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Military Working Dogs Safeguard Military Bases Worldwide

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS090824-03
Release Date: 8/24/2009 2:05:00 PM

By Fumiyo Sato, Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka Public Affairs

YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) -- Military working dogs (MWD) and their handlers are deployed worldwide in support of global operations and play a significant role in safeguarding military bases.

Currently, seven military working dogs are serving aboard Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) MWD Division. Of the seven, two of them are deployed to Africa and Iraq.

"The purpose of having military dogs here in Yokosuka is to ensure that we provide the base and the fleet safety when it comes to vehicles coming on board and to ensure that no type of suspicious activities are being performed here on the base," said MWD Kennel Supervisor Master-at-Arms 1st Class Allan McGathey.

Since a dog's nose contains up to 225 million scent receptor nerves, compared to the five million receptors in the human nose, military working dogs can detect narcotics, explosives, illegal currency, gas leaks, arson accelerants and illegally imported food, according to the Department of Defense (DoD) Puppy Program Web site. At CFAY, the role of the military working dog ranges from patrol to drug detection or explosive detection.

Military dogs have to be either German Shepherd or Belgian Malinosis because of their superior ability to perform these tasks.

"The dogs are initially procured from numerous places to include Germany and the DoD Puppy Program," said McGathey. "They are chosen through the procurement process where they test on different abilities that they show when they are still young puppies. They go through training required at Lackland [Air Force Base in Texas] through explosive, drug or patrol training. Once they pass their certification, they are sent out to the fleet."

According to the Lackland Air Force Base Web site, the 341st Training Squadron is part of a global effort to breed working dogs for the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. These dogs are a vital part of national defense capabilities. In cooperation with various national and international agencies, the Puppy Program was established to emulate the success of other breeding programs for raising working service dogs.

Master-at-Arms (MA) Sailors who go through a MWD handler's course at Lackland are eligible to work with the military dogs. They maintain the kennel and train and take care of the dogs daily. The training schedule is made according to each individual dog's ability.

Military working dogs usually serve in the military for 10 years until their retirement.

"Most of the time, we would like to ensure that the dogs are adopted by the handlers before they go back to Lackland to be a training aide," McGathey said.

For more news from Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka, visit www.navy.mil/local/cfay/.