Trainer
Rescues Dog from Fire
By Chrissy Zdrakas -
78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE,
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 "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 "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, "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 78th SFS at Moody AFB, 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
Protective
“doggles”
3/7/2006 - -- Tech. Sgt. John Mascolo and his military working dog, Ajax, await a helicopter pickup outside Forward Operating Base Normandy, Iraq, on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006. Ajax is wearing "doggles" to prevent sand and debris from getting in his eyes during sandstorms or when near helicopters. The 35th Security Force Squadron Airman and his dog had completed a security sweep of a farmhouse looking for weapons and materials used to make improvised explosive devices. (U.S. Army photo/Pfc. William Servinski II)
AL ASAD, Iraq - When it comes to the security of Al Asad, nothing is
left to chance. Cameras, firepower and a team of military working dogs
are always ready. The dogs are able to use their noses to sniff out
trouble. "It
comes down to knowing your dog," said Marine Cpl. Robert La Place,
a military working dog handler and Sacramento, Calif., native. "If
your dog starts to act different from his normal behavior, something is
usually making him feel uncomfortable."
"I think having us around makes everyone feel more at ease about
whatever situation they are in," Williamson said. "After we
check a vehicle, the probability of a foreign substance being on board
is greatly diminished. Usually if the dog is acting like nothing is
amiss then everyone follows his lead. If something isn't right the dog
will pick up on it well before any of us will."
BAGHDAD, Iraq - On dangerous
missions, Sgt. Darren Smith straps a bulletproof vest around the furry
chest of his partner, a bomb sniffing dog named Kastor. Patrols and checkpoints in
Iraq have become so risky that the U.S. Army is issuing bulletproof
vests, not just to its soldiers, but also to bomb sniffing dogs to
protect them too from roadside bombs and drive-by shootings. "We need to protect our
dogs just like we protect our people," said Staff Sgt. Jarrod
Zaleski, the Army kennel master in Iraq. "This is still considered
a war situation." The U.S. Army has some 30 dogs in
Iraq, guarding bases and checking cars for explosives. Zaleski says the
dogs have uncovered car bombs and have such sensitive noses that one was
able to smell an ammunition clip in a woman's pocketbook. With violence escalating, the
Army shipped vests for all of its dogs to Iraq about two weeks ago. War
dogs in Afghanistan already have the vests. Soldiers have worn vests
since the start of the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. "Anything we can do to
keep him safe is well worth it," said Smith, a military policeman
who searches buildings and works at checkpoints with Kastor, a red and
yellow Belgian Malinois, a dog that looks like a small German Shepherd. Smith and Kastor man
checkpoints near the U.S. headquarters in Baghdad and sometimes are sent
out to other areas of Baghdad that are potentially more dangerous. For
security reasons, Smith would not say when he puts the vest of Kastor. The tan and green camouflage
vest covers Kastor's body, leaving only his head, neck and his hind legs
exposed. Zaleski said no dogs have
been killed in Iraq although several have suffered injuries to their
paws while walking through debris or shattered glass. On some missions the dogs are
now equipped with padded boots to protect their paws from getting cut
up. "Someone just needs to come up with a
helmet for dogs and we'd be good," quipped Zaleski. Keeping the dogs safe is important.
The dogs are needed to sniff out
explosives and their keen sense of hearing can detect insurgents near
bases long before Army sentries hear them. The U.S. Army has been using dogs
since World War II. Hundreds were killed in Vietnam while on patrols or
guarding bases. The dogs were so effective in
sniffing out bombs and contraband in Afghanistan and in keeping people
out of U.S. bases that one warlord put a $10,000 bounty on the dogs,
said Sgt. Herman Haynes, of the 89th MP Battalion, who served in
Afghanistan. Training
a dog costs about $50,000, Zaleski said which is one reason why
protecting them is critical. Five years
ago, dog vests weighed some 15 pounds and were too heavy to be practical
in most situations. With new technology, vest are now about half that
weight. The vest
are made of Kevlar and protect dogs from shrapnel and handgun bullets. Vests that
soldiers wear are similar but they also have ceramic plates in the front
and back that can stop high caliber rifle bullets. Zaleski said the dog
vests would be too heavy with ceramic plates. Dog vests
cost about $1,200 and most of the animals don't like them. Smith, who
is from the 95th Military Police Battalion, said he first put a vest on
Kastor for just a few minutes day to try and get him use to it. Kastor,
who weighs 55 pounds, still has problems walking in the heavy vest. "He's
still a little clumsy on his feet, but he's getting better," said
Smith as he scratched Kastor's neck to keep him calm. Dog vests, just
like vests for people, also keep the heat in. Soldiers sweat so heavily
in Baghdad's 100 degree heat that they need to constantly drink. Army dogs -
mostly Malinois and German Shepherds - are even more uncomfortable. "Imagine
wearing a fur coat in 100 degree heat. The work they can do is
limited," Zaleski said.
HADITHA DAM, Iraq - The use of dogs as guardians of military camps to
protect against surprise attacks dates back to ancient Egypt. Today,
dogs are not only guarding bases but also patrolling with Marines of 3rd
Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in Iraq. Sergeant James J. Wasmer, a
Chatham, Mass., native, and his search dog, Euro, are one K-9 team busy
doing weapons caches sweeps and entry control point searches to keep
citizens of Iraq and Marines safe. Recently the team conducted a sweep
with the battalion’s Company L to look for weapons caches and other
explosives that might be in the area. “We didn’t find any weapons
caches, but we did find an AK-47 during the sweep,” commented Wasmer,
a specialized search dog handler. To be ready for missions like the
ones they are currently involved in, the handler the dog must go through
extensive training. The teams go through a training cycle at Lackland
Air Force Base, Texas lasting 60 to 90 days, depending on the dog, said
Wasmer. “They are taught to associate a
scent with a treat or toy when searching for explosives,” he said.
“When they smell an explosive, they sit. As soon as he sits, he will
get a treat.” For the handler, an extra four
months after military police school is spent in a military working dog
course at the Air Force base. They learn how the dogs are trained and
how to be one of the few in the unique job field. “When I heard that I could be a
dog handler for the Marine Corps, I jumped at the chance because it
sounded like a really cool job to have,” said the 1995 graduate of
Chatham High School. “I always liked dogs and thought it would give me
a chance to do something besides basic MP things.” Even though being a dog handler is
a rewarding and unique job field in the Marines, there is a lot of extra
work involved. When deployed, they live with the dogs and care for them
24 hours a day. “It is almost like having a two
year-old around all the time,” said Wasmer, chuckling. “They are
very demanding and it is a seven-day-a-week job, even in the rear.” In the rear, meaning at bases in
the United States, is where he has spent almost seven years working with
dogs searching vehicles at the gates and on bases for drugs and
explosives. He has spent the last eight months in Iraq and his job has
changed a lot. “We do improvised explosive
device hunts and continuing to work sweeping areas for weapons
caches,” he commented. “We have already found 155 mm rounds and
other weapons since we got out here. So hopefully we will find more.” With approximately 50 Marine and
Air Force specialized military search dog teams operating on different
military bases in Iraq, the dogs are being used more and more. According
to Wasmer, the dogs were not always used in deployed areas. “They tried using the dogs for
the same reason back in 1991, but it didn’t work that well,” he
said. “So when [Operation Iraqi Freedom] came around, the Marine Corps
decided to try and use the dogs again.” Wasmer does not just use Euro to
patrols with the Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines. When he is
not on a mission, he walks the dog around the camp to let Marines pet
and play with him. “It is a really great morale booster for the Marines,” he said. “It reminds some of them of home. They always say to me how much they miss their dogs back home.”
"If someone is being
belligerent, the dogs can sense it," said Hansen. "The handler
assesses the situation and if we feel the need to go further, the dog
will do so when given the commands." |
