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380AEW Article

(Part 3) In their words: Deployed Airmen enduring the holidays

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tyler Woodward
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

The following is a transcription of an interview with Sam, 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron military working dog, which was recorded Dec. 9, 2016. Sam’s handler Staff Sgt. Brandon, 380 ESFS working dog handler, helped as Sam’s translator. As the holiday season continues, we are using a series of Questions and Answers to show how deployed Airmen stay resilient while away from home.

How many deployments have you been on?  Is this your first?

I’ve been on four deployments, this being my fourth.

What do you hope to get out of this deployment?

I hope to get love out of my handler – and also rewards. I also hope to get fit so when I go back home, stateside, I can show all the female dogs how buff I am and retire as a military working dog.

What do you do in your free time to help time pass while deployed?

I like to walk around my kennel, you know; I pace back and forth. I’ve started a scratch chart on the walls. I’m just counting down the days ‘till I can leave this place. My handler makes me walk a lot. I talk to people and sometimes I get petted. It’s okay. But sometimes I have itches behind my ear. 

What’s been the hardest thing while being away from your fellow working dogs and handlers during the holidays?

I miss my home station crew. I’d like to give a big shout out to my fellow working dogs Elza, Wotan and Rocky. Rocky actually retired back home and I missed that. I miss working with my family, especially when we do decoy work in the field.

For you, what does it mean to be resilient?

Resiliency means that when I do something wrong and my handler corrects me for it, I just bounce back. I gotta’ keep on keepin’ on ya know? Whether I don’t find the aid or my handler tells me to sit and I don’t sit because I want to lay down because it’s hot and then I have to get corrected and I just, I just let it fall off my shoulders and I keep on going. I get a little nap in the car every now and then after a long walk. That’s what being resilient means to me.

If you could tell someone one thing to help them stay resilient through deployments what would it be?

I would have to say never give up, never surrender. Goonies for life. I watched that show one day when I was waiting for my handler to finish eating. It’s definitely one of my top 10 favorite movies. I’ll never give up, never surrender. I guess just don’t let things get you down and keep moving forward and find those bombs.

 

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