The past Sunday, Oct 27, 2019, President Trump annouced the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Leader of ISIS. This morning on the way to my work, NPR ran a news about a military dog leading to the raid of al-Baghdadi. This caught my attention. I have never thought about such a duty for any dog to perform besides just sniffing for drugs or bombs at the airport.
By the way, while writing this article, lots of things are going on in my mind as well. Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda Leader was killed in 2011. Yet here came another extremist group called ISIS with another leader and again he was killed, yes, right now in 2019. So, killing sure is not the ultimate solution for peace but among the conflicts and the fight for resources in our world with 7.7 billion people, will the pattern of emerging new power and being killed be eventually stopped if it has never happened once through the centuries? I have to stop right here as it was not my first intention to write about it. I just could not help. Well, let's come back to the dog story.
Based on cbsnews.com, the dog, a Belgian Malinois, was sent into a tunnel to subdue al-Baghdadi during the early-morning raid on a compound in Syria. Al-Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and three children and wounding the dog. (Oh, no, killing three children too? sorry sorry getting so emotional again.)
The dog's name was classified but the picture was declassified. So, we only get to see how the dog looks like. Ta Da!
"We're not releasing the name of the dog right now. The dog is still in theater. The dog, the canine, the military working dog, performed a tremendous service, as they all do in a variety of situations. Slightly wounded and fully recovering. But the dog is still in theater, returned to duty with its handlers," Milley said. "We're protecting the dog's identity."
Military Working Dog Breeds (from thebalancecareers.com)
The vast majority of U.S. military working dogs are German and Dutch shepherds, and Belgian Malinois breeds Rolfe said are "very aggressive, very smart, very loyal and very athletic."
Dogs have long been recognized as "force multipliers" by military fighting forces around the world, Rolfe said. The Romans put razor-sharp collars around their dogs, then sent them into the enemy's ranks to bite and cut their foes.
History of US Department of Defense (DOD) Military Working Dogs
The U.S. military has used working dogs since the Revolutionary War, initially as pack animals, and later, for more advanced uses, such as killing rats in the trenches during World War I, he said.
But World War II witnessed the biggest surge in the use of working dogs to support military operations. The U.S. military deployed more than 10,000 specially trained canines, most as sentries, but others as scouts, messengers and mine detectors, Rolfe explained.
Today, "a couple hundred" working dogs are serving with U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan as patrol dogs and explosives and drug detectors, Rolfe said, adding that contractors use additional dogs in the theater. Nearly 2,000 more working dogs provide similar services at U.S. bases and operating posts around the world.
Meanwhile, the military is increasing its reliance on working dogs. Before Sept. 11, 2001, Rolfe said Air Force security forces trained about 200 working dogs a year for the Defense Department. That number is up to more than 500, with the vast majority of dogs being trained as sentries and bomb-sniffers.
And you know, miliraty dogs experience severe emotional truma or PTSD during their deployment just like humans too. NPR news source said the military also provides facility to help these dogs and when the dogs retire, instead of being put down as in the past before the year 2000, these days, they will be arranged for adoption.
Special Thanks to the sites below:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/belgian-malinois-photo-of-hero-dog-wounded-in-isis-leader-raid-tweeted-by-trump-today/
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/military-working-dogs-3354121
https://barkpost.com/life/10-things-about-military-dogs
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