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Military working dogs train for success

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Nick Wilson
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
Originating from "The Story of Old Drum", written after the Civil War in Warrensburg, Mo., it's been said that, "A dog is man's best friend."

This phrase holds especially true for the members of the 509th Security Forces Squadron canine handlers. Military working dogs act not only as trusted wingmen but also as friends.

Effective communication, training and hard work is required for a bond to form between a canine and its handler. Additionally, extra time and effort helps prepare the dogs for real-world scenarios through various exercises.

"We want to make them better dogs, so from day one handlers train with their dog every day," said Tech. Sgt. John Flores, 509th SFS MWD handler.

"We don't come to work, do our standard job and go home," said Staff Sgt. James Swann, 509th SFS MWD handler. "We have to put in a lot of overtime which can be demanding."

The primary mission for MWDs is providing protection capabilities for base personnel and resources.

"Military working dogs are another weapon and tool for the Airmen to use," Flores said. "When used properly, the dogs can assist in providing base security and deterrence."

Prior to arriving at Whiteman Air Force Base, the German Shepherds and Belgian Malanois start their training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, when they are one- to-two years old.

"As soon as we get them, we put them in our program and continue their training," Flores said. "We look at their capabilities and what we need them to do and go from there."

To ensure the MWDs are up to date, canines and their handlers do daily and monthly training.

"We evaluate obedience and areas that could be a distraction and develop basic commands for them so that they are comfortable with it," Swann said. "We teach them a task, they learn the task and then we integrate different things each time to make them proficient every time they do it."

Some of the tasks MWDs learn include random daily sweeps on base so the dogs can react to real-world threats when they happen.

Since a dog's scent, sight and sound are far greater than humans are, the MWDs play a vital role in the overall mission of 509th SFS; which is to safeguard all personnel and assets on base.