Working dog teams search, patrol together

Published Feb. 17, 2007
By Staff Sgt. Jasmine Reif

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Ensuring the safety of everyone at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing rests heavily upon the skills of a group of Airmen and their highly trained four-legged partners.

The 379th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron Military Working Dog Section, has several certified teams made up of handlers and their explosive detecting dogs, who inspect every vehicle that enters the base.

"MWD teams are vital to all aspects of installation security, said David Aviles, 379th ESFS MWD section kennel master. "Nothing is able to enter the base without MWD searching it prior to entry."

The dog handlers work 12-hour shifts and must take care to not overwork, or "smoke," the dogs, especially as the outdoor temperatures rise.

"Our main mission is the vehicle search pit, but we try to keep ourselves sharp by rotating positions during our shifts," said Tech. Sgt. Bob Weigold, 379th ESFS MWD Section element leader. "One team will do the vehicle searches, while another is doing perimeter checks or required training."

The teams also conduct foot patrols, perform random anti-terrorism measures and conduct searches on base.

During an average 12-hour shift the teams will search more than 250 vehicles.

"Not only do our MWD teams provide a force multiplier on-base, they have been tasked to support convoy and port missions, as well as augment the Army at Camp As Sayliyah," said Capt. Steve Ohlmeyer, 379th ESFS operations officer.

The dogs are trained as explosive detectors, but drug dogs are sent to other areas in the theater. "The dogs are never trained to detect both because you wouldn't want a drug dog to start pawing at a potential bomb," Sergeant Weigold said.

The dogs are trained at Lackland AFB, when they are between 12 and 36 months old and continue training until they are ready to be sent to their first duty station and assigned a handler.

Sergeant Weigold's partner is Timo, a 3-year-old German Shepard, and they have been teamed up since August 2006, and he takes responsibility for caring for him at all times.
The 4-year veteran dog handler joked that the dogs receive better care than the handlers.

The MWD facility is an air conditioned building with living quarters for the two element leaders, a day room, a portable obstacle course, indoor and outdoor dog runs, a small room to keep the dog's food and medicine, and a sink to wash dog dishes.
Sergeant Weigold explained how important even the smallest details are when taking care of the dogs.

The dogs cannot go more than four hours without being checked by someone, he said.

"We have charts that show how much the dogs are eating and medicine intake amounts.

"Due to long work hours, it's critical the dogs stay at their ideal weight, so we closely monitor their food intake, and if a dog is sick they automatically get airlifted to a location that can help them," he said.

Keeping the dogs in prime health is critical to completing the mission and kennel cleanliness is one way the handlers do that.

"We have random kennel inspections to ensure the dogs are not lying in filth or water, which can cause skin conditions," Sergeant Weigold said. "We all 'GI party' the kennels on a regular basis and if I see a kennel that needs cleaning, I will clean it if the handler is off-duty because even a few hours can make a difference in the dog's health."

"The handlers understand they might get bit by their dog, and many have puncture wound scars, but their loyalty to their dog does not falter and we all feel that our dog is the best partner we could have," Sergeant Weigold said.

"The mission our MWD teams are providing can only be rated as world class. I have worked K-9 for over 10 years and the operation here is ever changing and our MWD teams continue to meet the challenges," said Mr. Aviles.