Going to the Dogs!!

Security is tight for all of us serving in the coalition forces in Iraq.  I’d dare to venture that a very large percentage of the people and budget for Operation Iraqi Freedom is dedicated to security.  We have military security and private-contractor security.  A very important component of our security is non-human….they’re dogs!! 

There are a lot of details that can’t be shared, but suffice it to say that we all transit through security checkpoints on a daily basis.  Some of these checkpoints have specially trained dogs on duty 24/7.  You do not pass through these checkpoints without a highly trained canine giving you the “once over”!!

Today we were treated to a rare opportunity to see some working dogs in action!  We visited the compound of one of the private contract security companies that is responsible for providing security teams to the Embassy.  They currently have over 100 teams working here, each team consisting of a person (handler) and their dog. These teams are specialists at detecting explosives, and the dog is the working part of the team!!!

For this work, 4 breeds of dogs excel…they are German Shepherds, Dutch Shepherds, Belgian Malinois (MAL-in-wah) and Labrador Retrievers.  I’m familiar with two of these breeds, but the Dutch Shepherd and Belgian Malinois are new to me.  Both of these breeds mature at around 65 lbs, and like the other two breeds, are real working dogs.  The security company obtains these dogs from four breeders; two in the U.S., one is Tanzania and another in South Africa.  Seventy percent of their handlers are from South Africa, the rest from the States.

The dogs are trained to react (sit down) when they recognize one of the thirty-five different explosive components that they are trained to detect.  These dogs cost between $5,000 and $15,000!!!  These dogs arrive in Iraq already trained to a certain level.  This security company then trains the dogs to an even higher level.  Once trained, the go to work, putting in 8 hour shifts, regardless of the weather or other conditions.  In addition to work, they continue to receive 12-14 hours of additional training every week!  They have to maintain a 95% proficiency rate in order to keep their jobs. 

We learned that these dogs are generally pretty “high strung”, and don’t usually make good pets.  These dogs are almost “obsessive-compulsive”…..they work hard and want to work hard!!!  We were allowed to pet a few of the dogs, but mostly had to keep our distance. 

These working dogs are really impressive.  I’m glad to know that they, and their dedicated handlers, are watching out for our safety!!