Navy SEAL Dogs

 

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This book is dedicated to the brotherhood, and the loyal hounds that help keep them safe.

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank the following people, for without them this book would not have been possible.

My parents, George and Sandy—Thank you for putting up with me as a kid and instilling the values and foundation that forged me into the man I am today.

The SEAL Teams—Enlisting at eighteen, I grew up in the teams. There could not have been a finer collection of warriors to be around to set the example of how to live your life. The entire country owes you an infinite debt of gratitude for the violence you bestow on our enemies.

Marc Resnick, his assistant Kate Canfield, and everyone at St. Martin's Press—Thank you for your professionalism and pride in what you do. It's been a pleasure working with you.

Gary Brozek—Thank you for the countless hours of hard work you have put into this project, bringing my words to life in a way that couldn't make me prouder.

Brandon Webb—The brotherhood continues to prove that it takes care of its own, and your friendship and advice are certainly no exception. Thank you for everything, brother.

Wayne Dodge—Brother, there are no words to give ample thanks for what you have done for me, in more ways than one. Your friendship will be forever appreciated.

The warriors (both men and dogs) at MPC-1 (Multi-Purpose Cammo)—You guys are the reason I do what I do, and I could not be prouder of the job you guys have done and continue to do.

Special thanks to:

 

CONTENTS

Title Page

Copyright Notice

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Author's Note

Map

Prologue

 

PART I:
NAVY SEALS AND DOGS

  
1.
A Visit to Chopper and Brett

  
2.
A Lifelong Love of Dogs

  
3.
A Desire to Serve and Defend

  
4.
Combining Passions

PART II:
ON MAKING THE GRADE

  
5.
Not Your Typical House Pet

  
6.
Well Trained

  
7.
Prep School for Puppies

  
8.
Detection Training: Passing the Sniff Test

  
9.
Apprehension Training: Sinking Their Teeth into It

10.
Distinct Personalities

11.
The Bond at Both Ends of the Leash

PART III:
ADVENTURES IN BATTLE

12.
Cairo and Lloyd: Among the First

13.
Samson and Dave: Undeterred Underdogs

14.
Rex and Dwayne: Foiling Insurgents

15.
Poncho in Pursuit

16.
Kwinto's Nighttime Raids

PART IV:
GIVING BACK AND MOVING FORWARD

17.
Carlos and Arko at Ease

 

More About the Warrior Dog Foundation

Appendix: A Brief History of Canines in Combat

Glossary

References

Photographs

Also by Mike Ritland

About the Author

Copyright

 

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I'm a very lucky man in lots of ways. A lot of men and women haven't returned from our recent wars. I was able to. Now, I combine two passions of mine—working with dogs and still aiding in the defense of our country.

I love dogs as pets and companions. I admire them as workers and useful “tools,” and also know how much they benefit from our training and guidance. I feel sorry for anyone who hasn't experienced the joys of seeing a dog in action doing what nature intended or even just the look in a dog's eyes when you scratch “that” spot for him or her. I appreciate all sides of the dog-human interaction enough that I've chosen to make training military and other working dogs my career, while still sharing my life with dogs as pets.

Multipurpose K-9s have saved countless lives. As a nation, we owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude. By telling the story of some of these dogs, I hope to increase awareness of the vital role that military working dogs play. By sharing some of my own story and the stories of some of the Navy SEAL dog handlers I've come to know, I hope to encourage you to believe in yourself and your own dreams, and to keep working toward your goals, because you never know how far you can go—until one day, you realize you're there, exactly where you want to be.

 

 

PROLOGUE

Northeast Afghanistan, 2007

The tense silence inside the airborne MH-60 Seahawk helicopter was broken only by the sound of the aircraft's rotors and blades beating like a quickened pulse. Inside, sixteen members of a West Coast–based U.S. Navy SEAL team waited to reach the site of their mission in Northeast Afghanistan. The team was based at a forward operating base (FOB) in Afghanistan, close to the Pakistan border in a mountainous region called the Hindu Kush. In military circles, the Kush is well-known for being an area Taliban terrorists use to travel undetected across the border that divides Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Just a few hours earlier, in a premission briefing, the team had learned the nature of their mission. The operations order commanded them to take out a “high-value target” deemed essential to the Taliban. The target was located in a village about 30 miles (50 kilometers) away. According to the intelligence report, the target was a leading Taliban munitions expert and one of the head trainers who instructed terrorist cell leaders and their underlings in the deadly craft of making improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

As the MH-60 neared the landing zone, everyone on the team felt a collective sense of heightened anticipation. Everyone, including Chopper, the canine member of the team. From his seat between the knees of his handler, a SEAL named Brett, Chopper's chest rose and fell at a slightly agitated rate in response to the men's eagerness. The men were about to rappel out of the plane into the pitch-black night and into enemy territory, and Chopper was going with them. They all had a job to do.

The copilot radioed that they were several “klicks” (kilometers), or a few miles, from the landing zone. In their briefing, they had learned that there was no landing zone in range large enough or flat enough to accommodate the three helicopters that were on this mission. So they would have to fast-rope in—literally slide down a rope to the ground.

Brett stood and commanded Chopper to do the same. Then Brett turned his back and waited. The platoon chief stepped forward, squatted in front of Chopper, wrapped his arms around the dog's rear end and chest, and lifted him up. Chopper remained alert but still and remained that way when he was strapped into a harness on Brett's back.

Brett felt a
thwack
on his shoulder, a signal that he and Chopper were safely joined together and good to go. Brett spent the next few minutes making his way to the front of the line. He checked the rigging and stepped out of the MH-60's bay and into the dark night air. The dog on his back remained silent. The only sounds were the wind rushing past Brett's ears and the high-pitched whirring of the rope snaking through the device.

Brett and Chopper touched down, and Brett unhooked the line and waited for another team member to release Chopper. He then grabbed the dog's lead, double-checked the harness, and proceeded to the head of the formation. Behind him, the other men moved out of their defensive perimeter position to follow Brett and Chopper, all of them careful to maintain their spacing discipline.

Chopper's years of training and experience, coupled with his honed instincts that had been held at bay during the flight, were now working full force. Steadily moving at a pace between a lope and a trot, with his broad snout alternately pointed to the ground and lifted above his shoulder to pick up any target odor, Chopper worked along a snakelike path. He was a trained expert at sniffing out explosives and was positioned at the head of the line to detect any IEDs or munitions caches. With his nose guiding him and the platoon, Chopper led the way forward.

After maneuvering for several klicks along a dirt road, Brett noticed a change in Chopper's demeanor. He had anticipated that he'd see a signal from Chopper that indicated the dog had detected the odor of explosives, but Brett was not seeing Chopper's usual body language. Previously, whenever Chopper smelled explosives, he hoisted his tail straight up like a flag and shook it from side to side. It reminded the men of a rattlesnake alerting others to its presence. In addition, his movements became more rapid and intense as he zeroed in on the explosives' exact location.