Dogs Role In Warfare Dates To Antiquity

In just six days, one Spokane dog will make an extreme sacrifice. And he will do it in the name of national security.

Basje, an 8-year-old Belgian malinois, will say goodbye forever to Scott Tracy on Friday.

Basje is a military dog stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base. Tracy is a senior airman and military dog handler there. The two have been partners for five years.

Tracy is being transferred to Korea this week. Basje’s orders are to stay at Fairchild. Almost certainly, the two will never be stationed together again.

“It’s going to be really hard,” Tracy said.

Like the men and women who serve in the armed forces, military dogs must put country ahead of comfort. They must remain exquisitely disciplined. They must attack, and even kill, if asked to do so.

In essence, the dogs are soldiers.

“They support us in war and peace times,” said Tech. Sgt. Scott Gardner, kennel master and dog handler at Fairchild.

Archaeologists and historians say it was probably the Greeks and Romans who first used dogs in warfare. They trained their dogs to attack, outfitted them with spiked armor, then sent them behind enemy lines.

With the invention of gunpowder, dogs took on new military roles. They became sentries, scouts, messengers and ammunition carriers.

The German and French armies used an estimated 50,000 dogs during World War I. By World War II, the Germans had trained 200,000 war dogs. The United States military began investing seriously in military dogs after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1942.

“Now, almost all militaries have dogs,” Gardner said.

Since 1958, dogs and dog handlers serving all branches of the U.S. military have been trained at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.

The dogs - which select breeders produce on contract for the military - are trained to do two jobs: First, they are trained in either bomb or drug detection. Next, they are trained as patrol dogs, which means they will attack, and cease to attack, on command.

The sequence ensures dogs unfit for military patrol duty can serve, without liability, in civilian law enforcement agencies as detection dogs.

German shepherds and Belgian malinois are the military’s chosen breeds because of their loyalty, obedience, scenting ability and double coats.

When military dogs become physically unable to do their jobs, they retire at Lackland Air Force Base where they help train new recruits.

Military dog handlers likewise go through selection and training, and find another assignments when they can no longer perform with their dog.

Handlers must be strong enough to carry and restrain their dog. They must command respect and confidently give commands. They must learn canine psychology, biology and first aid.

Dog training methods used by the military have recently evolved - as they have in the civilian world - from punishment-based to praise-based methods.

“The trainers at Lackland get a lot of technique from marine mammal specialists at Sea World,” said Staff Sgt. Aaron Cheney, a dog trainer and handler at Fairchild.

Six dogs serve at Fairchild, five Belgian malinois and one German shepherd. Like their handlers, they are a mix of male and female.

The dogs live in an eight-run kennel, complete with its own grooming room and kitchen. Next door is an on-base veterinary clinic.

Fairchild dogs and their handlers check the base for drugs and bombs. They also assist local law enforcement agencies and federal and state inspection agencies with drug and bomb searches.

The dogs check luggage at the airport for the Federal Aviation Administration. Recently, they were in Priest River, Idaho, helping investigate a bomb threat. Last summer, they sniffed the U.S. Bank’s Valley branch after it was bombed to check for additional bombs.

And, at a moment’s notice, Fairchild’s dogs could be sent anywhere in the world. The FBI might need them to help protect President Clinton during a speech. Or they might need to patrol an American base in a foreign country.

Right now, a Fairchild dog named Lesley is patrolling Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudia Arabia. She’s due back in Spokane in June.

“They tell us not to get too attached to our dogs because we might be sent somewhere without them,” Gardner said. “But we do.” , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: About Dogs appears the first Sunday of each month. Mary Sagal is a member of the Dog Writers’ Association of America.