A British Soldier'S Best Friend

[LeCharivari]

Theo , a 22 month old springer spaniel, was the sixth British military dog killed in Afghanistan and Iraq in the last 10 years. During his tour in Afghanistan he had located a record 14 IEDs (roadside bombs), saving not only the lives of British soldiers but also local Afghan men, women and children, more of whom are injured or killed by IEDs than are military personnel. His handler, Lance Corporal Liam Tasker, was killed by sniper fire and, although unhurt, Theo died of a seizure a few hours later.

Whatever one's views of today's wars (and few abhor war more than those who have taken part in them) I hope that Theo is in a more peaceful place, with the companion whose loss proved too much for him to bear.

[sbk]

What a sad story, thanks for sharing. He looks just a boy and its clear they had a very close bond.

[ALFREDO]

Both so young, what a sad story, I get tears in my eyes.

Edited March 12, 2011 by Maestro
Off-topic part of post deleted.

[billd766]

Years ago when I was serving with the RAF in Libya we went to the Commonwealth war cemetery near Tobruk and there were graves of boys as young as 17 who served with the Indian army.

There were thousands of graves there. There was also a Free French cemetery, a German war memorial with about 7,000 odd names and an Italian cemetery that had been desecrated by the Libyans.

The Commonwealth memorial cemetery at Kranji in Singapore was beautiful as well with thousands there too.

There is also the one down at Kanchanaburi which is worth a visit.

[LeCharivari]

IED dog handlers are, in my view, the bravest of the brave whose life-saving work with their dogs goes largely unrecognised and unnoticed except by those with whom they work. Their job demands that not only do they take the point position on every patrol in which they take part but that the handlers cannot take and use cover as any other soldier can and should as they need to constantly observe and control their dog. They are the bravest men (and women) it has ever been my privilege to meet.

billd766, sadly those graves are still being filled by too many young men, Afghani as well as British and too many other nationalities around the world. 17 year-olds who have completed junior training in the British Army are still considered old enough to be deployed operationally and to die for their country but not old enough to vote for it (or, rather bizarrely, to be tattooed or to marry).

When will we ever learn?

When will we ever learn?

[bina]

my lovely boxer nala was the last offspring of kaya (from kibbutz sufa in the south), IDF patrol dog, and the father (didnt know his name)from kibbutz sde yitzhak, also IDF (israel defense force) working dog--

nala inherited from them her drive to work, her longer snout to fit the israeli weather conditions (a short snouted boxer cant function here), her athleticism, and her trainablity... which i turned towards agility and home pet....

bina

israel

[billd766]

IED dog handlers are, in my view, the bravest of the brave whose life-saving work with their dogs goes largely unrecognised and unnoticed except by those with whom they work. Their job demands that not only do they take the point position on every patrol in which they take part but that the handlers cannot take and use cover as any other soldier can and should as they need to constantly observe and control their dog. They are the bravest men (and women) it has ever been my privilege to meet.

billd766, sadly those graves are still being filled by too many young men, Afghani as well as British and too many other nationalities around the world. 17 year-olds who have completed junior training in the British Army are still considered old enough to be deployed operationally and to die for their country but not old enough to vote for it (or, rather bizarrely, to be tattooed or to marry).

When will we ever learn?

When will we ever learn?

To answer the last 2 lines.

We never will.

Unfortunately never until political leaders of ALL countries are forced to fight in the wars that they choose to let young men and women go out to die in.

I also think it should be mandatory for every cabinet member of every government to go to the funeral of every soldier, sailor and airman, male and female who dies in combat and also the Leader of the country should met the grieving families at the family house after the funeral.

I think that the last Prime minister of the UK to actually fight in a war was Ted Heath back in the 70's.

Edited March 13, 2011 by billd766

[carmine]

IED dog handlers are, in my view, the bravest of the brave whose life-saving work with their dogs goes largely unrecognised and unnoticed except by those with whom they work. Their job demands that not only do they take the point position on every patrol in which they take part but that the handlers cannot take and use cover as any other soldier can and should as they need to constantly observe and control their dog. They are the bravest men (and women) it has ever been my privilege to meet.

billd766, sadly those graves are still being filled by too many young men, Afghani as well as British and too many other nationalities around the world. 17 year-olds who have completed junior training in the British Army are still considered old enough to be deployed operationally and to die for their country but not old enough to vote for it (or, rather bizarrely, to be tattooed or to marry).

When will we ever learn?

When will we ever learn?

Well said. An excellent post.

[bkk_mike]

IED dog handlers are, in my view, the bravest of the brave whose life-saving work with their dogs goes largely unrecognised and unnoticed except by those with whom they work. Their job demands that not only do they take the point position on every patrol in which they take part but that the handlers cannot take and use cover as any other soldier can and should as they need to constantly observe and control their dog. They are the bravest men (and women) it has ever been my privilege to meet.

billd766, sadly those graves are still being filled by too many young men, Afghani as well as British and too many other nationalities around the world. 17 year-olds who have completed junior training in the British Army are still considered old enough to be deployed operationally and to die for their country but not old enough to vote for it (or, rather bizarrely, to be tattooed or to marry).

I know it's off-topic, but I thought I should correct you.

You can get married at 16 in the UK. Admittedly, in England and Wales, only with parents' permission (no permission required in Scotland).

[bina]

I also think it should be mandatory for every cabinet member of every government to go to the funeral of every soldier, sailor and airman, male and female who dies in combat and also the Leader of the country should met the grieving families at the family house after the funeral.

= off topic: here they do, and if they dont, its noticed/notieable...

WHILE A DOG is "man's best friend," in Oketz that saying takes on a new meaning. Soldiers grow up together with their dogs and undergo 18 months of training together before they are deployed in the field. At the end of their joint service, soldiers are allowed to take their dogs home.

"If you did not serve in Oketz, you are incapable of understanding the relationship between a handler and his or her dog," explained a soldier who recently lost his dog in a battle. "It is a special relationship that cannot be described in words."

According to Capt. Liad, operations officer for the unit, the relationship between a dog and handler is based on trust. "A special bond is created between the two, since the moment we go into an operation we need to be able to rely 100 percent on our dogs and their capabilities," he said.

But when it comes to life and death, the answer, Lt.-Col. Yoav explains, is fairly simple. "At the end of the day a soldier is worth more," he says, adding that dogs, like soldiers, are not left behind in a battle zone.

The Oketz base - located at the Adam training facility near Modi'in - looks like any other base, at least at first. One begins to suspect something is a little different when reading the signs posted on each building saying "No urinating on walls" or when watching dogs walk on treadmills.

We won't get in to what the dustpans lying around the base are to pick up.

At the top of a winding hill are the kennels. Needless to say, the dogs don't appreciate unfamiliar visitors. Each block within the kennel is for a specific type of dog. There are four types, each one with a specialization in one of the following - search and rescue, attack, bomb detection or tracking.

"We are a team," she says (about her and her dog sic - bina). "We work together. I take care of her and she loves me."

'Walk softly since here is the resting place of Israeli soldiers'

Not far from the kennels and with a beautiful view of the Judean Hills lies a patch of mowed grass and carefully laid stones serving as a clear symbol of the close bond Oketz handlers forge with their canine sidekicks - a graveyard specially established to bury the dogs who lose their lives in battle.

Eighty-four dogs are buried in the unit's old cemetery at the Sirkin Air Force Base near Petah Tikva and are scheduled to be moved in the coming months to the new cemetery recently built in Adam, home of the unit's new headquarters.

Among the tombstones - each engraved with the name of the dog - is a sculpture of a dog and a handler that reads: "Walk softly since here is the resting place of Israeli soldiers."

"Unit policy is that any dog who loses his or her life in the line of duty receives a military funeral," explains Capt. Liad, operations officer for the unit.

The dogs are not only respected at death but also receive medals for exceptional performance from their commanders following operations.

"They are soldiers and fighters just like we are," says Lt.-Col. Yoav, commander of Oketz.

"The bond between handlers and their dogs is not something that can be understood by people who did not serve in Oketz," explains a soldier who recently lost his dog in battle.

"A relationship is developed between the dog and the handler," Liad says. "When you are out in the middle of an operation, you cannot trust many people and you need to be able to trust your dog."

here is the source with more info about dogs in the military...

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-125870.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KorUC0eldtU&feature=related

the connection is so finely tuned between handler and dog that many times no other handler can work with a particular dog. a friend of mine has paco (and had diablo2,sinced put up to stud, since diablo one was KIA), also retired out because paco refused to work with anyone else, and his handler was unable to keep him at home for family reasons.

http://www.google.co.il/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ynet.co.il/PicServer2/01082004/471563/IMG_5774_wa.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3014953,00.html&usg=__2s7mnAUjyNKINcYMtb0AQBIo-vY=&h=258&w=408&sz=32&hl=en&start=8&zoom=1&tbnid=67cAjdZ1JygbZM:&tbnh=79&tbnw=125&ei=pE59TcqPPNT34AaJvoXkBQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%25D7%25A1%25D7%259E%2522%25D7%25A8%2B%25D7%25A0%25D7%2593%25D7%2591%2B%25D7%25A7%25D7%2595%25D7%2593%25D7%2599%25D7%25A0%25D7%25A1%25D7%25A7%25D7%2599%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1076%26bih%3D450%26tbs%3Disch:1%26prmd%3Divnso&itbs=1 (nadav kodinsky RIP and his dog diablo RIP)

does the thai army have a k9 unit? i think it is so hot and humid it must be difficult on the handling of the dogs?

bina

israel

[ALFREDO]

-bina-

If you google

-Khmerization, Thai Army dog- or -Dogs in Thai Army-

and similar you will find out, that the Thai army still uses Dogs as the Thai army did in the Vietnam war.

The story in -Khmerization- is about a Thai army dog who just recently near Preah Viear got in a trap from the Cambodian army and screeming for help was abandoned from his Thai handler and soldiers, when the Cambodians did not allow to free him.

Mines are a possibility there.

The full outcome of the story and what happened with the dog is unknown, regarding to that article.

out

[LeCharivari]

Bina, that's a very interesting insight into how another army trains its dogs - although the training and use is very similar in a lot of ways to the British system the dogs remaining with one handler throughout their service just would not be possible in the British Army for a number of reasons. As a dog's working life could be 10 years or more his handler could well be promoted in that time so he would be posted to a different unit or job while his dog would usually continue in its original role. Also while a dog can remain deployed indefinitely, or at least for a considerable time, his handler cannot. In Theo's case, for example, his handler's tour had already been extended in Afghanistan and Theo was due to go to a new handler there with a lengthy handover time so they would get to know and trust each other. The Israeli Army system is preferable, for both dogs and handlers, but it is only practical as your operational deployments are (most of the time!) at home while the British Army's are overseas; the only exception to this was the HKMSC in Hong Kong where, except for the OC who was a British Officer (RAVC) on a two year attachment, DASU was manned by locally recruited and trained Hong Kong Chinese (and Hong Kong Chinese dogs). I was privileged to be the last British officer to wear a HKMSC capbadge.

The Thai Army has an extensive dog unit - six sniffer dogs and their handlers have just left for Japan to help in the search for victims of the earthquake/tsunami there. Their dogs are trained along American lines, as the American Army still provides Thailand with military assistance and training, but that training has moved on at all levels since the Vietnam war.

The story in Khmerization is, not surprisingly for an anti-Thai website based on a report from a Cambodian newspaper, rather anti-Thai but it is not quite as reported here. The dog and its handler were approximately 5 kms from Preah Vihar and the dog strayed into a minefield on the Cambodian side where there were also a number of man-traps, one of which the dog was trapped by; the area was covered by Cambodian troops and his Thai handler, correctly, did not go into either the minefield or Cambodia to try to rescue him. A firefight between Thai and Cambodian troops was narrowly avoided when local commanders met; the dog could not be saved under the circumstances and I am informed that it was shot.

bkk-mike, you are correct concerning marriage in the UK, but you have to realise that the military have their own additional rules. When a minor enlists in the military in the UK (and around 40% of those joining are under 18) the military legally assume their parents' rights so minors need the military's permission to marry (including those from Scotland under military law), not their parents' although their parents are normally contacted as a courtesy under those circumstances. This is not the same as a serviceman or woman asking permission to marry, which is a tradition and not a requirement.

17 year-olds have long been deployed operationally by the British Army (except on Op Banner in Northern Ireland), including in the Falklands and both the First and Second Iraq Wars (eleven 17 year-old boys and four 17 year old girls to the latter), but this has stopped since Britain ratified an optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2003.

[F1fanatic]

Animals should NEVER be used in OUR wars. Full stop.

[Patsycat]

As much as I love our furry friends, I'm sorry F1fanatic.

The dogs that are trained and used in wars and in search and rescue are revered. They have the sniffing ability to find bombs and people that you and I would not be able to find without very expensive, electronic stuff which would take days to locate anything.

Read the OP. The young man unfortunately died and his dog died (I think of a broken heart) a few hours later. If that is not, on both sides, a loyalty to saving lives then I shall eat my cat (!).

[LeCharivari]

Very true, Patsy. These dogs do work that people and equipment just cannot do and they save lives which, without them, would be lost. Those lives are not only military but, more often, civilian and not only human but animals as well.

Two IED sniffer dogs in Afghanistan and one in Iraq have been awarded the Dickin Medal. Sadie, a black labrador, retired after Afghanistan to live with her handler L/Cpl Karen Yardley, while Treo, a black labrador/spaniel cross, retired to live with his handler Sgt Dave Heyhoe; Buster, an English Springer Spaniel, also retired to live with his handler after serving (at the time) as the only arms and explosives search dog in Iraq.

[Patsycat]

And don't forget the doggies in avalanches etc. The famous St. Bernard dogs and the Bernese Oberland dogs.

And one of my favourite dogs is the Newfoundlander with the webbed feet. They can swim for miles to help people in distress.

So to say that dogs should not go to help people is silly.

Edited March 18, 2011 by Patsycat

[LeCharivari]

Patsy, you'll be glad to know that a cat (Able Seacat Simon) was also awarded the Dickin Medal.

[WarpSpeed]

Heartbreaking story, it was good they had his loyal services to be able to help so many people...