Loyal partners sniff out trouble in Iraq

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Paul Dean
  • 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  After a couple of years apart, Ori and Tyreese are partners again. And the security forces duo is deployed and back on the job sniffing out trouble at an entry control point here.

Staff Sgt. Tyreese McAllister was the first handler Ori was assigned to after the German shepherd graduated from the military’s version of K-9 police academy. But after about one-and-a-half years of working together at Langley Air Force Base, Va., the partnership came to an end when Sergeant McAllister underwent knee surgery.

During his absence, Ori worked with a few different handlers. As luck would have it, though, when Sergeant McAllister was ready to assume K-9 duty again, Ori was available because his partner was making a permanent change of station at the time.

Although it had been a few years since they last met, the getting-to-know-you-again phase went smoothly.

“He acted a little funny at first, but within a couple of weeks it was as if we were never apart,” said Sergeant McAllister of the 407th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron here.

While one team has reunited, another team faces separation.

Staff Sgt. Jake Bolton has worked with Kevin since May 2003, but this deployment will mark the eventual end to their partnership when he eventually returns to duty at Whiteman AFB, Mo.

“I should be sewing on (technical sergeant) when I get back. That means my K-9 duty will have to end,” Sergeant Bolton said.

Many security forces units transition K-9 handlers into positions with greater responsibility when they are promoted to technical sergeant. This transition is not an easy one.

“I’ve known people who’d rather pass up a promotion and stay with their dog,” Sergeant McAllister said. The parting sounds tougher for the human side of the partnership.

“(The dogs) deal with the changes pretty well,” Sergeant McAllister said. “After a couple of weeks with a new handler -- learning how they sound out commands -- things are fine.”

“You really develop a bond over time,” Sergeant Bolton said of Kevin.

Unfortunately, Sergeant Bolton does not have the option of taking Kevin with him if he loses his K-9 billet.

“The dogs work until they’re 10 or 12, or until they just decide (they don’t want to work anymore),” he said. The dogs transition to new handlers as Airmen move on or until they self-retire.

However, K-9 handlers do have preference in the adoption process at the end of a dog’s Air Force career.

And their careers are important to the security forces mission. Using K-9 teams adds an extra dimension to base security. The trained handlers guide their dogs around dozens of vehicles each day as both use their senses to communicate to the other.

The Airmen who handle the dogs rely on human training to lead the dogs to areas for inspection; the dogs use heightened and trained scent senses to complete the investigation and communicate any suspicions. Those senses are honed at school.

Military working dogs go to technical school at Lackland AFB, Texas. Training lasts eight to 12 weeks, depending on the dog, and then they train with their handler for a couple of weeks before the team is ready to work. And like their handlers, going to work sometimes includes deployed locations such as here.

So as the daily traffic flows onto Ali Base, Ori, Kevin and the other K-9 teams here will keep doing their part to make sure the mission continues successfully.