Adopting a new lifestyle

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kate Thornton-Maurer
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE S.D. --  Military working dogs - MWDs - serve a vital mission in the U.S. Armed Forces with the use of their agility and keen senses to protect and defend. While many know about what they do on duty, the key role they serve in civilian society after retirement is often overlooked. After successfully accomplishing their mission and completing their duties providing security for our nation, there is a program in place by which the military reintegrates military working dogs into civilian life. Several assigned to the 28th Security Forces Squadron demonstrated their aptitude in everyday training at the 28th SFS K-9 facility on Ellsworth, Aug. 22.

From the beginning, the U.S. Air Force chooses MWDs two different ways: One way is by sending a team of handlers from Lackland AFB, Texas, to hand pick purebred dogs that meet a specific set of standards. The dogs are then brought back to Lackland for training. Another is the Department of Defense Military Working Dog Breeding Program at Lackland.

"The dogs go through basic obedience training just like Airmen go through basic military training at Lackland," said Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Thomas, 28th SFS military working dog unit NCO in charge.

He added that the dogs then go through specialty training for either drug or bomb detection and patrol duties. Out of the 10 dogs allocated at Ellsworth, eight of them are bomb detecting specialists while the other two specialize in drug detection and patrol.

"The most rewarding part of my job is training dog teams, sending them downrange and watching them succeed by literally saving a lot of lives," said Thomas, "We had a team just come back from deployment that found 3,000 pounds of explosives in Afghanistan that otherwise would've been used against coalition forces."

Like their human comrades, after years of defending the U.S., the time comes for a well earned retirement. The most common reason dogs retire is health related. If a dog is no longer an asset to the Department of Defense, it is first offered up to civilian agencies. If the dog is not needed or not able to join forces with its corresponding civilians, it is trained to "forget" its previous aggression training and offered for adoption. The dog's previous handler has priority before being made available to the public for adoption.

"Handlers know their dog's personality just like most people know their pet's personality," said Thomas, "I haven't seen or heard of a dog make it past the handler's opportunity for adoption."

Adoption training prepares a military working dog for civilian life. At the end of the training, a dog must demonstrate neutral behavior during verbal and physical interactions with its handler and multiple other parties. These tests include third party interaction with the dog's food while eating, confrontation between the handler and others, and a variety of touching and playing.

"I adopted my last dog and when he got in the house, he didn't understand a lot of things we take for granted," said Thomas, "He didn't understand how stairs work. The dog had to basically learn how to be a dog all over again."

While in the service MWDs are essentially institutionalized to ensure their health and safety. A dog generally serves between eight and 12 years and spends its time in a climate controlled kennel when not actively training or on missions. A home is fairly foreign to military working dogs.

When asked about the benefits of adopting a MWD, Thomas replied, "Primarily you're rewarding the dog for its years of service. When I retire, I hope to just kick my feet up and relax. You're making that possible for the dog. You're also getting a fully-trained dog. As long as you know how to give the command, the dog will do it for you every single time."

Military working dogs serve alongside the men and women of the Air Force to protect and defend the nation and once their term is complete MWDs have to retire into society just like Airmen.