Navy SEAL Dogs (23 page)

I know that if asked, Arko and Carlos would serve again to the best of their abilities. There's the old expression about it not being the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog that really matters. Every day for the past few years, I've seen the truth of that on display. These dogs are all heart, different in some ways from the millions of pet dogs in this country, and even more deserving of the care and attention lavished on them. Actually, as far as I'm concerned they can't get enough respect, love, and attention. I've always admired how little dogs ask for in return for all that they do for us. In that way, they are very much like the servicemen and -women in all branches of our military. These dogs are not only our best friends, they embody what's best about us—the courage, loyalty, and heart of true warriors.

 

MORE ABOUT THE WARRIOR DOG FOUNDATION

The Warrior Dog Foundation is dedicated to serving the Special Operations community, families, and Special Operations Forces dogs. The foundation helps to transition these dogs from working and living in an operational environment to their “retirement” at our state-of-the-art kennel facility. We care for each individual dog with dignity and grace, including both mental and physical rehabilitation, for the rest of the dog's life. We also strive to educate the public on the importance of K-9s in the combat environment, and showcase the level of sacrifice these dogs give in support of our troops.

As this book goes to press we are working to establish a scholarship fund for the families of handlers who have been wounded or killed in action. In addition, we are developing plans to build a living memorial and museum for Special Operations Forces working dogs to showcase their talents and display the awards they received for their heroism in combat operations in support of our nation's military.

To find out more about the Warrior Dog Foundation, go to:
http://warriordogfoundation.org

 

APPENDIX: A BRIEF HISTORY OF CANINES IN COMBAT

In 2003, when I watched that military dog alert the marines to the presence of explosives in a little hut in a rural area of Iraq, the Navy SEALs did not yet have our own dogs assigned to our own teams. We did sometimes work with dogs we “borrowed” from other units, and SEALs had occasionally worked side by side with trained working dogs for decades. It wasn't until 2004 that SEALs began to use dogs specially trained to meet the specific needs of the teams in house. I'm proud to have been associated with the early years of the development of dogs for use with the SEAL teams. The SEAL team dogs are now a part of the long history of warrior dogs.

DOGS IN WAR FROM EARLY TIMES THROUGH WORLD WAR I

It's likely because dogs have a shared sense of community that they first adapted themselves to living near and then later with humans. Whatever warlike purpose dogs have served, from sentry duty to detection, they have been employed in some capacity for centuries. Since dogs ceased being nomadic and first became domesticated, humans have recognized and exploited the canines' extraordinarily keen sense of smell, sharp eyesight, and razor-sharp hearing. Going as far back as 4000
B.C.
, there are murals depicting dogs being unleashed on Egypt's enemies.

There is also a rich historical literature highlighting the use of dogs to protect nearly every ancient city-state and numerous rulers and nations that followed throughout the centuries. Attila the Hun, William the Conqueror and succeeding generations of English rulers and leaders, the Spanish conquistadors, the French leader Napoleon, and the German King Frederick the Great are just a few who employed working dogs. Dogs were valued for their finely tuned senses and their ability to be trained and perform jobs. They were appreciated for their loyalty as well.

Some evidence exists that dogs were used as messengers during the U.S. Civil War, but this was mostly the result of an individual soldier bringing his own dog to battle on his own initiative and not because of any kind of sanctioned use. Dogs did serve as mascots, and many of their names are included in honor rolls. Several statues commemorating the Battle of Gettysburg depict dogs that most likely served as mascots.

Some of the most fascinating stories of canines in military history come from World War I. The trenches where much of that war was fought protected men from enemy gunfire and served as places to store munitions and supplies, but they were also a haven for rats. So Jack Russell terriers were sent to roam the trenches, where they used the famous tenacity of terriers to attack and control the rat population.

More important, though, was the work that the so-called Mercy Dogs did during World War I as a part of the Red Cross's efforts in many countries to help the wounded. Because many of the military working dogs we use today can trace their lineage back to Germany and the war dogs of that nation, I was particularly struck by stories of how the dogs in Germany were trained to find the wounded among the battlefield casualties littered across no-man's-land. The Germans referred to these Red Cross canine workers as
Sanitatshunde
, or sanitary dogs. These dogs were trained to go out onto the battlefield with water or alcohol in canteens and packs strapped to their bodies, in order to offer the wounded some small comfort before the men either were rescued or died. The dogs were also trained to go out to the battlefield, often at night, to find the wounded and return with some identifying token such as a cap or helmet. They were trained to identify and remember the location of the wounded and lead a handler to them.

It is estimated that the Germans used nearly thirty thousand dogs during World War I. Most other European nations involved in the conflict also utilized dogs to varying degrees, but the records don't show an exact number of dogs involved, nor the number of casualties among those canine helpers.

As for the United States, when we first entered World War I, which is often referred to as “the war to end all wars,” the country's use of dogs in the military was essentially nonexistent. We eventually used dogs trained by the French and British, but a program to train American dogs and supply our troops with them was never implemented. We did, however, supply the French army with four hundred dogs who went on to serve in mountainous areas as draft animals. They helped to haul artillery shells with far greater efficiency than humans, mules, or horses.

During World War I many countries used dogs as messengers. Obviously, in any military campaign, communication between troops on the front lines and their leaders at the rear is crucial. Often, in World War I, more established lines of communication, such as telephones, broke down. Human soldiers often served as messengers, but they proved to be larger and slower targets than dogs, and they also got fatigued more easily. Also, a human soldier was understandably considered a more valuable military asset to capture. As a result, trained dogs went into service, traveling from position to position while wearing specially designed saddlebags or baskets that held both written messages and carrier pigeons.

One French messenger dog, a mixed breed named Satan, was well-known at the time for his heroism and bravery. Satan proved himself to be invaluable in helping to rescue a group of French soldiers trapped by the German army near the town of Verdun in France. In what would later be considered a famous battle of the war, the French soldiers found their encampment encircled by the Germans and their access to supplies and their phone lines cut off. The French were also without carrier pigeons, which they could have used to alert their command to their exact location. The Germans, however, did know where the French soldiers were, and they pounded the location with heavy artillery. They exacted an enormous toil on what came to be called the “Lost Battalion.”

It looked like the French soldiers had no hope of surviving, when suddenly Satan entered the battlefield. He approached the French position, wearing a gas mask, and with a carrier pigeon in a basket on each side flapping their wings. Satan was struck twice by German gunfire but, before dying, managed to complete his mission and deliver the two carrier pigeons.

One of those birds went on to successfully carry a message to the French command about the battalion's location. The French quickly responded and silenced the German fusillade.

A German shepherd named Rin Tin Tin was another famous warrior dog of World War I, but one whose story had a decidedly happier ending than Satan's. In fact, Rin Tin Tin went from the bullet-ridden battlefields of Europe to the star-studded world of Hollywood. He was found abandoned in a German trench by a group of American soldiers, one of whom, Lee Duncan, adopted and named him. Duncan brought the dog back to the States, trained him, and got him work in silent films. Rin Tin Tin became an immediate star and appeared in twenty-seven movies. Fictional stories for radio, television, and books were also created about this hero dog. Some of the roles were actually played by the son and grandson of the World War I canine. Rin Tin Tin and his offspring have been credited with the increase at the time in the popularity of the German Shepard as a house pet.

Sargeant Stubby, as he was unofficially called, was a pit bull who served with distinction in World War I after a somewhat less than honorable entry into battle. In late 1917, his owner, an American soldier, smuggled the dog aboard the ship carrying him and other soldiers to Europe and the conflict. Once the dog was discovered, the military commander on board demanded that Stubby be sent back home, but the dog allegedly saluted the officer with his paw and was allowed to stay. Stubby spent nineteen months overseas, where he helped alert soldiers to the presence of enemies and performed other lifesaving tasks. He returned home to a hero's welcome, eventually earning honors from the American Red Cross, the YMCA, and the American Legion. Stubby was presented with a gold medal by General John Joseph “Black Jack” Pershing, the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, on behalf of the American Humane Society. The pit bull also met three American presidents during his lifetime. People have always loved heroes, even, and perhaps especially, those who have four legs, bark, and wag their tails.

DOGS IN WORLD WAR II: PROGRAMS LAUNCHED AND LESSONS LEARNED

Despite all the stories of heroism on the part of canines in combat during World War I, after the war ended, no branch of the American military created a formal program to train dogs for use on the field of battle. What did exist at this time was an arrangement going back to the early 1900s between the U.S. military and private contractors to drive sled dogs in what was then called the Alaska Territory. The 10th Mountain Division, originally formed at Fort Lewis in Washington State and later relocated to Camp Hale in Colorado, also included dogsled drivers.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese changed a great deal. That surprise attack, coupled with rumors of German spies coming ashore, heightened the need for tremendous vigilance, and this led to dogs taking on expanded roles within the United States as sentries or guard dogs along our coastlines to help protect vital installations and industries. With everyone willing and wanting to contribute to the war effort, dog owners and dog lovers led a campaign to promote the use of dogs in wartime activities.

Several influential members of the canine community, including the director of the American Kennel Club, got together and established Dogs for Defense (DFD) in 1942. It brought together professional and amateur trainers and breeders as well as private individuals who supported the cause of utilizing dogs to a greater extent than ever before in the American military. At first the military was reluctant to let civilians take the lead in establishing any kind of policy. Eventually those barriers were overcome as the need to protect military depots around the country became an extremely high priority. In July of 1942, Secretary of War Henry Stimson issued an order calling for each branch of the military to train dogs to serve a variety of functions beyond sentry duty. These functions included search and rescue, hauling, detection and scouting patrols, and carrying messages. It was up to each branch to decide for itself how many dogs to recruit and how to use them.

Eventually, however, the quartermaster general announced that the United States would need 125,000 dogs for the army, navy, marines, and Coast Guard combined. American citizens had already joined breeders and trainers in “volunteering” their dogs as part of the DFD programs. DFD had been providing dogs for the army's K-9 Corps, while the navy and marines briefly relied on private individuals and other private sources. All four branches, including the navy, eventually turned to the DFD as a source for suitable recruits.

The DFD established regional centers that accepted “donated” dogs. Each dog brought in was considered a “gift” to the military, and there was no promise to return any of them, unless a dog was deemed not suitable for military purposes. In the first two years, the DFD received 40,000 dogs, of which about 18,000 passed initial inspection. Of those, about 10,000 went on to actual duty.

By August of 1942, dogs were patrolling the beaches and coastlines with their Coast Guard handlers. By the end of the first year of the combined efforts of the quartermaster general's office and the DFD, 1,800 handler-dog teams were on the job doing that work, An additional 800 handlers would be fully trained by the end of the war.

The Coast Guard was responsible for spotting trouble and reporting it. The army was in charge of protecting the coastline and turning back any hostile troops. By May of 1944, it became clear that no hostile invasion was forthcoming and that any acts of sabotage were unlikely. The coastline protection program was drawn down, and the dogs in it were transferred to the army.

One of the places that the army used as a training ground for canines was ironically named Cat Island. Just off Gulfport, Mississippi, the island was an ideal environment for training dogs that might eventually be shipped overseas to combat zones. The island was also the site of a failed experiment to train a group of dogs to be offensive weapons—attack dogs. The program was once classified, but in recent years various stories about it have been released.