MWD handler investigates possible 22,000 gallon bomb

Published March 3, 2009
By Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Doscher
386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

CAMP BUCCA, Iraq -- Staff Sgt. Joseph Null, 42nd Military Police Brigade military working dog handler, and his working dog, Lucca, were trained to sniff out explosives before they deployed.

When the possible bomb could be a 22,000 gallon fuel bomb on the side of an Iraqi road, however, things get a little more interesting.

That was the possible threat facing the dog team Feb. 24 when Sergeant Null, whose duties never took him outside the wire before, received a call early that morning with orders to suit up.

"There was a fuel truck that had gone off road and got stuck in the sand," the St. Petersburg, Fla., native explained. "It had been abandoned overnight, and I was tasked to go out with the Army to sweep the area leading up to the vehicle and basically clear the area for IEDs or VBIEDs that had been attached to the vehicle."

With IEDs and vehicle-borne IEDs one of the number-one killers of U.S. troops in Iraq, sweeping the area is an important first step.

"Anytime you're going to have people go into an unknown area, you want to clear it as best as you possibly can," he said. "If you can have EOD clear it or a bomb-sniffing dog go out there and clear the area, then you're taking one less threat away from the Soldier who had to go out there and do their job."

The truck came with an interesting twist of a threat, Sergeant Null said. It was carrying 22,000 gallons of gas, potentially turning the truck into a massive fuel bomb.

"That makes a pretty big bomb if there's some C4 strapped to it," he said.

For 45 agonizing minutes, Sergeant Null and Lucca searched the area, the handler waiting for the working dog to give him some sign that all wasn't well with the tanker truck.

"It makes you a little nervous, clearing a real area, because you know it's the real deal," he said. "But that's your job. This is what I signed up to do. Somebody's got to do it, right? If my dog had sat, I would have praised her up, told her 'good girl,' and gotten back to the MRAP as quick as possible to report what had happened."

At this point, it was Lucca's show. The German Shepherd would either sit, indicating the presence of a bomb, or she wouldn't. Sergeant Null's life was in the hands of a dog, his teammate.

"You don't look at the dog as a dog," he said. "You train together all the time. We've been together since June, and I couldn't count the number of hours we've spent together. It's like having a best friend. You think on that same wavelength. My dog goes and does her job, and you know what to look for while she does her job. If you can't trust the dog, you shouldn't be out there anyway."

But Lucca didn't sit. The truck was clear.

"Everything was good to go," Sergeant Null said.

Eight hours later, the truck was finally pulled free of the sand, and the convoy made its way back to base. Sergeant Null said that although his primary mission is inside the wire, he's more than willing to go out again if called upon.

"It's my job," he said simply. "It's the best job in the Air Force. You get to play with a dog and get paid pretty well for it. You can't beat that."

Col. Alan Metzler, 586th Air Expeditionary Group commander, said Joint Expeditionary Tasking Airmen like Sergeant Null are providing critical services in the joint environment and excelling at it.

"Our combat Airmen are doing an outstanding job in support of the mission at Camp Bucca, and SSgt. Null proves it," Colonel Metzler said. "Often, they have to adapt to situations and perform unique missions we don't normally ask them to do in the Air Force. Airmen like him set demonstrate the Air Force's commitment to our mission in Iraq."