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Airmen deploy with four-legged partner

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Cheryl L. Toner
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  Some people bring stuffed animals with them when they deploy. Some Airmen even bring the real thing.

Staff Sgt. Thomas Burns and his 9-year-old dog, Ogar, deployed three months ago from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. The Belgian Malinois and his handler are part of the eight-person military working dog team at a forward-deployed location. There are six handlers, a trainer and a kennel master.

Sergeant Burns began his career as a “regular cop,” but jumped at the chance to become a dog handler at his three-year point. “I wanted the opportunity,” he said.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, dog handlers and their partners have been busy, said Staff Sgt. Julian Stovall, kennel master. Sergeant Stovall is a military working dog trainer deployed from Kadena Air Base, Japan, and he said the teams typically are deployed for six months, home for six months, and then deployed again.

Sergeant Burns knows the routine -- in seven years, he has deployed six times. But he said that is OK, because nothing beats the camaraderie at this location.

“The majority of our time is spent here,” said Sergeant Stovall of the building they work out of. “We might sleep in the tents, but this is our home.”

Spending more time with their co-workers also means they spend more time with their four-legged deployment partners.

“Back home, we don’t see that much of each other,” Sergeant Stovall said.

But on deployments, Sergeant Burns said he sees a lot more of his furry explosives ordnance-sniffing dog.

“On my days off (at home), I don’t usually see Ogar because it’s so far to drive,” he said. “But when I’m off here, I still come over and play with him and let him chew on a tennis ball.”

Deployments, however, are not all tennis balls and napping for the military working dogs. Sergeant Stovall said they follow a training schedule that includes testing the dogs’ ability to sniff out explosives about four times a month.

“The trainer puts something in an approved area, and we get called to go find it,” Sergeant Burns said. “It’s a game to (the dogs). Toys are the reward every time they find something.”

Training their dogs must be done carefully, especially when temperatures climb past 100 degrees. As with people working in the sun, military working dogs also have a work-rest cycle.

“We can only work them for about 20 to 25 minutes,” Sergeant Stovall said.

To try and stay cool like their handlers, the dogs also have air conditioning in their living quarters.

When deploying, the dogs need to go through much of the same process as Airmen. The dog’s name is on the Airman’s orders. The dogs also have to take malaria pills as well as another pill that keeps disease from ticks at bay.