The nose knows, military working dogs 

complete security forces mission

by Staff Sgt. Kristina Barrett
506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs

3/10/2006 - KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- “Get 'em!”

With one swift movement, military working dog Breston is off like a flash, covering the distance between his handler and his target in just a few fluid strides. The reward for his speed and agility is a nice juicy bite.

Of course the juicy bite was just the “bite suit” but Breston, a Dutch shepherd, delivers an impressive 900 pounds of pressure per square inch -- enough to tell any offender he means business and enough to knock a full grown man to his feet.

Breston is one of the eight military working dogs, along with 10 handlers, who are deployed here from the 820th Security Forces Group at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. The dogs, as well as their handlers, support both Air Force and Army missions outside the wire.

“We use the dogs often on our (security forces) patrols,” said Tech. Sgt. Sherrie Conkright, MWD handler and shift supervisor. “In addition, we have Airmen and military working dogs supporting Army missions, too.”

Teams are assigned to the 506th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron and the 101st Airborne Brigade. Because of the extensive work both branches conduct in Kirkuk and the surrounding area, the dogs augment the missions in a way no human can. For these professionals, it’s all about the nose.

“The dogs give us capabilities that far surpass humans in terms of detection,” Sergeant Conkright said. “The dogs senses are significantly more refined than ours and can detect odors better than we can. There are odors that they can smell but we can’t.”

Those odors are the unmistakable scent of explosives. In a place where the next improvised explosive device could be just around the corner, dogs like Breston are force multipliers and keep their humans alive.

“Dogs don’t generalize smells. For example, if a human smells a hamburger, they receive the whole smell in general terms,” Sergeant Conkright said. “A dog smells the parts of the burger individually -- the bun, the condiments and the burger.”

Their unique ability to separate odors alerts them to different dangers, which leads to a more proficient and quick search, she said. This is especially important when stepping outside the safety of the base.

“They support the missions we do here in both mounted and dismounted patrols outside the wire,” Sergeant Conkright said. “They travel with mounted patrols and when needed, are able to search various locations. For an unmounted patrol, they are a show of force in foot patrols throughout the city.”

Two of the MWDs here are a little different, but unnoticeable until they are let off the leash. They are called specialized search dogs, and they are trained to work “off leash” during patrols and other actions. They have the ability to work up to 200 yards away from their handler.

“The 820th has the only two SSDs in the Air Force and is a test program to find out if there is a benefit in the types of missions we do,” said Master Sgt. Robert Kisner, kennel master. “SSDs are different in the way they approach various situations but have the same basic detection capabilities as MWDs.”

The Army uses the SSD program full-time but because of the differences in the mission, it is unknown how these dogs fit into the Air Force mission. For now, the future of the program is still being tested in the field.

Staff Sgt. Ethan McCants, MWD handler, whose dog Edo is a traditional explosive search dog, is sure that dogs save lives.

“He can smell things we can’t, which allows us to back off and call (the explosive ordnance disposal flight) to do the job necessary,” he said. “He gives a better sense of safety to do the job we need to do because he knows.”

Trainer Rescues Dog from Fire

Sergeant low-crawls through smoke to save his 

military working dog from blaze!

By Chrissy Zdrakas - 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. , March 16, 2006 - It was a clear, cool night at Forward Operating Base Wilson near the city of Tikrit in central Iraq.  Staff Sgt. Christopher F. McCleskey gave his canine partner, Katja, food and water and left her in their quarters after a mission. 

 He ducked into a dining hall shortly before 9 p.m. Jan. 28 for a quick bite to eat.  A half hour later, the calm shattered when an officer shouted the news:  The building McCleskey shared with his dog and 50 other military members was ablaze.  Black smoke choked the night air.  Katja was trapped.

 "I tried to run into the building, but another sergeant grabbed me and said 'no'.  I told him my dog was inside, and I had to go."  U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher F. McCleskey

"I tried to run into the building, but another sergeant grabbed me and said 'no'.  I told him my dog was inside, and I had to go," McCleskey said.  The building, about 55 yards away, was a converted warehouse.

McCleskey's first sergeant, U. S. Army 1st Sgt. Sean Bailey, stepped in, saying "You have to let him try."  The first sergeant grabbed a fire extinguisher, McCleskey handed his M-4 rifle to another military member and a life-saving mission began.

"We low-crawled all the way to my room due to the smoke being so low," said McCleskey.  "I couldn't see anything but the ceiling tiles on fire."  When the sergeants reached Katja's kennel, they couldn't see the dog through the smoke.

"I yelled for her to come to me," he said.  "She didn't move.  She was lying on the kennel floor and was non-responsive.  So I reached into her kennel, grabbed her collar and hit her just below the rib cage.  I heard her gasp for air as I pulled her out of the building.

"By the time I got her to the road, which was about 25 yards away, she was hacking up her lungs.  I carried her around for a very long time as she still continued to hack."

He reported the injury to the 101st Provost Marshall's Office, and within an hour, Katja's veterinarian was on the phone telling him to be ready to leave in 30 minutes.  McCleskey said he was not injured.

"He (the vet) told me he was nine-lining us out of the area.  Nine- lining means that a soldier is hurt, and we become the priority for the air.  Military working dogs are viewed as soldiers, so if they get hurt, then we do everything in our power to get them out of action and to medical assistance fast."

Before long, a Blackhawk helicopter - vet on board - was landing.

"Katja and I jumped into the Blackhawk, and we flew to Baghdad Airport ," he said.  On the way, the vet gave the dog medication to help her breathe.  When they arrived at the airport, the chief surgeon for military working dogs in Iraq was waiting on the helicopter pad.  A Humvee whisked them off to the vet clinic, where Katja was given a physical and antibiotic treatment. 

"The vet said all she truly needed was rest," McCleskey said.  "After a couple of days, we went to Forward Operating Base Speicher (just outside the city of Tikrit ) where we did our rehabilitation, and after about a week, Katja was improving so well that we went back to FOB Wilson ." FOB Wilson recognizes the value of the man/canine team in its mission.

"Sergeant McCleskey has been a valuable asset to all operations he has gone on," said Bailey.  "His dedication to duty is shown every day through his constant training with his partner MW Dog Katja.  The personal expertise he brings to the job exemplifies the Air Force core values."

The Air Force and Navy have backfilled the Army to help it complete its missions.  Since all handlers in the Defense Department are trained at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas , they can do any job the other services require, McCleskey explained.  At Lackland, handlers receive training to administer to their dogs during emergencies, a life-saver the night of the fire.

"I just reacted to what was in front of me," he said "I didn't even think about what was going on. When I was briefed that the fire was in our building, all I could think about was getting my dog out.  If it happened again, I wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing."

Chris and Katja are home now and doing great – both are back at work.

Many of you exchanged e-mails with Chris and a number of us have been so very fortunate to get to know Chris, his family, and especially his wife Stephanie (that’s TSgt Stephanie McCleskey) who is also assigned to the 78^th SFS at Moody AFB, Georgia .

One of the first things we did, with the help of Juli Warner of Leatherman, was to supply Chris with a new Leatherman “Surge” tool – now he had the equipment in case of any other emergency that might come up during the remainder of his tour.  Thank you Phil Carroll (NKP/Takhli) for all of your help!

Stephanie helped us pull off another great surprise on June 9, 2006, as Charlie Berry (Udorn) and Charlie Blood (Udorn) traveled from Florida to Louisiana to Georgia to Louisiana and then back to Florida .  All of this at their own expense to help us honor SSgt McCleskey.  The “Charlies” as they are now lovingly known in the McCleskey household, assisted the 78^th Wing Commander in honoring Chris in front of his Security Forces Squadron with a plaque that featured one of our VSPA and Thailand Handler Challenge coins and a copy of the Air Force Art Collection “Shaw Photo”.  He was also presented with autographed copies of personal presentations by Country Music entertainer Garth Brooks, also presented by the “Charlies”!  Chris is a BIG FAN!

Page 4, News From the Sandbox.