Posted on Sep 19, 2014
Military dogs are termed as mere “equipment” in laws and policies
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Not only do men and women go through great lengths to serve and protect our country, but dogs do too. However, military dogs are termed as mere “equipment” in laws and policies. Military dogs must be treated as soldiers, especially since their lives are put on the line to save others.
Military Working Dogs (MWD) are specifically trained to sniff bombs, protect their own bases and identify the locations of the enemy. This kind of work is dangerous and traumatic for a living, breathing being. During active service, a dog’s rank is considered higher than its handler’s. However, all of this is put aside once the dog becomes too old or irrelevant. The same dog is then declared unnecessary equipment, which can be left behind--often at foreign bases.
This is wrong. The bond between a dog and its handler is very strong. They are practically comrades. The dog protects its handler and other soldiers during crossfire. You can leave behind equipment, but you can never leave behind a comrade! Military dogs should be reclassified as manpower or K-9 service members. That way, they will return their country with the armed forces. In the Vietnam War, the U.S. military included 4900 dogs, and only 1600 made it back after the war ended.
Military dogs are not left behind in war zones anymore. Bill Clinton passed a law in 2000 that allows civilians, former handlers and law enforcement agencies to adopt retired MWDs. However, this bill didn’t reclassify war dogs. Representative Walter Jones (R-NC) submitted a bill back in 2012 that would reclassify MWDs as K-9 members of the military, called Canine Members of the Armed Forces Act. Unfortunately, in the process of incorporating the bill in the larger National Defense Authorization Act for 2013, a key part of reclassifying military dogs was left out.
The armed forces do respect all MWDs. Service members who are handlers cannot imagine their dogs as equipment and would never intentionally leave them behind. But the moment an MWD retires, it is considered equipment and is not transported back to headquarters. The dogs left behind at a foreign base can be adopted by a U.S. civilian, but the civilian would then have to pay for the monumental shipping costs. This discourages people from adopting war dogs.
The Air Force is making a policy change that would no longer classify MWDs as gear, but changes still need to be made across the services. We are making progress, but it's taking quite some time. MWDs do nothing less than serve our nation and military. They have every right to be reclassified as service members. If the military can transport MWDs overseas, then MWDs should be brought back as well.
What is your experience with dogs in the military? How should they be reflected in laws and military policies?
Military Working Dogs (MWD) are specifically trained to sniff bombs, protect their own bases and identify the locations of the enemy. This kind of work is dangerous and traumatic for a living, breathing being. During active service, a dog’s rank is considered higher than its handler’s. However, all of this is put aside once the dog becomes too old or irrelevant. The same dog is then declared unnecessary equipment, which can be left behind--often at foreign bases.
This is wrong. The bond between a dog and its handler is very strong. They are practically comrades. The dog protects its handler and other soldiers during crossfire. You can leave behind equipment, but you can never leave behind a comrade! Military dogs should be reclassified as manpower or K-9 service members. That way, they will return their country with the armed forces. In the Vietnam War, the U.S. military included 4900 dogs, and only 1600 made it back after the war ended.
Military dogs are not left behind in war zones anymore. Bill Clinton passed a law in 2000 that allows civilians, former handlers and law enforcement agencies to adopt retired MWDs. However, this bill didn’t reclassify war dogs. Representative Walter Jones (R-NC) submitted a bill back in 2012 that would reclassify MWDs as K-9 members of the military, called Canine Members of the Armed Forces Act. Unfortunately, in the process of incorporating the bill in the larger National Defense Authorization Act for 2013, a key part of reclassifying military dogs was left out.
The armed forces do respect all MWDs. Service members who are handlers cannot imagine their dogs as equipment and would never intentionally leave them behind. But the moment an MWD retires, it is considered equipment and is not transported back to headquarters. The dogs left behind at a foreign base can be adopted by a U.S. civilian, but the civilian would then have to pay for the monumental shipping costs. This discourages people from adopting war dogs.
The Air Force is making a policy change that would no longer classify MWDs as gear, but changes still need to be made across the services. We are making progress, but it's taking quite some time. MWDs do nothing less than serve our nation and military. They have every right to be reclassified as service members. If the military can transport MWDs overseas, then MWDs should be brought back as well.
What is your experience with dogs in the military? How should they be reflected in laws and military policies?
MWD: Military Working Dog
Dogs
Command Post
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 63
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If the dogs can earn a bronze star, they should be ccalled doggie soldiers
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You'll have a hard time convincing me the dog will notice. Canines require owners. Perhaps the new owners should get a stipend and a certificate trail for the canine, plus certification allowing the new owner access to reimbursement for shipping costs. Personally, I think GIs should get priority choice for them, but that's just me.
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Think that they are just like us to an extent. Let them retire with a handler and and have a good life at someones home with a yard to roam free in. Give the handler a little extra a month for the dogs vet bill and food. Or let the handler be able to bring it on post to the MWD's vet that know it anyway. I understand that it is an animal and that it is just a dog. But the bond that is built between the handler and the dog is great. They protect there handler to the death even to were the handler even is spared. so Why not!
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I agree something better than being left behind or put down can be arranged. But I have to agree with COL Williams in that some of these dogs can create liability issues. Remember these are no longer house pets, in the hands of a capable handler and a structured training program the dog and handler work great. I had a dog I would have trusted with my family. Others I would be unsure of. Input from the Handler, Training NCO, and Kennel Master as well as the training records, vet records, (these dogs receive excellent healthcare) and the placement the dog would go to would come into play. It would be more of a adoption process.
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We took dogs and handlers out in the field a few times. You could look into the handler's and dogs eyes and tell they loved each other. Unfortunately on one of their times in the field, the dog was killed protecting his handler. We, including the pilots could tell the hadler was devastated. I cried too because I love dogs and have always had one and I know how loyal they are. I hope something can be done to get them home with their handler. Below is a poem written about war dogs and a picture I took of a dog and his handler. They both survived that assault we took them to. I never saw them again.
A Dog's Plea
Help me stay well to romp and play, to walk by your side, and stand ready,
willing, and able to protect you with my life, should your life be in danger
And, my friend, when I am very old, and I no longer enjoy good health,
hearing, and sight, please do not make heroic efforts to keep me going. I am
not having fun. When the time finally comes that my days are only a painful
chore; when living day to day means nothing more than pain and confusion,
please help me go. Let me die with dignity, easily and painlessly slipping out
of this life. I know that you loved me, and you did everything in your power
to make my last years happy. I know that a merciful death was your final
gift for me, and the last kind thing that you could do for me I shall leave this
earth knowing with the last breath I draw that my fate was always safest in
your hands.
Contributed By Frank "Doc" Reilly
A Dog's Plea
Help me stay well to romp and play, to walk by your side, and stand ready,
willing, and able to protect you with my life, should your life be in danger
And, my friend, when I am very old, and I no longer enjoy good health,
hearing, and sight, please do not make heroic efforts to keep me going. I am
not having fun. When the time finally comes that my days are only a painful
chore; when living day to day means nothing more than pain and confusion,
please help me go. Let me die with dignity, easily and painlessly slipping out
of this life. I know that you loved me, and you did everything in your power
to make my last years happy. I know that a merciful death was your final
gift for me, and the last kind thing that you could do for me I shall leave this
earth knowing with the last breath I draw that my fate was always safest in
your hands.
Contributed By Frank "Doc" Reilly
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I believe every K9 should be returned stateside when the handler comes back too. They shouldn't be declared excess or disposable equipment. Treat them as a dog, give them a good home, and let them live out their remaining years.
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