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Rock Solid Warrior: Senior Airman Paul Little

  • Published
  • By Courtesy Story
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA – I’m Senior Airman Paul Little, a 386th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler. I am deployed from the 27th Special Operations Security Forces Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. I joined the Air Force upon advice from my grandfather. When I was beginning my senior year of college, my grandfather, a retired member of the Air Force, encouraged me to “give the Air Force a shot,” so I did and here I am.

The best part of my mission is getting to work with my dog every day! I trust MWD Jackson to do his job more than I trust most humans. MWD teams provide a physical and psychological deterrent to protect service members from potential threats. MWD teams also provide enhanced detection capabilities. This deployment has been unique as I’ve had the opportunity to meet a three-star general, conduct security sweeps for the Secretary of the Army, and hang out with camels.

The biggest challenge I faced was when we first got here and we were trying to get our dogs to adjust to 120+ degree heat. We constantly have to monitor our dogs to make sure they don’t overheat. We use lots of cold water, cooling pads and air conditioning to help keep our MWD teams up and going.

My professional goal is to make master sergeant by my 11-year mark. I’m also trying to get stationed in England or Italy.

My personal goal is to adopt my military working dog, MWD Jackson, after he retires from service.

Some of my hobbies include traveling and going on adventures. I also restore old cars and build things in my free time.