dogs. The book launched in November at a special event attended by members of our team. All sales proceeds will be donated to our cause.

Janet and her amazing team with Alex from US War Dogs, celebrating the launch of their book, Tails of the Hill Country

Earlier this year, we spoke with Janet about her motivations for taking on this huge project in our honor. Janet, we thank you for the time and energy you put into the book, which looks absolutely incredible. You can still purchase your copy here .

Looking forward to 2025

As many of you will know, we are about to enter our 25th anniversary year and we are going to make sure that the party lasts the whole 12 months! Stay tuned for more information and updates on our key anniversary initiatives, including:

Our Wellness Program in partnership with Banfield Pet Hospital, where we’ll be funding 25 retired MWDs to enjoy a whole year of care through the hospital’s Optimum Wellness Plan
US War Dogs’ Legacy Week, where 25 active duty dog teams will be participating in a four-day training package with some of the best mentors and teachers operating in the K-9 world today (13-16 October)
US War Dogs’ celebration day: An opportunity for this awesome community to come together and celebrate what we have achieved together (17 October)
US Marine Corps K-9 handlers’ reunion: The fifth annual reunion will take place over our celebration weekend to bring together Gold Star families and veteran handlers for a weekend of much-needed fellowship and brotherhood (16-20 October)

Our social media channels will be packed full of other initiatives to celebrate during our birthday year, so keep an eye out for more details. We are so excited to share this special anniversary with you all!

Ways to Support US War Dogs

We are truly grateful to all of you who read our newsletters, support us on social media and donate to our cause. We feel the love in this community and my team and I feel blessed to be in a position to make a positive difference, with your help and backing.

I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t shout out some of the ways that you can choose to support us:

Buy our calendar! The US War Dogs 2025 calendar is out now and available to purchase via the War Dogs Store. We are so proud of this and hope that you enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed making it!

Become a War Dogs Guardian Our membership program is live and ready for you to join! Your monthly dues will go to supporting our mission and you’ll receive special access to the members only portal, where you’ll get deals, discounts and special content, just for you.

Shop Our Swag The War Dogs Store is always open and packed full of branded and collabed apparel and merch for the whole family.

Follow Us! We’re live on Instagram , Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn so give us a follow, tell your friends and let’s keep spreading the good word of War Dogs!

Thank you for another incredible quarter of support, so that we can continue to care for MWDs - active and retired. Happy New Year when it comes and K-9 leads the way!

In Conversation With… US Army dog handler and Purple Heart recipient, Alec Alcoser

Sat, 28 Dec 2024 12:25:39 GMT

In Conversation With… US Army dog handler and Purple Heart recipient, Alec Alcoser

Military life calls people for a multitude of different reasons and Alec Alcoser’s journey to holding the leash in the US Army was born – at first – out of a desire to better his life: ‘I just graduated high school and was working at Chick-Fil-A. I had my own apartment and college wasn’t an option for me. I was estranged from my parents, so it was a tough situation. I always saw the recruiting office when I would walk to school and work and so one day, I got up the courage to go in.

‘I figured that with my problems and my tattoos, the worst thing they could tell me was no, but the conversation with the recruiter went well and I was on a bus to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, within three months.’

Alec turned 20 years old while he underwent basic training at in 2015. His plan was to gain experience as a Military Police officer and then transition out to a civilian post thereafter, but his plans quickly had to adapt. ‘They didn’t have space at MP school, so I was given another position, training as an optometrist’s assistant. It was a pivot for me, but as I was about to sign my contract, the recruiter told me to call the center called ‘The Rock’ who knew of all other openings available. They thought it was better for me to check whether there was anything else.’

Alec was offered the chance to join 31 Kilo: K-9 school. ‘They had space and I was all in. Not many people knew about the program from my intake and I was lucky enough to be one of the first students to go straight in as a pipeline handler.’

After basic training, Alec then went to MP school before shipping out to San Antonio, TX, to join K-9 school.

‘I’d had a German Shepherd when I was 11 so I had some experience of being around the breed, so I was very comfortable right off the bat. It was humbling to be around these animals who had capabilities like the MWDs.’

Alec was paired with his first MWD, Layla: a stubby, long-haired GSD. With Layla at his side, Alec gave his all in K-9 school: ‘Every day was unique and the instructors emphasised that it was a difficult course and that people fell out all the time, but I was focused on graduating. I was very driven to succeed.’

Fresh Start

After passing the course, Alec received orders to go to Fort Drum, NY: ‘I was the only one in my cohort chosen to go but what was cool was that there was a senior class just three weeks ahead of me and four of them were going to Fort Drum. I had some friendly faces.

‘The dog school was in the same town that I grew up in and being so young, moving across the country felt scary. After catching up with friends to say goodbye, I only had three days to get there so I packed my stuff and drove from Texas. I made it in 32 hours and had a day to look around before my adventure began. I went to the parks and looked around what would be my new home but it felt like a dream. I had this feeling beating out of my chest as I walked around: I’m in the Army! I was so motivated and so ready.’

Alec admits that his first day on base felt very intimidating: ‘I met Sergeant Arnold, this really wholesome guy who just really inspired me. He was there with his dog and his uniform and just really stood out as a professional. Then I find out that as a PFC, he was a Special Forces dog handler and had won the Bronze Star. I felt like I was amongst real pros, which is daunting when you’re starting out.’

Alec was paired with his first dog in the kennels – Vando. ‘We didn’t work out as a team, which was really upsetting. We frustrated each other and we ran out of chances. I really wanted it to work out Vando and I knew I could do it but for some reason, we failed cert.

‘He hadn’t gelled with me when we he switched from his previous handler and I definitely had less time on leash with him. I also think I was suffering with some test anxiety as the I really felt the weight of wanting and needing to succeed, on my shoulders. Vando and I failed two certs – the only two I’d ever failed.’

After the crushing disappointment with Vando, Alec was paired with Alex – a push button dog whose experience and confidence really travelled back up the leash. ‘Alex made work pleasurable again. Because he was so sharp, I just needed a good pattern and some confidence and he did the rest. He really raised my spirits after what had been a tough start in Ft Drum.

‘Our relationship was rushed in the beginning as I needed to be certified, so the pressure was on. Two weeks after cert, we had a month on rotation with the Secret Service in NYC, which is where our bond was really built.’

Alex recalls that the USO offered handlers tickets to enjoy some of the sports and theater shows while they were in town. ‘Alex and I went to a Mets vs Yankees game, where he followed the ball around non-stop. We also went to see The Lion King on Broadway show, which Alex was less bothered about. He came everywhere with me and it’s where we really formed that partnership.’

Yankees or Mets: Alec and Alex bond at a baseball game in NYC

Deploying

As Alec and Alex settled into a groove at Ft Drum, orders were coming down to replace dog teams returning from Afghanistan. ‘I volunteered. I wanted to go so bad, to do what Alex and I had been trained for. It was also in the culture in K-9 to want to earn a combat patch. It’s very common for K-9 to want that. Me and one of the guys in the senior class from San Antonio volunteered to go.’

Alec recalls that when he first arrived in country, the need for dog handlers was insatiable. ‘It was the norm is that you train for a month, certify and go out, but our time was shortened to two weeks because the need for our expertise was so great. I certified and went out with the Engineering Corps.’

Alec and Alex were stationed in the Logar area, which was known as ‘Rocket City’ as the base was subject to daily rocket bombardments. ‘Once there were seven attacks in one day’, Alec recalls.

Their next assignment was with a Special Forces compound. ‘We were the only dog team on the FOB. We would search vehicles coming into the base and spent around two months on that post before Alex and I were attached to the Czech Army.’

Alec and Alex with some of the Czech soldiers they served alongside

Alec and Alex would support the platoon, whose role it was to go out on foot patrols around Bagram. ‘The unit would send out a newsletter for the week’s upcoming missions and when the Afghan Prison mission came up, I volunteered us for it. Everyone had their individual teams that they liked to stick with, and I had found mine.

‘I was the only American on the team but the Czech team was extremely slick and professional. They are so tall and muscular – I felt very safe with those dudes. Everyone loved Alex and I really learned a lot from them.’

Alec and Alex’s first deployment to Afghanistan lasted just under six months and he describes that time as truly pivotal in his K-9 career. ‘Afghan turned out to be a great place for me. My kennel master, Jeffrey Pearlstein, was such a great leader and I really thrived under his stewardship. I received two achievement awards over there and really seemed to flourish. I had become a real subject matter expert.’

Inseparable: Alec and Alex spent almost every moment together

As Alec and Alex continued to work with the Czech Army platoon, the requirement for their skills continued in earnest. ‘We saw a whole bunch of action: Spotters, car bombs and IEDs, but every mission with the Czechs ran smoothly – they were professionals. I worked with them for about a month and a half before I got hit.’

August 5, 2018

Alec recalls the day that the trajectory of his deployment – and his life thereafter – would change forever. ‘It started the night before we got the newsletter containing the mission briefs. It was another handler’s team that was due to head out he wasn’t comfortable going out at night so I volunteered. I knew Alex was ok in the dark so I felt that we were ready.

‘We woke up at 3am, I got us ready and we walked over to the new team. I introduced myself to and explained how we worked, as well as checking in on if they needed anything specific from Alex and I. The unit leader explained that we were travelling to chat with someone who had intel on a local bomb maker, so we just needed to provide support and clear a safe route inside.

‘We got to our position and they talked to the dude who knew stuff, while me and Alex stood outside. We were about two hours into the mission and were almost ready to go back to the vehicles when I could just see this one individual, loitering in the distance.

‘I was taking photos for the next set of handlers – to help ready them for missions and what to expect. I got a picture of him but I wasn’t looking to advance as Alex would brush against him and he had been known to snap at random moments.

‘My instructor taught me that it was better for the Afghan Army to search people or do anything so they could learn – I wanted them to search him but the Czechs moved forward.

‘As I bent down to pick up a cigarette and the world shook.’

Suicide Bomber

Alec explains that everything turned yellow and orange. ‘I lost control of my body. At first, I thought I’d missed an IED but the Afghan Army guy came up to see if I was ok and shouted ‘suicide bomber, suicide bomber, suicide bomber’, so I was quickly put in the picture. Alex appeared out of the dust and plopped down next to me – he wouldn’t let anyone near me.

‘The pain was unbearable but in the Black Hawk, they gave me ketamine to knock me out.’

Alec spent a day in Bagram being stabilized by local medics before being flown to Germany for surgery. He was intubated and knocked out for a week, before flying back to the US to recover at Walter Reed in Maryland.

Alec’s injuries were extensive. He had suffered fractures to all four extremities, ripped tendons, severe damage to his foot that was at risk of amputation; shrapnel in his legs, arms, hands, face, as well as a mild TBI.

‘A bunch of doctors said that it wasn’t a normal thing to survive. Three of the Czech soldiers were killed in the blast.’

Alex played a key role in Alec’s recovery

Deeper Scars

‘Emotionally, I was pretty torn up. When it first happens, it’s overwhelming but you’re surrounded by a lot of support that clouds the reality of the situation. It began to get really rough after I got my first apartment with my sister, who came to live with me so she could take care of me. Life was easier with a helping hand. It was so hard to be in that position again – it almost felt like I was back at the start, before I joined the military.

‘You lose a lot of innocence when you go through an experience like that. I was still myself when I was in Afghanistan but after that, I couldn’t connect with anything. Songs that evoked emotion had lost their meaning. I had lost myself. Then you remember what happened and you go down this rabbit hole of reliving all of it again.’

Alec explains that in the aftermath of that awful day – seeing his teammates killed and suffering life-altering injuries – left him feeling isolated and alone. ‘How do I explain what happened to anyone? I lost it all when those men died in front of me. I lost all the happy memories. You lose your cheer for all of it.

‘My sister suffered along with me. It was so hard. I’m not even sure if I’ve gotten better – I have a wife and a baby on the way but there isn’t a single day that I don’t think about it. It controls a large part of me and I am reminded of it every single day.

‘I have been able to make a life for myself: I have a master’s degree and aspirations to work in international intelligence, but moving past that pain feels like too tall a task.’

Alex

Alex had his back left leg amputated as a result of the blast that had injured Alec and killed his three Czech comrades. Having been medically retired, Alec would visit him on base at every available opportunity and was waiting for the paperwork to complete to retire him out of the Army. ‘I adopted him on my birthday in 2018 and he came to live with me and my sister. It was such a relief that I could retire him – it was one of my fears that I would come back and I would lose him.

‘I was very connected to Alex – on another level. In Afghanistan, we slept in the same bed and were never apart for more than an hour and a half – and that was when I had to leave him to go to the chow hall.

‘It was relief to have him home with me. He could actually understand what had happened and was living with the scars from that day too. We would just hang out – he always had such a lazy personality but always respected work. He loved food and loved chilling with us. I built a real close relationship with the service community in San Antonio and everyone would give him a second look: With the missing leg, you could tell he wasn’t a normal dog. He was a dog with a story to tell.

Purple Heart: Alex had his leg amputated as a result of the suicide bombing

‘He did really well, living with three legs, but at 10 years old, he started to have problems.

‘Alex passed away the day after my wedding this year. He passed away at home, in his sleep, so we didn’t ever have to make that heartbreaking decision to say goodbye. He chose his own time. My wife was also a military dog handler and she loved Alex – everyone loved him! Adjusting to life without him has been tough over the last few months.’

Future Plans

As Alec adjusts to life without Alex, he remains thankful for the bond they shared and the memories they made together. ‘We saw the world and experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows together. I am so grateful to have shared that time with Alex – he will always be a part of me.’

As Alec looks forward to life with his young family, he tells of his aspirations to return to combat theater – albeit in a different guise. ‘My master’s degree is in international intelligence and I would relish the chance to insert myself back into a combat environment, in the intelligence field. The lessons my Army career taught me and the mentors who shaped me into the dog handler I became have inspired me. I also feel like my life in service isn’t over.’

War Dogs Turns 25!

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 14:34:38 GMT

War Dogs Turns 25!

As our big birthday year fast approaches, we have some very special dates for your calendar in 2025, as we look forward to celebrating our quarter-century in epic style.

October 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of when US War Dogs Association became a legal entity to support the K-9 community. Our growth and evolution over the last two and a half decades to provide this community with what it needs, is something we are extremely proud of and, to celebrate, we are planning a year-long celebration that will culminate in a very special week of activity.

US War Dogs K-9 Legacy Training Package

From 13-16 October inclusive, we are giving 25 military dog teams the chance to undergo a training package that will aim to impart elite knowledge from some of the best K-9 trainers in the US.

The training package will take place in San Antonio, TX, and cover everything from enhanced detection, apprehension and transitional work and will equip teams with enhanced knowledge to aid operational readiness.

The spaces will be allocated evenly between all branches of military service, with a maximum of two dog teams per installation offered. Kennel masters and trainers will also be given the opportunity to attend and the course will earn you professional credits, with travel and accommodation covered as part of the military’s standard professional development protocols.

Applications will open soon so keep an eye on our social media channels and email comms for more information.

Celebrating US War Dogs – Past, Present and Future

We’re inviting anyone who has supported or benefitted from War Dogs’ care to come along to a very special event on 18 October, to celebrate our birthday and look back at what this incredible organization has achieved.

Venue details and timings are still to be announced, so stay tuned for more information via our emails and social channels. It’s going to be an incredible day so note it in your calendars as we would love to see you there!

Our team is working hard to nail down all the details but in the meantime, note these dates in your diary and be ready to register your interest, very soon!

Celebrating By Showing We Care…

We wanted to do something special for our retired MWDs during our birthday year so in a few short days, we’ll be announcing details of a brand-new care program that will give current-serving or former military personnel who have retired an MWD, the chance to access almost £1,000 worth of preventive treatments for your dog. Funded by US War Dogs, this special year-long program will run for our entire birthday year of 2025 and will give us the chance to spread some additional support to our K-9 community.

More information on this unique opportunity will be announced on 1 October, so stay tuned to all War Dogs channels to learn more!

Thank you and K-9 leads the way!

War Dogs Summer

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 14:30:25 GMT

War Dogs Summer

Our president, Chris Willingham, takes a look back at our work and our impact across July, August and September.

The last three months have been super busy for US War Dogs. Our vital support for the K-9 community continues to increase as word spreads further about who we are and what we do. We love nothing more than signing up new retired MWDs to our Rx Program and providing vital support when dogs and their families need it most, and this last quarter has been no exception.

We were thrilled to welcome 18 new dogs to our Rx Program this quarter, including US Navy patrol and explosive detection dog (PEDD) Ivo, who retired with his former handler, Dan. Notorious as being the most aggressive dog in the kennels at NAS Lemoore, CA, six-year-old Ivo has become the model house dog in retirement, lounging and enjoying meeting new people. Ivo was retired with lumbar-spinal stenosis, so the provision of medications through the Rx Program will really help alleviate the financial burden for Dan and his family. Welcome to the pack, Ivo!

Welcome to the Rx Program, Ivo!

We have supported our retired MWDs with Rx medications to the tune of $35,000 over the last three months. It is our honor to continue this vital program, which is only made possible through the generosity of our incredible supporters. Thank you to each and every one of you who gave whatever you could to our mission – we appreciate you more than you know.

Care Update for Retired MWDs

The steady increase in requests for help through our Emergency Care Program, has continued during the third portion of this year. We are proud to have supported 8 dogs with emergency surgeries and treatments through their home veterinary centers over the last three months, with the running total for this program now sitting at $133,979.

Stay tuned into our social channels for more stories from some of the dogs we’ve been helping recently through the Emergency Care Program and be sure to check out Kyra’s story, who found herself in mortal danger after eating a corn-on-the-cob husk. We covered the operation to save her, which saved her owner and former handler over $8,000.

We were honored to help Kyra out of a sticky spot, as part of our Emergency Care Program

A key part of our mission is to honor and recognise the service of MWDs with the US War Dogs Service Award. Any MWD retiring from service is eligible to receive the medal and certificate, which is not only our own way of thanking each dog for his or her service to our nation, but it also acts as a beautiful and lasting memento for their adopted families.

We’ve sent out 10 service awards over the last three months and last month, I was fortunate enough to present one in the fur, to MWD Anton, who retired out of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Hie retirement ceremony gave chance for his kennel to celebrate his career and it was a very special moment to be able to honor him with the US War Dogs award. Good boy, Anton!

MWD Anton’s retirement ceremony featured the presentation of the US War Dogs Service Award, in recognition for his devotion to our country

Our Rainbow Bridge Assistance Program has supported 4 families through the darkest times of saying goodbye to their beloved retired MWDs. The program covers the cost of end-of-life care and cremation with the express intention of honoring that MWD to the very last.

We have made some upgrades to the program, including the provision of a personalized urn that includes photos and a quote from the poem, Guardian of the Night: “Remember me with kind thoughts and tales, for a time we were unbeatable.”

Active Duty K-9 Support

We are fortunate to have formed excellent links with kennels across the globe so that we can lend a hand at short notice when it comes to supplying quality care packages and specialized gear requests to help teams maintain operational readiness.

Across July, August and September, we have supported 8 kennels with care packages and gear requests and it gives us a huge amount of pride to be able to support teams to continue their mission to defend and protect our freedoms.

If we can be of service to any kennel – domestic or international – that is struggling to obtain gear or would like to receive our care packages, click here to learn more.

Our Supporters

As we focus our efforts on providing vital support to the K-9 community, we continue to be overwhelmed by the generosity of our incredible supporters, who really do make everything we do possible. From individuals who donate as and when they can, to businesses who hold fundraisers for us and to our War Dogs Guardians, who have signed up to support us on a regular basis, we can’t express our gratitude enough. Thank you and god bless each and every one of you!

Our great friends at Pet Supermarket held their seventh annual fundraiser for us in July, encouraging their customers to donate to us at checkout counters in their 200 stores across 12 states. Not only did the campaign help to raise over $230,000 for our cause, it helped to raise the profile of US War Dogs to tens of thousands of customers. We can’t thank Pet Supermarket enough for their continued support and to everyone that donated to the campaign, we appreciate you more than you know!

Pet Supermarket’s 7 ^th annual fundraiser for US War Dogs was a huge success

We were also thrilled to work with Banfield Pet Hospital’s Veterans Diversity Resource Group who sponsored one of the retired MWDs on the hospital’s Optimum Wellness Plan.

The K-9 selected to receive the sponsorship package is retired MARSOC multi-purpose canine (MPC) Peggy. Peggy is a combat veteran, completing two deployments in Syria and Iraq where she racked up over 300 hours of explosive detection and participated in 20 missions where she provided valuable assistance. Peggy was also the first MARSOC dog to attend military freefall school.

Now retired with her former handler, Josh, Peggy is enjoying family life and all the creature comforts that go with it. We are honored to support Peggy through our Rx Program and in collaboration with Banfield, we are thrilled to see Josh and Peggy receive this additional layer of support to keep Peggy happy and healthy during her well-deserved retirement.

Banfield celebrated Peggy’s service and welcomed her to their Woodbridge hospital, where they held a special ceremony before conducting her first consult.

Banfield Pet Hospital welcomed Peggy, who began her year-long sponsorship on its Optimum Wellness Plan

Spreading the good word of War Dogs

Members of our team love nothing more than going out to talk to willing audiences about the work of MWDs and the role that US War Dogs plays in their story.

I was fortunate enough to attend some fantastic events over the last quarter, to talk about the history of MWDs and their service, as well sharing some experiences from my K-9 career with specialized search dog (SSD), Lucca. Events this quarter have included:

Addressing the American Kennel Club National Detection Dog Conference in Ohio.
The purpose of the conference is to develop a US-bred pipeline of detection dogs to support law enforcement agencies. It's a great program and the board of directors at the Dog Detection Task Force are steering a range of initiatives to encourage high quality puppies that can support our domestic entities.
A trip into the offices of Grace & Co in Curtis Bay, MD, to give the keynote speech at the inaugural event organized by Grace’s Veterans Employee Resource Group – GVETS.
The Heart and Heroism evening in NYC, held by non-profit, Operation Warrior Shield: A fantastic organisation that offers holistic therapies to veterans with PTSD.
The National Society of the Dames of the Court of Honor invited us to its 96 ^th national conference in North Carolina, as US War Dogs has been chosen as the president, Mrs Edwin Hamilton’s charity of the year.

We’d like to thank everyone who invited us to events and speaking opportunities over the last quarter, to help us spread the word about our mission – we love getting out and chatting to people about MWDs!

It was great to spend time with Grace’s Veterans Employee Resource Group and talk to them about our mission

Get Involved!

There are some cool ways you can support our mission:

Sign up to be a War Dogs Guardian and receive exclusive deals, news and opportunities, while contributing whatever suits your budget each month
Purchase some bespoke swag from the War Dogs store , including our live collab with K9 Addicts
‘Like’ and follow us on Instagram , Facebook , TikTok and LinkedIn
Spread the word about our mission to handlers and families with retired MWDs so we can offer them our support

Thank you so much for being a part of this mission – we couldn’t do what we do without your love and support.

Until next time, thank you and K-9 leads the way!

Volunteer Highlight: Kim Roberson

Fri, 16 Aug 2024 11:42:52 GMT

Volunteer Highlight: Kim Roberson

The team at US War Dogs is almost completely made up of retired, honorably discharged or current serving members of K-9. Kim Roberson is the trainer at Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, Alaska. She takes excellent care of our social media and we are blessed to have her as part of the team. We chatted with Kim to learn more about her military service and experiences and why she chose to dedicate her precious free time to US War Dogs.

Kim always had a strong pull to military service: “I always wanted to join – my grandfathers served in WWII and my dad and uncle served in the Vietnam War. Dad wanted me to go to college for four years, but I didn’t complete my Classical Studies and Philosophy major. The only thing I wanted to do was join, so I quit and went to a recruiter. I kind of surprised everyone with that!”

Kim explains that as well as her family’s history, she had spoken to several combat veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they had brought K-9 into her field of vision. “The recruiter and the veterans I talked to made me research all of the jobs available. I liked the sound of the Aerial Gunner position, but my research led me to K-9. Guns and dogs was the one for me! The recruiter wanted me to do something else but I had my heart set on K-9, so I needed to join Security Forces.”

Kim joined in June 2013 at the age of 23 and graduated basic training in August of that year. “I went to the Security Forces Academy directly after basic and graduated in October of that year, at Lackland Air Force Base. We didn’t interact with the MWDs at that point, but I’d seen them once on a demo. I knew they were there and that was the dream I had my eyes on.”

Expectation vs Reality

Kim admits that her first few years in the military were different to what she’d expected: “There wasn't as much action, more just sitting at a gate. Which is expected of a brand new A1C. However, I also had to wait my turn before I could join K-9, which is where I really wanted to be. I PCS’d to Edwards AFB in Cali – it was four years before I could go into K-9. “I was not a stellar airman and the current Kennel Master could see I needed room to grow. I finally got to apply to K-9 in 2016 but shortly after I was approved, I was deployed to Kuwait. I was in Kuwait from January to July 2017, which was a really great experience as I got the chance to see the handlers in action over there.” Returning home from Kuwait, Kim’s waiting paid off and she went straight to K-9 school at Lackland in August of 2017. “I loved every minute of it. The wait was so worth it and after graduating on Halloween, I returned to Edwards as a handler”

Rotten Luck

Two weeks into Kim’s assignment at Edwards, disaster struck. “I was decoying for one of the dogs and she blew out my ACL. I knew straight away that it was bad and of course, it was going to mean significant recovery time. All this before I’d even been assigned a dog.” Kim had surgery in December to repair her damaged knee, which needed plenty of recovery time before she could return to work. “I was off work for a month and then on light duties, so no field time out with the dogs for me. I started working with MWD Ggreta V243 in July 2018 and that’s when I finally felt like I was back on track.”

Kim and Ggreta

It just so happened to be Ggreta who had been involved in the incident that had busted up Kim’s knee, but Kim didn’t hold grudges against her. “She was the sweetest dog so we were all good. She was a push button dog and very well behaved. Ggreta could demo everything and she was very capable.

“We went on a mission together in support of POTUS. It was a fundraiser at some fancy mansion in Beverly Hills and she did great. We also entered a K-9 competition where we took home first place in the Military Working Dog Team category and second place in Area Search – out of 80 teams!

“I felt blessed to have Ggreta as my first dog. We worked together from July 2018- October 2019 before she was assigned to another handler. She retired in 2021 and the handler that adopted her recently sent me a video of me working with her: I remember that exact demo. I love to stay in touch with her in retirement – she’s doing really well.”

Kim and Ggreta competing

Broader Horizons

After Kim’s time with Ggreta was up, Kim’s next duty station was a little further afield. “I was sent to Kadena AB in Okinawa, Japan where I was briefly paired up with MWD Dax T524. He was great but he was on the road to retirement, due to some medical issues that had been picked up, so we only had a few months together. He retired with me and stayed with me in Oki until he passed away in July 2021.

“In January 2020, I was paired with patrol and explosive detection dog (PEDD), Sony Y007. She was a feisty girl and so we were always sent to places where a little fear went a long way. We worked security detail on base and on the night shift. Sony was a huge psychological deterrent, so we were always sent to the trickier callouts: Domestics, breaking up parties – that sort of thing. Sony wasn’t allowed off the base but we would average about five to six miles per night, walking around the whole base and doing our thing.”

Kim and Sony

Kim lived in Japan through the entire COVID pandemic, which made home feel even further away. “Travel was impossible and we were totally confined to Okinawa but in spite of everything, Sony and I had the time of our lives on the night shifts.”

Levelling Up

After spending a year working with Sony, Kim was ready to take her career to a new level and was selected to be a trainer and attended Trainers’ Course back at Lackland in 2021. “Coming back as a trainer was a strange one for me. Nobody is really for that transition and it’s not always an easy position to be in. I am grateful for the opportunity, but it was a tough challenge to come back and train handlers with the same amount of time on leash as me.

“I really wanted to stay with Sony as we were a great team. We didn’t have to think – we were so in tune. I wanted to stay with her but my new role didn’t allow for it, so she went to another handler. Sony changed my whole view of K-9 – she taught me how to be a great handler and I owe a lot of my skills to her.”

As well as taking charge of the night shifts with Sony, Kim also seized the opportunity to showcase the incredible work coming out of K-9 in Kadena. “I set up the Instagram page while I was a handler but when I returned as a trainer, I was really able to show off what our teams were doing. Our handlers were awesome and I wanted them to take pride in what they were doing.”

Kadena’s Instagram page quickly gathered momentum as audiences enjoyed seeing the dog teams take on new challenges and training exercises, which included Jungle Warfare Training with the Green Berets, Navy SEALs and MARSOC. “We were doing something special and sharing our journey on social media really energized the teams. It instilled a real sense of pride.”

Kadena’s social media presence caught the attention of the K-9 community, including the team at US War Dogs.

The organization’s president, Chris Willingham, said: “The Kadena guys were crushing it with regular posts and incredible content. They were repping for the community and our team really enjoyed seeing their content. We reached out to introduce War Dogs to the Kadena team and let the kennels know about our care package and specialized gear request program. We were honored to support the teams’ efforts with our gear.”

Chris also reached out to see if the social media team at Kadena might be interested in supporting US War dogs with its online presence. Kim recalls: “I was at Jungle Warfare Training at the time but we connected when I got back and I jumped at the chance to join the War Dogs team.”

Sony

North Pole

Kim’s start date with War Dogs was scheduled around the move to her next duty station, as she prepared to leave Japan and move to Alaska. Of course, leaving what had been home for three years was made even harder because Kim had to say goodbye to Sony. “She had

more time left to work but it had been agreed that when she retired, she would come and live with me. This made it slightly easier to leave her, but not much.” Kim’s move to Eielson AFB in Fairbanks gave her the opportunity to really establish herself as a Trainer. “Being promoted above your peers is tough, but moving to a new place as a trainer provided me with a totally different dynamic.”

Of course, the biggest adjustment that Kim would have to make in Alaska, was connected to the weather. “Winter is rough here. It’s a harsh place but it can be so beautiful. Seeing the Northern Lights for the first time was incredible.”

As Kim settled into life in North Pole, Alaska, her role with War Dogs took off too. “Balancing War Dogs volunteering was a thing to figure out, but I wanted to do it. I try to complete my tasks before I go to work in the morning, but my unit is extremely supportive of my role with War
Dogs. Many of us have retired dogs that are supported by the program.

“I have the War Dogs flag hanging in my office and it gives me a lot of pride when people recognize that I am part of the team. I get the warm and fuzzies – it’s nice to get the recognition and people are getting to know us better as an organization.”

Kim’s social media skills don’t stop at War Dogs – she also set up a page for the Eielson K-9 section on Instagram to show off the incredible work of the dog teams at her base. “Other kennels are following us now too so I can rep for War Dogs on Eielson’s page as well!”

Dreams and Ambitions

Kim’s ambitions to continue progressing in the military have been realized as she is promoting to Tech Sergeant on October 1st. “I am an ambitious person. I’ve made it over eleven years in the military and I would like to further my career and do other things.”

Kim was promoted to tech sergeant in 2024

But as well as realizing her ambition and climbing another rung of the ladder in her career, this year also saw the reunion of Kim with her beloved Sony, who was flown back to the US from Kadena.

“It was an emotional day but it felt wonderful to have her home. My friend Lex flew home with Sony – they both did so well after 26 hours of travelling. She is joining my other retired MWD, Jocky at home here in Alaska and is already settling into the couch life beautifully.

“Both Jocky and Sony are signed up to the Rx Program, which just makes my volunteering for War Dogs even more special.

Chris and Kim with Sony and Jocky

“War dogs is one of the best organizations I’ve ever encountered. Last year, the volunteers all got to come together for our K-9 Veterans Day event in D.C., which was so special. Meeting the Gold Star families who came out and spending time with the team was one of the best moments of my life.

“I’ve found a great friend and mentor in Chris too, who recently came out to run a training package for the team here at Eielson. The team were stoked to meet him and they learned a lot. It was also amazing that he could be a part of MWD Anton C215's retirement ceremony and was able to present him the Service Award in person. It was a memorable event for our whole team.

“For me, US War Dogs is a family away from a family and I am so proud to be a part of what we’re doing for the K-9 community.”

The team from Eielson kennels with War Dogs president, Chris Willingham

Supporting our K-9 Heroes – Q2 Update, 2024

Sat, 29 Jun 2024 17:18:14 GMT

Supporting our K-9 Heroes – Q2 Update, 2024

An update from our president, Chris Willingham

Our mission to provide practical support to MWDs, their handlers and families, has been in full swing during the second part of this year and we are thrilled to share with you some facts and figures about the kind of care we have provided, by means of your generosity.

Veterinary Care

Take-up of our care programs has continued to grow this quarter, as word spreads about our mission and the kind of help that we provide. From April to June, we received 21 Rx Applications and spent over $35,000 on medications for dogs on the program.

Retired MWD Batka joined our Rx Program in June

Our Emergency Care program also continues to increase in popularity. We are proud to have supported 13 retired MWDs by paying for life-saving treatments, to the tune of $35,727.35. Cases include everything from osteo surgeries to mass removals and we know that our program has alleviated the financial burden from the family of that retired MWD – many of whom are still serving our nation.

Roja received emergency treatment for Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD)

We were also proud to provide a custom-made wheelchair to retired MWD Jony, who has been diagnosed with Degenerative Myelopathy - a progressive spinal condition. Now ten years old, Jony was losing the spring he had always had in his step – even with the medications to help. But with his new wheelchair, his owners said he is running around like a puppy once more. We love to hear it!

Jony is loving his new wheels

Our Rainbow Bridge Assistance program pays the cost of euthanasia and cremation, to ensure beloved retired MWDs receive a dignified end to their life. We supported four families this last quarter, and I know how much this gesture means to them as they come to terms with the loss of their K-9.

You can read the story of US Marine Corps MWD Shadow, who we supported through many of our programs before she made her final journey over the rainbow bridge in May of this year. US War Dogs was honored to support her to the very end of her life.

US War Dogs was proud to support Shadow to the end of her life

Awards and Specialized Gear

Our team has been busy fulfilling specialized gear requests to active duty dog teams to the tune of $12,000 this quarter. Fulfilling these requests means that we are helping with the operational readiness of our nation’s military K-9s, which gives us a huge sense of pride. One such request came in from Kuwait, where we were able to provide harnesses for fast roping and hoisting, along with $2,500 of additional gear to support the teams deployed.

Supporting active duty dog teams in Kuwait with specialized gear

The US War Dogs Service Award is a cherished memento for owners to receive for their MWDs, in recognition of their service and sacrifice. Over the last three months, we have been honored to issue 12 awards, along with a retirement care package which includes a plush dog bed, to make sure our retired MWDs experience all the comfort possible.

Retired MWD Eemily received her US War Dogs Service Award in May

Thank YOU!

As always, we couldn’t continue our vital work without the love and generosity you show to our mission. Whether you purchase swag from the War Dogs Store; sign up to be a War Dogs Guardian or send personal donations or ‘like’ and ‘share’ our content on social media to spread the word, we couldn’t do what we do without you.

So from me and the whole War Dogs team, thank you and K-9 leads the way!

Memorials and Memories

Sat, 29 Jun 2024 17:13:46 GMT

Memorials and Memories

The second portion of 2024 has been significant for many reasons. Alongside the delivery of service to help retired MWDs in practical ways, we have also been busy supporting the K-9 community in other ways too. Our president, Chris Willingham, reflects on three special events this quarter that War Dogs has been proud to be a part of: the dedication of the K-9 memorial at Fort Drum, NY, the US Army’s Annual MWD Symposium in Michigan and the fourth annual US Marine Corps K-9 handlers’ reunion at Camp Pendleton, CA.

Memorializing our K-9 Heroes

When retired US Army colonel Christine Stark contacted US War Dogs to ask for help with a memorial that the K-9 team at Fort Drum had spent a decade working on, the board and I were intrigued to hear more about the project. As you may have read in our interview with Christine, the memorial took on new life when the Eddy family wanted to make a financial donation to the K-9 section on base, in memory of their late father, William Eddy.

When Christine volunteered to act as conduit between the family and the Army – utilizing her years of military service – plans were set in motion to connect the family with their aspiration to honor the MWDs that had served out of Fort Drum.

US War Dogs has a long history of supporting the dedication of monuments to honor K-9. It is part of our mission to raise the status and awareness of what our MWDs bring to the table and how their service has been pivotal in protecting our nation’s freedom. A monument has the power to do that and we are honored to have played a part in bringing this poignant tribute to life.

I was fortunate to attend the dedication ceremony of the monument in May, which was attended by base personnel and the Eddy family, who were both proud and emotional to see a permanent tribute to their father unveiled.

US Army MWD Symposium

The brainchild of US Army MWD Program Manager, Sergeant Major Viridiana Lavalle , the third annual US Army MWD Symposium took place in Alpena, MI, in May and by all accounts, was a runaway success. Over 250 members of the K-9 community, comprising military, law enforcement and civilian experts came together to share fellowship, knowledge and training sessions that will help to elevate the capabilities of our nation’s K-9s on all fronts.

US War Dogs took a vendor booth for the weekend and met scores of dog teams we’ve supported with care packages or specialized gear requests. Many handlers also had retired MWDs at home that are enrolled on our Rx Program too, and it felt really good to shake their hands and put faces to the many names on our support roster.

It also gave us the chance to educate those who weren’t familiar with our mission, on the work we do to support the K-9 community, which is always a hugely satisfying experience. We’d like to thank Sgt Maj Lavelle for having US War Dogs as part of the event – we very much look forward to returning in 2025.

US Marine Corps K-9 Handlers’ Reunion

As many combat veterans will know, true healing happens when you’re around those who understand and empathize with what you’ve been through. On Memorial Day weekend, we organised for over 70 former USMC dog handlers and five Gold Star families to gather for two days of brotherhood, camaraderie and fellowship. The reunion – which is now in its fourth year – is often the catalyst for healing as our K-9 brothers and sisters join together to remember their years of service, together with the Gold Star families of five fallen Marine dog handlers.

Fellowship and healing: Gold Star families joined current and former dog handlers for the reunion

This year’s reunion kicked off with a ‘feed the dogs’ event, held by our partners The Dawgs’ Project at the kennels of Camp Pendleton. The feed was attended by all current-serving dog handlers from the kennels, along with the reunion attendees. The Dawgs’ Project laid on a BBQ and lawn games to give everyone the chance to enjoy fellowship together with some great food. It’s a feed tradition for the oldest dog handler to feed the youngest handler in attendance: A symbolic passing of the baton to the next generation.

The Dawgs Project laid on a delicious meal and observed some much-loved traditions

Following a delicious meal, the group made the 1.5-mile trek into the hillside behind the kennels, to the dog handlers’ memorial: Eight crosses, bearing the names of the fallen dog handlers who were based out of Camp Pendleton.

Honoring our fallen: The dog handlers’ memorial in the hills behind Camp Pendleton, CA

The terrain was often covered in training exercises by the Marines who served out of the kennels and to retrace the steps of their fallen sons was especially poignant or the Gold Star families. Once the party arrived at the top of the hill where the crosses stand, a small number of Marines said a few words about their fallen brothers – sharing stories and keeping their memories alive.

Retracing the steps of lost sons, brothers and friends, up to the site of the USMC Dog Handlers’ Memorial

Sharing in grief and remembering the lives and legacies of our brothers lost in death was a cathartic experience. Some of the private moments shared between Marines and Gold Star families will stay in hearts and minds for a long time to come.

Honoring our fallen

Providing opportunity for veterans to take time out of their busy lives and commune with their military family is a privilege that isn’t afforded often enough and US War Dogs was proud to facilitate the event, which has become a calendar highlight for veterans and Gold Star families alike.

K-9 leads the way

In Conversation With… Retired US Army Colonel, Christine Stark

Sat, 29 Jun 2024 15:06:03 GMT

In Conversation With… Retired US Army Colonel, Christine Stark

After spending a 32-year career in the US Army, Colonel Christine Stark (ret) had her fair share of experience and a well-earned respect for K-9. But little did she know that a chance meeting with the daughter of a Korean War era veteran would ignite a passion project that had MWDs at its very heart: The dedication of a memorial to honor the MWDs who served out of Fort Drum, NY.

Although Christine never worked directly within K-9, her role as a unit commander meant that she often had K-9 teams within her sphere of responsibility. “It became a tradition to invite me to the kennels to don a bite suit and test my mettle against the dogs when I joined a new detachment. I never turned down the opportunity – and have the scars to prove it.”

Christine testing her nerve against an MWD while deployed in Bosnia

Christine’s career took her across the world, deploying to Bosnia and Afghanistan, where she often had overall responsibility for the MWD sections in her command. After 32 years, Christine retired in 2014 and settled in upstate New York – close to Fort Drum, where she began her journey with the Army. But little did Christine know that her relationship to Fort Drum was about to gain a new and very present significance: “A gardening project had me visiting local stone merchants for quotes and it was this errand that brought me to meet Patty Bach: Owner of Clayton Sand and Gravel Quarry. We hit it off and got to talking about our families and jobs.”

Patty heard about Christine’s military career and felt compelled to share her own family’s connection to the service. “Patty’s dad, William Eddy, spent four years with the US Army – both in active duty and as a reservist, serving and being based out of Fort Drum ”, explains Christine. “Much like me, although William never served with K-9, he had a healthy respect for their skills. After his service, he and his wife indulged their love of K-9, training dogs and welcoming numerous companions into their family over the years.”

William Eddy

When William passed away in 2022, his family wanted to make a donation to the K-9 detachment at Fort Drum – marrying Bill’s passion for dogs with the pride he felt for his military service. “Patty asked me if I would help coordinate with the command at Fort Drum to organize a memorial service for Bill, as well as discuss how the donation could benefit the K-9 section – either with the purchase of new gear or toys for the dogs.”

Bill with his family

It was at this point that Christine took the financial offer to the commander of the 91 ^st MP Battalion, who responded with an intriguing idea: “The Kennel Master, Sergeant First Class Colleeta Smith, explained that they had been trying for almost ten years to dedicate a monument to the MWDs that served out of Fort Drum, on a patch of ground next to the kennels on base. This felt like the perfect way to honor Bill’s memory.”

Memorial Making

SFC Smith was able to share past iterations of plans they’d made for an MWD memorial with Christine and Patty. With initial donations from William (Bill) Eddy’s Family in place, the project had the necessary momentum to get started. Christine said: “The sketches of the memorial design had been annotated and scribed many times over a decade, as commands changed hands and new ideas were formed.

“We took the sketches and had them redrawn by a local architect, then Patty and I set about making a plan to fundraise the remaining money needed to make the memorial happen. I was also able to act as conduit between the Eddy family and the Army and its various layers of protocol and processes required to get us where we needed to be.”

The Memorial would consist of a paved walkway with the 25 original stone tablets bearing the names of fallen MWDs who served out of Fort Drum. These stones were taken from the original site behind the current kennel, having been laid in memorial to the dogs but, over the years, had almost disappeared into the ground. Their new location would line the entrance - incorporating their legacy with the new memorial. The entrance stone leading to the memorial reads: “I Will Always Be By Your Side.”

Christine and Patty spearheaded the fundraising efforts and as part of that work, reached out to US War Dogs to see if the organization might be able to support their efforts. “We knew that US War Dogs had a rich history with facilitating the dedication of memorials, so I was eager to pitch our project. We were delighted when the board approved a package of financial support that tipped us almost to our target, which made our final fundraising efforts that much easier. We were on the home straight.

“At this point, we were also very fortunate to have the support and backing of Brigadier General Matt Braman. Having a one star general and acting division commander to advocate for us enabled the approval to finally be obtained in December 2023.”

The Kindness of Strangers

As well as receiving significant donations from the Eddy family and US War Dogs, the effort to close the gap on the $30,000 needed to bring the monument to life continued in earnest after the Army gave the go-ahead.

“I’m no fundraiser”, explains Christine, “but what Patty and I both had was a strong local knowledge and ability to ask for the right things from the right quarters. The riverfront communities of the St Lawrence are largely farming communities, where many of the household incomes rest at – or just above – the poverty line. But what people couldn’t give in cold cash, they gave in kind. Services, expertise and materials were all donated to the project, which enabled us to make this monument a reality. The whole experience was extremely humbling and proved what I already knew: The service and sacrifice of MWDs and the community in which they work, is hugely loved and respected.”

Set in Stone

As the final dollars rolled in and offers of practical support filled the gaps needed to bring the memorial to life, ground was broken on site in June 2023. Construction of the site took just shy of 6 months and plans were made to officially dedicate the monument.

Christine reflects: “Seeing everything come together was surreal and wonderful. We had achieved something really special for the K-9 teams at Fort Drum that would be enjoyed and cherished for many years to come. We had also fulfilled the wishes of Bill Eddy’s family, as the monument was named after him: The William F. Eddy Working Dogs Memorial.”

It was also a personal full-circle moment for Christine, who began her military career at Fort Drum. “The kennels were just being built when I was based here and only housed a couple of dogs. Now, the team has 12 dogs and has developed its capabilities and skills that do the detachment proud. It’s incredible to be back here in 2024, as part of a legacy that honors their service.”

The William F. Eddy Working Dogs Memorial is dedicated to all the MWDs of the 8th MP Detachment, who served out of the 91 ^st MP Battalion, at Fort Drum, NY

The dedication ceremony on 8 May was both a celebration and a commemoration, striking a poignancy and a jubilance that comes with seeing a long-held dream, become reality.

US War Dogs president, Chris Willingham, attended the event. He said: “It was a day filled with emotion, reflection and pride in our K-9 community. The memorial is a fitting tribute to the K-9s who served with faithfulness and gave their best years to our country, and we are honored to have played a small part in this incredible story. Ms Christine, Mr Eddy’s family and the whole team at Fort Drum have created something very special.”

The memorial dedication took place on 8 May 2024 and brought everyone from the 91 ^st MP Battalion and local Community sponsors together with the Eddy family, to commemorate the milestone moment

With time to reflect on the memorial’s successful dedication, how does Christine feel now? “I look back on the whole story and can’t help but feel that God brings people into your life for a reason. Patty and I were able to help create something really special together, along with the help of many key players from within the Army, with whom this would not have been possible.

“Our husbands joke that our hands and minds won’t be idle for long, so who knows what the future may hold for Patty and I. I should probably finish my gardening project first…”

In conversation with… Vietnam dog handler Sebastian Cardella

Sat, 29 Jun 2024 15:04:17 GMT

In conversation with… Vietnam dog handler Sebastian Cardella

US Army Private Sebastian Cardella and his MWD

As with so many of the thousands of men that served in Vietnam, the emotional wounds they sustained as dog handlers who were forced to leave their best friends behind, have yet to heal. Sebastian Cardella served as a private in the US Army after being conscripted, age 19. His military career changed him forever and the bond with his K-9s still brings tears to his eyes, 50 years on.

Accidental Handler

Sebastian ‘Sebbie’ Cardella hailed from Middletown, Connecticut, was drafted into the service and – following basic training – was sent to Military Police school. “Just before I received orders to go to Vietnam, we were given the chance to try out as dog handlers. It was an instant ‘no’ for me. I had been attacked by a German Shepherd when I was ten and had been terrified ever since.”

Little did Sebbie know that one of his Army buddies had forged his signature on an application: An application that had landed him a place on the course.

“I tried to explain the mistake to the Serg. He said I should carry on to Okinawa and explain to the leadership team when I arrived there.” In Japan, Sebbie met with Sergeant Woodward to explain the situation and petition him, in the hope that he would remove him from the K-9 program.

“It’s a moment that is inked in my memory for life”, explains Sebbie. “Sergeant Woodward placed an arm around me shoulder – like you would with your little brother – and said: ‘Son, you’re going to Nam. If you go with a dog, you’ll come home. If you don’t, I can’t tell you what’ll happen.’

“That’s how I became K-9.”

Under the compassionate stewardship of Sergeant Woodward, Sebbie trained with a push-button dog with a great temperament, to help him over his fear of dogs. Soon, he was comfortable around the kennels and after completing his K-9 handlers’ course, was sent to war.”

Hans Up

Sebbie was paired with sentry dog, Hans, and the two of them embarked on their duties – patrolling an ammo dump in the Long Bihn region of the country. “The dump was flanked with an area covered with barbed wire, trip flares and claymore mines. We walked miles around the perimeter and Hans would alert to any dangers out there. If he alerted, I had to put up a flare to illuminate the area and alert the towers and bunkers to start shooting if they saw anything.”

Sebbie recalls being told how valuable a target the dog teams were. “Our company command would constantly remind us that both dog and handler had bounties on our heads for the Viet Kong militia. It kept us hyper-vigilant and maintained our focus through those long hours on patrol.”

The bond Sebbie formed with Hans was instant and unbreakable. “The Serg was right. I came home because of my dog. He saved my life multiple times – whether he alerted to the presence of enemy, wildlife or anything out of the ordinary, I trusted him completely.

“I was young and still so new to the military life, but Hans took a lot of fear away for me. He gave me a lot of confidence. We had a close bond with the other dog teams on base but for me, no human came close to the relationship I had with Hans. He was my best friend.”

Sebby in Vietnam

Heartbreak to Last a Lifetime

Sebby and Hans served together for seven months, patrolling at Long Bihn before moving to a small detachment to protect an air strip. “After patrolling at Long Bihn, Hans and I were an experienced team.”

Tragically though, after a short time in their new post, the symptoms of hip dysplasia set in for Hans and the decision was made to have him put to sleep. “I cried”, recalls Sebby – his voice overcome with emotion. “I was still alive because of Hans. I wasn’t sure how life without him would be in Vietnam.”

Sebby was quickly paired with King – a fierce GSD from the air base kennels. “We set to work and found a groove pretty fast, but I was heartbroken after losing Hans. It hit me hard.”

For King and Country

Although Sebby’s heart had been lost to Hans, he and King shared some important moments together during the last three months of Sebby’s deployment.

“King was a big, scary dog. He would lunge at anyone while we were out on patrol and at 100lbs, he was a handful to stop. Around Christmas time, we were on patrol when this Jeep approached us and stopped about 30 meters away. A woman in fatigues got out and King was going crazy. I told her to announce herself over the commotion King was making.

“She shouted ‘I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas’, then made a hasty retreat back into the Jeep. It turned out to be none other than America’s sweetheart, Martha Raye, who was out visiting troops for Christmas. And King had been a beat from attacking her.”

Aside from paying no heed to celebrities, King was a tenacious detection dog. “He was sharp on the alert and caused many choppers to raise hell in the swamps around our air base. He was one hell of a dog.”

Hasty Exit

In January of 1972, Sebby and King were on a mission in a rubber plantation outside their perimeter, supporting a small unit who were coming under attack from sniper fire. “We were in a bunker, taking enemy fire when the Sergeant patches through on the radio, asking to speak to me: ‘Cardella, you wanna go home?’

“President Nixon was requested any troops with less than 100 days left of their deployment to be sent back to the US. Within hours, I was on a bird out of that hell hole but I had to leave King behind.”

Sebby recalls that when making his hasty exit from Vietnam, he endured his final dance with danger: “The plane took off and we heard a terrific bang. The plane shook, then steadied and after a few minutes, the pilot came on to explain that the airfield we had just left had been struck by an enemy bombardment. We missed it by a minute.”

Home to a New World

Less than 18 hours after receiving that radio call from his Sergeant in the rubber plantation, Sebby was back on home soil in San Francisco, but the world wasn’t quite as he remembered it. “They processed out of Benoir, CA, and we were still in our fatigues. I hadn’t had time to shower or change after leaving that bunker.

“One of the guys told us not to leave ‘looking like we were in the Army’ as guys were being spit on by anti-war protestors, so I threw my cammies in a dumpster outside the base and headed out to San Francisco Airport. Not before heading straight to McDonalds… We spent $35 on burgers and fries. That got you a lot of food back then!”

Coming home after his experiences with Hans and King had left an indelible mark on Sebby. “I came home and married my love, Cathy, who wrote me all the time while I was in Nam. With 50 years of marriage under our belts, I still thank God and my two dogs for bringing me home safely. I wouldn’t be here without them.

“In all the time that has passed since I left Vietnam, the tears still fall easily when I think about Hans and King. Hans was my dog of a lifetime – he taught me love and loyalty that only those in K-9 will truly understand. I keep my thoughts to myself most of the time, but it has been good to share my experiences as a dog handler – I am so proud to have served alongside such intelligent beings. They were our partners, companions and constants. They were never merely gear that could be tossed aside.”

Sebby’s experiences are shared by thousands of Vietnam veterans and we have been honored to share his story – both in recognition of his service – and that of MWDs Hans and King.

Never above you. Never below you. Always beside you.

K-9 leads the way.

Volunteer Spotlight: US War Dogs Vice President, Chuck Rotenberry

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 20:54:04 GMT

Volunteer Spotlight: US War Dogs Vice President, Chuck Rotenberry

Former US Marine Corps dog handler and trainer, Chuck Rotenberry, has been our organization’s vice president since 2021, supporting the board in making positive changes to increase support and ensure the future of US War Dogs. But before joining our team, Chuck enjoyed a rich and varied career in K-9 – bringing with him hard-fought life experiences that include a serious combat injury that totally changed the course of his life. So, on Chuck’s Alive Day, we spoke to him about his career, his combat injury and how giving back has become inherent to him.

State Trooper Dreams

Like many young military personnel, Chuck had a plan to complete four years in the Marine Corps to ready him for a life in law enforcement. He was offered a scholarship to university and decided to take classes in clinical psychology, in readiness to become a cop. “A buddy and I made this plan to complete the university course before applying to the Marines, but a year in, that buddy couldn’t wait any longer and left for boot camp. This made me itchy to go too, so in December 1999, I went to Parris Island.”

Graduating boot camp as an honor graduate meant that Rotenberry began his Marine Corps career as a lance corporal: “It was subtle but that promotion meant that I was offered a couple of career options. The first was the chance to join the president’s helicopter squadron. The second option was K-9, which my sergeant pushed me on. Out of 50 young Marines who tried out for K-9, only two of us were selected.

“The process was gruelling but the more I learned about K-9, the more I wanted it. I felt really lucky to have gotten through.”

Rotenberry attended the basic handlers’ course in July of 2000 in San Antonio. “There were only seven of us in the class and again, because I was a senior Marine in the group, the instructors expected a lot of me and I definitely got some heat as the new guy.” That said, Rotenberry took to the course like a dream. “We started from the ground up, learning which end sniffs and which end shits, followed by everything from obedience, patrol, basic healthcare and first aid. I had a great class and everyone was super motivated.

“We were also lucky to have strong instructors. We would all hustle to be the first one to run drills, testing ourselves and learning from one another. That sense of competition made us all better handlers.”

After basic K-9 training, Rotenberry received orders to go to MCLB Albany, GA: A small logistics base with a K-9 unit housing eight dogs and nine handlers, including the kennel master. Here, Rotenberry was paired with his first operational dog: The 102lb Belgian Malinois, Boris. “He was a beast and was super cool, but he needed a lot of care. He stank and I was always putting cream on something or picking stuff off him with a hot towel. We took some time to get to know each other and because he had a throat issue, we couldn’t use any physical corrections in training, so his King Kong became an obsession. He would bite down on it - closing the end completely - and stare at me. I always maintained a healthy respect for him.”

The Day That Changed the World

Rotenberry and Boris spent a year supporting with law enforcement duties on base, from security checks to base patrol. They were also part of the Special Reaction Team (SRT): The Marine version of SWAT and were out collecting their new K-9 vehicles when news hit on 9/11. “As law enforcement, we oversaw securing the base’s facilities and locking everything down as the threat level was raised. We worked for almost two straight days, catching snippets of what was going on via radios and hearsay. It wasn’t until I stopped at a buddy’s house to eat something a couple of days later that we got to see and process the enormity of what happened.

“The president had spoken and we all knew that this would have direct implications on where we would be needed as Marines.”

As the threat level remained high, the military police were called upon to provide further security protection at key times, including during the Olympics in Salt Lake City, UT, in 2002. “It was only a few months after 9/11 and there was a lot of nervousness about the threat level, with it being a high-profile international event.” Rotenberry and his new GSD, Dan, attended in support of the event for the full six-week detail. “As we arrived back in Albany, we started getting calls about dogs being trained to go to Iraq.”

Chuck’s patrol and explosives detector dog, Dan

Chuck remained in Albany until October 2003 before moving with his new wife, Liz, to San Antonio, TX. “I wanted to train dogs that were getting ready to go overseas. It felt like there had been a lot of talk but I was keen to get into the thick of it. Nobody was deploying out of Albany so San Antonio was the place I could see myself getting a dog and actually doing something abroad.”

Rotenberry was stationed with two fellow Marines and three Air Force trainers, who had been assigned to train the puppies coming through Lackland’s breeding program. “We started on the ‘Hh’ litter and were each assigned a puppy. It was game on.”

The frequency of training stepped up, with the team receiving a trailer of 18 11-month-old puppies and having just 93 days to ready them for basic training. “It was exhausting, amazing and painful, but the whole experience was so grounding. It gave me so much exposure and experience and provided some strong foundations for times to come.”

In 2005, two years into his puppy training assignment at Lackland, Rotenberry was approached with a special assignment that involved an eight-month deployment to Iraq. “It was a non-K-9 billet, but I was more than willing to go. I started out filling a spot in HQ, in the command operations center, but I really wanted to go out and see what the dogs were doing, with a view of returning to the schoolhouse with intel. I was lucky to have the chance to see the dogs in action – going out with the K-9 guys and the MPs in the field and seeing what they were doing in the outlier posts.

“It was pretty crazy out there, so I always tried to go out and meet the new K-9 guys coming into the country. The dogs were so sought after that the new teams would arrive and immediately, would be collected by a unit to start work. There was very little pre-training or acclimatization. I also noticed how vehicle-based the work was: The dogs were doing what they were trained for, but on huge leashes.

“It was right around that time that the Marine Corps sent a senior contingent to visit and see for themselves, the issues that the dog teams were facing. By the end of that year, they were building Yuma Proving Ground.”

Returning from Fallujah in October 2005, Rotenberry was armed with the knowledge of what the teams needed to prepare for in-country. “We started doing more crowd-control focussed work with the dogs as this was such a constant requirement. That on-the-ground knowledge really helped me in the schoolhouse and I was soon straight back on the hook to train more puppies in detection. Halfway through that first trailer, I was asked to switch up assignments again.”

SSD

It was while at Lackland AFB that Chuck met Chris Willingham – a fellow dog trainer who had been in post for eight months prior. “We hit it off and volunteering for lots of new stuff together, so after I returned from Iraq and he asked me to move over to the specialized search dog (SSD) program, I didn’t hesitate.”

The SSD program was an ever-evolving mission. “It really demonstrates how our human capacity can be a huge limiting factor on the dogs. The premise of SSD is to train the dogs to detect off-leash, working at a distance away from their handlers. But how far the dogs could actually work was constantly being tested, refined and pushed, to meet the threats faced in the field.”

Chuck recalls that this style of training flew in the face of what the dog handlers had been trained to believe: “We were always told that it was too dangerous for dogs to work off-leash, but we needed to discard this belief to better understand what the dogs were truly capable of, especially after the first dog handler to lose his life since Vietnam had been confirmed. What happened to Adam Cann meant that we absolutely had to catch the threat earlier. When we lost Adam, things became very real.”

Rotenberry joined Willingham on the SSD team of instructors, who were given 12 students, 24 dogs and 120 days to ready them all for deployment. “Knowing that these dog teams would be sent down range after the course gave us a huge weight of responsibility. We knew we were doing something that really mattered.”

Of course, working on the job to develop a new specialism was fraught with issues and learning curves for the instructors. “The dogs had to be total problem-solvers, meaning that the attrition rate was higher than usual. The had to understand and trust their nose; have total obedience and adapt quickly. The calibre of the dog had to be exceptional in order to make it as an SSD.”

Rotenberry joined halfway through the first class, when the dogs were working odors. The dogs were required to search 75 meters either side of a roadway. “We thought that was amazing. But to get there, we had to come up with ingenious ways to reward dogs from a distance. We got very good at climbing trees to drop rewards in a timely manner – helping to cement the dogs’ capabilities.”

By the time the next dogs were coming through the class, the limit was 100m, with an entire search area of 500m. “We were staring to hear what the Brits and the Israelis were doing to increase their off-leash capabilities. We understood how to manipulate their skills to increase the dogs’ abilities. We learned to think like terrorists to make the dogs better.”

Changing Up

After spending a year as an instructor for the SSD program. Rotenberry was posted to Yuma Proving Ground, AZ, in 2007. But while he spent time as an instructor – readying dog teams for the real-world situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Rotenberry was posted to Israel to train dogs with the military there. “It was an incredible experience. I was one of four Marines, accompanied by five dogs. As the senior Marine, I was tasked with training two of the dogs, with a view to learning the craft, turning around and deploying with them as an operational dog team. “Yet again, this is where seniority bit me in the butt. I returned home with my two dogs – Sally and Zafar – that I’d spent ten months training, but I was unable to deploy with them. I had been requested to take on the role as course chief back at Yuma.

“By this point, Chris was based out of Camp Pendleton and selected two Marines from his platoon to take my dogs. They were fantastic Marines and I had every faith in them, but it was tough to sever ties.”

After ten months at Yuma, Rotenberry was given the choice of supporting one of the three rotations of Marine Expeditionary Forces going overseas – either out of Camp Pendleton, Camp Lejeune or Okinawa. “I chose Lejeune as that would put me in a holding pattern to deploy.”

Afghanistan

The holding patter ended in December 2010, when Rotenberry led a 30-dog team deployment to Afghanistan. “We were the second largest deployment of dog teams after the first contingent of K-9 left from Camp Pendleton earlier that year. We were headed out to replace them. The turnover we had and the experience of the incumbent 30 teams was key – we spoke to them to provide the perspective we needed, such as how much could the dogs do before needing to come back in?

“Afghanistan was gigantically different to Iraq, both in terms of terrain and rules of engagement. Iraq was like the wild west, but Afghanistan was like going from JV to Varsity, in terms of combat.”

Chuck recalls that before they even landed in-country, there was a call for a ten-dog requirement to go out in support of missions. “I was briefing capabilities and limitations: Lining up what the units wanted. When I was out there, I chose to take the spotter position, being an overwatch for the K-9 team or pack-mule with whatever extra gear was needed.

“Getting out in the grind and the mud and seeing the dog handlers performing amazing work was very humbling. Some of these dudes weren’t old enough to drink a beer yet, but here they were, making a difference walking point.”

On March 29, 2011, Rotenberry was out on a dismounted patrol with a team of handlers who were preparing to do a clearing operation. “We were getting ready to move in on a small town, moving in file down a steep hill. I was an extra pair of hands – carrying gear for the guys and keeping an eye on the dog teams.

“One moment, I was descending from the top of the hill and the next moment, I was laying in a plume of dust, near to the bottom of the path we’d just taken. As I came to, I took in the scene: The dog team in front of me and the Marine with the metal detector were over 20 yards away and two Marines behind me had sustained catastrophic injuries in an IED blast, that turned out to be around 20lbs-worth. I got up and started finger sweeping in the moon dust-like ground for secondary devices as I made my way back to the Marines behind me.”

Fellow dog handlers continued to search for secondaries. “One of the handlers shouted across to me that I was dripping blood, which is when I realised my right ear didn’t work. We continued for the next six hours to complete the mission.”

The platoon Corpsman performed a concussion assessment test - which Chuck failed. “I didn’t feel anything but they ground MEDIVAC’d me out, where the Battalion surgeon removed shrapnel from my wounds. The adrenaline took half a day to wear off. I just thought that everyone else had been hurt but not me, but a few weeks after, when I was going to the chow hall one day, the master sergeant asked me to get him some food. I forgot and went back again. And again. After the third time, I realised that something was badly wrong but I tried my best to keep things to myself.”

TBI

On returning to Camp Lejeune after leave, Rotenberry was on course to build back up to redeploy – setting up pre-training and advanced training schools and testing the dog teams’ capabilities. “We knew how to fulfil the mission and get the next group prepared. I knew what it was like out there and it was humbling to be able to pass on that real-world knowledge. It was also imperative that we were on top of our game the entire time.”

But Rotenberry couldn’t hide his unseen injuries, despite his best efforts. “Those close to me could tell something wasn’t right. Sam Schnell was one of my go-to guys and one day, while still downrange, he helped me load up a flatbed with dogs and drove to the training site. I rode shotgun and when we arrived at the site, I had no idea where I was or what we were doing. Sam was great, but the writing was on the wall.”

The realization of what had happened to Chuck compounded when the platoon finally returned home on Independence Day. “My wife, excited for me to drive home, handed me the keys. But I couldn’t remember the way home, which was just a few miles away.” A short time later, the other symptoms of what was later diagnosed as a traumatic brain injury (TBI) crept in. “I could train dogs and Marines, but I couldn’t do anything else. The migraines, disorientation, sense of smell and hearing all deteriorated. A year after the blast, I simply couldn’t do the job any longer to my standard.”

In July 2012, Chuck left the Marine Corps and spent a further one and a half years as a reservist, out of Quantico, VA, before failing a medical exam to re-enlist. “I failed the test horribly. It was time to face up to how much things had changed for me.”

Life Change

Chuck recalls the huge shift as he and his family adjusted to life with his injury. “I had to circumnavigate life around the TBI. I would suffer four or five debilitating days each week, making it profoundly difficult to keep set routines.”

Rotenberry started working as a dog trainer for TSA and moved to Virginia Beach, VA, with his wife and four children, to pursue life as a civilian with a significant – and unseen – battle scar. “We stayed in Virginia until 2014, when we moved to Maryland to be closer to family. I moved with the TSA and felt so fortunate to stay close to K-9 after leaving the Corps.”

Chuck continued to train dogs in a civilian capacity, with TSA

Treatment and Therapy

The symptoms of Chuck’s TBI increased in severity to the point where major medical intervention was required. In 2013, Chuck became aware of hyperbaric treatment therapy – a revolutionary method of treating the symptoms of TBI. “We had to fundraise the $20,000 for the treatment as it wasn’t covered by the VA. Once I’d had the therapy, it was a revelation. I felt so much better and more like me, I couldn’t keep it to myself. There was some money left over from the fund we had raised to cover my treatment, so my wife Liz and I decided to try and help others who needed the therapy.

“We set up our own nonprofit, Walking Point, to help fund treatments and ancillary care, such as transport to appointments, for veterans.”

In total, Walking Point helped around 18 veterans, who received anywhere from $12-$18,000 to cover treatment and other costs. The availability of the treatment increased and the Marine Corps built a center to help those with TBIs to access the care they needed. “We had bridged a gap for those guys and girls who needed it, but it felt good to know that there was now a place that veterans could go to access that care, even though it was still in the 'study' phase. We are immensely proud of the support we were able to provide over the course of five years.”

In 2018, as Walking Point’s mission had ultimately been fulfilled, Chuck pivoted to a new K-9 career in Maryland – training dogs for the Government. But the call to help veterans rang out once more, via his long-time friend and former SSD instructor, Chris Willingham. “Chris had been in touch with US War Dogs president, Ron Aeillo, who was looking to retire and had selected Chris to take his place. Chris asked me to join as his vice president. I accepted without hesitation.”

Training dogs for the Government: Chuck remained close to K-9

In 2021, after a thorough and lengthy turnover process, Chuck became US War Dogs’ vice president. “Taking the organization forward, through a rebrand and a refresh of our support programs, has been really special.

“Knowing that we are supporting dogs with everything from care packages during their active duty careers to medications and surgeries during their retirement, means the world to us as a board. We are helping to make it possible for handlers to adopt their dogs, because we cover the costs that can make that decision prohibitive.

“Working alongside fellow Marines and providing this level of support to the K-9 community is therapy for the soul and I feel so grateful that we are here for the next generation of dog handlers.”

Vice president Chuck, representing US War Dogs with president Chris Willingham

Tails of the Hill Country: The Story of an Incredible Fundraiser for US War Dogs

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 22:06:37 GMT

Tails of the Hill Country: The Story of an Incredible Fundraiser for US War Dogs

Some people run marathons for their favorite nonprofit or cause. Others might hold a bake sale or raffle. While these fundraising staples are always welcomed when it comes to supporting a preferred charity, this isn’t the route that retired US Air Force colonel Janet Deltuva, decided to take.

Janet’s fundraising efforts for US War Dogs are mammoth in scale and in aspiration and at their heart, is the story of one family’s unending love for two retired MWDs, both of whom benefitted from US War Dogs’ care.

Janet – who took up a career as a professional pet photographer after the retired from the Air Force – decided to use her talents to raise vital funds for US War Dogs’ mission by creating a beautiful coffee table book, featuring dog portraits across the Texas Hill Country.

We spoke to Janet to find out more about her plans for the book and her motivations for taking on such a huge project, in US War Dogs’ name.

Wings?

In 1990, Janet was working as a speech and language therapist when the Air Force recruited her to be a speech pathologist. “It was a skill set that was badly needed within the force. My first duty assignment was to Germany and as my husband is first generation German, it made perfect sense for us to go as a family.”

Joining the military for Janet was a curveball in her life plan but as she continued to do the job she loved and knew well, the experience of living the military life exposed her to what would become her first love: Military working dogs. “Everywhere I went, I saw MWDs and of course, as a huge dog lover, I was desperate to pet them, but was never allowed. The handlers always scolded me and said, ‘stay clear of the dog, ma’am!’

“Looking back, I so wish I had discovered dog handling when I was choosing my career. If I could choose a different path for myself, it would be K-9.”

Janet moved around various duty stations, including Lackland Air Force Base, Incirlick Air Base, Turkey, Air Staff at The Pentagon, before moving out to South Korea to become the hospital commander on base. “I didn’t realize it, but the medical group commander position gave me unique access to the K-9s, because the public health officers who worked for me were often qualified veterinarians before they arrive on active duty. I talked with the mission support commander, who oversaw the Security Forces and the K-9s, introducing the Public Health Officer/Veterinarian and said that if ever the K-9s ever needed anything, to give us a call.

“The closest military veterinarian was three hours north, so it was a real comfort for the handlers to know that the vet was so close by for a quick consult when needed. There were a lot of calls!”

Emzy

As Janet arrived in South Korea, there was a change of command within the Security Forces squadron commander and all the K-9s were in attendance. Janet recalls: “During the ceremony, when they gave the command “present arms”, the K-9s all barked. It was amazing. After the ceremony, I seized my opportunity. I was now one of six colonels on the base – a group commander, in fact – and today was going to my day to pet a K-9. The handler whose dog I approached scolded me, politely, reminding me of the rules, but fellow dog handler SSgt Sean Alexander, walked over with his dog.

“Sean explained that his dog’s name was Emzy and that she was retiring. I offered to adopt her immediately.”

After some administrative game play, Janet finally brought Emzy back to the US from South Korea to start her well-deserved retirement.

Janet and Emzy

“From the get-go, Emzy needed prescription medication to stay healthy. First it was $40 a month, then $60, then $100, as her health needs increased. Eventually, I found myself struggling to stay on top of the finances, so I called Ron Aiello at US War Dogs, to see if they could help.

“Ron told me I should have called years ago. It was a huge relief.”

Emzy was taking 12 pills a day when – at the age of 12, she refused to take them any longer. US War dogs covered the cost of Emzy’s diagnostics and treatment, but there was nothing more that could be done for her.

“She had lived a beautiful life with us, but this was her way of telling us that she’d had enough. She was retaining fluid and had heart failure, so we called out vet who came to the house to put her to sleep. War Dogs also covered the cost of Emzy’s dignified goodbye – they really were wonderful in those last days and weeks.”

Janet was completely heartbroken, having adopted Emzy giving her the chance to live a full life in retirement, the hole she left was a chasm. “I did what a lot of people do in those moments – share beloved pictures and memories on social media. I had already gotten into the pet photography business by this point, so I had some great shots of her.

“A lady reached out in response to one of my posts to tell me about another retiring MWD who was being considered for euthanasia, due to his aggression. I stepped up as a credible alternative to him being put to sleep and several phone calls and paper trails later, Ares was heading home to live with us.”

Ares

Janet recalls the imposing presence that Ares had. “He turned heads everywhere we went. Even the local police stopped at our home to play with his tug toy and have him catch the ball. Ares never missed. Ever.”

Head Turner: Ares featured in many portraits by Janet

When Ares was five, he had a soft black lump on his toe that looked like a tick. Janet removed it, as you would a tick, but it came back. “He had a melanoma which needed oncology attention. We sorted it and gladly paid the $3K for surgical care to remove the toe with the melanoma growth. The vet explained that this is a treatable cancer with an 85% or better cure rate with a shot. A very expensive shot. It was $850 per injection.

“Ares would need five shots in quick succession at that cost, followed by one every two months for a year, along with lymph node checks and an x-ray. Of course, as a war dog with vet aggression issues, he would need anaesthesia. And once again, US War Dogs was there for us. They arranged his care with Mission Vet & Specialty Hospital, who reached out to us to schedule his first appointment.

“The team at Mission Vet were amazing and worked with us to make sure Ares was comfortable, coming into their clinic. He knew the way to the vet’s office from home – that’s how often he would go. We started taking him for ‘happy visits’ too, so that everyone could feed him treats and cure any anxieties he had. It worked a charm!”

Janet and Ares

Janet described Ares as the ultimate war dog: “His whole retired life was spent chasing balls and tearing around – this is when he was at his happiest. When the cancer returned and was detected on his liver, his day-to-day quality of life started to decline and we had to take the unthinkable decision to have him put to sleep in October 2021.

“After all the treatment he had received before we had called it and decided it was time to say goodbye, I held my breath as I moved to the desk to settle Ares’ bill, but US War Dogs had already covered everything.”

Moved to Action

Janet had already been moved to begin fundraising for US War Dogs, on the back of the support the organization had provided to Emzy, throughout her retirement. “I came up with the idea of creating a beautiful book that featured dog portraits, captured with the majestic backdrop of the Alamo City. The idea was to sell spaces in the book with my doggy photo shoot packages and self-publish, with all proceeds going straight to US War dogs.

“I finished the book just as Ares passed, so it was very poignant that I had once again become the beneficiary of the organization’s care, at a time when I was hopefully about to raise some decent money for them.”

Tails of Alamo City raised $8,000 for US War Dogs in 2021, but Janet was not done with the format and had high hopes to raise even more money. “I was still so deeply moved by how wonderful US War Dogs had been through Ares’ treatment and passing, that I was determined to push on with efforts to raise money for them, in the best way I knew how.

“I devised a new book idea – Tails of the Hill Country- A Dogs’ Adventure Guide – and designed a series of sponsorship packages to encourage local businesses to pay to have their destination – be it a shop, restaurant, hotel, amenity of some kind – featured in the book. The idea was well formed in my mind, and then I met a very special dog who caused me to level up even further.”

Heroic Muse

While Janet was busy working on her next book project, an opportunity came up for her to be involved in a very special project. “Having met the team at US War Dogs a few times, they knew my skills as a photographer, so when team from PDSA in the UK reached out about Bass receiving the world-renowned Dickin Medal, they contacted me to see if I would be happy to capture his official medal portraits.”

Bass is the 75th recipient of the PDSA Dickin Medal

Janet met Bass and his owner, former handler and volunteer board member at US War Dogs, Alex Schnell. “You don’t forget a face like Bass’s. He is such a strikingly handsome and friendly boy that I was instantly smitten. And of course, learning about the actions that had led to his being awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal, I was completely in awe of him.

“I decided to dedicate my book to Bass – for his heroism and for the symbol of skill and devotion he has become for the entire MWD community.”

Meeting Bass motivated Janet to make the book project even bigger. “The only reason I am doing this crazy ass project is because of Bass. I decided that I would work really hard to sell sponsorship packages, doggy photo shoots and then books, with the aim of raising $100,000 for US War Dogs.”

Alex and Janet kept in close touch after that first meeting over the Dickin Medal, and when Bass became seriously unwell, Alex offered Janet the chance to visit him. “He was having a good day and I had taken toys for him and his Vizsla brother, Rudy. I was rolling the ball to him and he was so sweet.

“As I was leaving, I remembered an idea written by Garth Stein in his book, The Art of Racing in the Rain, where he explains that the dog’s dew claws become the thumbs they could have always used when they go to heaven. As I was leaving, I asked Bass to give Ares and Emzy a thumbs-up for me. That’s how I said goodbye to Bass.”

Tails of the Hill Country

Janet’s incredible efforts over the last two years are coming to fruition and the book was released for pre-sale at a special event on K-9 Veterans Day.

The project, which has taken on a life of its own since Janet launched the effort in 2022, is also being supported by a team of three fellow pet photographers, who each have their own business and who are offering their services to create the beautiful content for the book. “I am so lucky to have these ladies along with me for the ride. Their work is stunningly beautiful, and four pairs of hands is definitely better than one for getting out there to take the shots.”

Bass features on the front cover of Janet’s book, Tails from the Hill Country

The book itself will be available in the fall, making for the perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas present, but Janet explains that there are still a number of ways that people can get involved to support the project:

“We still have spots to fill so if anyone has a dog and they live near the Hill Country, they have a chance to be featured. Likewise, if anyone runs a business in the Hill Country, we could feature your establishment or service in the book, which would help to raise money. Finally – and probably the simplest way to support – is to pre-order the book today!”

Humbled

Chris Willingham, president of US War Dogs, said: “As Janet continues to push hard and volunteer her time without taking a dime for herself, I am absolutely blown away by her tenacity, drive and determination – fueled by the loss of her two beloved retired MWDs and the sense of awe she felt after meeting US Marine Corps Special Operations Command multi purpose canine (MPC) Bass.

“It is truly humbling to witness someone act so selflessly for the furtherance of our mission – having known and understood on a personal level – what it means to receive our support. We will always work as hard as we can for this community and when we receive thanks in such an incredible way, hits us all in the feels. From all of us at US War Dogs, thank you, Janet – K-9 leads the way!”

Click here preview Tails of the Hill Country

Purchase the book here: Purchase book and Coin

In Conversation with… SGM Viridiana Lavalle – U.S. Army Military Working Dog (MWD) Program Manager

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 23:57:11 GMT

In Conversation with… SGM Viridiana Lavalle – U.S. Army Military Working Dog (MWD) Program Manager

Sergeant Major Viridiana Lavalle, is the U.S. Army’s MWD Program Manager, based out of the Pentagon, Washington D.C. assigned to the Office of the Provost Marshal General. She has enjoyed a remarkable career, working in a variety of positions, including leadership roles, but has managed to stay close to her beloved K-9 program. This is where she can implement real change at the strategic level.

Viridiana’s deep love and respect for K-9 continues to motivate her every day. Just how does a Non-commissioned Officer carve out a career that remains true to K-9? How have her experiences shaped the way she views K-9 today? Below are answers to these questions and insight on what it takes to obtain a monumental military career.

As a young girl, Viridiana loved dogs, having two German Shepherds at home, but she became enamored with working dogs after watching the Vietnam-era film, War Dog. “I had grown up watching Rin Tin Tin, but after I saw that movie, I knew I wanted to be a MWD Handler. Seeing the bond between the soldiers and their K-9 companions inspired me. Their passion emoted from all the stories, which solidified my desire to become a handler. After that, I knew the exact path I wanted to travel.”

Chasing Cops

At 16, Viridiana knew that she wanted to be a military K-9 handler. “I had the opportunity to train with the local K9 units in my hometown. I would show up to the training events with my GSD and do my best to mirror the obedience drills they would do. I would ask them questions and soak up as much information about that world as possible.”

Army

Lavalle joined the US Army in August 2001 as a Military Police (MP) Officer, with the ambition of being recruited for K-9. Lavalle served in Korea as a MP Patrolman and was on the Special Reaction Team. After 18 months of being in the Army, she was finally approved for K-9 in 2003. She attended the MWD Handler Course at Lackland Air Force Base. “It was so exciting to finally get there and learn all the different aspects of K-9 along with their capabilities. It came as no surprise that I loved everything about it.”

Her first K-9 assignment was at the 947th MWD Detachment, Fort Myer, VA. Lavalle’s hands-on experience with her first assigned dog came in the form of a Patrol Drug Detector Dog, named Panos D251 – an imposing Belgian Malinois who was blind in one eye. “He was the strongest and hardest hitting dog in the kennel, despite his handicap. We bonded immediately and enjoyed working law enforcement together. He was exceptional at detection and was unstoppable in patrol. I had the privilege to adopt Panos when he retired.

SGT Zony D010 and SPC Lavalle getting ready for a shift at Ft. Myer, VA

“My first Kennel Master was SFC(R) David Reiter. He truly set the foundation for my K-9 career. The first day I met him he welcomed me to the kennels and told me we were going on a short run. Twelve miles later, after running past nearly every monument in D.C., that “short run” ended, but my respect and admiration for his leadership began. He continues to serve as the Military District of Washington MWD Program Manager.

“My time at Fort Myer allowed me to be assigned to various MWDs, which made me a better handler by learning several training techniques based off each of my MWD’s unique personality and capability.”

SSG Brando F073 and SGT Lavalle, preparing to support the unit with a drill and ceremony event at Ft Myer, VA

Lavalle’s talents had been spotted from afar and an opportunity to progress her career came via an assignment at US Southern Command’s Protective Services Detachment. From there, Lavalle deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. “It was a great stride forward, but I desperately missed K-9 and I knew I had to get back to the MWD Program. I was anxious to get back to the discipline of the K-9 world, both with the Soldiers and dogs.”

Best Job There Is

After three years with Protective Services, Lavalle was offered the chance to become a MWD Trainer at Lackland Air Force Base, TX. “My waiting had paid off. For someone who loves K-9, there is no better assignment than this!” Lavalle had returned from combat missions with a renewed sense of responsibility and poignance for what these dogs were being prepared to accomplish. “Being deployed to combat changes your perspective in life. You realize just how important of a role these K-9s have in saving lives on the battlefield.”

Living the dream: SSG Lavalle training MWDs at JBSA, TX.

While stationed at Lackland, Lavalle was promoted to Sergeant First Class and selected as the Dog Training School Course Chief where she oversaw the shaping of the capabilities she had spent so long training into the dogs. “Although I was in a leadership role, nothing was going to stop me from training dogs. I had to manage my time to make it all work, but it was well worth the sacrifice.”

After three years at Lackland, Lavalle was assigned to Fort Stewart, GA, as a Kennel Master. “Moving from what I viewed as a dream role filled me with trepidation at first. I thought that no position could possibly beat Lackland in terms of training dogs and the satisfaction of shaping those puppies. However, I quickly realized building my handlers’ professional development and helping them shape their own dogs was just as satisfying. It was here that I really learned the true aspects of leadership and I am so grateful for that experience. My kennels thrived on finding ways to push each other while exceeding the standards.”

LTC (retired) Dr Rich Vargus, SFC Lavalle and the 93 ^rd Military Police MWD Detachment, Ft. Stewart, GA.

So, what makes for a good Kennel Master? Lavalle doesn’t miss a beat: “A great Kennel Master is a servant leader. Someone who has knowledge and experience in both administration and in training. Humility is also important - If they don’t know something, they should be willing to ask for help. Most importantly, they should continuously try to find ways to advance the skills of their MWD Teams.

“Holistically for a kennel, you need a balance of quality leaders and soldiers who are all striving to master their craft while being stewards of the profession. A familial kennel fosters a productive environment. A Kennel Master with those qualities will absolutely bring out the best in everyone.”

Deployed

While serving as a Kennel Master in Georgia, Lavalle deployed to Afghanistan as the Regional Command East MWD Program Manager: A role that included the training, evaluation, and

management of MWDs and Contract Working Dogs. “We had around two hundred dogs under our care at that time. Working closely with the working dog teams to conduct training and run their validations was a great experience.” Lavalle’s second deployment in 2013 came at a time where the dog teams were in high demand and their capabilities were truly helping to save lives.

“The level of camaraderie while deployed cannot be compared to your home station. The soldiers are training and conducting missions that risk their lives, and that galvanizes you – especially in a leadership position. We have to do everything we can to make sure the teams are meeting those operational requirements and come home safe. A big part of being a leader is having to make decisions and owning what comes of it.”

Support From Home

It was on this deployment that Viridiana first encountered the U.S. War Dogs Association. “I first received a care package from John Meeks, the President of U.S. War Dogs Chapter 3. He enclosed a letter and I wanted to respond to show my gratitude. We quickly became pen pals. Mr. Meeks would go above and beyond to send packages that provided quality items for all the MWD Teams. The packages included letters from local school children and pictures from family members, which meant so much – especially during the holidays.

MSG Bill 5 R661 and SFC Lavalle pictured at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan following the delivery of care packages from John Meeks at US War Dogs Chapter 3.

“US War Dogs continues to support our dog teams – both at home and abroad – with care packages and specialized gear requests, and I am eternally grateful that our teams get to enjoy the same empathy and care that I did while working far away from home. “

Lavalle and US War Dogs president, Chris Willingham, at the MWD monument rededication at Ft. Benning, GA, in 2023.

Viridiana is still in touch with Mr. Meeks today. “He is one of the most passionate handlers I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. I am always most humbled by our Vietnam dog handlers. They paved the way for all of us by demonstrating what war dogs were capable of. They worked in austere conditions with the most basic of K-9 equipment and still managed to be effective on the battlefield. They are responsible for shaping the Army MWD Program of today. I will never forget their stories as they inspired me to become a MWD Handler.”

Lavalle’s career continued to move in an upward trajectory after returning from combat deployment she fulfilled her time as a Kennel Master and was promoted to Master Sergeant. She was then assigned as the Eighth Army MWD Program Manager in Korea. Upon completion of that assignment, she was chosen to be the U.S. Army Pacific MWD Program Manager at Fort Shafter, Hawaii.

K-9 International

Lavalle recalls that assignment provided the opportunity to broaden her horizons and to experience what the wider world of K-9 had to offer. “I had the opportunity to travel across the Pacific conducting various training and certification events, which allowed me to spearhead more joint ventures with Interagency, law enforcement, and partner nations.

“We had the chance to work with the civilian and Military K-9 industry from different countries, including India, Israel, Mongolia, and New Zealand. I gained a greater understanding of what other countries were doing and how we could help each other’s programs.

“It was inspiring to see some of the other countries and how they were able to advance their programs through different approaches to training and their use of equipment. New Zealand had an amazing MWD socialization program, which is something that we are currently trying to incorporate within the Army MWD Program.”

Great Mentor: CSM (retired) Jeremy Peek and his wife Kimberley with Lavalle at Schofield Barracks, HI

PCS’ing Away From K-9

As the time in Hawaii was ending, Lavalle was selected to attend the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy in Fort Bliss, TX. “Once I graduated from the academy, I was assigned to Fort Sill, OK, where I served as the Directorate of Emergency Services, Provost Sergeant Major (SGM).

“I was sad to leave the MWD Program again, but I was both excited and honored to be an SGM. I looked forward to the leadership challenge and learning the various aspects of managing the DES. I wanted to make as much of an impact as possible. The position allowed me to work with various sections within the DES as well as other law enforcement agencies on a variety of initiatives to build a stronger community. Despite this, my heart was still in K-9.”

Pentagon

Viridiana’s gravitational pull back to K-9 was reflected in the opportunity of being selected as the Army MWD Program Manager. “I was surprised and excited to step up to the challenge and serve in that position. To influence the entire MWD Program at the strategic level through policy, training, and modernization is a huge honor and a responsibility I take very seriously.

“In this position, I often refer to myself as just a dog handler. Maintaining that stance helps me not to lose focus on the hard job our young handlers are doing, day in and day out. I maximize any opportunities to spend time with our MWD teams – whether during leader professional development events, joint training events, or competitions. This allows me to get out and see them in action. I may even get lucky and throw on a bite suit, from time to time.

“Interacting with young handlers is what inspires me to keep finding ways to improve myself and the program.”

Reflecting

With such a varied and illustrious career, how does SGM Lavalle feel about her years of hard work and experience? “I have been in K-9 for 20 years and I never stop learning. Our MWDs never fail to surprise me. We certainly have not maximized their potential yet. It’s all about perspective and the creativity of the trainers and handlers to keep moving the dial with these incredible animals. I have had the honor to serve along some of the best leaders and soldiers – both two and four-legged – the Army has to offer.”

“That alone – as a dog lover and a member of the MWD family – motivates you and gives you the drive to modernize and evolve in this skill craft.”

Part of that development has been Lavalle’s Army MWD Leadership and Training Symposium: An annual event that she personally spearheaded. “It was a vision that I had for ten years and when I got to this position, I was able to plan and execute it with the support of Major General Miller, Provost Marshal General.”

The symposium offers the chance for K-9 teams, veterinarian personnel, and senior leaders from the DoD, Interagency, Law Enforcement, and NATO/Foreign partners to attend specialized courses on a variety of tasks, instructed from military and civilian K-9 subject matter experts. The symposium comprises lectures and hands-on training courses, with the aim of introducing new training methodologies and equipment to the MWD and K-9 community.

“The aim was to foster greater collaboration and knowledge sharing across military and

civilian sectors, with a range of training methodologies to engage every level of experience. The fact that I was able make this vision that had been a dream of mine for over a decade actually come true, was a monumental moment for me.”

20 years of learning: SGM Lavalle with TSA K-9 supervisor Wyatt Rhoden, who continue to share their passion for K-9 after attending MWD school together.

As well as bringing to fruition a new breed of annual training event to the K-9 community, SGM Lavalle has also spent the last 18 months as chairwoman of the NATO MWD Expert Panel, which brings in subject matter experts, senior and working level staff officers directly involved in National or NATO C-IED MWD activities, development, policy, or training. The panel focuses on enhancing current capabilities and fosters collaboration with other countries.

“This collaboration motivates me to keep pushing the limits to improve our program.”

With so much to be proud of, can Viridiana choose one stand-out point that makes her heart swell? “It would have to be just how far we have come as a program. We continue to modernize and evolve as a program while providing force multipliers in support of the law enforcement and combat missions. For me to be a part of it, especially being able to serve in this position is very humbling.”

“I think of that young girl, inspired by the War Dogs of Vietnam and of Rin Tin Tin, and I feel

truly blessed that I have played a small part in the pages of this great K-9 story.”

War Dogs Team Member Highlight: Aaron Stice

chris.willingham.uswda@gmail.com (Chris Willingham ) — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 16:42:26 GMT

War Dogs Team Member Highlight: Aaron Stice

Our team of volunteers at US War Dogs aren’t just helping to keep the wheels of our incredible organization turning. They bring a tremendous amount of personal experience from their years in K-9. We’re thrilled to spotlight our volunteer, US War Dogs care coordinator and former US Marine Corps dog handler, Aaron Stice, to talk about his career in K-9, some of his core memories as a dog handler and why he decided to give up a portion of his valuable spare time to support our mission.

US War Dogs care co-ordinator, Aaron Stice

Aaron Stice was 21 years old when he signed up to join the Marine Corps. Inspired by his stepdad, who spent two years as an armourer in the Corps, Aaron had spent his high school and college years footloose and enjoying some carefree times. “College was a party for me. I messed around and didn’t have any ideas about what I might do with my life until some heart-to-hearts with my stepdad made me seriously consider a career in the military.”

Aaron hailed from Texas and as a West Coast Marine, attended bootcamp a MCRD San Diego in 2007 before completing Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton, CA, and enlisting as a military police officer (MPO). While Aaron was at MP School at Fort Leonard Wood, MI, he discovered the MWD program. “K-9 kind of fell into my lap. I had always been an animal lover but K-9 wasn’t in my field of vision at all, so when I was offered the chance to try out, I jumped at it.

“The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were raging so there was a need to keep new dog handlers coming. I was pipelined across to the program and after graduating MP school out of Fort Leonard Wood, went to Lackland Air Force Base for K-9 training.”

As a novice K-9 handler, Stice was quickly exposed to the peculiarities and gifts of the role. “Seeing what these dogs were capable of and feeling the bond building – even with the demo dogs – blew me away.”

After completing the basic handlers’ course, Stice was pipelined across to specialized search dog (SSD) training, responding to the need that was being dictated by the style of combat that troops were facing overseas. “I was asked to move across to SSD and didn’t think twice about it. I knew that I needed to be ready to respond to the threats our troops were facing, so if this was it, I was all in.

“My knowledge of the program was pretty limited. All I knew is that you trained and deployed with the same dog, which contrasted with the way that basic training was structured.”

Stice was paired with a TSA breeding program yellow labrador called Wwelty, who had enjoyed a unique start in life. “Wwelty had been raised in a prison as part of a program to help rehabilitate inmates, which was a pretty unique start in life. We gelled well and transitioned to Camp Pendleton together, but our time as a dog team was short-lived and after six months, Wwelty was moved out of the program, which left me open to take on a new dog.”

Johnny

Stice was paired up with a seasoned Malinois and renowned asshole, Johnny. “He’d completed four combat deployments and had a real reputation, so as a junior handler, I was pretty scared. Fellow Marine Corps dog handler Albert Johnson handled Johnny before me so was able to give me some good tips as we handed over. It took six months for me to lose my fear and build a rapport with Johnny.”

Stice learned quickly that Johnny had developed some serious issues with gunfire during his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. “We were taken out on gunfire training and of course, I was dreading it as I knew Johnny wouldn’t have a good time. When it was our turn to step up in front of the guys, I pulled out my pistol and saw Johnny eyeballing it. As soon as I shot, he jumped in front of me and as I went to holster the gun, he wheeled round and bit me right in the ass, in front of everyone.

“It was the only time Johnny bit me, but it was pretty memorable, and so embarrassing.”

Record Deployment

Stice and his trainers worked hard to cure Johnny of his aversion to gunfire, which meant that he was mission ready when the call came for 30 dog teams to make the trip to Afghanistan in 2010.

“We had all trained hard together so the sense of brotherhood as we headed out was really strong. It felt good to be going on my first deployment with friends like Al Brenner. Chris Willingham (president of US War Dogs) was our kennel master and we were the largest cohort of dog teams to deploy to foreign soil since Vietnam, which felt like a big deal.”

The Marines flew into Camp Leatherneck and spent two weeks acclimating to their new environment in Helmand Province. The dog teams were then given their assignments, with Stice and Johnny attaching to a team of recon guys.

“At this point, I don’t know anything about war, so the guys I’m attached to explain what’s to come: A 14-day mission in the Afghan desert, searching for weapons and IEDs. We would set up compounds and searched for miles over the harsh and unforgiving terrain, with plenty of enemy gun fights to keep us on our toes. Resupply helicopters were vital to our survival out there. I would contact Chris to order up Johnny’s food and he would make sure that we had everything we needed.

“The mission ended up lasting 53 days which, for someone so junior, gave me a decent grounding in how things worked, particularly having spent that time with such a high-ranking team that were structured so differently to what I was used to.”

Following Stice’s first couple of months in Helmand, he and Johnny were then sent to Kandahar to support the Army, along with many of the Marine dog teams from Camp Pendleton.

“Johnny and I went to FOB Wilson before being sent to the tiny FOB Howz-e-Madad. It was complete hell. Chris came to visit us to see where we were and saw how dire it was. As kennel master, his role was to make sure that all the teams had everything they needed, as well as coordinating the supply of dog teams where they were required. Chris didn’t need to get out and see us like that, or go outside of the wire with us, but he made a point to visit each of us and shadow us on at least one combat mission.

“It meant the world to me and the other guys to have that support from him and it really stood him out as a leader.”

Stice and Maika

First Find

While Stice and Johnny worked in the dangerous and frenetic areas in and around Kandahar, their exposure to the realities of war continued in earnest. “We were running three or five-day missions – many of which were helo insert situations, so it was very busy.

“By this point, we were a couple of months into the deployment and Johnny hadn’t found anything. I’ll be honest, I was beginning to wonder whether I was doing this right but I didn’t have much longer to wait before Johnny showed me the goods.

“We were searching a tree line next to a dried-out creek when Johnny jumped down into the waterless creek and stopped suddenly. He turned and just stared at me for a few seconds, so I told him to lay down so I could search the area with my scope. I could see a piece of yellow tape and some disturbed earth near to where he was. We called EOD, who detonated what Johnny had found, which turned out to be an IED containing 50lbs of explosives, pressure plate and mortar round.

“Johnny saved multiple lives that day and really showed me and the other guys in our platoon what he could do. It really changed the game for us.”

Johnny’s first find opened the floodgates for the dog team, who continued to find weapons caches and IEDs on roadways. “All the training we had done really came to fruition. It really blew my mind, seeing what he could do, and it deepened my bond with Johnny. When I got back from that mission, the first thing I did was email Albert Johnson to tell him that Johnny had saved my life.”

This deployment would be Johnny’s last and when the teams arrived home, Al Johnson adopted Johnny, who lived out his retirement with Al’s family in Tennessee. Stice recalls: “Al is a close friend so I received regular updates on how Johnny was doing. When he got sick and passed away, I went to Tennessee to spend a few days with Al and he held a beautiful memorial for Johnny.

“I feel very grateful for the time I spent with him, especially after he saved my life on so many occasions.”

Marky Mark

Despite there being numerous terrifying moments on that deployment, rare pockets of lightness were afforded the troops, with one such moment provided by a world-famous visitor. Stice recalls the day that Mark Wahlberg came to visit the dog teams in Afghanistan, as part of a USO tour for his movie, The Fighter.

“Chris had chosen me and Johnny to do a basic demo for Mark which, for a highly trained and combat-experienced dog, should have been a piece of cake. But Johnny had already proved to have great comedy timing at my expense, and when I opened his kennel to enter the training area, he ran at full speed, straight at Mark Wahlberg, headbutting him in the nuts and causing his security to scramble to his aid. It was a real ‘oh shit’ moment.”

The moments of fun were contrasted greatly by the loss of brothers – injured or killed in combat – during those turbulent and violent times. “We all took the death of Max Donohue hard. We had deployed as a tight unit of friends that had trained together and were taking on this mission together. Our brother Al Brenner, was also seriously hurt and his dog, Grief, killed out there. We all bare the emotional scars and those feelings unite us in sorrow and a resolve to uphold the legacy of that deployment.”

Following Stice’s return to the US the day after Christmas in 2010, the remaining months of his military career hung in the balance. “I was due out in 2012 and with a required 12 months’ dwell time at home before anyone could deploy again, I didn’t expect to return to Afghanistan. But, the need for experienced dog teams was as strong as ever and it was agreed that I would return with the first Marine Expeditionary Force (1 MEF) with 30 dog teams.

“This deployment was very different for me as now I was the senior guy who needed to support and lead the young handlers. Now, I’m the one setting up training and passing the dogs after their acclimation time. It adds a new pressure and it’s so easy to question yourself because now they’re going out and running missions on my say-so.”

Stice and his new dog, Maika, were assigned to MARSOC. “By now, I knew the plan. With Special Ops, we’re running in smaller teams with different uniforms. Our cohort was made up of five Americans and 30 Afghans, which changed the dynamic.

Johnny and Stice on deployment

“Our job with MARSOC was to insert into areas where they weren’t expecting us, so although Maika was great at her job, we didn’t rack up any finds as there were no IED threats on my missions. The objective was to get in, disrupt, get into some gun fights and get out.”

Stice’s new dog – a small female Dutch Shepherd – brought a new aura to bare. “She was such a sweet girl and would let anyone take her for a walk… very different to Johnny. She really didn’t get to spread her wings, given what was required of us.”

This deployment would bring with it fresh heartache for Stice. “Keaton Coffey was part of the MARSOC team Maika and I were attached to. He was a great Marine and a fantastic dog handler. He had combat experience prior to our deployment but not with K-9, so he was a junior handler when we deployed with his dog, Denny.

“The MARSOC guys called and asked for a patrol dog to support them so Coffey was sent out. He meshed well with the team and before he went out, I was able to catch him up to speed with the extra gear that Special Ops worked at and some of the peculiarities of how the team operated.

“Being out on that mission when Keaton was killed was a huge shock. When it came over the radio that it was an American that was down, we worked out that it was Keaton. But while we were in the thick of things, there was no time to deal with it – especially as we were in a live fire fight.”

Returning home with two deployments under his belt and the mental scars that come with them, Stice had a big decision to make. “I was on the fence about getting out. I had done five years but I had been away from home a lot. I’d gotten married and decided that it was time to settle down.”

Life After the Corps

Following his honorable discharge, Stice moved to his wife Sandi’s native city of Chicago. “I wanted to give Sandi some time to enjoy familiar territory near her family again, after chasing me around the country. I enrolled at Roosevelt University to get my Batchelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, having always had an interest in law enforcement. But it was tough. Coming out of the military and moving somewhere new was hard. I was at a school with kids in their early 20s, living it up and enjoying college life. I was only 27 at this point but my approach to schooling was completely different to my classmates. I was always 30 minutes early and built up a great friendship with my lecturer, who I found real common ground with.”

Stice and his wife, Sandi

As well as studying, Stice worked part time for TSA, checking luggage at the airport. “I wanted to get onto TSA’s K-9 program, but it is extremely competitive. I started looking at working for Customs but nothing ever panned out. I was feeling pretty hopeless and then a buddy called me and said there were law enforcement jobs at Miramar, San Diego. We missed the weather in Cali so I applied and was offered a position, which eventually lead to a job as a civilian police K-9 officer at Camp Pendleton.”

Returning to life as an operational K-9 handler suited Stice perfectly and meant that he was able to enjoy the bond with a working dog again. “I went over there to be handler but was also the chief trainer, teaching detection and bite work.”

Kkeaton

The twists, turns and coincidences of life in K-9 were about to hit Stice afresh, as he turned up to receive his first dog. “The kennel master said that there were two dogs open, but that both had problems. The first was Rocky. The second was Kkeaton – named after a fellow K-9 handler – turned out that Keaton was killed on 24 May 2012 and that Kkeaton was born on 27 May 2012… the breeding program puppies just happened to be on ‘KK’, so it made perfect sense to name one of the pups after our fallen K-9 brother.

“Nobody could work him but I had to take him. Kkeaton was trained at Lackland and went to the Air Force, but he was too much dog for them, so they sent him to the Marines, who have a reputation for taking problem dogs.

“Kkeaton had been at PMO Kennels but nobody had done anything with him. He was 100lb of dog and super intimidating. He would bear hug you to stop you from leaving his kennel. He had gunfire issues too… he ripped my pant leg off in training, so we had some fun. But we settled down and built that bond, which ended up being unbreakable.”

Kkeaton and Stice on duty

Stice worked his civilian K-9 role in San Diego for 2.5 years, before moving over to a role training dogs at DTS, Lackland Air Force Base. “I loved dogs and knew that I wanted to carry on working with them, although I knew I needed a change. Of course, it was a huge wrench to leave Kkeaton behind, as he was still of working age. We tried to work some deals to get him out with me because he couldn’t work with anyone else. After three months of being in TX, the team from San Diego called me and said he had a problem with his neck that meant he needed to be medically retired. I adopted him in May 2019.”

Kkeaton visiting the Memorial Crosses at Camp Pendlton, honoring fallen handler Keaton Coffey

Retiring Kkeaton caused some trepidation for Stice, who had witnessed his beloved working dog shred a hotel room while supporting Secret Service missions. “He was a Tasmanian Devil, trying to eat my pillows and wrestle me. I was a little worried as to how he would adjust to life in a family home.”

Kkeaton would also be living with Stice’s personal dogs: His pet Malinois and a little herding dog, who set her stall out with him immediately and became the boss of the pack. “I needn’t have worried. The three dogs slept in between us at night. Kkeaton went from being a seasoned war fighter to a teddy bear, virtually overnight.”

Reunited: Kkeaton on the day he retired with Stice and Sandi

Stice loved being back at Lackland and relished the challenge of training the green dogs. But secretly, he had his sights set on working at the breeding program, so when a position came up nine months after his move to DTS, he jumped at it. “Breeding puppies for the military ended up being my ultimate dream. It’s a very physical job but I want to do it for as long as I can. There are only three trainers compared to so many dog. We are working with seven- to 12-month-old pups, so you can imagine the chaos. But it’s our job to pull out their drives and teach them to search before they go into DTS.”

Kkeaton benefited from Stice’s job at Lackland too. “He loved coming to work with me. I’d let him find explosives and relive his glory days. He had a fantastic retirement with us. Eventually, his neck trouble worsened to a point where he couldn’t look left or right. He passed away in 2022 and if I’m honest, I am still not over it.”

Kkeaton with Stice and Sandi’s other dogs, Mocha and Kona

Repping For War Dogs

After Kkeaton passed away, Stice felt like he wanted to do something to give back to the community. He said: “I am passionate about K-9 and benefitted from War Dogs while deployed, receiving care packages from the organization, so I decided to reach out to Chris and offer my help.

“Chris was a great mentor and leader in combat and has since become a close friend, so it felt right to offer my support to him.”

Aaron is now an integral part of US War Dogs’ service delivery – ensuring that all newly retired MWDs are registered to receive support through our Rx Program.

“Staying connected to K-9 in my career has been a great source of comfort and satisfaction for me and know that I am giving back to MWDs who have given their best years in service to our country, is a source of great pride.”

Honoring our Fallen: Adam Cann

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 21:40:53 GMT

Honoring our Fallen: Adam Cann

Our community’s commitment to saying the names of our fallen brothers and sisters and remembering their sacrifice is not only the ultimate mark of respect, but it helps to keep their legacy alive.

The tragic death of Adam Cann in Ramadi, Iraq on January 5, 2006, was a significant moment for lots of reasons: The loss of a bright, funny, loyal, life-loving 23-year-old, who was also the first dog handler KIA since the Vietnam war. We spoke to Adam’s dad, Leigh, about his son’s selfless sacrifice and the moments since his death that have brought comfort, through the commitment of keeping Adam’s legacy burning bright.

From a Few of the Finest to the Finest of the Few: US Marine Corps Sergeant Adam Cann

Adam

Even as a small boy, Adam’s personality and attitude stood out. “Adam was filled with character and had so many friends”, dad Leigh explains from his home in Florida. Leigh obtained full custody of his three boys and raised them in South Florida. He later married his wife Carol when the boys were teenagers.

Adam with his dad and two brothers

It wasn’t a huge surprise to Leigh when Adam joined the Marine Corps. “We have a long military history in our family, dating right back to the Revolutionary War. Adam’s big brother – my son Justin – joined the Corps in 1999, continuing the tradition. And although Adam had played with the idea of being a chef while he was at high school, his head was turned once he spoke to a recruiter.”

Adam joined the Corps in 2000 and after basic training, attended Military Police (MP) school at Fort Leonard Wood, MI, before going to Lackland Air Force Base, TX, for K-9 school. “Adam was a natural leader and was top of his class. After he completed basic training in K-9, he went to Camp Pendleton – joining the second Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) – before being assigned his first duty station in Okinawa. He was in Japan when 9/11 happened but we all knew that a deployment to the Middle East would be on the cards very quickly.”

Leigh recalls that in Adam’s leave from service, he would come home and the house would be instantly filled with people. “He was so happy and dedicated to his friends, they all wanted to be around him when he visited us at home from the Corps. I loved that about him. Seeing him back at home and chatting with him about his career as a dog handler – I could see how much he loved it. He had found his calling and he was ready to go wherever he was needed.”

Adam and his MWD Basco spent their first tour in Kabul, providing patrol and security capabilities. On returning to Camp Pendleton, Adam was paired with his new dog – Bruno – and deployed to Iraq. But Leigh explains that Adam was frustrated with his assignment. “He and Bruno were securing the border of Jordan and Syria and he really wasn’t happy doing that. He told me that he wanted to be where the shit was – he wanted to get involved and do his part. That’s when he was sent to Ramadi.”

Adam on deployment

Ramadi

The city of Ramadi lays west of Baghdad and is a key area for trade and traffic, thanks to its position on the Euphrates River. The area was seeing some of the fiercest fighting in the country when Adam landed there. Leigh recalls that Adam was excited to get in the thick of the action and for him and Bruno to set to work. “We stayed in close contact as much as Adam’s schedule could allow, but watching the news and seeing where he was, I knew things were bad.”

The day Adam was killed, he and Bruno were providing security and crowd control outside an Iraqi Police recruitment facility (Glass Factory) in the city. “It had gone crazy there that day”, Leigh explains. “A truck had tried to drive through the bomb walls outside of the factory, which allowed for an enemy operative to infiltrate the line where people were waiting to be processed.”

The area was packed with over 1,000 citizens over three days, hoping to find work with the local police force. As Bruno alerted to a suspect in the crowd, Adam confronted the man, who was wearing a suicide vest, packed with 25lbs of explosives. Following Bruno’s aggressive response, Adam advanced to the bomber causing him to pre-detonate the device which killed Adam, an Army Lieutenant Colonel and 35 civilians, as well as wounding Bruno. Thanks to Adam’s selfless and knowing sacrifice, fellow Marines were unharmed.

“Adam knew that something was going to happen. He had received intelligence that something was going to happen that day. It was his day off, but he told his fellow dog handlers to stay back and that he would go. The others were married and had children. He didn’t tell anyone about the potential bomber but decided to step up to give his life to save others. This was so typically Adam. He had steel balls and was always the one to step up. He was smart and poised and would always look out for his friends and fellow Marines.

“When the Marines visited my house on the night of 5 January, one of the Marines, a huge dude named Gunnery Sergeant Forbes – drove home the point that Adam had saved lives. The lives of his friends. The lives of innocent people around him. In that moment, although filled with unimaginable sorrow, I could feel Adam’s heroism. His bravery. The commitment he showed to his team and to his country. I felt so proud of him.”

A Hero’s Goodbye

Adam’s funeral was one of the largest gatherings for a non-commissioned officer at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Leigh recalls the day: “As we arrived, the rain was falling sideways – it really was an awful day. My wife – and Adam’s stepmom who had helped raised him and his brothers with me since they were young teenagers – came with me to the chapel of rest where we were able to see Adam. He was absolutely perfect and as handsome as I remember him. As we walked out for the burial, the rain stopped and the sun came out, which felt like the perfect tribute to my boy.”

Leigh recalls how many of Adam’s friends and fellow Marines had come out to pay their respects, travelling from all parts of the country to honor his passing. “There were a good many girlfriends of Adam’s there too, which made me smile. He was so charming, it really wasn’t a surprise.”

Bruno visits Adam at Arlington

Adam was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor for his actions for that day in Ramadi, although there has been a lot of speculation as to whether Adam was correctly decorated for his actions. “It should have been the Silver Star or the Navy Cross”, Leigh said. “I spoke with several high-ranking officers at Pendleton around the time of Adam’s death and since, and they were all bewildered by the decision to award the Bronze Star. That fact doesn’t diminish his sacrifice, though, or how proud we are of him.”

What remains true is Adam’s legacy – not only as the first dog handler to be killed in action since Vietnam, but as a heroic Marine who saved lives by sacrificing his own. “Adam really did carve out his own legacy in that regard”, Leigh said. “The decision he made in that moment to save lives was so in line with his character off the battlefield, and those actions really have placed Adam as a Marine Corps legend. With the bravery he showed, it’s not hard to imagine why so many were taken with his story and have gone to great lengths to memorialize him.”

Adam and Leigh supporting their beloved Miami Dolphins

A Light that Shines Bright

Our nation has a rich heritage of honoring our fallen heroes in a multitude of ways and Adam is no exception. Leigh’s place of work at the Department of Transportation in Miami, Florida named their building after Adam, just ten months after his death and the K-9 facility in Barstow, CA, famously named their facility honoring Adam. In addition, a bomb wall that had Adam’s likeness was shipped to Camp Pendleton from Fallujah, Iraq, and is now located at the East gate of that Marine Corps Base.

Most recently, a memorial statue was unveiled in upper state New York, of Adam and Bruno. Nine years in the planning, the statue was sponsored by legislator John Brezinski, who read Adam’s story and vowed to make the memorial a reality. “I spoke a lot with John when he had the idea for the statue. I was curious as to why he wanted to place a memorial to Adam in New York, but he said that Americans across the country would want to hear of his story and remember his sacrifice, which I couldn’t argue with.”

The Guardians of Freedom memorial sculpture of Adam

The sculpture and monument, which stands proud just to the north of the thruway exit in Herkimer, was unveiled in October 2023 with a gathered crowd of over 300 of Adam’s friends and family, along with local dignitaries and veterans.

Speaking at the event, sculptor Lena Toritch said: “I put my heart and soul into this monument. It was researched and depicted absolutely accurate, but there is one detail you won’t see with your eyes but with your heart. This is love and gratitude.”

Leigh with Adam’s statue at the unveiling

Adam’s memory is immortalized in stone and bronze; in books written about his heroism and in the many articles that feature his story. Adam is also remembered and talked about often by the friends and family who loved him so much.

“Attending the Marine Corps dog handlers’ reunion last March and spending time with Adam’s friends is always a real highlight. They bullshit about old war stories and times they all spent together. We visited Adam at Arlington and I took a stone from my new house and placed it on his headstone, so there is always a piece of us with him.

“The day he gave his life for his country and his friends, Adam took his place with the brave men and women who are held in admiration and honor for their sacrifices. That is Adam’s real legacy.”

Never Forgotten: Adam Cann

In Conversation with… Vietnam Dog Handler, Mark Smoot

Sat, 16 Dec 2023 14:36:12 GMT

In Conversation with… Vietnam Dog Handler, Mark Smoot

We are familiar with the huge injustices served in the direction of MWDs during and after the war in Vietnam. Over four thousand dogs served our nation with faithfulness and only 200 made it home to US soil. There are thousands of stories of men whose hearts shattered when they left their dogs in Vietnam – it’s described as a pain that few will really understand. We have been honored to chat with former US Air Force dog handler Mark Smoot, whose story – while sadly, not uncommon from his era in K-9 – is one that shows how deep wounds of the past can begin to heal with compassion, understanding and the strength of the K-9 family.

Mark Smoot’s family had a long tradition of service with the US Military. “My uncle was a B-52 bomber pilot and my maternal uncles fought in Korea. Military drafts were the norm by the time I was 18 and young men were leaving for the far East in their droves. I thought I might outsmart the US Government if I enlisted, missing out on the draft, but my fate was sealed as soon as I decided to go into K-9 from my original plan of being a military cop.”

Mark’s early contact with K-9 was nothing short of legendary. “Our tech school was across the street from Nemo’s kennels. He was retired by then, but we saw him in action many times – he absolutely inspired me to go to K-9 school. We were all deeply moved by Nemo’s story.”

Crazy Jake

Once Mark had completed his training at Lackland Air Force base, he flew to Vietnam and joined the squadron at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, which is where he was paired with Jake – a sentry dog who would be his companion for the next year. “I knew as soon as I met him that Jake was a live wire, which suited me just fine. My first challenge was to train him from a sentry dog to a patrol dog, to best suit the threats we were facing on base.

“Our role was to patrol the perimeter and protect the base from enemy attacks. It was a pretty high profile base, playing home to Special Operations, the 75 ^th Ranger Regiment and the CIA – who were known as ‘Air America’. We needed Jake’s capabilities to support the mission, so I spent the next two week training him for his new job.”

Prior to Mark’s arrival at Nakhon Phanom, Jake had picked up the mantle ‘Crazy Jake’ for his maniacal lunges toward anything that moved. “He had a particular taste for the moving tracks on an M113 armoured personnel carrier.”

The largest of vehicles weren’t safe from Crazy Jake

Mark and Jake were one of 75 dog teams who patrolled the air base. “The base was of huge strategic importance – we had our own armory in the kennels to make sure we were ready to defend at a moment’s notice. Of course, Jake was always ready.”

Mark and Jake would often take the night shift. Known as the K-9 Security Alert Team, they would walk the perimeter, providing break cover to patrolling K-9 teams. “Our radio call sign was Night Fighters. Everyone felt safer when one of our dogs was around.”

Mark describes Jake as a stick of dynamite wrapped in fur, but Mark wasn’t afraid to fall into his bad graces in order to correct him. “I think he respected me because I stood up to him in his mean moments, especially when I was retraining him as a patrol dog. He changed a lot when we changed his role – it almost felt like that was his calling. That whole process of retraining him really galvanized our bond. Much like the dog handlers today who train and then deploy with their dogs. Of course, it didn’t work like that back then, but that period of learning really helped Jake to build his trust in me.”

Air America

Jake and Mark shared Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base with some high profile company. “The CIA guys, known as Air America, were always off on missions, but when they didn’t work, they loved to party. You could characterize the guys as having shaggy beards, wearing Hawaiian shirts and flipflops and propping up the bar on base. I hung out with them quite a bit and they were always asking me to bring my ‘crazy dog’ to go see them. We found ways to sneak Jake into the party now and again.”

Mark recalls one helicopter resupply mission where he and Jake joined the 40 ^th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron for an Air Force Listening Post (LP), up the Mekong River. “It was a huge, clunky HH53 Super Jolly Green that made you feel every bump. The worst part, though, was when they did an emergency touch-and-go landing, where they lowered and raised the ramp before accelerating fast into the air. We didn’t eat the best while we were in Vietnam and with the sleep deprivation and humidity, it all sent me over the edge. I leaned out of a window and introduced the ground below to my lunch.”

Despite Jake’s ferocious reputation, he knew when he was off duty. “He loved being petted and had that real sweet side, but what always struck me was how in tune he was with me. Our bond was unbreakably strong and he would move heaven and earth to protect me.

“The truth was that Jake was a part of me. He represented a piece of home… my family dog that I’d left behind. The people who had raised me and loved me the most. It was like they were all wrapped up in Jake.”

Mark and Jake’s bond was renowned on base too. “If anyone was looking for me, they either knew I was sleeping or with Jake. There wasn’t much in between.”

Unbearable

After 12 months in country, Mark’s deployment was coming to an end, which meant that he had to leave Jake and head home. “As a 19-year-old going to war, I saw some terrible things, but when I think back, seeing him sitting there in his kennel waiting for me as I went to see him for the last time, absolutely kills me. I have a picture of that exact moment and I can’t look at it, even today, without my eyes filling with tears.

“It breaks my heart to think that my government wouldn’t let Jake come home with me, even though it was near the end of the war.”

‘My last moment with Jake’

Even now, over 50 years since Mark last saw Jake, his pain and hea rtbreak are visible. “The whole ordeal of leaving Jake left me with crushing PTSD, depression and separation anxiety. I’ve grappled with it for decades, with only a very few to talk to – who can understand the weight of that moment and how it has defined my life.”

Mark speaks regularly to a fellow K-9 handler who lives in Oregon, to share their pain and channel their emotions. “He gets it. We talk every week and I regularly get emotional about Jake. The pain has never faded for me. I’ve never been able to shake the feeling that we failed him.”

Mark admits that his pain and emotional suffering have pushed him to the brink. “It’s easy to start planning for your own demise when you have such undercurrents of sadness running through you. Survivor’s guilt is one of the most potent experiences a person can have and I felt it every day for Jake.”

Making shrewd preparations for the sake of his family, Mark visited the Bennett-Houser Funeral Home and met with Debora Kruise – a funeral director. “A lot of people plan their own funerals to help take the burden away from family members when they pass”, explains Mark. “When I sat down with Debora, the conversation quickly turned to Vietnam and to Jake. My emotions spilled over and she was very kind to me.”

After observing Mark’s pain, Debora made a suggestion. “She said to me, ‘why don’t you have a memorial for Jake?’ I broke down again but the thought had crystalized in my mind. Carol asked me to leave it with her while she made some calls. She wanted to help me to make it happen.”

Months went by and Mark hadn’t heard anything more about Carol’s suggestion. “I prayed to God every day for something to happen for Jake. I had promised to leave it with Carol, but I didn’t know how that would take shape. Then one day, I got a call from 436 ^th Security Squadron K-9 Section, Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, inviting me to a special ceremony at the base theater, in honor of Jake. I couldn’t believe it.”

Honored At Last

Carol had reached out to the Veteran Affairs, who had contacted bases local to Mark’s home in PA, including Dover AFB. When Senior Airman Courtney Burns – a dog handler at Dover AFB – heard the story, she immediately offered to help in pulling the details of the memorial ceremony together. Courtney said: “When the chaplain from Veteran Affairs reached out to us about a Vietnam dog handler whose dog had been left behind in country, we knew instantly that we needed to act.

“We first had to do our due diligence, to verify Mark and Jake, but once we had located their files, we began pulling together the plans.”

In July of this year, Jake OX14 was formally honored with a memorial service, attended by the Squadron’s K-9 section and their families. Mark said: “It was the most beautiful service for my boy.”

The service included an overview of Jake’s service and his partnership with Mark, followed by a reading of the famous verse, Guardians of the Night, all in the presence of a traditional K-9 memorial, which had been set up on the stage and included the empty kennel, upturned bowl and leash. Jake was granted full military honors, with the American flag folded while Taps played, which was then presented to Mark, to honor Jake’s service and sacrifice.

Mark was presented with a folded US flag, in memory of Jake

The final words of the ceremony were d irected at Mark: “We thank you for sharing your memories and entrusting us to honor MWD Jake. We wish you nothing but the best and we hope that this memorial will help you relinquish some of the sorrows you have carried with you, all these years.”

Senior Airman Courtney Burns with Mark on the day of the ceremony

Release

“The ceremony had been a huge release valve for me. It was so fraught with emotion, yet so filled with dignity, respect and honor, I finally felt a sense of peace for Jake. My heart is no less broken, but feeling the respect and brotherhood from the K-9 community of today, meant the absolute world to me.”

Mark had the opportunity to spend time at the kennels at Dover after the ceremony. “Chatting with the handlers and meeting some of the dogs was the perfect way to end the day.”

SR Airman Burns, added: “It was important to us that the ceremony provided some sort of closure or sense of fulfilment to Mark. As we learned of his story and the sorrow that he felt for his K-9, our handlers felt a profound sense of solidarity and compassion for him – as we need only imagine how we would feel if it were one of our own dogs in that situation. The heartbreak felt by our K-9 brothers in Vietnam must never be forgotten – if we learn from it and do better for our K-9 companions now and in the future, their sacrifice won’t have been for nothing.

“It is my hope that other kennels read this story and extend the same support to our K-9 veterans who may still need comfort and closure, like Mark did with Jake. As service K-9 handlers, it is our duty to uphold and respect those who came before us and it’s comforting to know that there are practical ways that we can do this.”

Memories made for Jake at Dover AFB will last a lifetime

K-9 For Life

Mark’s time as a dog handler in Vietnam was just the start of his journey within the community. After returning to the US, he PCS’d to the UK for two years where he was paired with one of the ‘Queen’s dogs’, in support of the Security Squadron based out of RAF Heyford.

Mark spent a total of 17 years in the military – ten of which were in K-9. After transitioning away from the military, Mark longed to utilize his talents with dogs and in 2010, he came into contact with Team Rubicon – a veteran-run disaster response organization. They encouraged him to work with local search and rescue organizations. As word spread of his talents, Mark and his dogs have been called out to help county sheriff’s departments and police departments.

Today, Mark is the adoptive dad to Lackland AFB former bomb dog, Mambo A405 and continues to volunteer with his trained cadaver dog, Jagermeister, where he has attended mud slides, flooding, hurricanes, tornados, to name a few.

“I wanted to put my K-9 skills to use in the civilian community and helping people on the worst day of their lives and that is reward enough. It’s also my way of staying connected to K-9. My heart never left – once you’re K-9, you’re K-9 for life.”

Jake OX14, 1966-1974

What a Year for War Dogs!

Sat, 16 Dec 2023 14:36:03 GMT

What a Year for War Dogs!

From incredible events that bring together the K-9 family to record-breaking fundraisers and more support for retired MWDs given than ever before, Our president, Chris Willingham, reflects on another busy year for our organization.

K-9 Veterans Day

As 2023 draws to a close, I’ve been thinking a lot about some of my personal highlights for what has been a very busy year. There are many moments to choose from:

Welcoming several new members to the team, who have increased our capabilities to make us more effective than ever before.
Seeing scores of people choose US War Dogs as the beneficiary of their fundraising efforts, from ultra marathon runners to college students selling hot dogs.
Receiving personal donations from our loyal supporters and those who have been moved by our mission to support us financially.
Adding new corporate supporters to our roster and working with loyal and established brands, whose fundraising efforts make an immeasurable difference to the services we can offer.
Our first commemoration of K-9 Veterans Day at the Navy Museum in Washington D.C.

Volunteers, supporters and friends - you’re all a valued part of our organization

This short list of highlights represents a multitude of special moments for me – from the opening of an envelope and reading a personal letter that accompanies a financial contribution to our cause, to watching dog teams from all branches of service salute the fallen at our K-9 Veterans Day celebration, back in March. But if you forced me to pick my all-time favorite highlights from 2023, it would be the strides we’ve made to increase the care we provide to MWDs – active and retired. In 2023 we:

Provided 300 care packages and specialized gear requests to dog teams both on deployment and working on home soil.
Arranged to cover the cost of emergency veterinary care to 21 dogs, to the tune of $97,000
Covered the cost of prescription medications to 1,200 retired MWDs, saving handlers and adoptive families $134,514.
Adding The Dawgs Project and The Ddamien Project as official US War Dogs partners, joining our longstanding chapters; US War Dogs Chapter 3, Michigan War Dogs Memorial, and Mission K-9 Rescue.

Meet some of the K-9s and partners that we are supporting

Expanding the ways that we can support our K-9 community gives us a huge sense of pride, but we are only able to continue to do this, with the help of our generous donors and friends. To every single person, business, community group and funder who has supported our cause - I can’t thank you enough. Please know that you are making a real difference to our organization and to the dogs and families who rely on us.

A look back at the Fall

The last quarter of this year has been filled with so many things to celebrate and be grateful for. We were honored to be invited to the rededication of the Guardians of the Night MWD monument at Lackland Air Force Base, TX, in October. On that same weekend, our War Dogs board member, Alex Schnell, picked up puppy program arrival, OOx, who is learning all about the big wide world while Alex and his wife Maddie foster him until he is ready to return to Lackland for basic training.

Our board came together to attend the rededication of the K-9 monument in Texas

Deciding to foster OOx was part of the grieving process, having lost Bass earlier this year. US Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC) multi purpose canine (MPC) Bass, passed away following a battle with cancer. He was 13 years old and had enjoyed an illustrious career comprising five deployments, for which he was decorated with the PDSA Dickin Medal and the Animals in War and Peace Medal of Bravery.

OOx is a fast learner

OOx is continuing to thrive under Alex and Maddie’s care and we can’t wait to see him embark on his career.

We were thrilled to be the subject of a month-long fundraising from veteran-owned brand, Vortex. Throughout November, proceeds from the sale of the firm’s dog collars were donated to our cause, with regular posts on Vortex’ social media pages, helping us to gain exposure to their millions of fans and followers. We can’t thank Vortex enough for their incredible support.

Veteran-owned Vortex supported us with a fundraiser throughout November

Our care package program kicked into gear in time for Christmas, with gear items and gifts being sent out to teams across the globe. Care packages play a special part in our heritage and we love being able to spread some festive cheer with a selection of quality items, hand-picked for deployed K-9s and their handlers.

As we look ahead to 2024, we promise to continue to be there for this community and to help MWDs and their handlers – active and retired – to show our honor and appreciation for them and to alleviate the financial burden of their care, as much as we can.

All that remains is for me to say thank you for your continued loyal support and have a safe and peaceful Christmas. We’ll see you in 2024!

K-9 leads the way!

Handler Highlight: Dr Danyel Baker

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 13:16:41 GMT

Handler Highlight: Dr Danyel Baker

Former dog handler Danyel talks to US War Dogs about her career in K-9 and the decision to swap leashes for stethoscopes as she becomes a doctor.

From SSD to scrubs: Danyel outside her practice in Colorado

K-9 found Danyel while on her first duty station with the US Army in Korea, early in 2002. “As with many young soldiers, I didn’t have K-9 on my radar at all,” explains Danyel, “but the more I learned about it and saw the dogs in action, I knew I wanted in.”

Following her stint at K-9 school, Danyel was posted to Fort Belvoir, where she and her first dog, Spike, were posted to support Secret Service missions for the POTUS and other VIPs. “Spike was getting ready to retire so he really helped to show me the ropes on the job. He was very methodical and cool. I was lucky to have him as my first MWD.”

Danyel was then paired with dual-purpose patrol and explosive detection dog, Arrow. “A lot of people had problems with Arrow as he wasn’t a nice dog in many instances, but he and I got along great. He was a solid worker and very capable, especially in his bite work.”

SSD

Danyel’s experiences working out of Fort Belvoir gave her a solid base in a number of key aspects of K-9, but when she was given the chance to go to Specialized Search Dog (SSD) school, she jumped at it. “It was 2005 and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan was raging, so I knew that as soon as I qualified, I’d be deploying.”

Danyel was joined as SSD school by Frank – a rambunctious yellow Labrador. “Frank was a ham. He did his job well but his main loves in life were his Kong and being petted. He was so nonchalant; he was a joy to be around.”

After learning the craft of specialized search, Frank and Danyel deployed together: First to Iraq and then to Afghanistan. “I have a lot of fond memories of those deployments but of course, there were a lot of situations that tested us to our outer limits. Some real ‘oh shit’ moments. But it’s amazing how the tools and training in those surreal moments can transcend into civilian life – particularly in my chosen career after leaving the Army.”

Danyel and Frank on deployment

Changes

After experiencing the rigors of deployment with Frank, Danyel returned to Germany, where she would receive new orders that changed her career trajectory. “I received orders to move away from K-9 and go to drill instructor school, which really wasn’t for me. I felt that, if my time in K-9 was coming to an end, it was the point where I needed to pursue something new, so I left the Army to go back to school.

“I’d always had dreams of wanting to be a vet, and after spending time with the MWDs, I was interested in pursuing this avenue further.” But the more Danyel looked into veterinary medicine, the more she was drawn to human medicine. “It ended up being quite a step change, but I decided to train to be a doctor.”

Frank

As Danyel transitioned away from K-9 – and from the Army – Frank was paired with another handler, Travis, whose SSD was retiring. “It made perfect sense for Frank to go with Travis. The two of them got along great and when it was time for Frank to retire, Travis and his wife, Stacy, gave him a loving forever home.”

Danyel and Travis kept in touch – sharing updates on how Frank was loving life of civvie street. “I got to visit Frank at home a few times, which was really special.”

Danyel’s fondness for her K-9 partner never dwindled, so when Travis called to say that Frank wasn’t doing so well, there was only one option available. “Travis explained that Frank’s balance had gone and that, although he had been put on meds, he wouldn’t get up. We both knew that the time was close, so I hopped on a red eye to Colorado.”

Danyel got to spend the morning with Frank, Travis and Stacy before Frank was taken to the vets for the very last time. “He had a great life and had not only been respected as a vital part of our team in Iraq and Afghanistan, he’d also been adored as a family pet too. Frank passed in 2018 but I’ll be forever grateful to have shared that bond and relationship with him.”

Doctor Baker

Danyel obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Fayetteville State University and a Master’s of Science at Georgetown University. She then graduated from Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Virginia, followed by four years of residency in OB-GYN.

Danyel completed her training and is now a fully qualified OB-GYN, practicing out of Pueblo, Colorado. “It’s been a long and intense road and my husband Ryan has supported me through 13 years of school, which has not been easy at times.”

Danyel graduated and is now a practicing OB-GYN in Colorado

Danyel’s credits her nine years in the Army – most of which were spent in K-9 – with shaping her outlook on her new career. “There are lots of parallels and I am regularly thankful for the training and work ethic the Army – and K-9 – instilled in me. Keeping a cool head and thinking logically through a problem – like we had to do on deployment – is a skill I need to deploy on a near-daily basis.”

Of course, the friendships made with the humans and dogs of the K-9 community leave their imprint and Danyel is no exception. “I am so lucky to have made some lifelong friends in K-9.

“I’m very proud to have been part of the K-9 legacy and although I no longer hold a leash every day, the lessons I learned as a dog handler will stay with me forever.”

War Dogs Team Highlight: Suzette Scott

Sun, 05 Nov 2023 20:11:29 GMT

War Dogs Team Highlight: Suzette Scott

Current serving US Marine Corps staff sergeant Suzette Scott is no stranger to K-9. Having served for eight years as a dog handler and deploying twice with her legendary MWD, Denny, Suzette has a stellar reputation with her peers and a deep love for this community, which motivated her to volunteer for our mission.

We spoke to Suzette about her career; transitioning away from K-9 and what US War Dogs means to her.

Suzette arrived at the kennels of 1 MEF in Camp Pendleton, CA, fresh-faced and raring to meet her first dog. “Me and three other handlers had been picked straight out of the schoolhouse to be assigned a dog.”

When Suzette was introduced to the huge and imposing frame of GSD-mix, Denny, her eyes widened. “He was enormous, which I was expecting, but he was also an ass and came with a health warning. Denny had never been handled by a female and I am 5 foot 6”, so we cut quite a dash together.”

Suzette recalls how Denny had formed a close bond with his caretaker handler, Story, who handed his leash to her. “Denny does what I call his happy growl. He would do it whenever he saw Story and I imagined him doing it to Keaton too.”

Suzette and Denny

One Special Hound

Denny had returned from a tour of Afghanistan where his first handler, US Marine Keaton Coffey, had been KIA.

Marine Corps sergeant AJ Nieto, deployed with Keaton and Denny when Keaton was killed. Nieto said: “Denny was our last connection to Keaton, so I was very attached to him. He was my Marine so when he was killed, I brought Denny back to the States.

US Marine Corps dog handler Keaton Coffey and Denny on deployment

“His next handler had to be special. I had been the one to pair Denny with Keaton, so picking his next handler weighed on me. When the decision was made to pair him with Suzette, it almost felt like it shouldn’t work, but seeing them together sealed the deal.”

Nieto explains that Denny was a real handful when he first arrived at Camp Pendleton. “He was young and energetic. He used to bite through his kennel and I never fully trusted him. But his power and drive made him special and with the right handler, we knew he would be an incredible dog.

“Denny built up a respect for Suzette very quickly – I knew pairing them was the right call.”

Suzette and Denny made a great team

True Grit

Nieto would go on to witness the close bond that Suzette formed with Denny, but he recalls how some of those earlier training experiences didn’t come easy. “I ran into Suzette and Denny again when they came to Yuma Proving Ground, AZ, where I had been stationed as an instructor. Hundreds of Marines I’ve trained will tell you that I’m a hard man to please – I don’t go easy on anyone and I don’t tolerate failure. Of course, Suzette was no exception.”

Nieto recalls one part of the handlers’ exam that proved particularly difficult for a young Marine with no height advantage: “There is a six-foot wall in the center of the course that requires handlers to haul themselves and their dogs over the wall. It stumps a good portion of handlers and about 98 per cent of female Marines that pass through YPG.”

Nieto recalls Suzette’s impassioned efforts to conquer the wall. “After several attempts, Suzette managed to heave Denny (all 75lb of him) over the wall. But when it came to dragging herself over, she just couldn’t get a handle on the top of the thing.”

Nieto describes how Suzette persisted over and over, until at last, she collapsed in a heap on the floor. Frustrated tears streaming down her face. “I knew she could do it, so I ‘encouraged’ her – Marine Corps drill sergeant style.

“She got over the wall.”

Tours

Denny and Suzette deployed together to Kuwait on two occasions, in support of Operation Spartan Shield. While they were in country, they performed an additional and rigorous explosive detection program to ready the dog team for possible missions across the Middle East.

Denny accompanied Suzette on two deployments to Kuwait

“We did two eight-month rotations out there and Denny was incredible. We learned a lot and were operationally ready to take on whatever was thrown our way.

US War Dogs president, Chris Willingham, selected Suzette and Denny to accompany him on the 2016 deployment to Kuwait. He said: “It was a new sort of deployment: To provide operationally ready teams to support troops on the ground, as they were needed. From Kuwait, we could be called to support anywhere in the Middle East and had to be ready for every eventuality.

“Suzette and Denny were a strong team that had proved themselves time and time again in training. I was confident in their abilities and over that deployment, they handled every set of training problems thrown their way. I was very proud of both of them.”

A strong team

Retirement

When Suzette returned to the US after her second deployment to Kuwait with Denny, she was given orders to go to Japan. It was time for Suzette to say goodbye to Denny, who had become her best friend and closest partner.

“Denny was coming up for retirement, having completed three deployments for his country. He was coming up to ten years old and deserved to take it easy.”

But Suzette knew that there were some hot contenders to provide Denny with a loving retirement home, including Nieto and Keaton’s dad, Grant.

“I counted myself out of the running to take Denny as I had a young family and I already had my own retired MWD at home,” Nieto explains. “Gold star families are always given the chance to adopt out an MWD with a connection to a lost loved one, so we had to give Grant the chance to take Denny. The three of us decided to meet up.”

Suzette explains how she had fully expected Grant to take Denny. “It was the way it should be. I loved Denny but he was always Keaton’s dog. I had met Grant a few times and he was always so happy to see Denny, but when we met up, he said that he had seen the bond Denny and I had formed and that he didn’t want to separate us.

“I sobbed with pure joy and gratitude. This dog – my dog – meant so much to so many people, but I was getting to give him his retirement home. It was a huge moment.”

Suzette went on ahead to Japan, with Denny following behind her. They spent four years in Okinawa together, returning to the US in 2022.

In retirement, Denny quickly settled into civilian life. “We made sure he had the best of everything. He’s such a softie and snuggles on the couch. It’s always amazing to see these badass dogs turn into adoring family pets. He still does his happy growl, but only with my husband. It’s a guy-to-guy thing.”

Guardian of a Legend

Denny is the last surviving MWD of the generation of Marine Corps handlers KIA

Although Suzette was the one to give Denny his forever home, she has never lost sight of the love and connection that others have with her dog.

Suzette’s former sergeant, Nieto, said: “The bond they have is absolutely phenomenal and it has helped me a lot. Suzette seems to know when I need to connect with Denny. She’ll text me a photo or video of him or show up when I don’t expect it. When you lose a brother like we lost Keaton, those moments become priceless.

“Denny is the last surviving MWD of the generation of Marine Corps handlers KIA and our last connection to Keaton. I truly believe that Suzette has honored Keaton’s legacy through her work and relationship with Denny.”

At the time of writing, Suzette has just started her maternity leave and is expecting the imminent arrival of her first child – a boy. “I can’t wait to see Denny with him. He is going to be the best big brother and when he’s older, our son will know how special Denny is.

“At almost 15 years old, I know that every day we have with Denny is a blessing. I vow to keep spoiling him and feel truly thankful to have shared my career with him. He’s a legend, but he’s also my goofball.”

Denny served his country with pride

War Dogs

Suzette began volunteering for US War Dogs after attending the US Marine Corps dog handlers’ reunion in March 2023. “I was blown away by the event that had been organized by the War Dogs team and wanted to be a part of the action. Being on recruiter duty means I’m away from K-9 and I miss that fellowship, so being part of War Dogs is a way to reconnect to the community.”

US War Dogs president Chris Willingham added: “We love having Suzette on the team. She was always a great asset with a tenacity and work ethic that stood her out from the crowd and now War Dogs is benefitting from her experience and determination, which fills me with pride.”

In Conversation With… US Marine Corps Dog Handler, Al Brenner

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 19:11:29 GMT

In Conversation With… US Marine Corps Dog Handler, Al Brenner

As US Marine Corps Sergeant (Ret.) Al Brenner marks his 13 ^th Alive Day, we speak to him about how he adjusted to life as a Purple Heart recipient and how he has channeled his life-altering experiences into a self-penned memoir that details the trials and tribulations of life as a dog handler during Operation Enduring Freedom – including the devastating loss of his best friend: His military working dog.

MWD Grief in Afghanistan

Pen to Paper

Writing a book was never part of Al Brenner’s plan. But when his mom bought him a journal to jot down his life oversees as he was readying for deployment, Al committed to fill its pages with stories. “I wasn’t religious about it, but I would pick up the journal every couple of weeks and record a few experiences in there. It gave me my first taste for putting pen to paper.”

A year later, those journaling skills came to be a vital tool as Brenner returned to the US after the IED blast that almost killed him. “The crazy thing is that I could remember every single detail of the moments before, during and after the blast. My therapist said that I should try and write down what I recalled, so I bought a new journal and wrote my story. It didn’t feel like it at the time, but my crystal-clear memory of those events turned out to be a blessing.”

As Brenner’s therapist sat and read the account of the day of the blast, she was moved to tears. “She suggested I wrote a book about what happened to me. So, over the course of the last ten years, I devoted more and more time to doing just that.”

As well as detailing Al’s brush with death and coming to terms with the loss of his beloved MWD, the book details how Brenner carved out his own unique place within the K-9 community.

First in 1MEF

As a newly qualified dog handler – fresh out of Lackland AFB, Al was the first dog handler to receive orders under the newly formed first Marine Expeditionary Force (1MEF) – an historic mantle that paved the way for hundreds of handlers who would pass through Camp Pendleton, CA, to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The significance of being part of the Marine Corps’ three expeditionary forces would soon sync in, as Brenner was paired with his dog and given orders to ready for deployment. “The whole point of the MEFs was to keep a rotation of operationally ready K-9 handlers to combat the ever-present threats of IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan. I was fresh out of K-9 school and hungry to get the job done, but first, I needed a dog.”

Brenner was introduced to a black and tan German Shepherd whose reputation and name went hand in glove: Grief. “I quickly learned that he was so-called because grief is all he gave out. We had a rocky start, and you could say that we had some trust issues. Grief made me earn his trust, which took me what felt like an eternity, but once we found our groove, we really bonded.”

Brenner and Grief were paired together while stationed out of Camp Pendleton, CA

Grief kept Brenner on his toes constantly. “While we were training at Yuma Proving Ground, AZ, doing a long-distance roadway search before we deployed, Grief came back with a bit of det chord in his mouth. I wanted the ground to swallow me up at the time but after some more training and a long talk with the trainers about what to do with him, I felt more confident he wasn’t going to drop an IED in my lap.”

Brenner described Grief as a hard head. “He really made me work for it all but when it came to deploying, I trusted him and felt safer with him by my side.”

Dragon Strike

Brenner and Grief deployed to Afghanistan in 2010, when some of the fiercest and most deadly of the conflict’s battles took place. They were tasked with supporting Operation Dragon Strike – a large scale coalition operation to seize back control of the birth of the Taliban in Kandahar Province.

The dog team supported Operation Dragon Strike in Kandahar Province

A few weeks into Operation Dragon Strike, Brenner and his team were in the thick of the action. “We’d had some intense experiences in the days that preceded my injury – the kinds of experiences you couldn’t fathom or imagine. The chaos and destruction we witnessed during that operation was something I will never forget.

“Of course, that operation brought with it two huge life events – the explosion that killed Grief and maimed me.”

Al’s wife Megan, stayed by his side while he underwent treatment in the US

Grief and Brenner had been hit by an IED that caused pure devastation in the area. Brenner was MEDEVAC’d to a nearby hospital and given lifesaving treatment in country, to save his arm and legs. It was here that Brenner learned what had happened to Grief.

“A journey started for me right there. It was not only a road of obstacles, surgeries and healing, but a journey of profound loss that would lead me to where I am today: Sharing my story of survival, while living with the loss of my boy.

“The irony of his name while he was being a hard head and a pain when we first met, had now taken on a chilling and heartbreaking new timbre.”

Reporting For Duty

Brenner returned to the US where he underwent months of painful surgeries and rehab that would test him mental resilience and fortitude. But as his time in hospital was coming to an end, Brenner and his wife, Megan, were given the option of where they wanted to go next. Would it be a move back home to their native New Jersey? Or a return to California to continue life at Camp Pendleton? Brenner’s answer was resounding.

“I wasn’t ready to leave the Marine Corps yet. I felt like my head was brimming with experiences and advice for these young dog handlers who were waiting on their rotation to deploy. I owed it to them to teach them what I’d seen, so I asked to return to the kennels to complete my enlistment as a trainer.”

Brenner’s urge to impart his hard-fought wisdom on the battlefield saw him toil tirelessly during his remaining time at Camp Pendleton, but in the years after he completed his service and retired from the Corps, Brenner’s wish to continue to serve the K-9 community by sharing his story has been of paramount importance to him.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to give talks, speak to the press and tell my story, but this book is the first time that people will really get a deep understanding of what happened out there and what drives me forward now. It’s been a cathartic process but also one that I hope will play a worthy tribute to Grief and to the brothers we lost out there.

“The K-9 community is a tight-knit brotherhood that I am honored to be a part of. If this book can help to fly the flag for what K-9 does and how we make a difference, I know I’ll have done ok.”

To order your copy of “Surviving With Grief”, click the link Surviving with Grief: The Story of How a Marine and His Dog Survived The Everyday Battles of War

Summer With War Dogs – An Update from Our President

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 19:17:09 GMT

Summer With War Dogs – An Update from Our President

June through August have continued to be very busy for US War Dogs. With office moves, specialist gear send-outs, joint training days, national fundraisers and adding even more retired MWDs to our programs, it’s all been extremely positive.

Dog teams from all branches of military service gathered for a day of training

Frontline Services

As well as adding 32 new dogs to the Rx Program, we have covered the cost of emergency treatment for six dogs under our Emergency Care Program, totalling $14,530. We set up the program last year to help bridge the gap for owners whose dogs need urgent treatment, but who can’t travel to our partner hospital, Red Bank.

We also purchased two wheelchairs for retired MWDs and will post more updates on how they’re adjusting to life on two wheels, very soon.

Our US War Dogs service award is a big part of our heritage and we are proud to continue to issue these important mementos to MWDs as they retire. We have developed our offer to include a small care package and owners can now request a plush dog bed for their newly retired K-9s, as a special gift from us.

We were proud to award Ziva and Gage with their US War Dogs service award

Our Rainbow Bridge Assistance program exists to help owners with the cost of euthanasia and cremation and we have continued to provide support through this program to a number of grateful families. Owners can reach out for support through this program as long as their dog is a signed-up Rx member.

As well as catering for the needs of our retired MWDs, we’ve also been working hard to support our active duty K-9s. Following our Memorial Day care package send-out, which saw 170 packages sent to 18 kennels across the globe, we have also been able to support with specialized gear requests to a number of active duty dog teams. This vital kit helps our K-9 to maintain operational readiness and continue to excel in training. We are honored to help with these kit requests so if your kennel needs something and you’re having trouble getting it through the regular channels, hit us up at k9family@uswardogs.org .

A example of one of the gear requests we’ve been honored to fulfil

War Dogs Partnerships

We are continuing to support our charity partners and made a donation of $7,000 to The Ddamien Project in Texas to help cover costs and care for the 17 retired MWDs currently in residence. Krystal and Matt do the most phenomenal job of keeping these retired heroes healthy and blissfully happy on the ranch, and we are so happy to be able to play a small part in their story. Check out their website for more details or to meet some of the Project’s residents.

Husband and wife team Krystal and Matt Tronboll do an incredible job of taking care of retired MWDs and other ex-service dogs at The Ddamien Project

Our other partners, The Dawgs Project, Michigan War Dogs Memorial, Mission K9 Rescue and US War Dogs Association Chapter 3 are continuing to do incredible work and we are proud to stand alongside them as they support the K-9 community and honor its legacy.

Keeping the Lights on

We rely solely on the generous donation from our K-9-loving community to keep us going, which also includes some awesome corporates, who support us with fundraising activities.

This year, our corporate partner Pet Supermarket, helped us with a fundraiser in their 200 stores across the South East, Texas and California. The two-month campaign encouraged their customers to make a donation as they cashed out. The fundraiser plays a huge part in helping to keep our mission on track and we are so thankful to the amazing team at Pet Supermarket for making these drives for War Dogs so successful.

Retired MPC Bass and retired SSD Gage visited the store’s team in San Antonio, TX

Holiday House Pet Resort & Training Center in Doysletown, PA, donated the proceeds from its annual Pup-a-Palooza to US War Dogs. We were thrilled to receive a check for $850, which was raised on the day when the team set up a photo booth for dogs – giving owners the chance to have their portraits taken. We loved the idea and we’re so grateful to the team for selecting our organization to benefit from the event.

The team at Holiday House Pet Resort & Training Center put the fun into fundraising at their annual Pup-a-Palooza

It's not just businesses who choose to support us with fundraisers. We were thrilled to receive a check for $3,345 from Kaitlyn Hayden – who chose to complete her high school senior project of running a small business for a week, donating the proceeds to an organization, whose work she felt passionately about. Kaitlyn set up and ran a hot dog stand for a week over the Memorial Day weekend down in Florida, in partnership with Larsen MacColl and Rody’s Tavern.

The project not only gave Kaitlyn a flavor for what it’s like to run a business, she also raised a fantastic amount of money for our cause. Thank you ma’am – we love your work ethic and your originality.

Kaitlyn used her school project to raise funds for US War Dogs

Joint Training

It doesn’t matter which branch of service you serve with – if you’re K-9, you’re K-9! That brotherhood was on full display when 19 teams from all branches of military service gathered at the US Marine Corps base in Quantico for a day of fellowship and in-depth training, which was designed to test dogs and handlers of apprehension, detection and blending their skills through complex scenarios.

I was honored to be one of the trainers on the day and the teams really brought the thunder, grinding it out over a series of training lanes to test both dog and handler to make them better and help to save lives. I took the chance to rep for War Dogs too – handing out goodie bags to the dog teams to help spread the word about what we do.

I was also fortunate to be joined by retired US Marine and Purple Heart recipient, Al Brenner, who gave a quick talk to the dog teams assembled at the start of the, on the importance of training and not taking a single rep for granted.

Malinois… The Horse!

You may remember us posting about Malinois, the two-year-old colt that is being trained by legendary horse trainer, Kevin Boniface. Malinois’ co-owner is a huge supporter of US War Dogs and pledged to donate a percentage of his winnings to our cause, when he hits the big time.

It’s early days for him now while he learns the ropes and gets used to life on the racing circuit, but we have high hopes for Malinois and with an expert team behind him, we’ll be cheering him on to greatness! Malinois leads the way!

Malinois is new to racing but we’re excited to watch him progress

Always Beside You

Two members of the War Dogs team said goodbye to their beloved retired MWDs over the summer. US Marine Corps Master Sergeant Edgar Ramirez served with Fedor before retiring him to live with his family. Edgar is currently on a year-long unaccompanied tour in Holland, but Fedor – who was 14 – held on until he came home on leave. He passed away with his dad and best friend by his side. Edgar looks after War Dogs’ stewardship program and we are lucky to have him on the team

Former US Marine Corps Special Operations (MARSOC) dog handler as War Dogs board member, Alex Schnell, also said a painful farewell to his multi purpose canine (MPC) Bass, who retired to live with him and his wife Maddie in 2019. Bass’ wartime actions were honored with the PDSA Dickin Medal and the Animals in War and Peace Medal of Bravery. He also helped fly the flag for US War Dogs by making public appearances at events on TV. Bass will be hugely missed but his legacy will live on.

MARSOC MPC Bass will be sadly missed

US Marine Edgar Ramirez and Fedor were brothers in arms

Looking Ahead

As we head into the last quarter of the year, we will be continuing our hard work to support the K-9 community and honor its incredible legacy. We have some very exciting developments to announce for the organization so please help to spread the good word about US War Dogs by sharing our social channels with your networks and encouraging friends and family to sign up to our mailing list.

Thank you for your continued support of this incredible organization – I am so proud of the work we are doing and for the dedicated and passionate team of volunteers that help to keep the wheels turning.

Thank you and K-9 leads the way!

Fur Valor: Medal of Bravery Spotlights the Stories of Three Incredible K-9s

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 19:17:03 GMT

Fur Valor: Medal of Bravery Spotlights the Stories of Three Incredible K-9s

Here at US War Dogs, we love nothing more than to share the stories of some of the men, women and dogs who give their all, in service to their country, with dedication, laser-focussed skill and awe-inspiring bravery.

The three MWDs who received this year’s Animals in War and Peace Medal of Bravery are no exception and as their efforts and actions were formally recognized at a ceremony in Washington D.C, we take a look at the stories that saw these three incredible dogs receive the decoration they deserve.

Animals in War and Peace

Instituted in 2019, this awards program is designed to celebrate and recognize animals that have gone above and beyond the call of duty in securing peace, freedom and harmony in the United States – from the military, law enforcement and service dog communities.

This year’s military recipients included US Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC) multi purpose canine (MPC) Shimanski, US Army Ranger multi purpose military working dog, Kay – who was awarded posthumously – and US Army dual-purpose detection dog, Paco.

The Animals in War and Peace Medal of Bravery

Kay

Kay’s career as a multi purpose MWD spanned from 2007-2011 – some of the most frenetic and dangerous years for American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Kay and his handler, Travis Harrison, completed over 200 Special Operations nighttime raids and over 75 daytime operations.

Kay and his handler, US Army Ranger Travis Harrison on deployment

Kay was trained in apprehension, tracking, explosive detection, article detection, area searches and hunting down enemy insurgents fleeing from targets (commonly referred to as ‘squirter control’). Kay’s favorite, though, was apprehending the enemy that posed a threat to his fellow rangers. Kay took down several high-profile Al Qeada and Taliban leaders during his four deployments. Kay’s prowess with catching and detaining the enemy prevented an ambush in a thick palm grove in Iraq in 2009; engaging an enemy fighter hidden in an elevated rock formation in 2010 and alerting his handler to the presence of enemy about to stage an attack from behind the walls of a compound.

Kay’s dual purpose abilities undoubtedly saved lives too. Although biting was Kay’s thing, his keenly trained nose alerted Travis to the presence of several IEDs as the threat continued to rise. He also found a fingernail-sized sim card that was discarded by the enemy during a raid, which contained critical intelligence that helped to locate dozens of high-value targets.

After their 2011 deployment, Kay retired to live out his days with Travis and his family, where he became a rock, constant presence and Travis’ informal service dog. The two had served through some of the harshest and most dangerous times together and in the quiet moments of retirement, Travis knew that Kay understood what he was going through.

In 2020, Kay was diagnosed with cancer and – through US War Dogs’ Specialized Care Program – received extensive treatment at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in New Jersey (you can read more about Kay’s experiences with US War Dogs and Red Bank here ). After fighting valiantly through his treatment, Kay died on 15 September 2021. His legacy he leaves will live on and with his Medal of Bravery, his actions and service will go down in the history books.

Kay enjoyed man years in retirement with Travis and his family

Kay’s handler, Travis, said: “Kay being awarded the Medal of Bravery means that his story will be told. We always did our jobs as quietly and as professionally as we possibly could; and Kay did it better than any dog I have ever seen. I never liked to talk much about what we did, or how great he was. I kept most of that to myself. But him being awarded the Medal of Bravery was as opportunity for his story to be told and a chance for others to hear how hard he worked and how much he loved protecting us.

“We went through so much together, and he went through so much as a working dog and as a pet – this award gave me the chance to step back and look at what an amazing creature he was. He protected me, he protected Rangers, he protected my family and he did it while showing us an amount of unconditional love that cannot be explained.

“He was a good pup, and I am so glad he received the award.”

Shimanski

MARSOC MPC Shimanski was procured by the Marine Corps from the Netherlands in February 2013 aged two years old and was immediately paired with SSgt Brandon Marquez when the dog team began training and preparing for their first of four combat deployments. In October of that year, Shimanski and Marquez embarked on a seven-month deployment to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, where Shimanski’s extensive training in explosive detection, team protection through controlled aggression and tracking capabilities, would be put to full use.

The dog team was paired with a Marine Special Operations Team (MSOT) where they conducted routine operations to provide stability to the local people. Shimanski conducted numerous explosive detection searches to establish safe routes – both for the team to travel along (on foot and in vehicles) and in areas around where the team’s helicopter needed to make hasty landings.

Shimankski was trained to provide vital force protection

On February 13, 2014, the team was conducting a large clearing operation in Sangin, Afghanistan, when a member of the MSOT was fatally wounded. When the radio transmission came through, SSgt Marquez and Shimanski, along with two other members of the MSOT, rushed to the incident. While they were tending to their fallen comrade, the MSOT began taking heavy enemy fire – in which time – the dog team cleared two hasty helicopter landing zones used to evacuate their team member. MPC Shimanski did his job impeccably and without hesitation, in gravely dangerous conditions, proving his strength of character and solidifying him as a vital part of the team.

Shimanski’s second deployment with Marquez began in July 2015, where the team was sent to support an MSOT in Jordan. and during his time there, really set the standard for the Jordanian counterparts he worked alongside.

Shimanski’s skills set the standard

Following a six-tour to Jordan, where Shimanski was the only US canine in-country, Shimanski and Marquez deployed to Iraq, in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. The MSOT was required to conduct operations to hold the Kurdish Defensive Line from being infiltrated by ISIS. Shimanski’s detection skills helped the MSOT to establish safe routes, recover critical operational equipment and establish a safe perimeter around recently detonated explosive devices.

On May 6, 2017, the MSOT came under attack when their forward operating base (FOB) was targeted by suicide bombers. During this complex attack, MPC Shimanski and SSgt Marquez moved through the FOB to provide direct force protection and security measures. Once the MSOT successfully defended the attack and eliminated the threat, Shimanski conducted a post-blast assessment and searched the surrounding area for any additional enemy combatants. As part of this deployment, Shimanski also supported the Combined Joint Task Force Inherent Resolve in the battle for Mosul, to liberate the city from ISIS control.

Following Shimanski’s final deployment to Somalia in 2018, he retired to sunny Florida to live with Brandon and his family.

Brandon and Shimanski on deployment in Somalia

Speaking about Shimanski’s honor, Brandon said: “It was incredibly special to see him recognized in this way and it was a privilege to be by his side throughout the process. He served with such dedication on four tough deployments – he deserved all the attention that came with this medal. We even had the chance to tour the Pentagon and meet the commandant of the Marine Corps while we were in D.C. It was a trip that none of us will forget.”

After the ceremony, Shimanski and his family had a very special tour of the Pentagon

Shimanski has been living in luxury since his retirement five years ago. “It is such a blessing to wake up and see him every day – he is almost 13 now and I never would have thought I would get this time with him and my family, so we keep him spoilt.

“Early on, just after he came home with me, he found the laundry basket, which had a pillow in it. He adopted it as his bed. We didn’t argue!”

Brandon’s wife Kerry and two daughters, Layla (10) and Eva (6) are also completely in love with Shimanski. “He is a big softie with them and what I really loved for the girls was that they got to see their dog receive the Medal of Bravery – he isn’t just my dog any longer – he has such strong relationships with everyone in our home.”

Shimanski is an integral part of the Marquez family

Paco

US Army dual purpose detection dog, Paco, was first introduced to his handler, SSgt Brad Mrsny, at Fort Hood, TX, in November 2011 with an ominous warning. “He had not wanted to work for any other handler that had been assigned to him yet”, explains SSgt Mrsny. “I asked if I could have a shot and that is where our story begins.”

Paco in action

As the dog team acclimated during their 30-day training cycle, they went through every training lane available: obedience, gunfire training, explosive detection and aggression training. Once they certified, the team left for Afghanistan for a year-long deployment, where they reported to Special Operations Task Force and assigned to Operation Detachment Alpha team.

Based out of Chak Valley, Wardak Province – an extremely hostile territory – the unit came under constant enemy fire from rocket propelled grenades and dishka gunfire. Their mission was to suppress terrorist threats in the valley and keep it from flowing to the main supply route around Afghanistan.

Each morning would start with an exchange of gunfire, with the camp coming under attack from mortar rounds and often after the team had spent the night on raids of nearby villages – destroying weapons storage units, IEDs and bomb-making equipment.

Mrsny and Paco walked point in missions to ensure there were no hidden threats and during his 12-month tour, Paco positively identified 33 IEDs, providing monumental force protection and undoubtedly saving lives.

Paco was trained to provide vital force protection

During one nighttime raid, SSgt Mrsny and Paco were injured when a mortar landed right next to them. “We were both littered with shrapnel and had to be medevac’d”, explains Brad. For his injuries, Paco was awarded a Purple Heart, but the dog team returned to combat once they have recovered from their injuries.

The unit’s base was notoriously dangerous and towards the end of Brad and Paco’s tour, the Army decided to shut it down for being too precarious a place for the unit. The exfil of the camp was a painstaking one, as there was only one road in and one road out. A fact that the enemy knew only too well.

Paco and SSgt Mrsny led a 30-strong truck convoy along the 20-mile route – all while taking small arms fire and attacks from RPGs. During the exfil, Paco positively identified 19 IEDs, which, along with a small fire team attached to the unit, enabled the successful conclusion of the mission with no casualties sustained.

Paco’s actions on the deadly exfil mission undoubtedly saved lives

At the end of their tour, Paco and SSgt Mrsny returned to Fort Hood and a year following, Brad left the Army for Nebraska, where he joined the National Guard, while Paco continued to serve at as a force protection dog. Paco sustained two torn ACLs while jumping for a bite on a training exercise and after extensive surgery and rehab, was retired on medical grounds.

The kennel master at Fort Hood contacted Brad about Paco retiring and Brad jumped at the chance to take him. With the help of non-profit, Gizmo’s Gift, Paco was transported to Nebraska to start his life in retirement. Brad said: “From the moment he got to our house, he became not just a war hero, but a family member of this household. We how have two daughters under the age of six and to say that MWD Paco is their best friend, is an understatement.

“I am so proud of this animal, to be able to be a family dog with everything that we have been through. I would not be here to raise and father the most amazing and beautiful daughters without this dog by my side on the battlefield.

“I truly don’t think I would have made it home without him and to be able to honor him with this award for saving my life and countless soldiers that trusted us enough to follow behind us in the heat of battle, should prove that he deserves it.”

Brad and Paco

Paco passed away in June of this year, age 14 but his acts of loyalty, devotion and skill will be immortalized through his award: The Medal of Bravery.

Click here to watch the full ceremony.

If you would like more information on how to nominate an animal for an award, click here .

In Conversation With… US Marine Corps Dog Handler, Jose Armenta

Sun, 10 Sep 2023 13:06:18 GMT

In Conversation With… US Marine Corps Dog Handler, Jose Armenta

On the anniversary of 9/11, many of us reflect on the moments that changed the trajectory of millions of lives forever. From the people at Ground Zero to those men and women who were moved to fight for America’s freedom in the months and years that followed.

One of those men was Jose Armenta – a Marine Corps dog handler whose story of courage and tenacity when faced with overwhelming adversity, acts as an inspiration to us all. Jose shares his story with US War Dogs.

Jose was 11 years old and living in LA when America was attacked by al qaeda on September 11, 2001. Acknowledging the overwhelming sense of terror any understanding that the world had somehow changed forever, a young Jose would – like the rest of us – remember where he was on that dreadful day. Even before 9/11 though, Jose was committed to joining the military. “My grandad served in the Army but I always wanted to be a Marine. The war was raging while I was in high school and hearing the news just about the attacks amped up my desire to do my part and support my country.”

Jose recalls chasing down the Marine recruiters who visited his high school. “It’s usually the other way around so they were pretty happy to have someone as enthusiastic as me knocking on their door. I was a junior though, so they told me to come back when I was a senior. I still went along and joined in the physical fitness stuff with the recruiters and older hopefuls for about two years before my time came.”

A young patriot from the get-go, Jose would help the Marine recruiters by asking his friends in the school yard if they wanted to join the Corps. “I got a couple interested and two guys actually ended up joining with me, which was pretty cool.”

In July 2007, Jose’s military dreams came true as he attended bootcamp, graduating in November of that year. “It was exactly as I expected and I loved every second of it. Graduating was the proudest moment to date for me.” Jose then attended Marine combat training before going to military police school in Fort Leonard Wood, MI. “Training in the snow was a big change after growing up in LA, but I took it all in my stride. I was keen to enter a career in law enforcement so I really enjoyed the classes.”

It was while Jose was in MPS that he heard about K-9. “Our instructors told us about it. Like many, I didn’t know that such a thing existed but as soon as it entered my radar, I was hooked on the idea. I grew up around dogs so I knew it would be my jam.”

Following the production of impeccable test scores, Jose was accepted into the K-9 program and sent to Lackland AFB for basic training as a patrol and explosive detection dog (PEDD) handler. Following his four months of training, Jose was assigned to his unit where he would also be paired with his first MWD. “I was stationed with the first Marine Expeditionary Force (1 MEF) in Camp Pendleton, CA. It was a brand new support company set up to provide always-on support for the war on terror.”

First Dog

After arriving with a few other handlers from his course, Jose was poised to meet his new dog. “There was a new batch of dogs waiting for us when we arrived. The more senior guys got first pick and then we went down the line with the new handlers.”

Jose was paired with Ttroy – a 90lb Malinois with some serious stage presence. “He had more muscle than I had ever seen on a dog and the hardest bite in the kennel. This dude would bite through the suit. He was pretty awe-inspiring.

“Being a new dog handler, I liked to do things by the book as I really didn’t want to get my face gnawed off. I took a week out to spend some time with Ttroy to build a rapport and feed him some treats. I was so nervous, taking him out for the first time but after two years of training together, we were absolutely solid.”

Further East Than Planned

Jose and Ttroy were bound for a deployment to Iraq in 2009 but the numbers required were cut at the last moment. A further change in 2010 saw Jose’s orders to go to Afghanistan with Ttroy shift. “I was sent to Okinawa which is when I had to leave Ttroy behind. I wasn’t happy about it as I wanted to deploy with my guys but, as Marines, we do as we are told.

Jose arrived in Japan in July 2010 and was given the chance to choose his next dog. “I decided to try out working with a GSD to see how I faired, so I chose my boy Zenit. As any handler will know, Mals are like rockets – always going at 120MPH, but Shepherds are a little calmer and thoughtful. Zenit was more methodical in how he approached things and I welcomed the change in pace. Ttroy was a real ass-eater – he absolutely loved biting. He would find explosives but biting people was his chocolate.

“Zenit was much less aggressive, so I spent a lot of time with him, building up his bite capability.”

Jose had landed in Okinawa at an exciting time, as the Marine Corps was starting to build up the third Marine Expeditionary Force (3 MEF), with the other half of the company based out of 29 Palms, SC. “I got to see the start of the company from the ground up, which was pretty special.”

Jose and Zenit trained together for almost exactly a year in Japan. “We knew we were training to replace whoever came back from Afghanistan and moved out to 29 Palms to meet up with the other half of 3 MEF for pre-deployment training. Three months later, I was finally on a bird to the Middle East.”

Jose and his PEDD, Zenit

Afghanistan

Pre-deployment training enabled Armenta’s company of Marines to know what to expect from outside the wire so they could adjust in real time to the changing threats, in the face of a desperate enemy. It was June 2011 and after a couple of false starts, Armenta was ready for the fight. “I felt a real mixture of excitement that I was finally getting to do what I had been training for over the last few years, with a real sense of pressure, coming from the burden of wanting to perform well. How was I going to perform when I needed to? Knowing that any mistakes I made could cost lives, was a real and present concern for me.”

Armenta and Zenit were attached to the Third Recon Battalion, – First Platoon Charlie Company, in Sangin, where they quickly settled into the flow of life on deployment. “The first thing I had to do was introduce Zenit to the platoon. I told the guys not to pet him outside of the tent but while he was inside, he really was one of the guys. I was concerned as to what to expect because these guys were a completely new team, so I knew I needed to gain their trust. I was lucky though, as the whole team was so professional and positive. The motivation to be there was high and that is infectious. It set the tone for the whole deployment for me – even the parts that really weren’t fun were made better because of the collective mentality of the platoon. These guys were extremely good at what they did.”

Armenta and Zenit were attached to the Third Recon Battalion, - First Platoon Charlie Company

Armenta’s role with the platoon revolved around Zenit’s capabilities. “As a PEDD, Zenit was always on a retractable leash, walking out in front of the patrol to search areas of concern, followed closely by the guy with the metal detector. Typically, we’d do four days of missions then four days of base security. The aim of the game was to disrupt enemy activities as much as possible. Some days, we’d patrol directly outside our FOB (forward operating base) and sometimes, we’d be away for the full four days to take a new compound but whatever the mission, me and Zenit would be ready.

“He adapted really well to life out there and the structure of my day was formed around his needs: Get up and take him to the bathroom, give him breakfast and if it was really hot, give him an IV to keep him hydrated.”

Armenta recalls how Zenit’s character was tested early on in the deployment, when they were thrust into a fire fight with the enemy: “It was our first patrol and we were in an open area when the enemy opened fire. This would become a common occurrence but during that first time, I really didn’t know how Zenit would react. You train and train for these moments but the real test is out there in a live situation. He absolutely crushed it – he wasn’t phased at all and stood calmly by my side while we returned fire. I was so proud of him.”

Changed

Deployments are fraught with experiences that have the ability to change mindsets and alter world views and for Armenta, this was no exception. “Acknowledging how dangerous that place that we were operating in was one thing we all had huge respect for, but the anomaly of seeing small children running around, playing, really jarred with that sense of reality. They were just living their lives and we were fighting for ours – it took some comprehending at times.”

As well as the culture shock of being in Afghanistan and seeing the poverty that pervaded the country, Armenta also recalls some of the ethical twists that war can place in your path. “The first week I was there with 3 ^rd Recon, we were on patrol when some guys drove by and opened fire with automatic weapons. We had just left the FOB, so our gunner started shooting from the tower.

“After things had calmed down, a group of locals approached the FOB with a wounded man in a wheelbarrow. He was one of the insurgents that had shot at us just minutes before and had taken fire from our gunner.

“One of our medics provided this guy with aid, no doubt saving his life. To me, it speaks to the professionalism of the guys I was serving with. They set their personal feelings aside to treat this man – our enemy – who could well have injured one of us. War is full of blurred lines but what inspired me in those moments was the professional pride of my fellow Marines. If I needed any validation that I was in the right place with the right people, it was then.”

High Level Threat

Armenta and Zenit were halfway through their deployment in August 2011 and the biggest threat that continued to weigh heavy in Armenta’s mind was the presence of IEDs. “We’d been lucky up to that point, finding a number of IEDs as a unit, before they were able to cause us any harm. We were constantly training to stay ahead of the threat – our EOD would bring new explosive ingredients over so I could train Zenit to detect them. We knew the lay of the land by this point but we weren’t letting our guard down.

“The responsibility to protect these guys weighed heavy on my mind. I knew these guys now. We had a bond and I didn’t want to let anyone down. The stakes were even higher than ever.”

On August 28, 2011, Armenta and Zenit were out on a busy mission with the unit. “We had killed a lot of insurgents in the area and we received intel that they were leaving as they had lost too many fighters. That was when the IED threat was even more heightened. Leaving an area laced with IEDs is their last-ditch attempt to make an impact.”

Remaining on high alert, the unit was tasked with taking the town opposite the FOB. “We knew we were going to come across IEDs so in preparation, I put my blast boxers on for the first time. It was 100 degrees so wearing another thick layer is not a nice feeling, but we all had to be ready for that threat level.”

Half the platoon would move into the compound to secure it, and the other half would stay outside to provide extra cover and be on standby as a quick reaction force. “The plan was that if nothing notable happened, we would meet up again at nightfall.”

Armenta and Zenit travelled with the first half of the platoon. It was afternoon when the team came across a giant empty canal that the team were very familiar with. “It was 10 feet wide and 12 feet deep, with trees lining both side and was a prime place for IEDs. We had to take the most complex route across the canal to avoid any potential booby traps.”

The EOD goes first as the team use the canal to head south. “He finds an IED about 10 feet from the entrance, which we blow up and go again. I am walking point with Zenit now, searching the tree roots. I send Zenit down on the left side and Ryan – the squad’s sniper– is checking along the right side with me, where we find some wires and plastic, which we spray before I go to check on Zenit’s indication… he had found a second device.”

Armenta, Zenit and Ryan continue 50 feet down the canal path, which they can see now has been set up as a huge landmine. They continue to push forward without blowing up the devices at this point, choosing to mark them with spray to return to later. They spot an easy entry point on the embankment, on which Ryan uses a metal detector to the left side, leaving Armenta to take the right of the pathway, behind Zenit.

The dog team took about five steps before the unthinkable happened.

Blast

“I was laying on the ground and my ears were ringing. I had dirt in my mouth and I realised that Ryan was providing me with first aid. ‘I screwed up’, I told him. I looked for Zenit, who was laying down beside me. He had been far away enough from the blast to be ok.”

The IED had blown Armenta back into the mine-laced canal, which was going to cause significant issues when it came to getting them out of there.

“Ryan applied tourniquets and called a MEDEVAC, but Sangin Province was so kinetic and volatile at that time, it was no surprise that they were busy on another pick-up, so we had to wait.”

The EOD medic and Ryan continued to render aid to Armenta, applying body tourniquets and administering pain meds. “I was in shock. Conscious but not all there. I don’t remember every detail of those moments, which I think is probably for the best.”

Two hours after the initial call was made, the chopper came for Armenta. “I remember vaguely, being picked up. Zenit came with me and from what I was told later, stayed calmly by my side the whole time.”

Jose was taken to Camp Leatherneck where he underwent initial surgery and treatment – being placed in a coma to stabilize before he could travel to Germany for further treatment. “Two days after the incident, they told me I’d lost both my legs. I was distraught. I spoke to my wife and remember the enduring feeling of not being able to move any part of my body. I was frozen to the spot.”

Armenta stayed in Germany for four days before being flown back home to the States and transferred to Walter Reed Hospital in Maryland. “That’s when I saw my wife and parents. It was such a relief to see some loved ones again.”

There was one face, though, that Armenta would have to wait a while longer to see. That of his K-9 brother in arms, Zenit.

Climb

The initial blast had taken most of Jose’s leg to above the knee and his left leg below the knee but thanks to a number of relentless infections, Jose endured 13 more surgeries at Walter Reed before he was stable enough to return home to California. “I was eventually transferred to the Navy Medical Center Balboa, San Diego, so I could be close to my family. I stayed there for two weeks before I was able to go home – visiting the center regularly for physical and occupational therapy.

The enormity of what had happened to him was sinking in but Jose was focussed on his recovery. “There are definitely different stages to the recovery process – lots of hurdles and curveballs that can derail you and take you down, but the most important thing for me was mindset and focussing on the things I could control. I give a lot of credit to my time in the military for that pragmatism – I was building on a solid foundation, thanks to my training. In war, you take things piece by piece to do the best you can. This is what I had to do now.”

But doing all of this without Zenit, seemed a task that was insurmountable. “I had always kept my relationship with Zenit professional, but after I left Afghanistan, Zenit was paired with another handler to serve out the rest of his deployment. I felt angry that he was still there and in danger and I realised that my feelings for him had changed. He has stayed steadfast by my side through the worst moments of my life and now, as the road stretched out ahead of me, I realised I needed him more than ever.”

Armenta embarked on a complex and time-consuming process to adopt Zenit from the service and in 2012, the dog team was finally reunited. Zenit joined the Armenta family and helped Jose to face the many challenges that lay in wait for him.

Relearning everything was at the center of the next stage: Rehab. “I had to learn how to take care of myself on my own. This was hampered by the fact that as well as losing my legs, I’d sustained several shrapnel wounds so I couldn’t wheel myself around in a wheelchair. It was a waiting game. Waiting, healing, building on my new abilities and approaches to tasks until finally, I was ready to learn how to walk again in prosthetics.”

Jose’s recovery was painstaking

Armenta was ready for the challenge that prosthetic limbs would provide him with. “Being in a wheelchair was a hard adjustment for me. One second, you’re a Marine, fighting for your country in one of the deadliest places on earth. Then, you’re in a wheelchair, unable to take care of yourself. I craved that mobility and independence, but it was the beginning of a hard journey.”

Three months after the injury, Armenta was fitted with short prosthetics. “These are designed to get your limbs used to the pressure. You have to build callouses and get the nerve endings used to the sensation. I’ll tell you that none of that is pleasant.”

Armenta then needed to build his core strength to prepare for his starter prosthetics, which were fitted nine months after the blast. “Standing up was a real moment. There had been so much preparation to get to that point. I just had to take things one stage at a time, throughout that whole process.

“Another moment that needed real focus was learning how to control the robotic knee I was fitted with. That took some real patience.”

Zenit remained by Jose’s side throughout his recovery

Even 12 years after Jose was injured, he still faces regular health challenges. “I had some titanium rods screwed into my femurs earlier this year. These will allow me to wear a new type of prosthetic, which will be well worth it in the end but you have to take a couple of steps back to take those jumps forward.”

Gary Sinise

Armenta recalls the time he spent in the Hospital, which was being overwhelmed by the number of injured troops that were returning from the war. “It was a very hard time – there were so many injured Marines and soldiers in the hospital that we had to share therapists because there were too many of us.

“I got to meet lots of other injured Marines while in the hospital and when Gary Sinise came to visit, we were all given the chance to meet him. He is the nicest guy and genuinely cared about what we were going through.”

Through Jose’s network of fellow wounded warriors, he heard about the Gary Sinise Foundation. “I made the connection with the foundation and was told about the RISE Program, where the foundation builds specially adapted homes for injured veterans and first responders. We were accepted into the program and our home is currently under construction.

“We’re due to move in on Veterans Day this year and the difference it will make to our lives will be incredible. Everything will be completely adapted for wheelchair access which I have to accept, I will need to fall back on from time to time. After the surgery earlier this year, I spent six months in a wheelchair, so moving around the new house in a wheelchair will be completely hassle-free – especially with three little ones to take care of.”

Thanks to the Gary Sinese Foundation, the Armenta family will have a fully adapted home for life

Focus

Just over 12 years since the blast that changed the course of his life forever, Jose, Eliana and their children, Jose (5), Bella (6) and Dean (9) are thriving and looking forward to starting the next chapter of their family’s life in their new home, which will make a huge difference as Jose continues to adapt and overcome the challenges that began in Afghanistan in 2011.

Jose studied for his Master’s degree in financial and tax planning at San Diego University and went on to set up his own financial planning firm, which specializes in helping FERS federal employees.

But how does a person carry on in the face of such pain and adversity? Jose said: “If you give up, failure is guaranteed but if you keep going, you’ll eventually succeed and that is something to be proud of. Those words sound simple, but the emotion behind them was always my driving force. I saw a lot of people giving up on their life and their goals. I saw the hopelessness.

“There is always hope if you don’t give up.”

Check out his website: https://createyourpathfp.com/

In Conversation With… The Dawgs Project

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 22:21:23 GMT

In Conversation With… The Dawgs Project

As with so many fantastic non-profits working hard in the K-9 community, The Dawgs Project has a team of incredibly dedicated and passionate team members that are helping to bring to life their vision and mission – and all for the benefit of K-9 and their handlers.

As US War Dogs announces its formal partnership with The Dawgs Project, we speak to their team about its origins, the organization’s unique evolution and exciting plans for the future.

L-R The Dawgs Project's New President Luciano Aguilar With The Organization Founder Jon Hemp

Brain Child

The embryonic beginnings of what would become The Dawgs Project formed when former Air Force dog handler Jon Hemp was invited to a BBQ at Camp Pendleton in 2007. After seeing action on two deployments as a handler in Libya during the Six Day War (1966) and in Vietnam (1969), Hemp was ready to don blinkers and forget some of the horrors and heartache he had gained from his military service. “My dog Astor was the only K-9 casualty of the Six-Day War and that loss really stayed with me. We had spent an extended time training together, but not in the conventional way that most dog handlers learned their craft.

“I was trained in country when I deployed to Libya, by a veteran dog handler with a very exacting eye. If I didn’t ace a test and score 100%, he made me do it again. The other two trainee handlers had already been assigned and were outside the wire, by the time Astor and I certified. I don’t regret that for a second though, because my trainer’s eye for detail more than saved my life and made me a better handler as a result.”

Jon Hemp with MWD Astor in Libya

Astor was a sentry dog with incredible strength and poise. “He was the best partner I could wish for”, explains Jon. “Sharing that bond with a dog with such power and skill really got me hooked on K-9 and when he was killed, I was heartbroken.”

Jon became a ‘straight leg’ after Astor died and was re-assigned to Blytheville, Arkansas. “I’d served 18 months in Libya and was told that I wouldn’t be considered for any further overseas deployments.”

However, a few months into his new stateside duty station, Jon was handed orders to go to Vietnam. “I went to the personnel office to explain what I had been told about further overseas deployments. The guy sitting behind the desk explained that the Air Force wanted to send me to Vietnam as a dog handler, so I went with it.”

After pre-deployment training in Texas, Jon journeyed to north of Saigon and prepared to pick up his dog when he arrived at this new duty station. “I was introduced to Sarge – a huge, badass sentry dog. He was vicious and wouldn’t let me near him. I spent four days reading to him outside his kennel before he finally relented and let me put a muzzle and leash on him.

Hemp and his dog Sarge in Vietnam

“I think dogs are smarter that we humans ever are. Sarge turned out to be the most incredible asset ever. Like the majority of dogs who served in Vietnam, I had to leave him behind. When I came home, I wanted to forget everything I had seen and done in the war.”

Jon got a job with Wells Fargo Investigative Services, using the security experience he had gained in the Air Force. 16 years later, he left to become a teacher of post graduate social sciences. In 2007 Jon allowed himself to return to his military past by attending a Vietnam dog handlers’ reunion in Washington D.C. “It was a conspiracy between my wife and my principal to get me there – they knew that deep down, I needed to reconnect with that world and to old buddies who had been through what I had.

“While I was at the reunion, I met guys I’d not seen for 40 years. It was an incredible experience. I also took part in a veterans’ parade through the city, which, unknown to me, gave the opportunity for my picture to be taken by one of the journalists covering the event. The photo appeared on the front cover of US Veterans Magazine and my phone and email blew up!”

Following Jon’s appearance in the magazine, an old buddy contacted him with an invitation. “He had seen the magazine and wanted to invite me along to an event he was attending at Camp Pendleton - a BBQ for the dog handlers.”

Jon graciously accepted the invite and explains how reconnecting with his K-9 brothers was a life-affirming moment. “We had a gap of 40 years between us and the youngest Marines but within ten minutes, the atmosphere was electric. We talked about dogs and the young guys really enjoyed chatting with us older guys who had been there and done it. The therapy for me was immeasurable.

“I began thinking about the other bases and branches of service and how their K-9 teams would benefit from the extraordinary fellowship that we enjoyed that day. I also made a pact with myself that if we were laying on BBQs, the food was going to be top drawer. No more hot dogs – we would give these boys steaks. It’s the least they deserved.”

Jon’s passion for creating moments for dog handlers to enjoy fellowship, downtime and a chance to eat some great food, evolved into a full service that included reading the names of current generation fallen dog handlers. “We would read the names of all dog handlers from all countries KIA: Brits, Aussies, Danes and of course, Americans. Around 2012, the young handlers asked us to read the names of the Vietnam handlers too. The comradeship between the generations was so strong and natural. It was absolutely incredible.”

The Dawgs Project’s activities increased dramatically as word spread about the BBQs. “Each year, we were organizing more events for dog teams across all branches of service and each event brought such critical fellowship and therapy – not just to the young guys but to me too. Spending time with your K-9 family is more potent than any pill prescribed by the VA. Over 40 years after first picking up the leash and becoming K-9, I had finally returned home.”

Handlers enjoying one of The Dawgs Project's feeds

The work of The Dawgs Project extended to holding K-9 competitions and memorial services for fallen handlers. “The whole thing really grew wings and became a huge undertaking. I never registered The Dawgs Projects as a non-profit as I know how hard these things are to administer, so we survived hand-to-mouth on donations to continue our mission.

“Over ten years, we held 437 events and fed thousands of dog handlers and their families.”

Of course, running an organization of this scale takes its toll. “Anyone who works in events knows how stressful they can be in the lead-up. And now, in my mid-70s, I am not physically capable of doing what I did when the thing started. Driving 17 hours across the country to attend a feed is not something that comes easy to me now.”

Successor

Jon’s incredible achievements with the Project had a profound impact on anyone who found themselves at an event, so when conversations turned to Jon’s future plans for the organization, it’s no surprise that someone heard it as a rally cry. That someone was Luciano Aguilar.

“It was May 4, 2013, when I attended the first Dawgs Project feed”, recalls Luciano – a former Air Force dog handler. “I’d left the military in 2004 but my wife persuaded me to go. When I got there, it felt like I’d come home. The brotherhood and camaraderie you find in the military is unmatched, especially in K-9. Like all delegates to the feeds, I met Jon and we chatted briefly.”

Luciano’s military service, combined with his professional experience, makes him an excellent candidate to take The Dawgs Project forward. A few years after leaving K-9, Luciano set up his own dog training business, Presidential K9 and in 2010, Luciano’s reputation put him on the radar of TV executives, who invited him to become the pet expert on Emmy-nominated national show, America Now.

Luciano on America Now

In 2015, Luciano joined Dash Radio as a podcaster, which is where he met Mike Dowling, author of the bestseller Sergeant Rex. “Mike was a Marine Corps dog handler and it turned out that we went to K-9 school around the same time. We had a lot of common ground and really hit it off, so when he invited me to the Vietnam Dog Handlers Memorial event at the March Airfield Museum in Riverside, CA., I was eager to attend.”

Luciano connected with Jon again at the event. “I was determined not to lose touch this time. I followed him to different local feeds and decided to raise money for the project to help give something back. As we talked more frequently, Jon expressed his need to step away from the work as it was getting too much for him.”

Jon added: “I’ll be honest, I felt like we’d had a great run. After ten years and over 400 events, I felt like I would complete the year 2018 and hang up my BBQ tongs. But as Luciano and I chatted, he expressed a real sadness in the whole thing folding and wanted to do something to help. I was pretty stoked and for the first time, felt that The Dawgs Project could continue without me.”

Luciano and Jon spent a few months sharing knowledge and completing a full handover of Jon’s hard-won experience over ten years. Jon recalls: “I had one last request of Luciano before I promised to sit back and shut up, and it concerned the Brodsky family.”

The feeds allowed for much needed fellowship and brotherhood

Dawgs Project in Action

US Navy Petty Officer Michael Brodsky was mortally wounded by an IED after running his MWD, Jackson, to the safety of a vehicle during a vicious firefight in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. In 2019, Michael’s family arranged for him to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery, where he would receive a full military funeral. Luciano explains: “Jon wanted to give the family a special feed from The Dawgs Project for Michael so I contacted another former handler that I had served with and asked if she knew the kennel master at Andrews Air Force Base. She asked them and asked them if we could hold a feed there. The kennel master agreed and we set about creating an event for Michael’s friends and family.

“The only thing we needed to concern ourselves with now was raising the money to hold the event, which promised to be a 350-strong feed. Jon suggested I contact Kevin Sonka at the Rocky Mountain Dawgs Project for assistance. Knowing how tough fundraising for events like this can be, Kevin was really happy to support us with funds.”

David Sonka and his MWD Flex

Rocky Mountain Dawgs Project

Kevin Sonka’s registered non-profit organization had been running feeds at bases across the country. “I started the Rocky Mountain Dawgs Project in honor of my son, David, who was killed on May 4, 2013. He was a dog handler with the US Marine Corps Special Operations Command. He absolutely loved being a dog handler. I remember our many conversations on the phone while he was stationed out at 29 Palms, CA, he always spoke about going to feed the dogs.

“After he died, his final wishes stated that he wanted us to help ‘feed the dogs’. I was confused. Didn’t the military provide enough food to feed their dogs? I started researching and eventually found Jon Hemp, who I called and he explained everything to me.

“That night, I woke my wife and said ‘I know what we need to do. We’ll set up a non-profit to cater feeds for dog teams across the nation. On July 4, 2013, we officially became a non-profit and held our first feed at Fort Carson, Colorado in the fall of that year.”

Kevin’s motivations for setting up the Rocky Mountain Dawgs Project to honor his beloved son and support the community that he held so dear, made him a tenacious fundraiser and a fastidious administrator. “We registered as a non-profit and enlisted the help of volunteers to help us execute our mission. It was a full-time job, on top of my full-time job, but it helped me stay connected with David and cope with the heart-crushing grief in some way.”

MARSOC's compound at Camp Lejune, named after David Sonka

In 2016, Rocky Mountain Dawgs Project expanded their range of services to provide veterans suffering from PTSD with therapy dogs, who were uniquely trained to ensure they provided maximum benefit. “It was a huge undertaking”, explains Kevin. “We had to raise about $25,000 per dog to make sure we could provide the training and top-up sessions for the veterans. Our model was a simple one on paper: train the veterans to train the dogs. But of course, training a dog is not an easy task, so we had to make sure our support was there for the lifetime of the veteran – not just for the dog. It felt like an important, sustainable option to providing the veteran with a trained dog.

Two of the service dogs that were paired with veterans through The Rocky Mountain Dawgs Project

“We enjoyed a huge amount of success with the program, which paired 12 service dogs and veterans together. I feel really proud that those dogs are out there, providing much-needed support to our heroes who struggle with the mental and emotional scars of war. It’s a hugely positive legacy and we did it in David’s name.”

Merger

After Luciano reached out to Kevin about the Brodsky Memorial Feed, Kevin started pondering about the future of his own non-profit: “I had spoken at length to Luciano and felt so pleased for Jon that he had managed to identify a worthy and passionate successor for The Dawgs Project. I began wondering whether I might ever have the same luck, to have someone take forward the mission I had started. I also knew that I was tired. Bone tired. And in desperate need of a break, not just to spend more time with my family, but to properly grieve for David.

“It also wasn’t lost on me that the first feed Luciano ever attended was on the day David died – May 4, 2013. That really resonated with both of us and strengthened our bond as brothers striving to give something back to the K-9 community for our own unique reasons.

“Channelling grief into action is a great coping mechanism, until it isn’t serving you in the same way anymore. I loved what we had created, but I knew it was time for me to fully face my loss.”

In 2020, Kevin formally asked Luciano to take on Rocky Mountain Dawgs Project and absorb it into The Dawgs Project. “Our missions absolutely aligned and I didn’t want to see Kevin’s hard work left in history”, explains Luciano. “Kevin called me and we talked for a long time. He told me to talk to my wife and sleep on it. At 4am, my phone rang. It was Kevin - he dead serious about me sleeping on it! I agreed there and then to take on Rocky Mountain Dawgs Project.”

Gold Star

The Dawgs Project’s long history with honoring the fallen provided an opportunity to engage with a number of Gold Star families, who have become closely involved with the project. “It became part of the fabric of events to invite Gold Star families along to hear their sons and daughters’ names being read out”, explains Jon. “As well as that ceremonial side to the proceedings, though, the healing power of being around the friends and brothers of their lost loved ones has often had a profound effect on the families who come along.”

One Gold Star family member inspired to become involved in The Dawgs Project’s mission is Arlene Douangdara - sister to SEAL Team 6 dog handler, John Douangdara, who was killed during Operation Extortion 17 in Afghanistan. John’s helicopter came under intense enemy fire, causing a crash that killed all 17 team members on board – including John’s MWD, Bart.

“John was my big brother. I absolutely idolised him and losing him was a crushing weight that we all continue to carry”, explains Arlene, who lives in Virgina Beach with her boyfriend, children and two retired MWDs who she adopted in honor of John. “One of my dogs is DD – in honor of our last name. He was a memorial puppy for John so he was always going to come to us. I have loved deepening my understanding of John’s bond with Bart through having DD. Spending time with other handlers at The Dawgs Project’s feeds has also been an incredible key to understanding what John’s life was like as a handler.”

MA1 John Douangdara

Arlene first attended a feed in 2019. “Jon invited us to attend so we could hear John’s name read out. It was such a special experience and I was instantly inspired by Jon and Luciano’s work with the project. Meeting some of the guys that knew John and who had worked with him was absolutely incredible. I left wanting more!”

Jon and Luciano kept in touch with Arlene, who later appeared as a guest on Luciano’s radio show. “Luciano is so talented and passionate, so when he asked me to be a part of the team as a Gold Star representative, I couldn’t refuse. Being part of The Dawgs Project makes me feel closer to the community that John loved so much.

“I’ve even had the chance to don a bite suit and act as decoy, which was terrifying, but it was another experience that brought me closer to my brother.”

Speaking about Arlene, Luciano said: “We are honored to have her as part of our team – she brings tenacity and work ethic, along with the unique and poignant perspective of having lost a family member in military service.”

Future

Two years into Luciano taking the helm of the merged organizations known as The Dawgs Project, he reflects on his journey so far: “It’s been an incredible ride. Everyone that has attended the events has said that they want to help us in some way, which has been great. But getting to grips with running a 501-C3 is an ever-steepening learning curve. We’re always chasing that fundraising target to make ends meet, which sometimes feels like an insurmountable task. It definitely keeps me awake at night.

“Reconciling that struggle with our aspirations for the future is tough, but I always believe that when you’re fighting the good fight, good things always happen.”

In 2022, US War Dogs president, Chris Willingham, reached out to Luciano to offer a unique partnership to The Dawgs Project. Chris explains: “We had met a couple of times and I had been keeping an eye out on news from the organization, which I benefitted from many times as a young dog handler. Jon Hemp is a great man and I was keen to get to know the new guardian of his mission. Luciano did not disappoint. His passion and energy for K-9 and his plans for the future are truly inspiring so after we chatted, I took a proposal to our board members that would see US War Dogs providing long term financial support to The Dawgs Project. The vote was resounding and unanimous.”

L-R The Dawgs Project President Luciano Aguilar, Rosendo Madrigal, Arlene Douangdara, Chris Willingham

What does it mean to have US War Dogs as a partner? “It’s honestly an answered prayer”, explains Luciano. “Having our feeds funded by War Dogs means that we can expand our mission to create more opportunities for handlers and their families to come together and celebrate K-9. Our coverage of the country will be thorough and we are looking to introduce regional K-9 competitions that will not only create chances for fellowship and brotherhood, they will also increase knowledge sharing and mentorship opportunities for young handlers.

“We will continue to honor our fallen and pay tribute to them and we will always be here to ensure that K-9 of all generations has a place to come to for solace, companionship and camaraderie, long after they leave the service. All served with delicious food and a thankful smile.”

US War Dogs President Chris Willingham Acting As Decoy at One of The Dawgs Project's Feeds

In Conversation With… Kevin Wiens

Sun, 28 May 2023 13:23:47 GMT

In conversation with...Kevin Wiens

Kory Duane Wiens and his specialized search dog, Cooper, were the first dog team killed in action since Vietnam. Kory’s dad, Kevin, speaks to US War Dogs about the enormity of his grief after losing Kory in Iraq; his son’s legacy and how he has found hope and comfort.

Cpl Kory Wiens and his specialized search dog, Cooper

“Wiens Street was named after Kory”, Kevin explains as we begin chatting. “There are ten houses on the street so I contacted each resident and gave them each one of my handmade wooden stars that I make to honor Kory.”

Kevin notes that he has been involved with some peculiar – yet heart-warming situations, since his son Kory was killed. “We’ve been invited to several naming ceremonies. Kory and Cooper have a stretch of highway, a dog park at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs and two streets in Oregon named after them. And there is the Kory Wiens Memorial Veterinary Center at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, where Kory was stationed. People are very kind and like to make a fuss. Of course, I’d rather not have any of it and just have Kory here with us.”

Kevin lives in a small holding in Oregon and, since he retired from driving trucks two years ago, has dedicated his time to his talent of woodworking, which has become a poignant and practical way for him to honor Kory.

The Wiens family have a history of military service which started long before Kory enlisted, as Kevin explains…

Family History

“My dad – Duane – was a scout dog handler in Korea”, recalls Kevin. “We have lots of photos of him and his dog, Chris, who looked like a real badass. My dad died when I was 15 but I wish I’d had more time to ask him about his service and what it was like over in Korea. It felt kind of poetic when Kory called me and told me that he was going to be a dog handler.”

Kevin recounts his childhood as being a rural idyll, living on their family 300-acre farm with a menagerie of animals and heavy farm machinery. “I was bailing hay and driving tractors after school and on weekends. My friends living in the suburbs were always envious.

“Living that rural life made me want the same for my children, but as a single dad, I raised my three sons mostly in a mobile home park in town. We always had animals though – mostly cats. We had a cat named Spooky we found along the road one Halloween night and after he passed away, I found a little yellow kitten driving on that same road. We named Mazie because at the time, both Kory and Kyle both had Mazda pickups.

“When my grandparents died in 2003, the family farm was divided up. I inherited five acres which my son Kyle now lives on with his family. They have goats, calves and chickens, so they are plenty busy.”

Kevin has three sons, Kevin Jr, Kory and Kyle and one daughter, Lindsay.

“I love that a sense of being at peace with animals and nature bled into all of my children. That was certainly true of Kory, too.”

Kory in Iraq

Service and Pickups

Kory joined the US Army age 18, in 2005, with the aim of being in the Military Police. “Kory always loved animals so when he called to say he’d been given the chance to train as a dog handler, I wasn’t surprised at all. Animals were a huge part of Kory’s childhood. He was such a kind boy – to animals and people. He was very gentle and calm which drew animals to him.”

But when Kory introduced his chosen dog to his dad, Kevin was skeptical. “I had Chris – my dad’s dog – in my mind. So huge and strong and so able to protect dad from the bad guys. Cooper was this bouncy yellow lab… How was he going to protect my boy if things broke bad? But as Kory explained Cooper’s talents to me, I was amazed.”

Kory and Cooper alongside his grandpa Duane and his dog, Chris

Assigned to the 94th Mine Dog Detachment, 5th Engineer Battalion, 1st Engineer Brigade, Fort Leonard Wood, MO, Kory and Cooper were set to deploy to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Kory returned home to Oregon from Fort Leonard Wood in September 2006 – around the time of his twentieth birthday. “He was here for about three weeks and quickly fell into the habits of home. He loved tinkering with cars and had rebuilt an old Mazda pickup truck. He also bought a 1972 Dodge Swinger when he was 17, which caused him some headaches, but he enjoyed the challenge.

“Before joining the Army, Kory worked in an oil change shop – Oil Can Henrys – where he made some great friends and learned a lot from them. I recall that whole trip as being very easy and happy. Kory bought a Dodge Dakota and drove it back to Missouri after his leave. Kyle went on the trip with him and flew back to Oregon. I know he is grateful for that time they spent together.”

Kory stayed in Missouri until he and Cooper deployed early in January 2007.

Kory and Cooper in Iraq

Iraq

Kory’s older brother Kevin Jr had also joined the US Army and had already served one tour of Iraq with the Military Police. “It became clear very quickly that my two sons would be deploying at the same time, which was going to be tough and of course, double the worry.”

Kory and Cooper had spent several months training with the Specialized Search Dog (SSD) Program: A DoD initiative that was a direct response to the threats that troops in Iraq and Afghanistan were facing at the hands of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

“Kory was confident in his training and trusted Cooper implicitly. They were ready to go”, Kevin recalls.

Kory would speak with his dad as much as he could. “We would chit chat about things at home and how he and Cooper were doing. Kory completely adored him – you could tell their bond was strong.”

A couple of months into their deployment, Animal Planet came out and spent time with Kory and Cooper – discussing their role in the war effort and how Cooper’s nose was saving lives. “He was all excited about it. It was kind of fun to have a camera man follow them around for a couple of days. The piece never appeared but Kory was really pleased with the photos.”

Kevin recalls the last time he spoke with Kory. “I’d not heard from Kory for a couple of months and had sent an email to his superior, Danielle Roach, a few days earlier to ask how things were going. When Kory called, I was driving my mixer truck and we quickly fell into a natural rhythm of conversation. Cooper was front and center of Kory’s news, as always.”

A selection of Kevin's hand painted stars

Knock

“It was evening time when the knock on my door came. Two representatives from the Army came with a local chaplain to deliver the news and first off, visited my neighbor, who is also my cousin. She knew what was coming so called my aunt who came straight to my house.

“When they arrived, my dog China was going mad, barking and fussing, so we all had to wait for her to calm down before they could speak. In those moments, I stood staring at them, not knowing which of my sons had been killed. I don’t remember much of what followed.”

Kevin’s aunt and uncle drove him to Salem to find Kory’s younger brother, Kyle. “He was a security guard for the same company I worked for and was assigned to the graveyard shift. I wanted to take him home to tell him the news about Kory before he heard it on the radio.

“My uncle spent that night at my house and then my ex-wife stayed with me for a few days. People didn’t want me to be alone.”

Kory at home

Home

A week later, Kory and Cooper, accompanied by Kory’s big brother Kevin Jr, flew home to Corvallis Airport – a small private airport about 20 miles from Dallas, Oregon. “I was presented with Kory’s ashes at the airport and we planned a procession through some of the key towns and areas in Kory’s life. We drove past Albany High School where he graduated, then through Independence and Monmouth where he was at elementary school. We planned the route to finish up at the funeral home in Dallas.

“We dropped Kory and Cooper’s ashes at the funeral home who offered to mix them together and split for us so we could bury some at our family plot at Salt Creek Cemetery and take some home.

“Kory and Cooper were buried in the same grave as his grandfather – my dad.”

Kevin created a small memorial plot in his garden at home too. “There had been a mix-up with the gravestones and two were made, so the funeral home gave us one, which I placed in my garden along with a flagpole that a neighbor had given me after Kory died. I planted the American flag in red, white and blue flowers and we had a couple of other plaques that had been gifted to us that lay in place too.

“I’ve never been much of a grave visitor but I always take flowers from my rose garden to cemetery on Memorial Day and before my Cooper passed away in the spring last year, I would take him with me too. My ritual has changed over the last few years – I now make three of my wooden stars and leave them on the grave. One for Kory, one for my dad and one for Cooper.”

Gold Star

After 16 years without Kory, Kevin reflects on his grief and picking up the reluctant mantle of being a Gold Star dad. “There have been so many outpourings of genuine feeling from people I don’t know, once they find out my son was killed in action serving our country. Losing a son leaves a yawning hole in your heart and in your life. We’re in this exclusive ‘club’ that nobody wants to be a member of, as a Gold Star family.

“I do things to stay positive, which helps. The love I’ve had from my stars has been a real comfort. The memorials and ceremonies we’ve been invited to have really built on Kory and Cooper’s legacy. It’s neat to think that in 100 years from now, people will still be saying Kory’s name. They’ll be able to read their story and learn about their service.”

One of the many ways that Kory and Cooper’s story was immortalized, was in the pages the book Top Dog, by Maria Goodavage. The book follows fellow SSD Lucca, who served in the Marine Corps with her handler (and US War Dogs president), Chris Willingham. The two dog teams served closely when they were stationed together out of Forward Operating Base Murray – in Iraq’s Arab Jabour region, southeast of Bahgdad. Lucca and Cooper became firm friends and loved to play together inside the base between missions.

“It took me several months to read the book”, recalls Kevin. “A copy was donated to the local library and I had leafed through the copy Maria had sent to me. When I brought myself to read it, the part about Lucca and Cooper’s friendship really stood out to me. I decided to send Cooper’s stuff to Chris, to give to Lucca: His beloved football and his working vest. I figured that Lucca might miss Cooper and would appreciate being able to sniff him again.”

Cooper’s Legacy

A short time after Kory and Cooper died, Kevin began investigating getting a yellow Labrador of his own. “We got Kitty Dog in September 2007– two months after Kory died. My son Kyle also got a lab at the same time so we could breed them. Kitty had six boy puppies and I kept one – a yellow lab who I called Cooper. He lived for 13 years and was my closest friend. His companionship helped me to understand the love that Kory had for his Cooper. It made me feel closer to him.

“Cooper loved sleeping on his back and snuggling up to me. I have a real soft spot for back-sleeping dogs!”

Kitty Dog had two more litters – the second were all boys and the third, all girls. Kevin planned on keeping one of her pups, who he named Kat, but while the pups were small, one of the other girls had a fall. “She broke her leg so I decided to keep her and we ended up developing a really close bond. We called her Kaedublue – a play on our initials, KW. She was so sweet – and a back sleeper – so we were great friends!

“I eventually gave Kaedublue to another local Gold Star family and they loved her so much. Last year, she developed bone cancer in the leg she had broken as a puppy and sadly had to be put to sleep.”

Having added another two puppies from Kitty Dog’s final litter to his home, Kevin decided to breed from Kat with a black lab belonging to a friend he worked with. Her first litter was a big one – ten pups with an even split of boys and girls; black and yellow.

“They were kind of a memorial litter of sorts. I reached out to a few people who had played a significant part in Kory’s life to offer them a puppy so that they could feel the love of a yellow lab too.”

One of the pups went to live with Chris Willingham and his family. A new Labrador companion for Lucca, until she passed away in January 2018. Chris named his puppy Murray, after the FOB that he and Kory were stationed at in Iraq.

One of the other recipients of the litter was Maria Goodavage – author of Top Dog and someone who has become a trusted friend to both Chris and Kevin.

The Star Guy

Celestial Comfort

Woodworking had long been a source of relaxation for Kevin, who worked long hours on the road. “It gave me a chance to clear my mind and focus on something else entirely”, he explains. Kevin’s first brush with the stars came while married to his ex-wife, who was an antiques dealer. They would drive all over the country, visiting fayres and markets. Kevin recalls: “We went to an antique mall that was selling these beautiful five-point, 3-D wooden stars. I instantly fell in love with them. That was over 20 years ago.”

“I started out over 35 years ago, making furniture – Adirondack patio chairs, picnic tables and potting benches, along with the odd dog crate, here and there.”

When Kory and Cooper were killed, Kevin started making boxes shaped like dog paws. “For Kory’s tenth ‘angel-versary’, I made around 30 boxes and gave them out to some of Kory’s friend at a gathering we organized at the memorial garden at my house.

“Making the boxes gave me a purpose and something to focus on, especially around that decade anniversary of losing Kory. But I couldn’t stop thinking about those beautiful wooden stars, so I decided to learn how to make them. It felt a little like my woodworking destiny.”

Kevin explains that the intricate angles and detail make the stars difficult to make, so his first few attempts were a little rough. “Some of the early ones are still kicking around. I gave them out to close friends and I think Kevin Jr still has one.

“In reality, it took several years to really perfect the technique but once I had it, I was off and running. I can make several at a time and as I don’t like waste, I’ll use the offcuts to make smaller stars. I’ve even started making macrame beads from the smallest offcuts, so absolutely nothing is lost.”

Making stars out of barnwood has not only become Kevin’s living, but it has also become a type of catharsis that connects him to Kory. “I get to design stars with different motifs and designs and make large and small stars, depending on what the customer wants. I’ve sold well over 100 of my stars on my Etsy shop and love making batches to take to Christmas bazaars. I enjoy the interaction with people and would love to go across the country with my stars, visiting different markets and events.

“I’ve been lucky that people have responded so well to my designs and I love working with customers who have a vision for a design or color scheme. I’ve made pumpkin stars and stars with a Christmas theme, but the most popular are definitely those featuring the American flag. Since I started selling my stars on Etsy, I love the feedback I’ve been getting from customers. It’s become a hugely satisfying pastime and it helps my income a little too.

“I have been very fortunate to make stars to gift to veterans (who always receive an American flag star), Gold Star families and cancer survivors. I’m a Gold Star dad and the fact that I can make something that embodies that, for people to keep and cherish, is not lost on me. It’s my therapy – it brings me a sense of calm and a way to honor Kory.”

Kevin’s talents as ‘Star Guy’ have proven very popular and social media has helped to spread the word about his unique and beautiful designs. Kevin said: “I’ve had customers purchase my stars from 33 states but I’d like to hit all 50 and make it a national venture, I’d like to sell my stars abroad someday too.”

Kevin donated two of his stars to auction off at US War Dogs’ K-9 Veterans Day fundraising event in Washington D.C earlier this year. His lots raised over $600 for our mission. “That one really shocked me”, Kevin said. “I couldn’t believe that people were bidding such high amounts for my work. It felt really good to help raise that much money.”

Kevin knows that the power of his and Kory’s story makes his creations more than just wall art or festive decorations. “Many people are so eager to support Gold Star families however they can. I know that lots of people will read our story and feel moved to purchase a star from me because of it. I think they feel a sort of solidarity with me and for the sons we’ve lost. I think it’s a delicate, potent kind of support. The kind that gives you hope and keeps you moving forward, even on the darkest days.”

To support Kevin the ‘Star Guy’ and purchase one of his stars from, visit his Etsy store or ‘like’ his page on Facebook .

In Conversation With… John Meeks

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 22:45:22 GMT

In Conversation With... John Meeks
Founder of US War Dogs’ Chapter 3, John Meeks, shares how his passion for keeping his MWD’s memory alive, motivated him to serve his K-9 family

Drafted in 1969, John was put through basic training to ready him and his cohort of recruits for Vietnam. Quickly, John showed promise in the Army and was offered the chance to train as a non-commissioned officer. “I was 18”, explains John. “I didn’t want the responsibility for others. I just wanted to get out there and do my thing.”

John didn’t have to wait long before the opportunity arose to do just that. “I was put with a casual company and while we were awaiting orders, I had the opportunity to volunteer to go to scout dog school. I’d never had a dog before I took to it straight away. It almost felt too good to be true – being paid 150 bucks a month to take care of a dog. I absolutely loved it.”

On completing scout dog school, John had 30 days’ leave before deploying to Vietnam for 11 months and two weeks, in April of 1970. “I was part of the 42nd Scout Dog Platoon which was attached to the 101st Airborne Division. As soon as I got there, I was paired with Artus K012.”

Artus K012

Artus was one of the first scout dogs in the 101st to be sent to war. He had already worked with five different handlers before he and John were paired together. “He was so experienced. He saved my life a couple of times and made sure I got home without a scratch on me.”

John and Artus’ job was to go out with different units and walk point, alerting on anything that seemed suspect. “I had to interpret what my dog was telling me”, explains John. “I didn’t always get it right but Artus was expert at putting his point across – and thank god he was!”

On one such occasion, Artus and John were leading the way up a steep hill trail when Artus would perform his life-saving work. “I used to do a kissing sound to Artus to get him to stay or come back to me – we’d perfected our mode of communication and it worked a charm. He knew just what I wanted from him.

“On this mission, he had reached the top of the hill trail and I made my signal for him to stay. As I approached and told Artus to move forward, he wouldn’t budge, which he had never done before. I even gave him a little knee in the butt and motioned to step around him, but he moved his body in front of me so I couldn’t pass. I called down to the team that something wasn’t right but couldn’t tell what it was. I got down and the “slack man” came up and went around to find a trip wire, a few feet from where Artus was planted.”

There’s no telling the damage that would have been caused if Artus had not stood his ground in that moment. “He could probably hear the wire vibrating in the breeze or smell the explosives. Whatever alerted him to the presence of that trap, he saved us all that day. I never put my knee in his butt again after that.”

The bond John shared with Artus was unbreakable. “We spent every moment together and Artus was very protective of me”, explains John. “I used to have to warn the other guys not to come near me at night or Artus would take a chunk out of them. Many times, I woke up to the sound of Artus sinking his teeth into several of the guys who had walked by me. It was the only time he got really feisty, but the guys didn’t forget it once they crossed him!”

As the soldiers progressed up the ladder, they were moved out of patrolling positions and given responsibility for different facets of the camp, including training, supplies, vehicles and the bar in camp. “When you reach that point, the only time you go out is with the new guys. It was at that point that I had to give Artus up to a new handler.

“I hated staying behind and I’d much rather have Artus with me – I felt much safer with him around.”

As well as taking care of his new assignment in camp, John was also called upon to show the new dog handlers the ropes. “I loved the opportunity to go out with new guys, observing them and helping to train the new dogs. It was my hope that I could teach them stuff that would keep them alive and bring them home.”

Tragically, after being paired with a new handler, Artus was killed by an enemy ambush, hidden near a riverbank. “I hate to say it, but I believe his new handler was responsible for his death. Artus went over a concealed riverbank and had been brutally shot by enemy combatants. I’d have never let him out of my sight.”

John explains a little more about why he believes Artus’ new handler to be responsible for his best friend’s demise. “In Vietnam, there were three types of soldier. Or, you could say, there were three approaches to surviving over there. The religious ones, who had strong faith and high morals and tended to remain on the straight and narrow; the ‘juicers’, who drank a lot and the ‘heads’, who smoked a lot of pot. I hate to say that Artus was paired with a ‘head’, and that is one of the reasons he didn’t take good enough care of him when it mattered.”

Taste of Home

As well as finding solace and a means to cope for the young men who found themselves in the hellish conditions of the Vietnam war, there were a number of kind souls who took it upon themselves to send care packages to the troops, providing them with a welcome taste of home. John was on the receiving end of the kindness of one stranger, who wound up becoming a great friend. “Jackie McIntyre from a German Shepherd club in Minneapolis St Paul, Minnesota, adopted our platoon and sent care packages once a month. She’d include canned goods, snacks and treats for the dogs. I would write letters back to her to say thank you and we really came to rely on those little slices of home, coming to the jungle each month.

“Emboldened by Jackie’s kindness and steadfastness, our sergeant asked her to send some Playboy magazines for the young soldiers. She sent her husband out to buy them and happily sent them in our next package.”

On 6 May 2006, John put pen to paper and wrote Jackie for the first time. John was humbled to meet the kind sender of the care packages at a Vietnam dog handlers’ reunion in 2010. “The kindness of people back home meant the world to us. I didn’t know it at the time but Jackie’s action would inspire me to take action to support the K-9 community in my own way, later on in life.”

The Price of War

Reflecting on his 11 months and two weeks in Vietnam, John is pensive. “I wrote a book to help explain to my family what went on there, but it certainly isn’t a tell-all. There is so much I can’t talk about, even now.”

When John arrived home from Vietnam, he wanted nothing to do with the military. “There were a few associations that reached out but I shut them all down. It was too painful to acknowledge that part of my life so I put it in a box and tried to move on. I worked a few different jobs – it’s how I coped with the things I did and saw.

“The weight of losing guys that I had trained up when they came to Vietnam has stayed with me every single day and has almost dragged me under before now.”

Quiet and deliberate with his words, his voice laden with emotion, John explains: “So much crap went on over there, I just wanted to block it all out and trying to fill my mind with anything other than those feelings of intense guilt and grief. But to run and hide does nothing but amplify the demons and make them more overwhelming.

“No matter how old a service member is. No matter which war they fought in, we all saw shit that haunts us and lost people that rips us to our core. I didn’t speak a word about my struggles for nearly 40 years and it did me no good. My advice to anyone in a similar position to me is to face the grief; seek comfort in your military brothers and don’t let those dark thoughts drown you.”

A few years after returning from Vietnam, John found a happy home with the Fire Department and stayed in the service for 20 years. “I loved it with all my heart, but there were some big organizational changes that really took the fun out of it for me, so it was time to move on.”

After his time as a fireman, John started his own construction company; was a chauffeur for celebrities and worked a few factory jobs. “Keeping busy and making changes occupied my mind and helped me to dodge thoughts of my past.” //

But when John went to watch his granddaughters in their Veteran’s Day assembly at school, something moved within him. “It really got to me. Finally, 37 years after leaving Vietnam, I contacted the VFW and volunteered my services, to ensure that proper funeral rights were bestowed upon veterans when they passed.”

After running headlong from his military past, John was now spending his time writing and delivering eulogies, arranging for a rifle team to attend funerals to fire three volleys and ensuring that a folded US flag was presented to the family of the fallen service member, showing honor and respect for their service.

John also recalls: “My hometown of Kokomo, Indiana, plays host to the largest and oldest Vietnam reunion and this year marks the 41st time the veterans have met to share stories and enjoy fellowship. Until 2007, you could count the number of times I had attended on one hand. It was just too painful.

“A friend of mine – who I now consider closer than a brother – bumped into me one day while I visited the Vietnam Memorial in town. I didn’t know it at the time, but he appeared when I needed him most. I recall walking into the light of the sun and seeing him appearing in the distance. He lives in Ohio, so it’s not like I expected to see him there, either. He encouraged me to go to the next reunion and seek solace and brotherhood with my fellow veterans. I’ve not looked back since that moment.”

A New Chapter

John’s voluntary role with VFW had opened the door to other opportunities with non-profits, working to the benefit of the military community. “I’d been asked to help raise money to send some cooling vests to MWDs in Iraq and Afghanistan. I blew up some old photos of me and Artus in Vietnam and visited a few local restaurants, holding talks and chatting to people about life as a K-9 handler. I really got a taste for it – I loved telling the story of K-9 and seeing the reactions of people as they learned how incredible these dogs are.”

John began to plan his own way to send care packages to the deployed dog teams in the Middle East. “I was struggling to get hold of the addresses to send stuff out to the guys so I contacted Ron Aiello at US War Dogs for some advice. We chatted at length and when I explained what I wanted to do, he invited me to form a chapter of War Dogs. He hooked me up with the dog teams and I was off and running!”

John recalls one of the best parts of his role in Chapter 3 is receiving feedback from the dog teams who received care packages. “Nothing gives me greater pleasure than hearing from the guys and gals I’d sent items to and how much it meant to them, receiving gifts from home, knowing that someone was thinking of them and grateful for their service.”

The first handler John met face to face was Virdiana Lavalle, who was a kennel master in Afghanistan when she received her first care packages from US War Dogs Chapter 3. “She’s such a sweetheart and when we met, we formed an instant friendship. Virdiana is now an Army sergeant major and has done incredible things in her career. She also helped me adopt two former MWDs who were retiring from service.”

It was fairly inevitable that John would provide homes to retired MWDs, given his deep connection to the K-9 community. “My first adopted MWD was Abel, who was flown back to the States from Korea by Mission K-9 Rescue. I picked him up from Missouri and we spent a wonderful year together before he passed.”

The second retired MWD also found his way home to John via Virdiana was Brutusz. “He was retiring out of Pacific Command so we went to Hawaii to pick him up. The kennels held a beautiful retirement ceremony for him where the kennel master spoke about Brutusz’ career highlights. At the end of the service, his current handler formally handed the leash to me and my wife and the famous ode, Guardians of the Night was read out. It was a very moving moment.”

Brutusz has served his career with the Military Police as a patrol and explosive detection dog (PEDD) and found it hard to shake his working tendencies. “I’d take him to the VFW and he’d go to town, sniffing the jacket pocket of some of the guys coming through. They’d look quizzical and I’d ask, ‘when was the last time you fired your pistol?’ Brutusz could detect the gunpowder, even if the gun had been fired days before.”

But bringing his highly trained nose to the VFW wasn’t Brutusz’ only gift. “When he was beside me, I felt like I was walking with Artus again. The similarities between them were so strong – not just in stature and aesthetics, but in their presence and spirit. He brought me so much comfort and made me feel closer to the best friend I’d ever had.”

Brutusz accompanied John on over 170 talks, presentations and appearances with US War Dogs Chapter 3. “Brutusz was a fantastic ambassador for the K-9 community and everyone adored him, wherever we went. He was a magnet for chicks and children, who always gave generously to our cause once they’d been charmed by him.”

John also reflects on the impact that Jackie – the kind lady who sent care packages to his unit while in Vietnam – had on him, even many years later. “Her unwavering kindness during my time deployed really stayed with me and I really felt it was my time to pay it forward.”

Paying It Forward

Setting up US War Dogs Chapter 3 has created opportunities for John to share his knowledge and passion for the K-9 community, all over the US. “I’ve taken on the challenge of fundraising, which is the single biggest hurdle a small non-profit will ever face. I just keep ahead of the credit card bills but ultimately, if a request comes in from a dog team, I’ll move heaven and earth to fulfil it, even if it means paying for the gear out of my own money.”

The changes in the world brought on by COVID have included the death of some of John’s most financially lucrative K-9 events, as far as fundraising goes. “We used to attend an event in Michigan that generated a good $3-4,000 for the non-profit, but that went under as a result of the pandemic and our bottom line has suffered as a result.

“I am often invited to speak at events and Brutusz would come along as guest of honor. But those events often pay richly in awareness and not so well in dollars and cents. It’s so important to shout about the role of K-9… it’s something I will never tire of. I loved it most when Brutusz was by my side.”

John’s hard work and dedication to the K-9 community over the last 16 years has been steadfast and unwavering. Chapter 3 has provided over $100,000 worth of care packages and gear items to dog teams across the globe and brought a slice of home to deployed K-9s who were dug deep in the depths of war. “I am so grateful to Chris for picking up the gauntlet with US War Dogs Association. I owe a lot to Ron – both in terms of my personal connection to the organization but also, for what he has done to raise the profile of MWDs in Vietnam and beyond.

“I’ll never take for granted, this tremendous community I joined as a young man in Vietnam. The experiences I had scarred my soul on a level I may never be able to express, but the dog that delivered me safely home without a scratch and the dogs I’ve enjoyed as a result of that bond, have brought me untold happiness. Sharing K-9 with the world in the way that I have, has been both cathartic and incredibly life-affirming for me. Being a part of US War Dogs brings me a huge sense of pride – a pride that I share every day with Artus – my dog in a million.

“Like many K-9 handlers in Vietnam, I also walk every day with the grief of the dogs who didn’t make it back home. Every talk I give or conversation I have about K-9 stands to honor their sacrifice. They will never be forgotten and live on in this incredible community that I am so very proud to be a part of.”

In Conversation With… Nic Fontaine

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 16:13:14 GMT

In conversation with...Nick Fontaine

The Special Forces K-9 Handler Talks Dogs, Deployments and Utilizing His Skills on Civvie Street

When 16-year-old Nic Fontaine of Franklin, MA, received a postcard from an Army recruiter with the promise of a free shirt if he visited their station, he was in. “I’d never thought about joining the military until that moment, but the free swag piqued my interest”, explains Nic, now 44 with an incredible 26 years’ service under his belt.

Joining the US Army’s Military Police cadets in 1996, Nic was quickly exposed to – and impressed by – the work of K-9. “I’d always loved dogs, but seeing what the guys did with them and how incredible they were, really captured my interest. I spoke to my superiors and they said that if I re-enlisted, I could go to K-9 school, so that’s what I did.”

In 2000, Nic began his life in K-9 at Fort Bragg and, following his graduation from K-9 school, was assigned his first duty station in Germany. “I was assigned to narcotics patrol dog, Fenky. She was 12 years-old but was so easy-going. I loved her. When she retired, she came to live with me and we spent a year taking care of her before she passed.”

The stability of life as a military K-9 handler was about to reimagined as 9/11 hit. “Being a peacetime K-9 handler meant that when we went to war, the shift in gear was marked.”

Peace Time is Over

Nic first deployed to Afghanistan in 2003 with the mandate to offer K-9 support to a unit of Navy SEALs. “It was a heck of a learning experience for a young Military Police handler. These guys work differently but once we got to work and spent six months together, we gelled.”

Nic charges that deployment with changing his whole career path. “I got a taste of working with the cool guys and doing some good stuff with some fantastic mentors”, Nic explains. However, on arriving home, any thoughts of joining Special Operations were put on hold when Nic was approached with a unique opportunity.

New Mission

The Specialized Search Dog (SSD) Program had been created in response to the threat of IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan, which were killing troops without prejudice, in their droves. The premise of the program was to train dogs off-leash, allowing them to search at distance ahead of units and alerting to the devices before they were able to cause harm.

Nic’s skills as a dog handler were about to be tested in a new way, as he was asked to join the program and help shape it from the ground up. “We were starting from a blank sheet. There were no lesson plans. Our orders were to figure it out. So that’s what we did.”

Early research had taken Army teams to England to observe the training of the British Army’s explosive detection dogs. The collaborative approach and shared learning between the two countries helped to shape the program and produce a pipeline of some of the most highly skilled and successful search dogs the US Military had ever seen.

“Setting up a program of that level of importance and magnitude was a huge personal learning experience. It was also a lot of work – and fraught with problems – but the end result was worth it.”

USASOC

In early 2005 – 18 months into his stint with the SSD program – Nic was contacted to try out for Special Operations.

“It meant we had to move from Texas to Fort Bragg, NC, within 40 days so I could join the next tranche of training. I don’t think anything can truly prepare a person for the rigors of elite force training. I spent a year on the combat skills course and a further three months of the specialist dog course, which was very different to what I was used to.”

The pace and intensity of the course offered Nic a whole new skillset that was peculiar to anything he had experienced before. “The dynamic pace and the level of difficulty was next level, but I gained a log of tactical knowledge – both of combat and of dog handling – from that orientation. What’s more, I absolutely loved it. No two days at work were the same and that really lit my fire.”

Nic was paired with MWD Mike for his first Afghan deployment with Special Operations. “Mike was one hell of a dog. He could be an ass at times but he was tough.” But Mike’s role with the team was short-lived and some behaviour issues while on missions meant that he needed to be moved into another team. This opened the door for Nic to pair up with a new dog – a partner that would prove to be his kindred.

Pero

The unit carried junior dogs that trained with them while on tour and Pero was part of the contingent. “We’d trained together a lot but when we lost Mike and I was paired with him, it didn’t take long for him to prove himself in a live situation.”

Nic recalls their first mission together being dangerous and frenetic, but Pero came through with lightning precision and dependability. “Under the cover of darkness, Pero engaged the enemy and fulfilled his duties like a pro. I think he felt good with his actions that night. It certainly provided some instant reassurance to me that we were effective together.”

When recalling the things that made Pero special, Nic pauses to articulate his thoughts. “He had a lot of combat highlights but one thing that really stood out was that the guys loved him. He bunked in with us and became extremely sociable. Pero loved laying on the couch and may have been treated to a steak or two on occasion.”

Nic describes Pero as a true force-multiplier. “He approached his tasks with reckless abandon and did whatever it took to get the job done. I witnessed him face down danger and run through fire like a superhero. He was magnificent.

“He made sure those guys made it home to their wives and kids and that made him a true member of the team. He wasn’t just a nose or a set of teeth. He was one of the guys.”

Pero completed five combat deployments with Nic in Special Operations. “There wasn’t much he hadn’t seen or done. He was an experienced fighter and I trusted him with my life – he sure as hell saved it on a countless occasions. There was never any question about what would happen to him when he retired – he was coming home with me.”

Although Pero had spent time in domestic settings while with the teams he served with, navigating home life could have proved a whole new challenge for him. “My daughters were nine and 12 when Pero first came home, so I introduced him to them while he wore a medical muzzle, just in case. But just as I had witnessed in combat, he was the most clear-headed dog I’d ever seen, able to tell the difference between good and bad. He immediately knew the girls and my wife were good guys, and that was that!”

Nic’s wife Kristen even had a Lhasa Apso – a tiny ball of fluff that bounded around the house gleefully. Pero and he made friends and Pero’s latent prey drive remained dormant. “When you see a dog perform the things that we asked of Pero, it’s incredible to see him adopt a soft, gentler pace of life. He didn’t miss the fight – he took to being a pet with such ease, it made my heart swell.”

He didn’t know for sure but Nic believes Pero was nine or ten when he retired. “He was an old war dog, but he came everywhere with us, from camping holidays to BBQs on the beach. Just as he had done during his career, he won hearts and became an integral member of the family.”

Three years into his retirement, Pero began showing signs of ill health. “He had started going blind and was slowing down with old age, but when he started struggling to get up and started falling down, which was most unlike him.” A trip to the vet confirmed that Pero had cancer in his spine, which left Nic with the most heart-breaking decision.

“The prognosis wasn’t good, and the vet was straight with me. Was I going to keep him alive for me, or do the right thing by him? I took some time and made a mental list of things I wanted to do for him before it was time to say goodbye.”

Nic arranged for his unit to get together with Pero. “We drank beer and whisky and shared war stories of the times Pero had saved us. He had a great send-off from the guys.”

Pero was Nic’s dog of a lifetime. “We were so close and had shared so much together – some of which we were lucky to have walked away from. Even today in my civilian career, I measure every dog to him, but he was a glorious anomaly.”

Transitioning

Nic was paired with a couple of other MWDs after Pero, before moving out of the dog program with a promotion. In April 2022, Nic retired from the US Army after 26 years – 16 of which were spent with Special Operations.

“My career spanned a 20-year war; I got to work with some incredible dogs and some of the best operators in the US Military. After transitioning away from K-9, I felt my time had come to a close and I was ready for a new challenge… one that involved dogs.”

Four days after retiring, Nic opened KILO III Consulting LLC- his own special operations dog training program, which has taken him around the globe. One of his latest roles was in Africa, where he has helped train the dog teams in their fight against the deadly animal poaching trade. “Working with dogs again has given me such a boost – I love bringing to life my Special Operations training for handlers in a variety of settings.

“My feet haven’t touched the ground since the day I retired, but when there are brief moments of quiet, I think of Pero and the years we spent together. He taught me so much and I hope he’s proud of where I’m at, wherever he is.”

US Marine Corps dog Bass awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal

Sun, 05 Feb 2023 16:12:12 GMT

Bass becomes the 75th recipient of ‘the animals’ VC’ for

his heroic actions in Afghanistan

A retired US Marine Corps dog has today become the 75 th recipient of the PDSA

Dickin Medal* - the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross.

The highest honour available for animals, Multi-Purpose Canine (MPC) Bass was

presented with the award for his bravery and life-saving devotion to duty after his six-

year service in the US Marine Special Operation Command (MARSOC).

Ten-year-old Bass was deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia during this time

where he conducted more than 350 explosive sweeps and 46 high-value missions.

But it was during a night-time, air-borne raid targeting a Taliban bomb-maker in May

2019 when Bass’ devotion to duty was truly shown.

While in active firefight with barricaded enemy fighters, Bass identified five explosive

devices, directly resulting in lives being saved.

The now-retired Belgian Malinois, who lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his former

handler, Staff Sergeant Alex Schnell, was presented his Medal today during a virtual

ceremony with Jan McLoughlin, Director General of leading vet charity PDSA. The

video of Bass’ story and presentation can be viewed at Bass's story PDSA .

Discussing the honour, Jan said: “Bass displayed conspicuous gallantry and

devotion to duty in aiding the success of his team’s mission that evening, his actions

undoubtedly prevented additional loss of life.

“That night, and Bass’ life-saving actions on multiple other occasions as an MPC,

make him a truly deserving recipient of the PDSA Dickin Medal.”

The world-renowned PDSA Dickin Medal was introduced by PDSA’s founder, Maria

Dickin CBE.

In 1917, Maria opened her first PDSA veterinary clinic, with the aim to ensure no pet

was denied veterinary because of their owner’s circumstances – a mission the

charity continues today.

By the start of WWII, PDSA had Pet Hospitals across the county and was helping

thousands of pets and their owners every year.

In 1943, after seeing the incredible difference animals were making in the war effort,

Maria awarded the first PDSA Dickin Medal, which she established to recognise

animals that display conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty in the field of military

conflict. Nearly 80 years later it remains the highest award any animal can receive.

Bass’s story

Born on 25 May 2012, Bass joined the US Marine Special Operation Command

alongside his handler Alex Schnell in 2014.

As an MPC, Bass brought many capabilities to the teams he served with, from

detecting explosive material to performing team protection through controlled

aggression and tracking the movements of target groups.

He was deployed four times during his service to three separate countries;

Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia where he conducted more than 350 explosive sweeps

and 46 missions to capture high-value targets.

It was 20 May 2019, while on deployment in Afghanistan, that the US Marine Special

Operation Team, accompanied by MPC Bass, conducted a night-time, airborne raid

to target a Taliban bomb-maker in Helmand Province.

As the team approached the target structure, hidden Taliban fighters unleashed a

barrage of small arms fire and detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). This

initial enemy contact killed two Afghan partners that were working as part of the

MARSOC team and suggested the presence of additional IEDs.

In order to avoid frontal assault against a barricaded enemy, the team began

clearance of a building adjacent to the enemy stronghold. To help them gain a safer

vantage point and a place to take care of their casualties.

Bass took the lead in the clearance and immediately identified an IED located

adjacent to the doorway of the building that the team intended to clear.

After finding another entry to the building, Bass continued to sweep the structure and

identified four additional IEDs.

These finds, while in an active firefight with barricaded enemy fighters, directly

resulted in American and Afghan lives being saved as the team worked through the

mine-laced area.

MPC Bass’ devotion to duty in identifying explosive devices, aiding the success of

the mission that evening, undoubtedly prevented additional loss of life.

Award Reaction

Reacting to the award Bass’ handler, Alex Schnell, said: “It is truly one of my

greatest honours to see Bass awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal. Bass is an incredible

dog and I hope his story helps to demonstrate just how important animals are to our

armed forces, and the key, sometimes life-saving, roles that they play. We are all

incredibly proud that PDSA has recognised Bass in this way.”

Bass was nominated for the award by former MARSOC K-9 program manager and

current president of Stateside non-profit, US War Dogs Association, Chris

Willingham. He said: “Bass and Alex made an incredible team and were amongst the

top five percent of Marines I had the honor of serving with. Bass’s service and skill

demonstrates the finest traditions of K-9 and I am thrilled to see his achievements

recognized with the PDSA Dickin Medal.”

The PDSA Dickin Medal is a large, bronze medallion bearing the words “For

Gallantry” and “We Also Serve” all within a laurel wreath. The ribbon is striped green,

dark brown and sky blue representing water, earth and air to symbolise the naval,

land and air forces. The Medal has been awarded 75 times to 38 dogs (including

Bass), 32 pigeons, 4 horses and 1 cat.

Retirement Life

“Bass has taken to retirement like a pro”, explains Alex, who adopted him in 2019

along with his wife, Maddie. “Bass comes everywhere with me and still manages to

turn heads wherever he goes. We’ve loved taking him hiking and camping and

spoiling him as much as possible during his well-deserved retirement.”

Bass also joined the US War Dogs Association when he retired – an organization

that supports retired MWDs and their handlers by providing free prescription drugs,

emergency and specialist veterinary care and a range of other services that support

both ends of the leash.

“It can be costly to adopt a retired MWD as they have worked so hard during their

careers, their bodies need some extra TLC”, explains Alex. “Owning an older dog

inevitably throws up some health challenges too, and Bass gave us quite a scare

recently when he collapsed in November 2022. We took him to the emergency vet

who said his spleen had ruptured, requiring life-saving surgery. The cause of the

rupture was a tumor, which was removed with the spleen and Bass has since been

having therapy to keep the cancer at bay.”

The cost of Bass’s treatment totalled over $8,000, which US War Dogs covered as

part of its Emergency Care Program. President Chris Willingham said: “We were

honored to help Bass out when he needed us – he’s a true hero and he deserves the

best care. We are proud to support over 1,200 retired MWDs like Bass, with practical

help that benefits their families and helps to alleviate some of the financial burden.

They gave their best years in service to our country so this is the least we can do to

repay the debt of gratitude we owe to them.”

The Ddamien Project

Sat, 17 Dec 2022 19:25:03 GMT

For DDamien

How the legacy of one legendary “devil dog” helped countless others at The Ddamien Project

The work of Krystal Tronboll and her husband Matt is widely known in the K-9 community. Their non-profit, The Ddamien Project, provides a loving home to dogs whose behaviour or health makes it impossible for them to be rehomed with previous handlers or civilian families. But what prompted the couple to take on this gruelling – and often – dangerous work? We spoke with Krystal about life on the ranch; her early years as a US Navy dog handler and the dog who started it all.

Krystal explains: “I had always been drawn to military service, particularly when 9/11 happened.” After spending her teens and early twenties working as a veterinary assistant and as a student to a local horse eventing trainer, her head was really turned when her brother – who was in the US Navy – told her about the military working dog program. “I couldn’t believe there were dogs in the Navy! I absolutely loved the idea of being a dog handler and I think at that point, I set my heart on the job.”

In 2006, Krystal found herself back at home with her mom and free to finally pursue her dream. “My brother took me to see a recruiter for the Navy and I left for bootcamp four days later. I was almost 27 years old.”

After starting Master-At-Arms “A” School (the Navy’s military police program) and waiting for her permanent duty assignment following graduation from bootcamp in February 2007, Krystal channelled everything into being selected for K-9. “I came up against a lot of resistance in the beginning. I was too old. I was a girl. I didn’t have what it takes. But I had my sights on K-9 and nothing else would do. Eventually, the program manager selected me personally to go forward to K-9 school – I don’t think I have ever been so happy!”

Problem Children

After graduating from K-9 school in July 2007, Krystal was stationed in Bahrain for her first taste of life as a dog handler. She was paired with her first partner – explosive patrol dog MWD Anna H273 but it was Krystal’s third MWD that would start to test out her mental fortitude when it came dogs with more complex issues.

Kira, the 50lb Belgian Malinois was a TSA washout and completely green to military training. She was known for being handler protective and having a bite record, which is why she had trained as a single purpose explosive detection dog.

“She loved biting above everything, so the theory was that – rather than indulging that side of her nature – we would avoid it altogether and focus solely on the explosive work.

“Kira also had some serious problems with authority – her obedience was almost non-existent. We had some work to do.”

Kira presented Krystal with some non-standard behaviours that weren’t taught out of Lackland. “I spent so much time with Kira, I started tuning into her and working more intuitively. She hadn’t received any bite training and had been discouraged to bite in general, but she loved playing with the bite tug and started realising that she would be paid with the tug if she did something good.

“I moved onto the bite sleeve and started doing some secret bite work with her. She absolutely loved it. Kira and I worked hard together and when I showed the instructors what she could do, they ended up putting her forward for dual certification – earning her patrol qualification.

“It was a proud moment for me”, explains Krystal. “One of the instructors asked how I had worked Kira and when I explained I’d just worked with my gut and bounced off her, they shared a package called Obedience Without Conflict, by Ivan Balabanov. It turned out I had started following the training without knowing it, so it was great to listen to the CDs and learn the latest techniques coming out of Lackland.”

Kira’s strength and stubbornness lit a spark in Krystal for working with so-called ‘problem’ dogs. “I have always been a pleaser and wanted to do well. In dog handling, that means following the steps and staying in your lane. But it felt good to use my own initiative to solve problems and work holistically.”

Krystal and Kira remained partners throughout Krystal’s two-year deployment in Bahrain, after which, she was stationed in CNRSW in San Diego, CA, where her talents as a master babysitter were utilised once more.

Double Duty

Word also spread to the veterinary team that Krystal had experience as a veterinary assistant, so she was often asked to step in and lend a hand. “I had some great experience with the vet team. They were fantastic teachers and I learned a lot. It also gave me chance to help out with some of the trickier clients.”

One dog, Tyson, was known for being big and dangerous. “He bit almost all of his handlers on the day he certified” recalls Krystal. “I would be asked to look after him for his handler and he was great for me. Tyson really hated the vet so I would lay him down and cover him with a towel so he couldn’t see the vet examine him – it worked a treat every time.

“I became the babysitter for the ‘problem children’. I guess you could say that at this point, I didn’t know to be afraid of them as they had never shown aggression towards me – that’s not to say that I didn’t maintain a healthy respect at all times.”

In August 2009, Krystal received her new assignment in San Diego, where she would join one of the busiest kennels in the whole of Navy K-9. Before she set to work, though, there was just enough time to take care of some very special personal business.

Love in the Desert

A popular mode of keeping in touch with friends, family and other service members while deployed was via the website Together We Serve, which is where Matt first contacted Krystal. “Matt was stationed on executive protection with 5th Fleet (NAVCENT) and had worked with my brother previously, so recognized my last name. We hit it off and started dating over in Bahrain. We belonged to different commands, so it was authorized.

When Krystal returned to the States in the summer of 2009, she and Matt tied the knot in Las Vegas. “I wanted to start my next duty station with my new name, so we made a quick stop in Vegas before moving into our new place in San Diego. I was ready to start our new life together and get to work at my next duty station.”

California Dreaming?

Krystal’s wish of getting stuck into her new assignment was to be granted immediately, as the kennel had taken receipt of 25 contractor dogs that needed a lot of work before they could start on certifying them.

Incredibly, 24 of the 25 former contractor dogs went on to certify with handlers – a fantastic result. The one dog that did not certify- MWD Bruce P033- would be adopted by Krystal and Matt, and several years later go on to earn his IPO1 schutzhund title.

Shortly after the success of the contractor dogs, Krystal suffered a horse riding injury that required knee surgery, which put pay to her dog handling duties for a while. In fact, Krystal spent her last year of military service as a vet technician for the Army in San Diego “I needed to rest the leg while I waited for surgery so running dogs was out of the question. Late in 2010, the Army veterinary clinic had run into a manning issue, so they asked if they could loan me while I was out of action as a handler. It gave me a great distraction as it was really difficult to be around the kennels but not to work my dog.

“It was priceless in terms of training and exposure to dogs with a variety of health and behaviour issues. I absolutely loved my time there and little did I know that it was equipping me for the life that was picked out for me.”

Krystal was a dab-hand with some of the vet-aggressive dogs and her expertise and training meant that some kennel residents could receive care right there in the kennel, which alleviated their stress and that of their worried handlers. It was in this role that Krystal would meet the dog that would eventually change the course of her life.

Namesake

Krystal recalls: “Ddamien was a legend, known as a psychotic asshole that hated everyone. So, when the time came to give him his Frontline, me and two other handlers on base played Rock/Paper/Scissors to decide who got the job.”

Krystal drew the short straw and got the task of meeting Ddamien head on with his topical flea treatment. “The other handlers went around to the other side of the kennel building, ready to call for backup if things broke bad.

“Using my best Disney voice and a cookie, I managed to hold Ddamien’s interest long enough to apply the treatment but the fear I had in that moment is something that would come back to haunt me when our paths crossed a little further down the road.”

The Woof Project

A spell volunteering for The Woof Project – a Belgian Malinois rescue in that operates across the West coast, would further hone Krystal’s talents with dogs that needed expert care and attention. It also provided a steep learning curve. “I had a sense that people looked at our MWDs with a sense of longing and that had led to some civilians taking on these dogs without understanding their complexities. I wanted to lend a hand and support the dogs that needed rehoming, so I started volunteering as a fostering assessor for dogs inside the shelter.”

The Devil Dog

In September 2010, while Krystal was working in the vet clinic, she got a call from her Navy captain, asking her is she would be willing to adopt Ddamien, known as the ‘devil dog of San Diego’. “This would be one of the first times that the Navy actively sought adoption for a dog with a bite history as colourful as Ddamien’s.

“I agreed immediately as this dog richly deserved a happy retirement.”

Ddamien, deployed eight times for his country from 2003-2009, including six deployments to Iraq. He was the first dog to be diagnosed with PTSD and had a stellar reputation as a patrol and explosive detector dog. “He deserves so much recognition that he received for his service. It brings tears to my eyes when I think about it. He left with me in the back of my truck in 2010 without any fanfare or fuss, which after six deployments, feels uncelebrated.”

Ddamien lived in a specially made kennel in the garage of their family home. “He came everywhere with me. He still hated everyone in the world but me – including Matt – which would often cause problems when I would fall asleep, cuddling up to Ddamien in his pen. Matt couldn’t get near me. Ddamien and I had a truly special bond and I always felt like I was in the presence of a legend.”

While caring for Ddamien, Krystal received another call from the Navy, asking if she would like to retire her former partner, Kira. Owing to her issues, Kira would face euthanasia. “There wasn’t a doubt in my mind what we would do. I set it up and she flew to us from Washington State.”

In quick succession, Krystal was contacted to take a handful of other problem dogs who couldn’t be retired with civilian families, including the two Barrys (MWD Barry and MWD Barri).

Krystal and Ddamien spent two years together before Ddamien passed away in 2012. “It hit hard. He was such a special dog, with all of his quirks. I will always be in awe of his service so when it was time to make our arrangement official, Ddamien was the only name I would choose.”

Making it Official

After four years of adopting dogs, a friend of Krystal’s registered The Ddamien Project as a 501(c) non-profit. “My friend had watched us take on these dogs and fund everything ourselves and believed that we were serving a purpose that was bigger than us.”

Krystal and Matt moved to a ten-acre ranch to make more space for the dogs, which enabled them to keep saying yes when the calls came in. And the calls kept coming. K-9 from all branches of service had gotten wind of Krystal’s reputation and set-up and dogs were being flown from across the country to retire to The Ddamien Project.

“Not every adoption has been straightforward”, explains Krystal, “but the tricky cases have paved the way for other dogs to enjoy a happy retirement on our ranch. Dogs with aggression issues, serious bite records, health concerns and behaviours that would prove problematic outside of the world we’ve built.”

Ddamien’s World

So just what is it about Krystal’s setup that allows these otherwise problem dogs to thrive in the environment she and Matt have created? “We don’t place any expectations on the dogs. We just let them be dogs. I spend a lot of time earning their trust. Tasty treats like steak, rotisserie chicken roast lamb are firm favorites. I spend at least a couple of months with each new resident, familiarising myself with them and making them feel at home.

“Matt doesn’t go near the dogs throughout that time, so the responsibility is on me to take care of their every need.”

Matt and Krystal are a real team, setting up the Project and running it together. “Matt has never been a dog handler”, comments Krystal, “and some of these dogs would prove tough for the most experienced handlers and trainers in the whole of K-9, so I am extra cautious. This is also why we don’t have any hired help or volunteers on the ranch.

“I’m careful with our safety and so far, that care has paid off. We’ve not lost a single dog to euthanasia over a behavioural issue, which is something we are really proud of.”

The dogs are given their own slice of heaven on the ranch. “We don’t train them or ask them to tolerate something they don’t wany to. If they don’t like other dogs, we keep them separate. If they love toys, we give them a bunch of their own to play with. This is their time to be who they want to be and often, that freedom brings out the absolute best in their personalities.”

The Ddamien Project has been home to 47 retired MWDs, CWDs and police dogs so far and there is no sign of slowing down. “We moved to Texas earlier this year to give the dogs and our other animals some more space and we’re constantly evolving and improving the facilities to give the dogs the absolute best time we can.

“We compile and tick off bucket lists for each dog and they get to try out doggy diving if they want to! We provide as much enrichment as possible for these retired heroes and so far, our formula seems to be working!”

US War Dogs Association has been supporting some of the residents at the project with our Rx and Specialized Care Programs but earlier this year, the board agreed a package of support for the retired MWDs at the ranch that would help cover further costs and incidentals associated with their care. “The support we’ve received from US War Dogs has alleviated a huge financial headache for us”, Krystal said. “I am the fundraiser, bookkeeper, social media manager and kennel hand, so not having to worry about finding some of the money it takes to cover our costs, was a godsend.”

Chris Willingham, president of US War Dogs Association, said: “The work that Krystal and Matt have done to bring this project to life for retired MWDs is nothing short of miraculous. Their dedication means that dogs who gave their best years in service to our country can retire in peace and with dignity. I am so proud that our organization can help out and we look forward to supporting The Ddamien Project’s efforts as they go from strength to strength.”

At the end of a long day of caring for 21 dogs at the project (not to mention the horses, chickens, guineas, donkeys, a bull calf, goats and emus), Krystal kicks back and thinks of Ddamien. “He was my dog of a lifetime. My everything. I am proud that we get to carry his name forward in this way. He really was a true war hero and that I got to be a part of his story is something I’ll treasure forever.”

Good boy, Ddamien. And way to go, The Ddamien Project.

Dr Stewart Hillard

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 16:47:15 GMT

Best Job in K-9?

US War Dogs chats to Dr Stewart Hilliard – founder of the Military Working Dog Breeding Program at Lackland Air Force Base - about what makes MWDs special, his best moments, and curly tails…

“To the uninitiated, it looks like I spend my days playing with puppies”, admits Dr Stewart ‘Doc’ Hilliard with a smile in his voice. An expert in breeding; a PhD in Psychology and a professional dog trainer, the unique characteristics of Doc’s resume make him the perfect candidate for his role at the 341st, heading up the puppy program that has produced about 1,700 puppies and perhaps 900 MWDs since its inception in 1998.

So how did Dr. Hilliard (known as “Doc” to one and all) gather the necessary skills and experience to fulfil one of the best jobs in K-9? “I was 20 when I started training dogs for a living. I was a purebred dog breeder too – my whole world revolved around working dogs.

“After ten years though, and at age 30, I decided to go to grad school to study for l a PhD in animal learning. My original plan was to become a university professor but by the time I graduated, the 341st was acquainted with me through an appearance I made at a DoD MWD Program Conference, and eventually Dr. Walter Burghardt, the visionary who proposed and “sold” the idea of a DoD breeding program for MWDs, asked me to come in to set up the program, as well as conduct research in Psychometrics and Psychophysics of MWDs.”

In 1998, the requirement for MWDs was increasing across all branches of service, so the DoD decided it would be a good idea to set up a breeding program that would decrease U.S. reliance on overseas purchase of dogs to fulfil its military needs.

From 1998 to 2004, Doc worked as a contractor in MWD research for the US Army, before being hired as a civil servant by the Air Force to play a role in MWD production at 341 TRS. “By this time, the program was up and running and the squadron wanted me to perform other MWD duties, but I stayed close to the puppies for the next several years.

“I can say that I have personally known very many of the puppies whelped through the program, and there have been about 1,700 of them altogether. I can recall their lineage too, in the sense that I can look at a pedigree and point out the individual dogs back through the years that I handled and knew and tell you what they were like as work dogs and sires and dams, “who” they were, if you know what I mean, which is pretty special.”

But did Dr Hilliard know what happened to the dogs once they left puppy school? “Once the puppies leave us, I admit I don’t have much exposure to the work of the dogs in the field. Important aspects of their work are in the realm of sensitive information that is reported back through channels and I may not ever see it.

“My most personal method of understanding what the dogs mean to our military is through the anecdotal stories I hear from service members. One guy I met in a civilian setting, told me how his life and limbs had been saved by an MWD who had detected an IED that would have blown up his entire team if they had advanced past the point at which the dog warned them.”

“I remember that guy thanked me for my service, which really took me back, as I’ve never taken the oath or served in the military, but I think what it confirmed for me is how much those dogs personally effected the lives and destinies of the men and women they worked alongside.”

The personal stories shared with Doc by service members, really left their mark on him. “I remember one instance when I was talking to a Vietnam War MWD handler who told me how his dog would alert the forward operating base to impending mortar attacks, which were a constant threat to the troops there.

“He explained how, during the many periods of inactivity in the base, that the guys would play poker and have the dog rest in a down/sit position next to them. If the dog broke the position and made for the bunkers, so would they. The dog could hear the Viet Cong mortar rounds sliding down the tubes out in the hills before anyone else heard a warning noise. That MWD was never formally trained for this specific task but, as the handler told me, ‘he only needed to be shot at once and then, like the rest of us, he immediately knew the score’.”

Stewart admits that although he is a trained scientist, there are some mysteries about dog behaviour and capabilities for which we currently have no satisfactory explanation. For instance, it is not unknown for an explosives MWD specifically trained to detect the raw chemical smells associated with explosives to save lives by giving warning of some neutral – but critically significant object or substance on the battlefield, such as a tripwire or trigger device at some distance from the explosive.

“Does the animal do that because that device is contaminated with the odor of the explosive at the end of the wire, or is there some other process at work? Perhaps more science and research is needed or maybe we need to admit that dogs will always defy some of our scientific attempts to understand what they can do, and who they are. Either way, after decades of working with these animals, I am still completely in awe of them. When MWDs do stuff like this, troops remember it because their lives and limbs are literally spared, but in a manner that is a bit mysterious to all of us.”

A Day in the Life

So, what does a typical day look like for the chief of the MWD breeding program? “Aside from the meetings and admin associated with the job, the main part of my day often centers around working with puppies in foster homes that range in age from seven weeks to 11 months. A lot of my time is spent with young dogs and to the untrained eye, young puppy training just looks like playtime, which – to the puppy – and sometimes to me too – it is!

“The work involves teaching them to be self-confident around ‘scary’ objects like vacuum cleaners and air compressors; to chase and retrieve toys like rubber Kongs, to search for those toys, to bite and play tug-of-war with jute and linen rags and sleeves, and to bark aggressively at a menacing and creepy human being. There’s a ton of activity going on and of course, it’s all done with the absolute maximum energy of a kid’s party, so there can be a real carnival atmosphere in the puppy training area, especially when the puppy is really good and brave – that really infects everyone with good spirits.”

The puppies, who are either Belgian Malinois or Dutch Shepherds or a mix of those and even other breeds, are bred for their working characteristics. “Our dogs aren’t registered; they don’t have formal pedigrees. They are generally not purebred dogs.

“Because these dogs have been selectively bred for at least a hundred years more for what they can do rather than what they look like, we see all sorts of weird and wonderful physical attributes that come through, from black coats (although it is technically impossible to have a black pedigree Malinois, because the breed standard says that a Malinois can be only red or sable or fawn) through tiger-striped brindle markings, to floppy ears and curly tails.

“These features aren’t important to the program, although the breeder in me always has some internal struggles. Curly tails are a great example of where we as a program really depart from formal Kennel Club breed standards. As an old-time purebred German Shepherd and Malinois breeder, I hate a curly tail and hate to breed with a dog with a curly tail. But when I see a dog with a rock-solid character with good health, from a good family, I have no choice but to use this dog in our breeding program when it is called for. My employees tease me about it, and I swear that if there are two good work dogs in a litter, and two pet dogs, the dogs with strong character will be those with curly tails. It seems to happen over and over again, sort of like my special curse.”

Golden Moments

After 24 years working at the 341st Training Squadron, what are Doc’s best moments? Aside from all the puppies, of course…

“For me, the payoff for all our hard work setting up the program came about six years in – around 2004. There had been a lot of skepticism about the breeding program but around that time, we started to get word that the trainers had become eager to get our dogs in their classes, even resorting to playing dirty tricks on other teams to get assigned breeding program dogs first. Nothing provided me with greater validation that we were succeeding in our mission, than that.”

In working dog breeding, litters that have a 100 per cent success rate are rare. “Many pups just aren’t made to be working dogs, they don’t have the genetics, and we expect substantial attrition when it comes to puppies who make it through to training and certification. But on those rare moments when you do see a whole litter pass through the program and out into the field, it’s a real cause for celebration. The first time we realized we had a 100% litter on our hands was another red-letter day.”

The dogs that don’t make final selection are often adopted by local civilian families to live their best lives as pets. The dogs experience foster homes to help them acclimate to the sights, sounds and smells of modern life and many of the fosterers are first in line to adopt the dogs if a life of military service isn’t for them.

Finally, Doc recalls a very special phone call he unexpectedly received from a trainer in the US Government working dog sphere, for whom he has the utmost respect for his experience and technical accomplishment. “He called me to say that he had run a series of advanced courses for established US Army MWDs in the field, in which the student dogs faced unprecedented challenges in terms of learning completely new skills under stress, and that our breeding program dogs were showing stronger character and passing at higher rates than those procured from vendors.

“I just called to say you must be doing something right, because from what I can tell those are some real nice dogs your program is turning out" he said.

“From one old dog guy to another, that was a huge compliment for me.”

Spirit Animal

“You can’t do this job without having a true regard, respect and attraction to these dogs, but there is a moment that happens in the first flushes of an exceptional dog’s young adulthood that always makes my breath catch: When you see a young, brave dog come into a strange room or situation with presence and really announce him- or herself through posture and attitude. When you realize that this animal you helped to produce is somebody: a force to be reckoned with. You feel like what you do is worthwhile and that you have something to be proud of, standing there in the room with you.

“In that moment, we all take a step back and realize that we’ve taken part in creating what seems like a small marvel—a vital, powerful, and sometimes very beautiful animal that is also a military asset of great price because it can perform missions that no other asset can. That moment is what really drives me, and I think all of us, from whelping technicians to fostering consultants to trainers, feel that same thrill.”

Of course, working with dogs evokes a personal association and relationship. “Just like with humans, you get along with some dogs more than others; you like some dogs better than others, and some dogs like you better than they do other people. But when a truly powerful dog – an animal beyond your capability to dominate or compel, feels a strong enough bond to you to voluntarily do as you ask, it can bring tears to your eyes.”

Dr Hilliard’s passion and insight into MWDs is infectious and inspiring. His experience and insight into what makes a capable and life-saving working dog, have been instrumental in helping to create a successful breeding program. “We breed these dogs for strength of character and body; resilience, spirit, courage, fortitude, persistence, and stoicism. And the irony is that to the degree that we succeed, we can also produce an animal that is challenging – even to experienced working dog trainers.

“The most magical thing is when such a dog chooses to obey our commands and give himself to us and put themselves into our hands.”

This is where Doc addresses head-on, the difficult ethics of loving dogs at the same time as we use them for our purposes, and even send them into harm’s way in our stead. “Even while we use MWDs as vital assets, it is our responsibility to respect, care for, and even to love these dogs; not for the human traits that we think we see in them – because that leads to misunderstanding – but instead, to revere and love them for what they are: Non-human animals and miracles of biology that do not share our understandings.

“We must love our brave dogs and strive to treat them as well as we can – not because they are like us, but precisely because they are nothing more than splendid animals, and how well we honor our obligation to them is the measure of us, not of them.

Amen to that, Doc. K-9 leads the way.

Update from Chris

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:33:56 GMT

What’s going on, K-9 family!

It’s been a busy summer for our incredible organization and as well as surviving the ferocious heat, our team has racked up some fantastic achievements to make sure we are providing the best possible support to the K-9 community.

A team of volunteers gathered at our Maryland headquarters early in August to prepare almost 200 care packages that were sent out to deployed dog teams across the world. We were also able to fulfil special gear requests to teams in Japan, Korea and the Middle East, which means that we’re not only taking care of both ends of the leash while teams are away serving our country, but US War Dogs is actively enhancing our K-9 capabilities, which makes me extremely proud.

As well as supporting our deployed K-9s, we have also signed up 60 new retired MWDs to our Rx Program since the start of the year – a number that will only grow as we spread the word about our mission to the K-9 community. You can help us do that by letting K-9 friends and colleagues know about us. We are here to help as many K-9s as we can and I am very proud to see our Rx numbers continue to grow. And to help us manage that growth is new US War Dogs care coordinator and former US Marine Corps dog handler, Kent Ferrell. We are thrilled to have you here and thank you for your service to our retired K-9s.

In the spirit of growing awareness of US War Dogs, we are thrilled to welcome on board our new social media manager, Kim Roberson. Not only is Kim an active duty K-9 trainer with the US Air Force, she is also a whizz online, creating our first ever TikTok account which already has over 3,000 followers and 19,000 ‘likes’. If you’re a Tiktoker, be sure to give @uswardogs_official a follow!

Providing help to more K-9s is at the heart of what drives US War Dogs, so the board and I were thrilled to confirm a package of financial support that will benefit retired MWDs at The Ddamien Project in Texas. Krystal and her husband Matt have spent the last decade taking in MWDs with life-limiting illnesses or behavioural issues that mean they can’t live a normal civilian life. This package of care will see US War Dogs support 12 retired MWDs on the ranch and help to relieve some of the burden on the non-profit. The passion and commitment of Krystal and Matt is unmatched and I am honored that US War Dogs can be a part of their story. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be introducing the dogs that we are supporting and I can guarantee, you will fall in love! Keep an eye on our socials for more.

July also saw Pet Supermarket’s fundraiser for US War Dogs. The month-long initiative encourage pet owners to purchase a branded bandana from one of the chain’s 300 stores. We are so lucky to have Pet Supermarket as a supporter and look forward to receiving the donation check later this month, which is being collected by War Dogs board member Alex Schnell and his retired multi-purpose canine, Bass. A huge thank you to everyone who supported the campaign and shared photos of your dogs sporting our bandana!

As a retired US Marine with 17 years in K-9, staying connected to this community gives me a huge amount of strength and satisfaction. On a trip to Texas for the National Support Dogs annual conference (where I was honored to be one of the keynote speakers), I took the chance to visit Lackland Air Force Base and the dog teams of the 341st military working dog training squadron. I spent a number of years as a young Marine Corps dog trainer at Lackland and it felt great to be back there to spread the word about US War Dogs. I even got to watch some of the teams in training.

I was also fortunate enough to reconnect with some of the active service members when I coordinated a week-long joint training package that saw four branches of military service come together to share skills and put the dogs through their paces with some cutting-edge training methods. To help deliver the training, I was joined by former Marines James Sabol and Sean Hemphill. James and I worked closely when we served together in the IMEF MWD Platoon at Camp Pendleton, CA and MARSOC. Former MARSOC dog handler Sean deployed five times in eight years with his multi-purpose canine, Ziggy. It was a pleasure to have two experienced professionals by my side and we all really enjoyed the coming together to train dogs again.

Finally, I would like to thank you for your continued support for our organization. By engaging with us and sharing our posts on social media to spreading the word about our mission within the K-9 community, you are helping us to reach more MWDs who need us and – vitally – supporting their owners and handlers too.

If you would like to make a financial contribution to our mission, you can do so via our website. Every donation directly helps to support active and retired MWDs and to raise the profile of K-9 to the public.

My sincerest thanks – we appreciate you more than you know.

K-9 leads the way!

Chris Willingham

President

US War Dogs Association

In Conversation With… Michigan War Dog Memorial’s Phil Weitlauf

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:20:33 GMT

In Conversation With… Michigan War Dog Memorial’s Phil Weitlauf

Our organization is supported and enhanced by a number of chapters that concentrate on and drive forward specific facets of our mission.

We spoke to Phil Weitlauf – founder and head of US War Dogs Association’s Chapter #4, Northern Midwest Region, the Michigan War Dog Memorial, about what drives their passion and some of the achievements that Phil has been most proud of.

The tale of the Michigan War Dog Memorial’s beginnings is like the plot of a movie. “I was told about an abandoned war dog memorial, buried deep in the scrub of thick woodland”, explains Phil Weitlauf – founder and custodian of the facility. “It piqued my interest, so I took my German Shepherd companion, Cody, to check it out.”

Wading through the thick brush, Cody and Phil – a US Army veteran – located the overgrown memorial, which, Phil later discovered, was established to honour Sgt Sparks – a US Marine Corps dog who served in four major campaigns during WWII. “The memorial was located in a pet cemetery, that was originally set up in 1936 but had fallen into disrepair in the 80s. When Cody and I found it, I heard myself uttering those classic words: ‘someone should do something about this’. The feeling nagged at me to the point where I knew that ‘someone’ was me.”

Phil, who had just retired from his corporate job, decided to clean up the memorial and surrounding area so that people could enjoy and remember once more. I put a call out to my veteran buddies, K-9 supporters and other local volunteers and when 55 people showed up, I thought, ‘we’ve really got something here’.

Written in the Stars

Phil set about reactivating the site for burials and as a place where people could come and pay their respects to military working dogs and police dogs – both of whom would be granted burial rights inside the cemetery.

The clean-up of the two-acre site took two years and with each passing task – whether it was asking for physical or financial help, reactivating the legal use of the cemetery or changing the name – Phil couldn’t help but feel his crossing paths with the cemetery was meant to be. Phil recalls: “It’s like the fire was waiting to be lit on getting this thing going again. All I had to do was strike the match. It really was the most delightful domino effect as the more people I spoke to about the memorial, the more support we got.”

In 2013, the Michigan War Dog Memorial staged its first ever interment for TSA dog Buddy. “We had a vision for how the ceremonies would be conducted and as the first one, Buddy’s service was beautiful. We had bagpipers escort the family into the cemetery and the service featured a prayer from a retired Air Force chaplain Col. Mindy Albright, as well a personal tribute from Buddy’s adoptive owner in retirement, Tracy Sprader.

“Buddy’s ceremony set the stage for how this thing was going to go. We now needed to raise awareness of our presence and let people know that their dogs could be interred here and buried with full honors, which would all be offered at no cost to the handler or adoptive family.”

Pomp and Ceremony

The level of thought and detail that goes into a single interment for a dog is mind-blowing. Phil and his team think of every detail to make the day a perfect tribute and a moment to remember.

Veteran Service Organizations including Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Veterans Association stage an honor guard, which is led into the cemetery by a band of bagpipers. The handler or adoptive family then follow with the remains of the dog, along with a procession of 12 German shepherds.

A table of honor is set up on a specially erected stage and Phil takes the lead in opening the ceremony, which is often recorded. “We create an order of service with details of the dog’s career and life, along with pictures of the dog, supplied by the family."

Phil explains: “Following the invocation by our retired Air Force chaplain Col. Mindy Albright, the handler or owner is invited to say a few words about the dog’s life and service, which is often very emotional. Once they return to their seat, they are presented with a folded American flag and a sketch of their dog, created by a volunteer artist on our team.

“We then play taps and the pipers play Amazing Grace, which takes on a celestial tone as the sound rises into the trees.

“One of our band of German shepherds that process into the ceremony has been trained to howl on command for 20 seconds: a K-9 salute to their fallen comrade. Finally, we have the missing dog formation, where the K-9 salute team members process out of the cemetery and while they are doing this, one dog team breaks away from the formation to leave a gap that represents our fallen K-9.”

With over 57 dogs having received interments at MWDM, there are countless experiences and testimonials of the power of the format and the solemnity of the event. US War Dogs president, Chris Willingham, attended the interment of his US Marine Corps specialized search dog, Lucca, in 2021.

Chris said: “Phil reached out to me after Lucca died in 2018 but I wasn’t ready to go through the ceremony. After a couple of years though, it felt like the right time to give Lucca the burial she deserved. Being on the receiving end of the intricacies and details of a MWDM service was truly humbling and was an experience I will never forget. I was fortunate to share the occasion with Lucca’s second handler, Juan Rodriguez. We both shed some tears for her again that day.”

Vietnam

With the stage set and the mission laid out for MWDM, Phil set up a committee and began setting annual goals for what they wanted to achieve. “A great team is key”, says Phil. “Our committee helps share the load when it comes to planning the interments and fundraising for key projects, such as key memorials to honor dogs in specific conflicts. The first specific memorial I wanted to have dedicated on the site was for all the dogs that served in Vietnam.”

With 4,238 dogs deploying to Vietnam and only 204 that returned to US soil following the conflict, the role of dogs in the Vietnam conflict has long been a source of tremendous grief for the handlers who worked alongside them and the dog-loving Americans who railed against policy decisions not to bring them home. “The heart-breaking decision was given to dog handlers to either surrender their dogs to the South Vietnamese Army or to have the dogs euthanized. Most chose the latter.”

It became of paramount importance to Phil to record the name and tattoo number of every dog that served in Vietnam. “Two years into it and I still hadn’t gathered all the names, then a contact introduced me to John Burnham – acclaimed author and the man behind the Guardians of America’s Freedom monument outside Lackland Air Force Base. Within a couple of hours of speaking to John, I had all the names and tattoo numbers in my inbox. It was incredible.”

Phil had an idea of how he wanted the monument to look. “Like the Vietnam memorial in D.C, I saw a black granite wall with the names of all the dogs inscribed onto it. I spoke to a fabricator in Lebanon, OH, who made a computer drawing that matched my thoughts to the letter. He calculated the size of the wall, now we had all four thousand-plus names and, with the application of some generous discount, he also calculated the cost.”

Phil made an arrangement to pay the fabricator piecemeal, with whatever he had managed to raise of the $40,000 total. “We raised $8,000 in the first three months”, notes Phil, “but we still had a long way to go.”

That was until Phil received a phone call from a Vietnam dog handler who had heard about the project. “My dog was Dawn. Will she be on it?”

“Yes sir”, I said with fervour in my voice.

“In that case, I’d like to make a donation.”

The gentleman wrote a check for $20,000. “That’s how much it meant to him, for us to do this. It was yet another nod of approval for what we were doing – it gave us a real boost to keep going.”

The Vietnam K-9 Memorial Wall gave rise for the first opportunity for Phil to reach out to US War Dogs Association. “I contacted president Ron Aeillo in 2016 to explain what we were doing and invite him to speak at the dedication. Not only did he agree, but he also donated the remaining $12,000 to cover the rest of the monument costs. We were absolutely made up.”

Ron and John Burnham came to the unveiling ceremony of the memorial in 2017, which was also attended by 40 former Vietnam dog handlers.

“Ron and John unveiled the monument, which was covered with a parachute silk. Once the wall was exposed, I put out the call: ‘Alright guys, go find your dog.’

“The fellas stayed at that wall for two hours. I think it helped them to have closure with their K-9 companions. The bond and love they have with their battle buddy never died. It really was very special.”

Phil credits Ron Aeillo and John Burnham for bringing the knowledge and background to the table to help make the memorial a real success. “I’ve never been a dog handler, so their insights were absolutely invaluable. To this day, that memorial means so much to those veterans and their families. I am hugely proud of what we achieved with the Vietnam Memorial and the legacy it has created for a whole generation of dog handlers.”

Levelling Up

Following the Vietnam Memorial dedication, Ron made Phil an offer he couldn’t refuse. “While we were at the dedication, Ron handed me a check for $10,000 to help us to continue our vital work. It instantly took the pressure off us as far as immediate fundraising needs and allowed us to plan for the future.

“Not only that, but Ron also offered for MWDM to become an official chapter of US War Dogs, meaning that we would maintain our own status but receive regular financial support from the organization.”

Memorable Memorials

With over 57 dogs so far having received individual interments inside the cemetery, there have been countless special moments shared inside the gates of the Michigan War Dog Memorial. But can Phil pinpoint some of his most memorable moments?

“One interment that really sticks out for me was that of MWD Cena, a US Marine explosive detection dog. He was a beautiful black Labrador who enjoyed three incredible years in retirement with his handler before receiving a bone cancer diagnosis.

“The handler wanted his dog to feel the wind in his face one more time, so rented a Jeep and drove the three hours from his home to the Navy Museum in Michigan, where a veterinarian was waiting to put the dog to sleep. What was incredible was that a convoy of 80 ‘Jeepers’, adorned in American flags, escorted dog and handler cross country to the Museum, with a second convoy taking Cena and his handler to the cemetery, where 450 people gathered for the burial.

“It was a huge moment of solidarity in grief and grateful thanks to Cena’s service, which was picked up by national news outlets. It was a very special moment.”

Enduring Pride

Reflecting on the last ten years of achievements, Phil reflects: “I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to honor these dogs in this way. It’s the little moments when handlers come and give me a hearty embrace of gratitude for what we have done to remember their dog – it means the world. This work makes me complete and I feel so lucky to have found this path. We have created the Arlington for dogs and it still takes my breath away, what we’ve managed to achieve with the support and help of so many passionate and dedicated people.”

But how does Phil cope with the heavy burden of grief and sadness? “An air of professionalism takes over, much like – I suspect – how funeral directors deal with the business of human death. There are times that the professional face slips, though.

“After I lost Cody, we were conducting an interment and I had a ‘Cody wave’ and I lost my breath. I had to step away. But succumbing to the emotion of losing our K-9 friends is nothing new. Big, bold, Marine guys break down during the services – such is the weight of the emotion and the solemnity of the occasion.

“Around 150 people often attend the interments – all of whom are quiet and dignified. They really add something special to the occasion, coming out to share the moment with the family and handlers of the dogs’ ‘final hour’.”

Future-Proof

Phil’s diligence and hard work to bring the MWDM to life has been nothing short of awe-inspiring, but the aspirations for the cemetery and its mission show no signs of slowing down. “We will continue with full steam, to honor military and law enforcement K-9s at the cemetery, but as we look to the future, we have to be smart about our activity to make sure we can continue.

“We are now looking into fitting a columbarium which will house 96 compartments, to provide a final resting place to dogs. We also want to expand our scope to include therapy, search and rescue and assistance dogs – all of whom provide priceless devotion and service to their owners and to their community.”

Phil is all-to aware of his own time limitations. “I’m not getting any younger, so succession planning is a key part of my work for the next period of time. Finding someone to carry on this mission will be difficult but I believe there is someone out there who is right for the task.”

In the meantime for Phil, though, it’s business as usual. “We are always looking ahead to our next ceremony.

“So long as there are dogs for us to honor, we will keep doing what we do with pride.”

Alex and Bass

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 15:06:00 GMT

In Conversation With…

Former MARSOC multi-purpose canine handler Alex Schnell

The Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC) represents one of the most elite fighting forces in the US military. Made up of specially trained, highly skilled Marines, MARSOC’s deployment cycles are of the most intense and dangerous in the world.

Dog handlers assigned to MARSOC not only bring with them the unique capabilities of K-9, they also train to the highest standards – matching the operators they work alongside to create some of the most efficient teams in existence.

US War Dogs board member and former MARSOC dog handler, Alex Schnell, opens up about his career with the elite force at one of the most frenetic and pivotal moments in the Command’s history and how his experiences have shaped how he spends his time as a civilian.

Military Heritage

Alex Schnell of Rapid City, South Dakota was the third generation in his family to choose a life of military service. “My dad was a Marine and my grandfather joined the US Army and fought in WWII”, recalls Alex. “I guess I always knew that a military career awaited me and as I came of an age where joining was possible, we were in a state of war, so there was a sense of urgency personally to do something to help.”

Alex joined in the spring of 2012 at the age of 19. “My older brother was a dog handler and that idea really piqued my interest. I enlisted with the aim of being a dog handler but there are never guarantees that your wishes will be granted.”

Alex joined the Marine Corps and attended Military Police School. “After my initial training, three spots opened up in the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF ) – the law enforcement battalion of the Marine Corps K-9 program. I was top of my MP class and had the physical attributes needed to be selected. My older brother was a senior handler in the unit and was able to get myself and two classmates a shot at joining the unit. Once we checked in, I had to perform to their high standards to make it.”

Alex completed the basic handlers’ course and spent six months in on-the-job training but there was no time to enjoy the seemingly carefree days of being student. “The unit had just returned from their rotation to Afghanistan where fellow dog handler, Joshua Ashley, had been killed and two Marines received the Purple Heart. It added a sense of seriousness to every training problem. We were training to fight. It was always in the back of my mind that I will be leading patrols soon.

“You grow up quickly in that environment. Some of the Marines that saw combat during that deployment had only been in the job a few months before they deployed and hearing what happened to Josh and the guys highlighted that the worst could happen to any of us. That hits different.”

After completing K-9 School, Alex was selected for the Specialized Search Dog (SSD) program, where he spent six months in training. “As I was completing SSD school, I started evaluating my options and heard about the multi-purpose canine (MPC) program with MARSOC. It was a voluntary post so I applied for a physical fitness test, practical application with one of their dogs, and an interview with the Program Manager and Master Trainer.”

MARSOC – A Living Legacy

MARSOC formed at Camp LeJeune in 2006 with the mission to recruit, train, sustain and deploy scalable, expeditionary forces worldwide to accomplish special operations missions assigned by the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).

MARSOC teams adopted the mantle of ‘Marine Raiders’ in 2015 in a nod to the Raiders in WWII, trained to make amphibious assaults. Marine Raiders are highly trained to execute complex, distributed operations in uncertain environments, achieving silent success and strategic impact.

K-9 capabilities were added into the MARSOC mix in 2007, when the first assets and program manager was placed in post, kickstarting the multi-purpose canine (MPC) program. The first MPC course was conducted in 2008, with the graduate MPC dog teams deploying in 2009.

Here I am, Send Me

Joining MARSOC as an MPC dog handler is a voluntary decision for Marines, who enlist on a five-year rotation that sees them train for six months, then deploy for six months.

Alex said: “Learning about the spot in MARSOC, it just felt right to me. Training in additional K-9 capabilities that would aid the fight and aid my usefulness was something I was very excited about.”

Before Alex began the robust initial MPC training which included an additional 15-week basic handlers’ course where he was introduced to his new dog – Ziggy. “We travelled around the US, learning all the additional skills that MPC handlers needed, from repelling; close-quarter combat and helicopter insertion and extraction. For a young man with a love of K-9 and a thirst to learn, I was literally living the dream.”

Alex was off to a flying start with Ziggy – a 55lb Belgian Malinois with an incredible drive. “Ziggy and I had a good thing going but another MPC returned from Afghanistan in December 2014 and was in need of a new handler. My master trainer felt that we would make a better pairing – that dog was Bass.”

Bass – a statuesque and striking Belgian Malinois – captured Alex’s attention straight away. “He had some serious stage presence and the most piercing eyes I had ever seen – they had a kind of predatory quality to them. But Bass was more than just a looker. Anyone that locks eyes with his intense stare can sense his intellect and see that Bass is no ordinary animal. We started training together and our bond formed quickly. I could tell he was going to be special.”

To galvanise their bond, MPCs and their handlers spent almost every waking minute together. “Bass came everywhere with me. Our first training together was the basic handlers’ course in March 2015 in Indiana and my first impressions of his intelligence were confirmed. It wasn’t just his intellect that impressed me.

“Bass has always had a human-like ability to understand complex situations and feed off of the emotions from myself and members of his team. Bass was always a puppy at heart - trying to play with the team members’ personal belongings, attempting to bait someone into a tug-of-war challenge with his toy, and having no awareness of how strong and destructive his tail was.

“The minute it was time to work, though, Bass’s body language and personality would change. Before missions, the team members would don body armor vests and check weapons and communication equipment while Bass would lay by the door, fully alert with ears forward, watching every move we made, giving the occasional soft whine to make sure we knew he was ready and that we wouldn’t forget him.

“I’ll always remember that being the place where our bond really grew. I knew this dog would go into the fight with me and that I could trust him with my life. That’s a big feeling.”

A week after graduating from MARSOC’s handlers’ course, Alex and Bass were paired with their new team of operators and would spend six months training with them before going on their first deployment. “It was a little intimidating at first. I had never deployed before and some of these guys had six tours under their belt. It made me want to be the best I could be for them. They were extremely professional and so capable at everything. They respected a good work ethic and they could see I wanted to be an asset to the team, so we gelled really quickly.

Six months of training and bonding as a unit has a profound impact on the capabilities of the MARSOC teams. And have a K-9 team integrated at this point deepens their collective understanding of one another and the skills each man (and dog) brings to the fight. US War Dogs president and former MARSOC K-9 program manager, Chris Willingham, explains: “This format elevates the standard tenfold. Traditionally, K-9 teams are lone rangers, attaching to deployed teams and earning trust on the job. With MARSOC, the dog team is integral, creating a truly cohesive unit that is unmatched in its effectiveness.”

Virgin Tour

“I had joined four years earlier”, recalls Alex when he describes his first tour. “I was raring to go.” Alex and Bass landed in Iraq in January 2016 and once they had acclimatised, they found their stride quickly. “We had trained so hard that it made the deployment easy. The saying goes that the more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle and that was entirely accurate for us.

“Of course, there were some cultural shocks, but the training really prepared us. We handled business and Bass showed his worth to the team. That was a special feeling.”

During that first deployment to Northern Iraq, Bass conducted over 350 explosive detection sweeps, many of which were of forward-stated positions where the MARSOC team had determined to conduct offensive operations against ISIS forces. Bass would search the entire area and any buildings for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and would often lead the team into ISIS-controlled territory to recover downs unmanned aerial systems (UAS). “The team would not attempt recovery of this equipment without Bass leading the movement”, Alex recalls.

During one mission, Alex and Bass were attached to a mortar gunner position at a remote outpost, to support a major offensive operation against ISIS. At one point, they began taking accurate, sustained indirect fire from ISIS mortars and small artillery, within 30 meters of their position. With dirt, debris and fragments falling around them, they had to break down their weapon system and move to a new location – all with fire still landing in their vicinity. In the melee, Bass had to search out a new location for the mortar gunner, which he completed successfully, allowing the weapon system to be moved and the team to return fire, eliminating the threat.

“It was an intense, frenetic situation but Bass handled it like a pro. It was one of the hundreds of occasions where he would provide life-saving support and act as a true force multiplier.”

On returning from Iraq in July 2016, the original plan for Alex and Bass was to stay with their team and train for 12 months before deploying again. “There was a blip and the plan changed” explains Alex. “Bass and I were moved to work with another team, where we would train for seven months before deploying to Somalia.” But as their training was in full swing, tragedy struck MARSOC when a the KC-130 flight to a training exercise ended in disaster. The Yankee 72 crash in Mississippi killed seven Marine Raiders. “The Marines were all from my first company, one of which was on my previous team and some I had known for years.”

Alex and Bass were on a training package when Alex heard the news. “It was almost too much to process and you really don’t have the time to deal with the grief. I was only able to attend one of their funerals. The mentality is to get back to the fight and keep your head down. The mission drives you forward and you really don’t have time to heal that way. You don’t deal with any of it and it festers inside you.”

Just four months after the tragedy, Alex and Bass would deploy again and be faced with yet more dangerous and frenetic warfare as they tackled Islamic extremists and the tyranny they were causing in the country.

During the six-month tour of Somalia, the dog team conducted 16 raids targeting high value individuals in the violent extremist organizations operating in the region.

“Every mission included ground movement in vehicles – often six to ten hours from our base. The rigid, uncomfortable tactical vehicles were less than homely for such journeys, especially as Bass and I would ride in the bed of the trucks for speed of employment to search danger areas along our route. Bass would lay on a thin mat and was constantly bounced from side to side; stuck with thorns from branches that broke off into the bed and covered in a heavy layer of red dust, kicked up from the vehicles in front of us.

“Most dogs – and people, for that matter – would be so exhausted and upset by the time we arrived, they would struggle to do their job. Bass’s resilience and mental toughness were obvious when he would perform to his usual gold standard, once we arrived at the objective area.”

During one mission and under cover of darkness, the vehicle Alex and Bass were travelling in began taking small arms fire as they approached their objective. “An armed fighter fled the building in our objective area, heading to an open field, while continuing to fire in our direction. We pursued him and as we got closer, we engaged and wounded the fighter. Once we knew he was wounded – but still armed – Bass was called up. I targeted Bass on the area, where he located the individual in the darkness and was able to bite and hold him until the team members were able to get to him.”

During their deployment in Somalia, the partner nation force that the MARSOC team was training, conducted a critical and lifesaving operation that liberated 30 local children who had been kidnapped by the Islamic extremist group, Al Shabaab. The unit was able to facilitate the safe extraction and return of all the children.

“That day really stood out for me”, notes Alex. “It certainly wasn’t an average day but was extremely rewarding to do something that provided such immediate help and care to those children and their families. It was also a stark reminder of the depths of evil the enemy would sink to, which drove us all on to continue the mission.”

Upon returning to the US from Somalia, Alex and Bass were assigned to a new MARSOC team when a unique mission presented itself. It was to be their most dangerous and kinetic deployment yet and, with six months to train with their new team, Alex new they had to be laser-focussed on what was to come.

Bronze Star

Alex and Bass deployed with their MARSOC team to Afghanistan in January 2019, with the remit of taking down strategic Taliban leadership. “At this point in our career Bass had already made a reputation for himself through his proven experience on his previous deployments. Bass and I had already seen combat together and I knew how he reacted in stressful situations, but I had no idea how much of an impact he was going to have on me and the entire team during this deployment.” //

All 34 missions undertaken by the team on this tour were night-time helicopter insertions. “It was legitimately special operations, encompassing everything we had trained for”, recalls Alex. But even as they entered the country, Alex knew this deployment was going to be different.

The team were based in a small camp outside a major city in the south of the country. “Everything was concrete or gravel and security was top priority, 24/7. These conditions made it impossible for me to keep up with Bass’s training, as finding areas to bury explosive training aids to replicate realistic threats was almost impossible.

“It also made bite training and physical conditioning difficult because Bass’s paws would get torn up on the concrete and rocky terrain. The fact that we couldn’t maintain Bass’s proficiency with regular training drills speaks to his caliber as an elite dog, as his skill and attention to detail never once wavered.”

The majority of the missions were crammed into pockets of time in the month when the night sky was at its darkest, giving the team their optimum element of surprise. Consecutive nights of work meant rest was near non-existent, leaving the team physically exhausted. “Bass also had his own unique set of challenges to face during these night operations. Our night vision equipment allowed us to manoeuvre almost seamlessly in the pitch darkness whereas Bass had to rely on his natural night vision, which was pretty limited in that level of darkness.

“For the majority of each mission Bass was also attached to my hip by a short tether to his collar. He strictly reacted to my movement and stayed by my side, trusting every step I led him on until he was sent out front to work. During many of these missions, kinetic action took place whether it was gunfire, explosions, demolition charges, or rockets. I want to really stress this part about Bass because it wasn’t until after many of these missions had occurred that I realized this: it takes an absolutely incredible animal to be tethered by a short lead to the neck and follow his handler around in the pitch dark while gunfire and explosions are happening all around him, with no context to understand what is happening. Even through the most stressful and confusing situations Bass never disrupted my movements by trying to get away in fear but remained steadfast at my side, almost as if he and I were one as we manoeuvred around the battlefield.

“Along with his discipline and obedience being unmatched, the second I reached down to unclip him and give a command, Bass would immediately begin the task with no hesitation.”

In April 2019, the team left for a routine mission to locate members of Taliban leadership within a remote village in the mountains. “We were told there might be two or three bad guys up there. On approach to the first of seven buildings in this village compound, we immediately took fire.”

The team were engaged in fierce fighting for over four hours – all the time with Bass on his short hip leash, following Alex and deploying to detect several hundred pounds of munitions and explosives when required to.

“The last building in the compound was the biggest struggle. One of our partner nation forces operators was killed by small arms fire as they attempted to enter the building. We moved forward to recover the casualties and I sent Bass ahead to clear the way for the team, who successfully eliminated all seven enemy fighters who were barricaded inside.

“We had been expecting less than a handful of enemy that night but 14 were killed in action.”

“Throughout this fraught and dangerous situation, Bass remained steadfast and unflappable in the chaos. Alex recalls: “He was an extension of my body during these missions. The first time we took contact from the enemy fighters that night there was no time to give Bass obedience commands or control his movements. As I manoeuvred around the battlefield, Bass reacted with me, feeding off my emotions and patiently waiting for me to call him to work.

“Towards the end of the mission Bass and I were holding security on the doorway of a building where we knew an unknown number of armed, enemy fighters were inside. Other members of the team were using demolition and grenades to mitigate the threat as much as they could before we would have to go inside.

“I still remember hearing the order over the radio for me to “get Bass inside and clear the building.” In the most dangerous mission, at the most dangerous time, who did the commander call for? Bass.

“To be honest, that entire night I was pretty scared, but it was easy to overcome that fear because I knew that I was going in with Bass and the rest of my team behind me. Once I gave Bass the command he took off like a rocket, straight inside the building, with me attempting to keep up. There were seven enemy fighters inside. Bass had bit one and was holding him as the rest of the team entered and were able to safely eliminate the threats.

“I truly believe that without Bass entering first, an American would have been injured, and that American would have most likely been me.”

Staff Sergeant Alex Schnell was awarded the Bronze Star for his actions during that mission and Bass has been formally recognized with the Animals in War and Peace Medal of Bravery, for his career of courageous service.

Once Alex returned from Afghanistan in July 2019, he looked ahead to completing his time with MARSOC and leaving the Marine Corps for life as a civilian. “I officially adopted Bass the week before I left in October 2019”, says Alex. “Bass did four deployments and was seven years old when he retired from military service. He had worked so hard – I was committed to making sure my brother in arms would be a very spoilt son at home.”

Home Depot

Alex accepted a job as a civilian trainer at Lackland Air Force Base so he and Bass, along with his wife Maddie, moved to Texas. “I tried out a couple of different roles, training MWDs at Lackland and working with TSA dogs too. I decided to take the leap and set up my own business, training pets and helping owners to troubleshoot some common but fixable issues with their K-9s.”

Ivy League K-9 Academy has become Alex’s new day job, but Bass continues to play an active role. “He is so calm and confident that we can rely on Bass to be a distraction dog for our dog ‘students’ who are dog reactive or have some socialization problems. It’s cool to take Bass to Home Depot instead of riding on the back of an armoured vehicle. It’s a huge shift for both of us but we are adjusting well to ‘normal’ life.”

As with so many veterans though, Alex recognises the struggles of adjusting to normality and the overwhelm of being faced with demons that were easier to stuff down when the mission was the focus. “I have found huge comfort and strength in giving back to the military community through working with two non-profits who support veterans and MWDS.”

Alex helps to run non-profit, Talons Reach Foundation , with former MARSOC operator and Navy Cross recipient, Nick Jones and three other special operators. Talon’s Reach aims to support ex-special forces operators to deal with the huge emotional and mental challenges that come with life with an elite fighting force.

“Part of the mission is highlighting that it’s ok to show vulnerability and to seek help. A lot of guys turn to alcohol but it’s just a mask. Family supports you, of course, but that ‘head down – keep going’ mentality is widespread within the military, particularly the special forces branches. It’s when people step away from the military life that it hits… that’s why there are 22 veteran suicides a day in the US.”

The organization takes small groups of former operators on retreats where they learn a range of therapies and classes to shed light on how the brain reacts to trauma and the operator’s lifestyle. “We use art therapy, breathing techniques and yoga to help the guys (or ‘eagles’) to tune into their bodies and minds. It feels great to support this community and do something to turn the horrific tide of veteran suicides and give individuals control of their lives again.”

Alex also sits on the board for US War Dogs Association. “I received care packages from War Dogs while I was deployed and when Chris Willingham asked me to be a part of the team, I was truly honored. Supporting the K-9 community gives us all a real buzz and it has really helped my transition out of military life to stay connected in this way.”

His constant companion throughout everything is of course, Bass. “Our shared experiences and the bond we have is difficult to put into words but he definitely helps me through any low moments. Looking back on our active duty together, there is no way to say for sure how a situation would have resolved if Bass hadn’t been there, but I can say with 100 per cent certainty I would not have been able to react as confidently and courageously without him at my side.

“That fact is as true today as it was, entering the fight. It was him and me and that’s how I like it.”

War Dog Store

Sun, 19 Jun 2022 01:37:05 GMT

War Dogs Store

We’ve had a fantastic response to the launch of our exclusive War Dogs Store – the only place you can buy epic War Dogs swag and support our phenomenal cause.

We are seeing plenty of orders come through and we’re excited to see photos of as the orders are shipped out! Be sure to tag us in so we can see you in all your War Dogs glory!

If you haven’t had a look yet, get yourself onto the store now for some retail therapy: https://uswardogsstore.org/

Meet Our Veterinary Partner – Red Bank

Sun, 19 Jun 2022 01:28:48 GMT

Meet Our Veterinary Partner – Red Bank

US War Dogs’ Specialized Care Program has helped scores of retired MWDs to receive life-saving care through our partner veterinary hospital, Red Bank. Not only does Red Bank provide their expertise free of charge to all US War Dogs clients who meet the criteria for the program, but their team is passionately committed to supporting retired military K-9s.

This article shines a spotlight on this incredible organization that we are so lucky to have as our partner and meets some of the members of staff on the ground that help to deliver this program to our retired MWDs.

War Dogs – In the Beginning

When US War Dogs was established in 2000, the mission was clear: to raise money for a permanent memorial that would raise the status of K-9 with the public and honor the service of dog teams past, present and future.

But as the US went to war following the unspeakable events of September 11, 2001, K-9 was called upon for a new and ever-diversifying mission. A mission that deserved the unending support of US War Dogs. Support for dog teams deploying to the Middle East was swiftly mobilized, with the sending of care packages that provided vital kit and a taste of home to the young handlers and their dogs.

As the war raged on, dog teams returned home and dogs were retiring out of military service, battle worn and tired, just like their handlers. But with no access to health services from the VA or the DoD, the handlers and adoptive families of these K-9 war heroes were bearing the financial burden of taking care of MWDs who had seen conflict. Following conversations with handlers and kennel masters about the plight of retired MWDs, US War Dogs began new programs to support these heroes.

The Rx Program was launched to cover the costs of prescription medication for any retired MWD who had been assigned a permanent duty station. Other programs followed, but one of the most significant came on Veterans Day in 2014, when US War Dogs partnered with Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in New Jersey, to offer specialized veterinary care to retired MWDs.

Former COO of Red Bank, John Payne, helped to bring the program into being. “I was from a military family, so it always felt important to me, to give back to the veteran community”, explains John. “It was in my role as director of the American Humane Society that the conversations with US War Dogs began. I wanted Red Bank to offer pro bono care to MWDs and with US War Dogs able to provide the checks and balances to make sure the help got to where it was most needed, the Specialized Care Program was born.”

“The whole Red Bank team is completely invested in this mission”, explains fellow co-founder and veterinarian, Dr Tom Trotter. “The dogs that we have treated have given their best to serving our country, so it really is the least we can do for them. What is always special though, is witnessing that bond between dog and handler – they have pulled one another through the toughest conditions and circumstances, so when it comes to entrusting that dog’s care to us, we take the responsibility very seriously indeed.”

Over the past eight years, Red Bank has treated dozens of retired MWDs that have been referred to them through US War Dogs. Their 60,000sq ft centre in Tinton Falls, NJ, plays host to a team of over 300 members of staff and the highest calibre veterinary technologies to help animals with a huge breadth of health issues.

Dr Garret Davies is one of Red Bank’s resident surgeons and has operated on numerous MWDs. “Prolonging and enhancing quality of life is the name of the game but the wight of responsibility we feel when operating on a retired military dog never lessens in its intensity.

“I want the whole hospital to know that we are in the presence of a national hero so I have a piece of military marching music played over the intercom system. It’s my own salute to the dog before I operate and it has become my tradition. The rest of the staff love it too because it lets them know that we have an MWD in the house.”

General Practitioner Dr Tom Hart, spends a lot of his time working with working dogs from all branches of service. “I am a veterinarian that also really loves people, so when I work with dogs who save lives for a living, it gives me a huge amount of satisfaction.

“The bond that exists between handlers and their dogs – whether they be from the police, search and rescue or military – is a humbling sight to behold. They are truly in tune and reliant on one another. It places an added sense of gravity to my job.”

The joy and enthusiasm for providing this service to MWDs bleeds into every facet of Red Bank. “It is my favorite part of the job”, explains client services manager, Carol Olea. “Our hearts have been stolen over and over again by the dogs that we’ve treated and the loving handlers and adopted owners that we have come to know so well. Some of the treatments we have given have meant that the dogs stay with us for weeks on end, so the bond we make with the owners becomes very special indeed.”

One such example of a dog who took a very special place in the hearts of the Redbank team, was retired US Army Ranger multi-purpose canine, Kay.

Kay joined US War Dogs’ Rx Program in 2019 to help owner Travis with the rising cost of his prescription medication. Travis explains: “We were so grateful to be receiving help from US War Dogs for Kay’s meds, but when his health took a turn, I reached out to the organization to see if they could help.”

Kay had served for seven years with the US Army Rangers, deploying four times to the Middle East and saving countless lives, including that of his handler, Travis, in the process. Kay was trained in bite work, tracking, and detection of explosives and personal electronic devices, such as sim cards and mobile phones.

When Kay started suffering with perianal masses, Travis immediately took him to a local vet in Maryland for examination. “I was prepared to remortgage my house to pay for Kay’s care – he had saved my life on numerous occasions while we served together so it was the least I could do in return.”

A local vet examined Kay but Travis didn’t get a good feeling about the situation. “I wanted Kay to receive the absolute best care but something was off, so I called US War Dogs to see if they could help.”

Kay was eligible for the Specialized Care Program and was referred straight to Red Bank for diagnostics and treatment.

Kay and Travis made the four-hour journey from their home in Maryland to Tinton Falls, New Jersey. “It was a worrying time for us – we were at the height of the pandemic so the whole experience of taking Kay to the vets was different. Plus, by this point, he was 14 and I was really concerned about putting him through the treatment plan but the incredible team at Red Bank did nothing but reassure me and put me at ease, in spite of the obvious challenges and difference in their usual delivery of service caused by COVID.”

Dr Garret Davies operated to remove Kay’s mass and the surgery was a success and gave Kay more time to enjoy his well-deserved retirement with Travis. Seven months later though, a second mass was detected that would need more extensive treatment. Kay received specialized radiation treatment, chemotherapy, and critical care for several months. Despite best efforts by the team at Redbank, Kay succumbed to his illness and passed away on September 15, 2021, at the age of 16.5.

“The treatment had given Kay more time. Time to enjoy his life of luxury at home with me and my family. Kay died three months after my son was born – I’d like to believe he held on to see me become a dad, so he knew I’d be ok.”

“Kay and Travis really captured our hearts”, explains Carol Olea. “We all spent a great deal of time with them and got to learn about their service together. Kay was a very special dog. His eyes were so expressive – you could almost read what he was thinking. We all sobbed when he died. For Travis and for Kay. Their bond was immeasurable – the kind of bond you only see between a dog and his handler, who have been through the toughest times together.”

Kay’s story provides just one example of how the team at Red Bank have devoted themselves to providing unbridled care to MWDs through US War Dogs. “We are immensely fortunate and proud to have Red Bank on board as our veterinary partner”, comments US War Dogs president, Chris Willingham. “The team is one of a kind and their passion is truly infectious. Our aim is to provide a lifetime of practical support to MWDs and in doing so, we support both ends of the leash. Red Bank’s work makes our aims and vision a reality. I can’t thank them enough for what they do for the K-9 community.”

Bill Childress

Sat, 18 Jun 2022 15:06:12 GMT

US War Dogs in Conversation With Bill Childress

After 45 and a half years, US Marine Corps Military Working Dog (aka K-9) program manager Bill Childress, is retiring for the second time. With 25 and a half years’ service as an active-duty Marine, Bill spent the last few years of that time as a Master Gunnery Sergeant, serving as program manager for the K-9 program. “K-9 wasn’t the original plan for me”, explains Bill. “I was going to do an assignment involving military police training but was swapped into K-9 at the last minute. I’d never been a dog handler, so I was starting from scratch.”

When Bill retired from the Marine Corps, he was able to continue his role as program manager in a civilian capacity, working out of the Pentagon.

Bill is currently planning a move from D.C to South Carolina – a move that will punctuate his retirement. Retirement will be a stark change of pace for Bill: “I have about 100 books to read and so many movies stacked up to see”, he tells us, with a smile in his voice. Nevertheless, before he settles into the first page of his next chapter, Bill spoke to US War Dogs about his astonishing career in K-9; his achievements, memories and his last impressions of being the guardian of the guardians of the night.

Before we talk about the last 25 years as program manager, Bill makes his first point emphatically. “None of this was just about me. Everything was a team effort. The staff, handlers, trainers, and kennel masters within the Marine Corps were the driving force. I was just their voice to help them get what they need.”

Bill’s humility and respect for his military peers in the Marine Corps shines through at every turn. We were keen to learn what Bill was most proud of, as he looked back on his role and achievements. “Actually, one of my biggest sources of pride actually happened fairly recently”, recalls Bill. “Being based out of the Pentagon, one can reflect on what an extraordinary place it is. Yes, it’s an office building with over 24,000 employees, but it is also a museum. Its halls and corridors are filled with exhibits and information about a multitude of different events that have connections to the place.

“I wanted the US Marine Corps K-9 program represented too, so I lobbied for a display to be installed inside the Pentagon, to showcase the incredible heritage, capabilities and teams that made up one of the most elite K-9 forces in the world.”

The display is a memorial and exhibit to all USMC handlers, past, present and future. “I felt a huge sense of pride the day it was unveiled. I still do.”

20-Year War

Childress was at the helm of the Marine Corps’ K-9 capabilities when the War on Terror began. A huge upsurge in the demand for dog teams in Iraq and Afghanistan as the US Military adapted its requirements and skills to meet the threat faced. There were 120 K-9 personnel in the USMC in 1999, swelling to 450 by 2009, in support of the war effort. Such an explosion in activity that required Bill to react swiftly and decisively to make sure his teams had everything they needed to be successful.

Before we talked about the growth, restructuring and refocusing of the Marine Corps to meet the demands of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, Bill recalls the moment it all started.

I was working at the Pentagon on 9/11 and my day started as usual. I got to the office around 05:30 to prepare for my attendance to a funeral at Arlington National Cemetery at 10:00. At 09:30, a car picked me up for the short trip.

Around two minutes later, Flight 77 hit the Western Façade of the Pentagon – the area where Bill’s office was situated. “I remember thinking ‘am I the only survivor from my office’. As I looked at the Pentagon, I wondered if anybody in my office had perished, but miraculously, nobody in our office was hurt.”

It didn’t take long for the ripple effects from that fateful day in our history to hit the Marine Corps.

“Up until that point, K-9 had a law enforcement mandate, so when boots hit the ground in Iraq, our focus quickly shifted to mission-specific support in a dangerous and frenetic war zone.”

Training and shared knowledge was everything, for all branches of the services. Live intelligence would come back on situations that the handlers were facing. We needed a way to ready our handlers and their dogs to face those threats, head on.

In 2004, the specialized search dog (SSD) capability developed to match the threat that coalition troops were facing: IEDs. Bill developed a relationship with some outside assistance to build US expertise and learn from those who were already implementing these tactics. Later that year, combat tracking dogs were also brought back into the mix - having last been used in Vietnam – to help track back to the enemy in combat situations.

“We were sending teams to Iraq and Afghanistan for a mission that was completely new to them. We needed to better equip them for the threats that they were facing – we had to make a significant move.”

That move came in 2005 when Yuma Proving Ground opened its doors with the Military Working Dog Team Deployment Training Course (MWDTDTC). “Yuma was one of our most important training facilities”, notes Bill. The DoD Military Working Dog Training School had a training site that became anall-service to provide dog teams with the best real-world experience of what life was like out in theatre.

“Manoeuvring forces from every branch of service had to know how we do business. Yuma provided us with everything we needed to prepare troops, from the desert heat and terrain to live fire and explosions, local scent profiles and search drills, in line with the reports that were coming straight back from the front line.”

Facilitated by Marine Corps trainers, the three-week course at Yuma Proving Ground gave dog handlers and their MWDs dessert acclimatisation, exposure to various type of explosives, gunfire that prepared the dogs for theatre.

And as trainers cycled out, those fresh from the fight came to take their place, bringing with them the hard-fought knowledge of their deployments with them.

Bill initiated the idea for Yuma Proving Ground and obtained the funds needed to get it up and running. “It really paid dividends. We were in the business of saving lives and Yuma did just that. That whole project is something I look back on with immense pride.”

Keeping House

One of Bill’s other triumphs came in the form of a universal management system that centralize data for the program. The Working Dog Management System (WDMS) provided a worldwide, real-time cradle-to-grave database of every dog in the Corps; their training, veterinary records, etc.. “Not only did the system provide quicker and easier ways to run off reports to showcase our unit at a glance, it also provided a one-time data entry that centralized the data so that any team within the unit could see what was going on in K-9 across the Corps.

“Even 18 years later, the system is still being refined and improved, but having a starting point to build on was a huge deal for K-9. The wider DoD Military Working Dog program rolled it out across all branches of services too, which was a real testament to its success.”

Bill also helped to write the 700-page MWD manual – standardizing every facet of life in Marine Corps K-9 from training, requirements for proper kennel management and every procedure needed to ensure the correct husbandry of a working dog. “The knowledge and skill was all there – we just needed to harness it and pull it all together. The manual is a working document and will continue to be refined, but we made a good start, I think.”

Mission Capable Assets

Another pivotal change that Bill brought into being was to assign permanent Marine Corps dog teams to the presidential helicopter squadron. “We were sending dog teams on temporary assignments to provide protection capabilities to the president and visiting dignitaries but by creating a permanent unit, we freed up support in other areas that saved money on those temporary assignment costs.”

Bill spearheaded the USMC’s efforts in K-9 and as such, developed it into a world class program. This came because of a number of tactical decisions made by Bill to enhance the program, with emphasis on advanced, mission-specific training.

Between 2007-2009, the Marine K-9 program restructured by adding three platoons with three separate objectives, meaning that they could train and deploy as specialists. The three platoons were based in Okinawa, Japan, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and Camp Pendleton, California. “This really increased our number of dogs and our capabilities by three. Our forces would deploy and then began to request for more K-9 support because of how successful the dogs were against the IED threat.

“It helped us cycle out handlers and dogs; ensured we had all the necessary deploying equipment needed and took the pressure off the bases and stations that were supporting the war effort. We needed to protect those bases and stations and separate out the deployment pipeline to the battalions.”

The battalions have distinct responsibilities which also meant that training focuses could be honed and refined. “The cycle of training, deploying and bringing troops back for rest & relaxation (R&R) was constant, so splitting out into three battalions really met a demand. We grew and increased the number of dog teams over time – right up until our withdrawal from Afghanistan.”

Kennel Care

Established around 1999 was the annual kennel masters’ conference, bringing subject matter experts together to help solve problems and tackle issues as a collective program. “We really didn’t have the level of communications that we do today, back then. Technology was scant and it quickly became apparent that we needed to meet up as a team to discuss things and get more ideas for the development of courses of actions on the issues.”

Kennel masters from across the Corps gathered to discuss procedural issues and shared best practice. Speakers would address topics on training, new equipment and shared knowledge on all aspects of K-9. “It paid huge dividends” comments Bill. That sharing of knowledge really was absent before then. I think this is where my non-K-9 background became an asset – I was able to bring a different perspective to the table, which unlocked a whole lot of potential from within the program.”

The success of the annual event prompted the US Army to follow suit and the kennel masters’ conference continues to be a key part of the USMC calendar of events today.

Highs and Lows

“Every job has its downsides” notes Bill cheerfully as we ask him about the hardest parts of his job. “I was lucky to have a great boss that understood what K-9 could bring to the table, but sometimes, the job of educating non-K-9 personnel can be tough. It was my job to brief them on what we needed and wanted as a program and that can be difficult at times.”

The hard parts of the role were outweighed by the rewards. “For me, it was all about taking care of the troops. I did everything I could for them. These guys and girls are out there doing the job and it was the least I could do to be there for them. It’s what leadership is all about.”

Bill reflects with immense pride, on the people he has worked with along the way: “The handlers, trainers, kennel masters and staff are really the ones that make things happen. I constantly relied on them to tell me the best way to tackle an issue and they never let me down.

“I feel blessed to have represented some of the finest Marines (military and civilian) while assigned at the Pentagon for the last 25 years. I really enjoyed my career as a Marine and feel truly honored to have served the Corps for 45 and a half years. The people really make it and without them, I wouldn’t have had such a wonderful job.”

Changes

As Bill looks to his retirement, he acknowledges the huge changes that are coming his way. “My days have been long for 25 years. I would get up at 0330 and not get home until 1930, so I am interested to see how my body adjusts to some slower starts. I have travelled a lot but my wife Ann has been an incredible supporter and has sacrificed a lot for this job for the past 41 years. This is her time now. She’s in charge and I am ok with that.

“I might even have time to have a dog of my own now. K-9 leads the way that really does grow on you!”

Vietnam Veteran's day

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 01:37:53 GMT

Ron Aiello

By Maria Goodavage

In late 1965, 21-year-old Marine Corporal Ron Aiello figured it was just a matter of time

before he’d end up in Vietnam. The swift flow of U.S. combat forces heading there since

March showed no sign of stopping, and since Aiello was in a Marine Infantry Battalion at

Camp Lejeune, he was sure he was in line for deployment.

So when the Corps asked for volunteers to go to dog-training school and then be

assigned to a “restricted area,” Aiello stepped forward.

“I thought if I have to go to Vietnam, what better way to go than with a dog at my side,”

says Aiello.

A few months later, he and his German shepherd scout dog, Stormy 476M, touched

down at Da Nang Airbase in one of two C-130s transporting members of the 1 st Marine

Scout Dog Platoon. After 20 days of transitioning the dogs from the jarring change of

winter at dog school in Fort Benning, Georgia, to the warm, muggy climate there, they

were ready to be deployed on missions.

Aiello had no idea that this first operation would be a life-or-death proving ground for

their months of training.

He and Stormy were assigned to lead a platoon of Marines in a search of two villages

where some locals were suspect of helping the Viet Cong. They walked house to house

in the first village, which was made up of structures cobbled together with a

hodgepodge of bamboo, straw, and scrap metal.

Aiello and Stormy would enter a house first. Stormy smelled and listened for danger.

She could root all kinds of trouble, from someone hiding in an underground bunker to

weapons concealed in walls. Once Stormy was done with her inspection, other Marines

entered to do a physical search without worrying about setting off a booby trap or

explosive.

With one village cleared, Aiello and Stormy led the Marines on a heavily traveled dirt

path to the next village. Along the way, the pair came to a small clearing, about 50 by 70

yards. They walked in to check it out. After a couple of steps, Stormy came to an abrupt

stop. Her body tensed, tail high, her attention riveted to something in a tree to the right.

This was her alert.

Aiello automatically went to take a knee. But before his knee hit the ground, he heard a

gunshot. He could sense a bullet whizzing over him and in that moment, he realized that

if he’d still been standing, it would have hit him in the head.

He knew he had to take instant action or his first deployment with Stormy could be his

last. He saw a mound of dirt about ten yards to this left and yelled for his leashed

partner to stay with him. They bolted to it and jumped over to the other side for

protection. An infantryman behind them kept them covered and fired up to the tree

where Stormy had been looking. He took out the sniper, and they moved on.//

If Aiello hadn’t listened to Stormy, he might not have made it through his tour in

Vietnam. And working dogs and their handlers decades later would have missed out on

incomparable support – the kind of support Aiello and other dog handlers in Vietnam

never had.

In the year 2000, Aiello co-founded the United States War Dogs Association (USWDA),

a nonprofit organization that supports current and past military working dogs and

handlers. USWDA has several essential missions, including promoting the history of

military working dogs, establishing war dog memorials, and educating the public about

military working dog teams.

But the programs that make the organization especially beloved in the working-dog

world are the ones that directly benefit dogs and handlers. In the last 18 years USWDA

has been responsible for sending 25,000 care packages to deployed dog teams. Dogs

typically get essential items like Doggles/Rex Specs, dog boots, cooling vests, K9

blankets, ear and eye wash, paw protector cream, and shampoo, as well as goodies like

dog treats, travel water bowls, and loads of hardy dog toys, like Kongs. Handlers

receive coveted items like favorite snacks, books, and toiletries.

Another prized program began more recently. In 2014, Aiello received a call from a

woman who had adopted a military working dog with her family. They were desperate

for help. The prescription meds their dog suddenly needed were expensive, and the

woman was at a point where she had to choose between putting food on the table or

getting her dog these essential medicines.

Aiello didn’t think it was right that the military leaves medical expenses in the hands of

those who adopt the dogs. The next day he came up with a program that would provide

free prescription medicines to retired military working dogs. More than 1,000 dogs are

currently enrolled in the program, which recently opened to include retired dogs from the

Department of Homeland Security. The assistance can be lifesaving for the dogs, and it

eases the financial burden for their devoted adopters.

Aiello has dedicated most of his time in the last 21 years to the causes supported by

USWDA. But a couple of years ago he started thinking about passing the torch to the

next generation of handlers. He wanted to help transition the organization to new,

younger leadership while he had the time and energy to do so. He handpicked the next

president, with his board’s full support. Earlier this year, Chris Willingham, a respected

and well-liked leader in the military working dog world, became president of the

organization.

“Ron has been a friend and mentor of mine for years and I've been on the receiving end

of support from the USWDA for over 15 years,” says Willingham, who retired from the

Marines after a long and storied military working dog career. “So when Ron asked me to

take over it was incredibly humbling and a huge honor.”

Aiello says he’s thrilled to have helped create such a legacy – not only because of all

the handlers and dogs he’s helped, but because of Stormy.

“The United States War Dogs Association was and still is a living memorial to Stormy –

and the other military dogs that served in Vietnam,” he says.

Like the majority of dog handlers from that war, Aiello doesn’t know what became of his

four-legged partner and best friend. Some thirty-eight hundred dogs deployed there and

are credited with saving many thousands of lives while protecting troops, leading jungle

patrols, and detecting ambushes and mines. But the military deemed some of the dogs

too dangerous to return home. Indeed, many of the sentry dogs had been trained to be

so vicious that even their handlers had a hard time controlling them.

But sentry dogs were just one type of dog in the war. There were others, including

scouts like Stormy, and trackers. Still, only about 200 dogs would ever return home.

Besides the behavioral issues, there was concern that even the non-aggressive dogs

would carry disease from Southeast Asia—something that could have been

circumvented by a quarantine once they were home.

The majority of dogs were left behind or euthanized.

Many handlers from Vietnam still can’t talk about their dogs without their eyes going

distant, their throats catching. The lucky ones hold onto a memento of their former K9 –

usually a collar or leash. Most just have the memories, underscored by the pain of

knowing, or imagining, the fate of their wartime best friend.

Aiello says leaving Vietnam was the hardest part of his deployment. He and a half-

dozen other Marine dog handlers had tried to extend their time there in order to do

another tour with their dogs. But their requests were turned down.

He wasn’t sure how much longer he’d have with Stormy. One day the handlers got the

news that their replacements would be coming – and that they’d be there to take over

their dogs the very next day. That night, most of the handlers slept in the kennels next

to their dogs before having to say goodbye.

Aiello was grateful he was able to meet Stormy’s new handler. He sat down with him for

a couple of hours, and tried to tell him everything about Stormy, from her likes and

dislikes to the different ways she would give alerts on patrols.

“I then shook his hand and said good luck, and take good care of Stormy. She’ll save

you when needed,” he says.

He grabbed his sea bag and didn’t look back. He and the other handlers were instructed

not to go back to Camp Kaiser, their base camp, to try to see their dogs while they were

still in country, because the new handlers needed to bond with them. He left Vietnam

and never saw Stormy again.

In the years that followed, Aiello thought about Stormy every day. When he heard the

scout dog platoon was pulling out of Vietnam, he was hopeful there was a chance

Stormy was still alive. He wanted to adopt her. He wrote to Marine Corps headquarters

twice, with registered letters, but he never got a response.

The best fate he can imagine for her – what he hopes happened once he knew she

didn’t come home – is something most handlers today would find devastating.

“I would like to think she was KIA in Vietnam,” he says.

If Stormy was killed in action, he reasons, she could have worked with a loyal and loving

handler and not known what hit her. The other options are too awful. He can’t go there

anymore.

He prefers to remember the days when the two of them were fighting the good fight in

the jungles and rice paddies together. Their missions ran anywhere from one day to

three weeks. Together he and Stormy rooted out countless weapons and booby traps,

as well as Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers in hiding.

Aiello credits Stormy with saving hundreds of lives of Marines and civilians. Her finds

didn’t always lead to dramatic scenarios. Some of the most important ones were fairly

subdued affairs. Like the time they were between houses on a search and Stormy

stopped and alerted. As always, Aiello took a knee, as did his Marine bodyguard.

“The only thing there was some tall grass, so we went in closer, but Stormy stopped

before we got to the grass and just looked straight down to the ground, so we were

thinking explosives, some form of a booby trap,” Aiello recounts nearly 55 years after

the mission. “So my bodyguard takes out his knife and starts to dig. About six inches

down, then 12, then 18.

“He shoves his arm down into the hole and comes out with a plastic bag in his hands. In

the bag were papers. We took them out and looked at them. Of course, we couldn’t

read what was on them. So we turned them in to command,” he says.

As always, Aiello rewarded Stormy on the spot with lots of hugs and praise. “That’s

what she loved and of course I loved it, too,” he says.

The next day Stormy got bonus hugs when Aiello learned the papers contained tactical

plans of the North Vietnam soldiers.

Of all their adventures together, though, one of the most rewarding had little to do with

war. It had to do with connecting in unexpected ways with strangers.

It happened during monsoon season. The rain poured down day and night. He and

Stormy were leading a company-sized operation. Everything was mud. Nothing was

comfortable.

“It was getting late in the day one day and we were going to set up a base camp for the

night. I would usually try to sleep with Stormy in the center of a village in a clearing.

Stormy would sleep by my side so I felt quite safe.

“This time there was nothing but mud, so I spotted an old bed box spring – and I mean

spring just rusted out. So I dragged it over to the center of the village and laid my

poncho on it. This is where we would sleep for the night.

“Out of the corner of my eye I spotted one of the villagers motioning to me. He kept

pointing to me and Stormy and putting his hand to his mouth. I finally figured out what

he was saying. He was inviting me and Stormy to eat with them.

“We walked over to their house, which was not really what we think of as a house. It

was made of bamboo, straw, tin metal. Two, three rooms all open, dirt floors, mats for

beds. Under an outdoor roofed area there was an old wooden table surrounded by a

few old wooden chairs. The man motioned for me to sit down. Stormy lay down at my

right side.

“They had a little boy about three years old who sat across from me. The man’s wife

was cooking and held their baby, who was about three or four months old. She and her

husband put the food on the table and then sat down to dinner.

“I remember so well all of us sitting around the table. It was a tight fit. The meal

consisted of stir-fried vegetables, no meat. It was delicious. All I could do was smile and

nod my head since we could really speak to each other where we would understand.

When were done, I thanked them and then came back and gave them my C-rations.

“To this day I still remember them and pray to God that they survived the war and had a

good life.”

He’d like to think the same about Stormy. But he knows better.

So even though he’s officially retired as USWDA president, he’s still devoting himself to

the organization as it transitions to its next stage. He’ll continue to be involved, though

to a lesser extent, in the future, in part because he’s passionate about the group’s

missions. But beyond that, he wants to continue to work at least a little on behalf of the

dog he still misses to pieces some days.

“I was, and always will be, very proud of Stormy,” he says. “I hope I’ve done her

proud.”

Maria Goodavage is the New York Times bestselling author of four books about working

dogs: Soldier Dogs, Top Dog, Secret Service Dogs, and Doctor Dogs.

www.mariagoodavage.com

FB: @soldierdogs, @doctordogsnews

Medal of Bravery

Sat, 12 Mar 2022 16:11:33 GMT

The Animals in War and Peace Medal Ceremony

Celebrates Six Remarkable K-9 Heroes

This week saw the second presentation of the Animals in War and Peace Medal Presentation which highlights and recognizes the bravery and sacrifice of animals in our society.

The Medal of Bravery, which was instituted in 2019 and the newly inaugurated Distinguished Service Medal were awarded to six recipients at the ceremony on Capitol Hill on Wednesday afternoon (March 9 2022).

The medals were presented by members of Congress and were followed by a procession of service animals from a wide range of sectors, including law enforcement, the fire department, therapy and search and rescue dogs.

Our own president, Chris Willingham, played a key role in this year’s celebrations, as a member of the leadership committee. On the awards, Chris said: “These awards align with our mission at US War Dogs as they shine a well-deserved spotlight on the incredible role of animals in society, including that of military working dogs. The event highlighted a number of awe-inspiring stories spanning over 70 years, from World War II and Vietnam to the actions of dogs serving our country today.

“A number of the US War Dogs team joined me at the event and we were honored to be a part of this historic occasion.”

War Dogs Honored

Three military working dogs were awarded the Medal of Bravery, including Nemo – the US Air Force scout dog who served in Vietnam. While charging an enemy ambush in 1966, Nemo was shot twice. Despite his horrific injuries, he managed to crawl back to his handler – who had also been shot – and protect him until help arrived.

US Marine Corps multi-purpose canine (MPC), Ziggy was also honored for his actions across five international deployments. Ziggy’s owner and former Marine Corps dog handler, Sean Hemphill, accompanied him to the ceremony and was proud to witness his decoration.

Also added to the Medal of Bravery’s roll of honor was Navy Seal Dog, Cairo, who was posthumously awarded for his distinguished career, including the role he played in Operation Neptune Spear – the world-famous operation that successfully eliminated Osama Bin Laden.

Previous MWD recipients of the Medal of Bravery include US Marine Corps specialized search dog (SSD), Lucca and MPC Bass – handled and owned by our very own Chris Willingham and Alex Schnell, respectively.

New Silverware

The Animals in War and Peace Distinguished Service Medal was awarded for the first time this year, to three recipients, including former US Secret Service dog, Hurricane, who successfully stopped a fence jumper from entering the White House, during a security breach in 2014 and US Coast Guard bomb detection dog, Feco. Hungarian Vizsla, Feco has completed over 1,300 separate searches across the Bay area – helping to keep the California coastline safe and secure.

WWII dog, Smoky, was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for the role that she played as a constant companion to Bill Wynne, who served with the Fifth Air Force Battalion, in New Guinea and the Philippines. The tiny Yorkshire Terrier, racked up 12 sorties and was labelled the ‘first therapy dog of record’ by Animal Planet.

K-9 Veterans Day

Sat, 12 Mar 2022 15:56:06 GMT

Everything You Need to Know About K-9 Veterans Day

March 13 is National K-9 Veterans Day, a day to reflect on and honor the service of American military working dogs (MWD).

The date commemorates the day in 1942 when the US Army first began training dogs for specific military use. The US Army called the program the “K-9 Corps.” Before this date, it was reported the US Military had a very small number of dogs for service, most of which were utilized as sled dogs in Arctic regions.

After the attack on US Naval Base Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, a group of civilians approached the US Army to convince them to use dogs for other purposes. This effort was formed under a coalition called Dogs for Defense, Inc (DFD). Many of the first working dogs for the military were donated from American families to serve as sentry dogs.

During the initial stages, the DFD was responsible for procuring, housing, and training the dogs. Although the volunteer effort was tremendous, the level of proficiency of the dogs varied based on the skill level of individual kennels across the country. On July 16, 1942, the Secretary of War directed the Remount Branch of the Quartermaster Corps (QMC) to procure, house, and train future working dogs for sentry duty and tactical missions.

Within the first year, the QMC had trained and equipped more than 1,800 working dog teams to patrol the coastline for potential German or Japanese submarine units.

Since WWII, US Forces from all branches have used military working dogs to help support their human counterparts. The working dog mission has continuously adapted to meet the greatest threat to US Forces at that time. In WWII alone, this mission for working dogs grew from sentry operations to tactical patrols, mine detection, messengers, and scout dogs.

The US MWD has continued to evolve and shift mission emphasis throughout each conflict of our nation’s history. The adaptability and potential capability of working dogs has made their presence and essential battlefield force multiplier. From the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of Afghanistan, no unit was ever upset to have a dog around.

Every year on March 13 we remember all our four-legged warriors’ selfless service, sacrifice, and lives they have saved.

K-9 Leads the Way!

Sources:

https://armyhistory.org/the-dogs-of-war-the-u-s-armys-use-of-canines-in-wwii/

https://www.military.com/veterans-day/k9-veterans-day.html

Will Chesney

Sat, 12 Mar 2022 15:38:25 GMT

In Conversation with Will Chesney

There is no doubt that the qualities that K-9 brings to the fight are unparalleled. The role of K-9 within the military exploded during the 2000s while the War on Terror raged, often meaning the difference between life and death for thousands of military service personnel who relied on the skills of dog teams in the field to lead the way.

Thousands of dog teams executed their work with quiet confidence and without fanfare, but when something big happens and the spotlight hits one of our brothers and their four-legged companion, the whole community stands to applaud their efforts. When news broke about the role that Navy SEAL, Will Chesney and his K-9, Cairo, played in the hunt for the world’s most notorious terrorist, plaudits for their work came from around the globe. Even the President of the United States asked for an audience with the dog that helped take down Osama bin Laden.

As Cairo posthumously receives the Animals in War and Peace Medal of Bravery, for outstanding bravery and service to his country on that fateful day in 2011, we speak to Will about the mission that changed the world and arguably, changed his life too.

SEAL Team Dream

Chesney – now 37 – joined the elite SEAL Team ranks in 2003, completing the gruelling basic training schedule – making the dream of a young boy from Lumberton, TX, a reality. “I was an ordinary kid from a small town in Texas. I wasn’t very big (five feet nine, 170 pounds) or a great athlete, but I wouldn’t quit. I knew what I wanted and what I wanted was to be a Navy SEAL!”

Will’s resilience and resolve that got him through the intense physical and mental training of combat conditioning and survival skills was nothing short of impressive.

Will Chesney’s move into K-9 was inspired by a moment that he will never forget. While on a training exercise in Kentucky, Will and his unit from SEAL Team 4 were given the chance to watch the demo of a relatively new program within Navel Special Warfare. Will recalls: “One of the instructors asked the class to stand up if you’ve ever had your life saved by a dog. Everyone in the room stood without the slightest hint of irony. These guys were serious and after seeing the incredible skills of the dogs and their handlers, my interest was piqued.”

But it would be during Will’s 2008 deployment to Afghanistan with SEAL Team 6 – the most elite force within the Navy – where Will’s decision to become a dog handler was cemented. The unit was stationed with two Navy SEAL dog teams, as Will recalls: “Falco and Balto were sleek, beautiful Malinois that handled themselves with poised, needlepoint accuracy and incredible power. Watching them work was awe-inspiring to me – it changed my career path.

“The world of K-9 made me step out of my comfort zone”, says Chesney. “I’m a quiet guy, naturally, but training dogs requires you to be a noisy, energetic, enthusiastic character. You soon lose your inhibitions when you’re making high-pitched noises across a field to your dog when they did something good.

“The amount of effort and energy required to train a dog is immense and a real test of patience. A bad training day can diminish you so much, but there is nothing better in the world after a great training session.”

Following Will’s deployment to Afghanistan in the summer of 2008, he completed the nine-week basic handlers’ course and spent the next 12 months training in K-9. He first met Cairo – a large and striking Belgian Malinois – and after a two-week initiation for the new dog handlers, they dog team was officially paired together.

Like so many US MWDs, Cairo was acquired from a breeding program in the Netherlands and brought over to California to be tested out for the SEALs. As SEAL trainer Don Christie watched the canine candidates perform, it was Cairo that stood out from the rest when it came to bite work. “He looked great”, explains Don Christie. “And he was very strong. I remember him biting calmly on the suit, and just hanging on. In a bite test, you yell at the dog. You try to dissuade them. Cairo was not easily dissuaded.”

Cairo’s determination, strength and cool head made him an easy pick and he, along with eight other puppies, we shipped to Virginia to begin training with the SEALs.

“He absolutely loved to work”, recalls Chesney. “He had the sweet personality that made him friendly and endearing, while having the natural aptitude and skill to be incredible at his job.”

Deployed

After months of intense training, Cairo and Will deployed together in June 2009 to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. “We had trained for almost every eventuality, but you never truly know your dog until you see him in the fight. Cairo was sensational. He quickly became one of the boys and earned his stripes with the unit.

“Having watched him train and knowing how much he enjoyed biting, I often wondered what might happen if an unsuspecting civilian became caught in the crosshairs when Cairo was in hunting mode. On one mission during this deployment, I would witness exactly what he would do.

“The night Cairo got his first bite, he caught the guy by the arm and almost tore it off. The damage he did startled me but to my amazement, we found a tiny baby, bundled in blankets near where the man had been hiding. Cairo had run past the baby to get to the bad guy and in those moments of adrenaline – stalking his prey before he attacked – I could hardly believe he hadn’t harmed the child.

“My only answer as to why Cairo – who had, with all certainty, detected the presence of the child – understood right from wrong. I felt it deep within me at that moment that he was one seriously smart dog.”

Shots

Later in that same deployment, Cairo would sustain a near-fatal injury that rocked Will to his core. “We were on a night mission to take a suspected bomb-making facility. As we drew closer to the target in the helicopter, we watched four men with large packs, leave on two motorcycles. We had to be completely sure that they were bad guys and not decoys or civilians, so we landed and went after them on foot.”

The dog team would prove critical as the targets disappeared into a thick tree line. Will used the wind to help Cairo to track their scent, which he caught almost immediately. “I sent him forward and I watched as he weaved in and out of the trees, moving deeper into the undergrowth as he went. Soon, he was completely hidden from view, which is when the gunfire began.”

Cairo had been shot at point-blank range but somehow, despite being seriously hurt, had managed to limp back to Chesney before collapsing. “I thought he was dead. He was covered in blood and his eyes were slits. Word had already gone out on the radio that we had suffered a casualty. That Cairo was a dog simply didn’t matter. He was one of us.”

A combat medic worked on him in the field, stuffing gauze into this chest wound. Cairo had also been hit in the right foreleg and by the time the MEDEVAC helicopter picked him up and took him back to the forward operating base, he needed two hours of surgery on his serious injuries. As soon as he was stable enough, I flew with him to Bagram.

In transpired in the days that followed, just how integral Cairo had been on that fateful mission that almost killed him. Not only had Cairo engaged one of two insurgents on the ground, hidden within the tree line, but he had been shot by another from above. The guy was perched in a tree, a few branches up and fired at close range. He really was lucky to be alive.

Cairo’s actions had exposed the enemy’s ambush position, undoubtedly saving lives within his unit. In heroic fashion, Cairo bounced back remarkably from his injuries, which included a shattered femur, and was flown back to Lackland Air Force Base, TX, to complete his recovery. Will was forced to say goodbye to his best friend – still having two months of his deployment to complete.

“I stayed with him for three days straight while he recovered at Bagram. Taking him for slow, long walks and hand feeding him until he could eat on his own. I was his dad and I wanted him to feel how much I cared for him. Saying goodbye was a real wrench but he was going to the best facility in the world for MWDs so I knew he would be well cared for. I only hoped that our paths would cross again – both personally and professionally.”

Will wouldn’t have to wait long before Cairo had been given a clean bill of health and returned to Virginia to re-join SEAL Team. Will said: “I couldn’t believe how much he had been through and how he had bounced back, but it played heavy on my mind that he would carry mental scars from the ordeal he had endured.

“It was a few weeks after my return from Afghanistan that Cairo landed back in Virginia, having been cleared for operational duties once more. He squeaked excitedly when I entered the kennels and jumped on my chest to greet me. I took him home that night and we enjoyed a steak together. My boy was home and better than that, we had been reunited as partners.”

The dog team deployed again to Afghanistan in the fall of 2010, following almost a year of intense training in Virginia to ready Cairo their next tour – an extended stay in the war zone, based out of Jalalabad Air Base. When the pair returned to Virginia in March 2011 though, it was time to go their separate ways. “It was time for me to go back to life as an operator and with Cairo having served his country with diligence on two deployments, it was time for him to enjoy a slower pace of life.”

Cairo became a spare dog for the Navy. At six years old, he still had a lot to offer and his impeccable training and temperament made him an excellent candidate to help train new handlers. The hiatus for the pair would be short-lived as, while on a training exercise in Yuma, AZ, Chesney was asked to return to Virginia as soon as possible and collect Cairo on the way.

UBL

The mission, which was swathed in secrecy, even from Chesney, required a reliable and experienced dog team. “Cairo was the best in the business and I was lucky enough to be his handler. Fortunately for me, we were a package deal”, recalls Will.

While preparations were made for the secret mission, rumours pulsed around the team. “There were two dozen of us, split into four separate teams. Cairo and I were in the team that would take control of perimeter duties associated with the target. We still didn’t know any mission specifics, apart from that we would be going in to find a high value target in a compound, much like the ones we had encountered on our other deployments.

“Bin Laden’s name bounced around the teams. As the leader of Al Qaeda and the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, he was the single biggest target for the US military. Taking him out would seriously hurt his terrorist organisation. Could we really be the ones tasked with getting him?”

In a training facility in North Carolina, on April 10 2011, Chesney and his fellow SEALs were given the details. “We’re going after UBL.” Usama (or Osama, as coined by western media) bin Laden. “The hairs on the back of my neck stood up”, Will recalls.

The magnitude of the mission – known as Operation Neptune Spear – and the clear dangers it posed for the team were laid out. “We all made our peace with our fact that this would be a suicide mission. But if it meant that we got the guy, I was good with it.”

The SEALs were provided with a life-size replica of the compound and rehearsed the mission from sunrise to deep into the night. This was closely followed by a further training protocol in the Southwest, where the geography and climate of the mission would be mimicked more accurately.

“At the end of April, we returned to Virginia and told to get our affairs in order. I made a will, paid up my life insurance and called my dad. Calling my mom was not usual for me before deployments so I didn’t want to alarm her by acting out of character.”

Geronimo

The plan was to move in on the compound in Abbottabad on MH-60 Black Hawks from Jalalabad. Once the SEALs had blasted open the gates and doors into the compound, Cairo and Chesney – part of the perimeter patrol crew, were responsible for clearing any security presence or move along any locals who came to investigate what was happening. Cairo would use his detection skills to clear the area of explosives, weapons and hidden threats.

After two laps of the perimeter, the dog team moved inside, Will carrying Cairo over the mass of broken glass and debris that had been left in the wake of the 20 SEALs that were inside the main house.

“We couldn’t drop our guard for a moment. Trip wires connected to explosives or teams of hidden insurgents could surprise us at any moment. We had to be ready.”

Having successfully swept the first floor, Will and Cairo made their way up to the second floor of the building. “It seemed impossible that the place wasn’t laced with explosives so I kept Cairo on task – tracking any potential explosive odors. He was our best line of defence in this situation.”

But as the dog team made their way towards the third floor, Will heard the news that it was over. Cairo wasn’t needed upstairs. The job was done. Just then, the radio burst into life with confirmation of the mission’s success: “For God and country, Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo, EKIA” – mission code which meant that Osama bin Laden had been killed in action.

Will and Cairo had been part of a mission that will go down in history. Their partnership, skill and devotion as a dog team put them on that Black Hawk and take their place as an integral part of the team.

The course of Will’s career continued when they returned to Virginia and in the Spring of 2012, he returned to Afghanistan as a SEAL operator. Cairo joined the team, but as a spare dog in the FOB kennels.

Will’s life was about to take a serious turn as a seemingly routine (for SEALs, at least) night-time mission ended with Will and two of his teammates being blown up by an enemy grenade.

The blast left Will with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that would rob him of the career he loved so dearly. It also took away his quality of life as he succumbed to chronic pain and depression.

“I had great bosses who allowed me to joining the training squad, so that I could still work on base. But my health was in bits and my confidence was at an all-time low. Of all the visits to hospital and different treatment regimens I tried, the only thing that made me feel any hope at all, was visiting Cairo at the kennels.”

Cairo had returned from deployment to Virginia as a spare dog for the SEALs canine program, but for Will, he would be the best medicine and reach far beyond the numerous medical procedures, drug regimens and rounds of therapy.

In the fall of 2013, Cairo’s retirement was announced and Will was straight in there to lay claim. “He was meant to be with me. Plain and simple.”

It took several months and a painstaking application process, but Cairo was finally given the Navy nod to be adopted by Will. Cairo spent a year with Will, his girlfriend Natalie and their two other dogs, Hagen and Sterling before he was diagnosed with an aggressive stomach cancer. He was put to sleep on 2 April 2015.

Decorated

Following Operation Neptune Spear, the SEAL team members were all awarded the Silver Star for “gallantry in the face of an enemy to the United States”, but, as is customary, Cairo could not receive the award. On March 9 2022, Cairo’s actions were formally recognized by the Animals in War and Peace Medal of Bravery – an award designed to honor outstanding acts of bravery and devotion to duty.

“I hate that Cairo is not here to receive the award in person, but I am so proud that he is being honored in this way. He was an incredible dog and will go down in history as a military legend. He saved my life in more ways than I care to mention. I still miss him every day and I am thrilled to see his name held in such high esteem. This is for you, buddy. I love you. Great job.”

No Ordinary Dog, by Will Chesney and Joe Layden is out now and tells the full story of Cairo’s remarkable career.

Excepts from the book were used in the writing of this article.

Billy Soutra

Sun, 27 Feb 2022 00:33:17 GMT

Meet Billy Soutra – US Marine Corps Dog Handler and Navy Cross Recipient

It was no surprise that William B Soutra joined the US Marine Corps. He would be the third generation to carry his name and serve his country as a devil dog, but Billy’s story would do more than follow a family tradition – it would make history.

His plan, like many young men and women who sign on the dotted line to defend their country, was to enlist for a couple of years and then return home to his native Worcester, MA, to be a firefighter. But the pull of being part of something bigger than himself took root and the allure of a career in K-9 captured Billy’s imagination. “My mom would never let me have a dog”, said Billy, “but maybe the Marine Corps will.”

Devil Dogs

Selection for K-9 was tough but Billy secured a spot on the basic handlers’ course in 2006, working with traditional police dog breeds on basic patrol and scout work skills. The war was ramping up and the need for more dog handlers was increasing dramatically. Billy recalls: “these push-button dogs helped us new handlers to hone our skills. My first dog, Rex, was a great teacher for me and we were awarded the Top Dog team accolade, which felt really good. My second dog, Fanny, made my life a little more interesting, but it was all great experience.”

On completion of the basic training, Billy was selected for the specialized search dog (SSD) course – a new frontier in the K-9 program that had been created to combat the deadly, emerging threat of IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan. Former US Marine Corps master sergeant and incumbent US War Dogs Association president, Chris Willingham, was drafted in as the first trainer to run the course at Lackland Air Force Base, TX. Chris recalls: “I interviewed the graduates from the basic handlers’ course and assessed their capabilities across the board. We were looking for the top ten per cent to move into the SSD course but it wasn’t just Billy’s scores on paper that were impressive. He had a quiet confidence and a maturity that made him an easy choice to attend the course.”

The new handlers on the SSD course were in for a rude awakening. “It’s not just about giving commands to push-button dogs now” says Billy. “We were given green dogs to train from scratch, which is a very different experience. We were also working with non-aggressive breeds like Labradors, who have very different work ethics to the Herders, Shepherds and Malinois that we were used to.”

In February of 2007, after completing the SSD course and graduating as a military working dog handler, Billy was posted to Security Battalion, Camp Pendleton, CA, where Billy met Dina – a petite Belgian Malinois with a black muzzle and a high-pitched bark. “Dina had been stuck in the kennel longer than she should have been while she awaited her fate”, explains Billy. “There was talk of retiring her because she was thought to be gun shy but when I started taking her out for walks and trips to the training site for exercise, you could see her behaviour change. She instantly became happier.”

Billy was informed by some of his senior Marines about Dina’s past and what a great working dog she had been. “Not long after that, I was able to start working her in a full pre-deployment training cycle.”

Billy and Dina were quick to put their training into operational use when they deployed together in support of Operation Iraq Freedom in September 2007. The pair conducted combat operations in Falluja. “She was an extremely loyal and obedient dog”, recalls Soutra. “She was very protective and intelligent – the speed at which she understood what I was trying to get her to accomplish, both in training and on operations was very impressive.”

“She was so obedient that she never needed to be leashed. When I pointed up, she would jump up and climb on things. If I pointed down, she would crawl under things and inside places and she did all of this from extreme distances – far beyond voice control. We made a great team.”

Billy and Dina returned to Camp Pendleton in April 2008. For Dina, who was now seven years old, it was time to hang up her doggles and retire.

“Dina and I had accomplished a lot together and I trusted her implicitly because she had such strong natural abilities. But I knew my time with her was coming to an end and my next dog had a tough act to follow.”

“There was really only one dog in the kennels that captured my attention. Posha.”

Posha – a beautiful black German Shepherd with huge pointy ears – had earned a fierce reputation at Camp Pendleton. “He was one of the most aggressive dogs in the kennels. He didn’t fear anything and had no time or patience for other dogs. But I couldn’t help but feeling he was misunderstood, so I spent time with him and earned his trust. It worked out really well for both of us.”

Billy’s patience and skill with Posha was about to be put to the test as the need for K-9s in military theatre continued to increase.

Posha was one of the most fearsome residents of the kennels in Camp Pendleton

Ground Swell

The landscape of the MWD Program within the Marine Corps was changing at breakneck speed during this period. The Corps was in the process of developing three large K-9 platoons to support the war effort at Camp Pendleton, Camp Lejuene and a third, split between 29 Palms and Okinawa, proving the huge operational significance of MWDs and their effectiveness against modern-day threats on the ground.

Willingham and his SSD, Lucca, were moved to Camp Pendleton in December of 2007, in support of the increased need for MWD support. “It was a frenetic time, with a huge increase in demand for dogs and their capabilities”, recalls Willingham. “K-9 was answering a call and it felt good to be able to serve our country by bringing such a key skill to the fight. Deployments were coming up thick and fast and no sooner were we home, our next posting was up and we were gone.”

Having both deployed to Iraq already, Willingham and Soutra deployed again in October 2008 with their SSDs, alongside two other Marines.

“Dog handlers are often loaners – attached to other units and working away from their fellow team members. This deployment offered a unique situation, in that Chris and I got to stay together”, says Billy.

Soutra and Willingham on deployment in Iraq, 2008

“Nothing galvanises a bond like a seven-month deployment”, notes Willingham, “but as anyone in that situation knows, that bond goes deeper than a professional relationship. I had seen Billy grow as a Marine and witnessing him in a combat environment, I fully understood the depth of his skills and capabilities. He kept a cool head, he was an excellent multitasker and was always entirely dependable.”

Soutra recalls: “We had a productive tour and had really bonded. Posha was my best friend and saved my life on multiple occasions. I had made the right choice with him and he was having the time of his life.”

Kryptonite

With Willingham and Soutra working together, their two dogs became closely acquainted, with Lucca manifesting an unlikely weakness in Posha’s usual stud muffin exterior. “Posha loved Lucca”, explains Billy. “It was so funny to see this usually cool and understated dog, turn to mush when she was around.”

Chris said: “He would puppy dance and puff out his chest when she was around. Watching them play and flirt was always fun and helped us to unwind between missions.”

With new deployments coming in all the time, it wasn’t long before Billy’s skills were required again. “I was fortunate enough to stay with Posha for our first deployment to Afghanistan in 2010.”

Afghanistan

Billy – now a sergeant – and Posha were attached to the Marine Special Operations Team (MSOT) and provided mission-critical capabilities that made the difference between life and death for the platoon. “That deployment was frenetic and busy – Posha had made several important finds. His track record was proven and we had a great relationship with the team.”

Soutra worked closely with staff sergeant Chris Antonik, a capable and diligent leader of MSOT. “He had a great knack for the military. He was a tactical thinker and a true Marine, in every sense of the word. His skill and work ethic inspired me.

“Chris was also an absolute dog lover, so when the usually standoffish Posha sat on his lap one day while we took a break, it was a moment worthy of a photo.”

Posha took a shine to Marine staff sergeant Chris Antonik

That deployment would play host to a mission that would test Soutra’s military capabilities to their outer limits.

Mission

The two-day mission to cordon and search 11 compounds of interest in an attempt to limit the actions of local insurgents. Billy and Posha were assigned to walk point, with SSgt Antonik leading the whole operation.

The terrain around the target area for the mission was rugged, with overgrown vegetation lining a mass of irrigation canals, making visibility poor and ground movement slow and difficult.

Soutra’s preparation for the mission focussed around Chris. “I thought, I am not going to leave his side. I knew that I was competent and I wanted to be there to support him as he took the lead on this operation.”

The helicopters landed at 0030 on 10 July and the platoon, which was made up of Afghan Commandos, US Special Operations Force operators and a number of local interpreters, immediately set to work clearing a suspected IED factory and Taliban command facility. “We found a lot of stuff,” recalls Billy. “Caches of RPG launchers, rockets, mortars and pressure plate IEDs, along with numerous documents pictures, radios to prove that we had hit a high value Taliban Command Post. It was a great start to the mission and Posha was doing a great job of providing support to the team. He found two pressure plate IEDs on the main avenue approaching one of the compounds. He did his job perfectly and we had found our stride.”

But as the morning wore on, the dangers of the mission came to the fore. “We started taking fire from around 50 enemy fighters. They were using a combination of small arms, machine guns, RPGs and mortars.

“We were held in place for the remainder of the day, which put huge strain on our ammo and water supplies. It was a human chess board but we eventually managed to push through and take the lead of the enemy, although the rest of the day was spent fighting a series of small engagements as they attempted to recapture their IED factory.

“When it got dark, Chris ordered an airdrop resupply, but the bundles fell into a large irrigation canal. I remember feeling desperate. We badly needed those supplies – without them, our position was precarious. Bordering on hopeless.

“I was restless and took a walk to the edge of the Helmand River next to where we had set up for the night. For a brief moment, I let my frustration take over, plunging my head under the water so nobody could hear me scream.

“I quickly regained my composure and turned my thoughts to action, volunteering to lead a small group of us to pick up some gear from a nearby platoon. We returned as the sun came up on Day Two of the mission, but we only had a quarter of the supplies needed to continue, so Chris decided to move the element back to higher ground.

“I remember that Chris moved forward and I picked up my stuff to start moving. I was about 150 metres behind him. When the explosion happened, I dropped to the ground. The enemy began a complex ambush of our position and we were completely pinned down.

“I realized that the explosion had dropped Chris. We didn’t know how bad it was but the team was so disoriented, they were firing in every direction. I moved down the line and reoriented the Commandos’ fire toward the main enemy position – a trench around 200 metres away. It was tough without an interpreter, so I moved down the platoon line and physically repositioned the Afghan Commandos’ guns to the correct direction and signaled for them to keep firing.

Soutra’s platoon, moments before the deadly ambush

“We had to get to Chris and moved as fast as we could to where he’d been hit. Chris was semi-conscious and was flanked by two Commando casualties – one had been KIA. Hospitalman (HM2) Quill started working on Chris while I applied tourniquets to the fallen Afghan Commando. Once I’d stopped the bleeding, I carried him to a nearby ditch and told him to keep his head down, before returning to Chris.”

Posha was at Billy’s side throughout the melee and to help him stay out of the way, Billy let him off his leash. “In that moment, he understood the emotional gravity of what had happened. Posha was one of the team and he stayed by my side throughout the whole thing. He had been in bad situations before but this time, one of our own was in trouble and I could feel the shift in his body language. He knew.”

The platoon was still under heavy fire and mortar attack and with SSgt Antonik too badly injured to be moved, all three remained in the kill zone. Billy contacted Ground Force Commander Captain Rose and reported their position and situation. “Captain Rose ordered immediate airstrikes on the enemy position but it was a further 90 minutes of fierce gun fighting before we started to gain the advantage with air support. I had called MEDEVAC for Chris and when it eventually arrived, it attracted the attention of yet more enemy fire.”

Billy and Quill carried Chris and the other casualties through the barrage and safely installed them on the helicopter. “Posha stayed with me while we loaded Chris onto the MEDEVAC but by that point, we had already lost him. Chris had died.”

There was still work to be done to push the enemy back and Soutra took the lead once again, re-organizing the Commandos and moving them out of the kill zone to an adjacent compound, while also establishing a defensive position.

“We inflicted enough damage to keep them cool for the rest of the day, which allowed us to finally cross the Helmand River and head back to base.”

SSGT Chris Antonik was KIA during the operation on July 11, 2008

Weight

The crushing reality of what they had been through and the grief of losing Chris hit them all when they returned to base.

“A big Marine commander came by and said that we needed to get some things off our chest about the mission, or it would crush us. We talked it out then I took a walk. I was dazed, having slept for about an hour in two days.”

Chris’s death weighed heavy of Billy. He had lost his friend and mentor and the trauma of that mission continued to plague him. “I spiralled. Then I would think ‘if Chris were still here, would he spiral like this?’ Sometimes that helped, but many times, it didn’t. Losing a brother out there is a pain like no other. I will carry him with me every day of my life.”

Billy decided to transition away from K-9 and follow the military path that Chris was passionate about – a role that he continues to serve in today.

Decorated

Captain James Rose, along with several other members of Billy’s detachment, enthusiastically recommended he receive the Navy Cross for his actions. Part of the official report and recommendation, reads:

Sergeant Soutra’s heroic actions were directly responsible for saving the lives of his platoon after his Element Leader was mortally wounded. He was also directly responsible for saving the life of the wounded Commando as he appropriately applied tourniquets and effectively stemmed the bleeding… In addition, his actions under fire, violence of action in response to the enemy and utter mission focus completely turned the tide of the enemy ambush.

Billy said: “When Captain Rose told me that he was putting me forward, I didn’t want to be rude or sound ungrateful. It is such an honor but with that honor, comes a huge responsibility. I felt very conflicted about it and that feeling haunted me for years.”

On Billy’s actions, Chris Willingham recalls: “I had full confidence in his abilities in a combat environment but reading the witness statements about his actions was surreal. I was in awe of his tactical leadership in such a dynamic engagement and it pained me to know he lost a close friend during the mission. We train and prepare for combat but no amount of training can replicate what Billy went through. It was true testament to his character and courage.”

Shortly after Billy decided to transition away from K9, Posha was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer. There was nothing that could be done for him so the vets recommended he be put to sleep. Billy said: “He had done five deployments and was only seven years old. Not only that, we had shared the darkest of times together. Nobody else knew what we been through but Posha. Saying goodbye to him was harder than I ever through possible. I still keep his collar, leashes and toys – I take them everywhere with me.

“He was misunderstood by so many but we got each other. He slept with me and like so many dog teams, we shared the smallest space, but I was always happy to have him near.”

Brothers in arms: Posha and Soutra

Legend

US War Dogs President Chris Willingham said: “In the K-9 community, there is a long and distinguished list of handlers working as force multipliers: Fully mission-capable assets who are out there saving lives. Billy was already a part of that legacy but in that moment – on that mission, his courageous actions elevated him and he became a legend. I am proud to know him and to have served with him and we are honored to share his story.”

Navy Cross: Soutra’s actions made the history books, with Posha by his side

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