Veterans remember canines with care packages

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Phyllis Duff
  • Air Force Print News
SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) --  Staff Sgt. Erick Trusty is tired and dirty. Another day has come and gone that he survived.

At least on this day an improvised explosive device -- one of the enemy's deadliest weapons of choice in Iraq -- didn't hit his team. And the raid he and others carried out on a house full of weapons and munitions was a success.

Then the sergeant thinks about how much he misses his new bride back in Texas. But that doesn't last long. Before him his four-legged partner signals that there are other things to worry about.

"What did we get this time, Duko?" the sergeant asks as he pats his military working dog, a Belgian Malinois, on the head. Before their boots and paws is a cardboard box adorned with "God Bless Our Troops" and American flag stickers.

The tawny, black-masked 70-pound dog circles the dust-covered package, wagging his tail and sniffing furiously. This is a package they both know is safe.

Sergeant Trusty slits through the box's taped seams with his pocketknife. Both he and Duko know the package is for man's best friend. Duko's mouth waters for the chew treats sure to be in the box, which someone packed with great care.

The package is just one of the hundreds sent by caring Americans to military working dogs serving in the war zones.

"It's like you're a kid on Christmas morning -- yet the gifts are from complete strangers," the sergeant said. Most of the goodies are for Duko.

Sergeant Trusty just returned from an eight-month deployment to Forward Operating Base Kalsu, some 30 miles south of Baghdad. It was his fourth deployment in the seven years he has been in the Air Force.

The military has been using dogs in war for as long as there have been armies fighting wars.

"They are just a great companion, and deserve the best," the sergeant said.

Getting the care packages means a lot to Sergeant Trusty and the hundreds of other deployed security force troops and their canine warriors.

One of the best gifts he and Duko received was a portable misting fan, sent by a supporter from Crystal Beach, Texas.

On those scorching, dry-lipped days with no breeze, the fan helps cool down the dog "wearing the fur coat" in the desert. The sergeant, from Clear Lake, Texas, was touched by the gift even more so because it came from someone in his own state.

Before returning to the Military Working Dog Training Center at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, Sergeant Trusty made sure that misting fan was passed on to his replacement. His dog would need it for sure.

Through a project known as "Old Dawgs and Pups," retired Master Sgt. Vernon Anderson of Cheyenne, Wyo., and hundreds of others are adopting deployed security force members and dog handlers. The veterans call themselves the "old Vietnam dog handlers" and refer to active military working dog handlers as "young pups."

In January 2003, groups of veterans who had served in Vietnam and Thailand during the Vietnam War wanted to support today's deployed dog handlers, he said.

"We decided that with the current conflicts going on in the Middle East, we did not want to see the young troops serving their country to be treated like we were during Vietnam," Mr. Anderson said.

"We felt it made no difference how you felt about the conflicts, the troops must be supported," he said.

The program was set up for military working dog handlers, who are paired with persons who want to correspond through letters and e-mails or to send small care packages, Mr. Anderson said.

The program unites troops serving in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait and other areas with civilians or other servicemembers and their families who want to support them. The group does not limit itself to American servicemembers. It also reaches out to coalition forces.

The packages are a welcome treat. Some of the common gifts in the packages include cooling mats, food dishes, grooming tools and slickers, Mr. Anderson said.

No veteran has ever asked for any recognition for the adoptions, Mr. Anderson said.

"They are entirely satisfied with knowing that they have made a small difference in the life of our young servicemembers as reflected in the letters received from them," he said.

It is not just the Vietnam Security Police Association and the Vietnam Dog Handlers Association who are behind this program, he said. A vast number of the members, acting on their own, ensure the program carries on.

Grade school classes, civilians and active duty members -- some in the war zone themselves -- and their family members have all been helping out, Mr. Anderson said.

Staff Sgt. Pablo Martinez and his German shepherd partner, Argo, returned to Sheppard AFB, Texas, in April. Both are Purple Heart Medal recipients for wounds suffered in Iraq. While deployed to Kirkuk, the sergeant received care packages from Old Dawgs and Pups and former military working dog handlers.

The bonds and understanding of being a dog handler and security force member run deep, the sergeant said. It seems no one else could ever understand what these teams go through except "anyone else who carries a leash," he said.

"For someone to think of the other warfighter, man's best friend and comrade in arms, is just great," Sergeant Martinez said.

It was a huge morale booster when a package or letter would arrive from these former dog handlers.

"Argo got all the packages -- I was just the delivering service," Sergeant Martinez said. He still keeps in touch with three veterans who wrote to him.

"You don't find people like them," he said. "They gave me the words of encouragement I needed to get through."

Word about the security forces' donation programs has spread over the past three years and each day another person shows interest.

Staff Sgt. Patrick Smith, an integrated base defense instructor at Silver Flag Alpha at Creech AFB, Nev., helps train forward deploying security force members and their working dogs. Before handlers leave the intense combat training environment, Sergeant Smith, of Rockport, N.Y., makes sure every person is well aware of the veterans who want to help.

"The dogs want to just please whoever they're working for," Sergeant Smith said. "They deserve the best."