If Bombs Smelled Like Bacon May 20, 2006
If Bombs Smelled Like Bacon
May 20, 2006
If bombs smelled like bacon, it would be much easier to catch the bad guys. But most bombs, until they’ve detonated, have no smell at all, at least not that a human nose can detect. When soldiers search a house or a vacant lot, a car or a person, they rely on sight and touch to determine whether or not any harmful or illegal substances are present. In old movies, bombs were ticking packages that gave themselves away. In a modern war zone, bombs are silent and often well concealed, but they do have a smell, if you are a dog.
Rex and Lion are two very important residents here at FOB Warrior. SGT David Yepsen is Rex’s handler, and SGT Jonathan Curl is Lion’s. David and Jonathan are members of the United States Air Force, and they have undergone special training to work with these dogs. The dogs have also undergone a very specialized training program. They have been trained to search and attack, and their training is ongoing. David and Jonathan must reinforce the dogs’ skills every day to keep them sharp and prepared.
Explosives are a constant threat to the safety of our soldiers, Iraqi soldiers and police, and innocent civilians. Most Americans don’t worry too much about being blown up. Even if we don’t know our neighbors, we assume they are not insurgents. They may put up too many lights at Christmastime, but they are not stockpiling rocket-propelled grenades or improvised explosive devices.
In Iraq, most people are good, decent people, good neighbors, but there are a few who ruin it for everybody. Coalition forces, together with Iraqi forces, are looking for the deadly few. Every day homes are searched, cars are stopped at checkpoints, and tips are investigated. A team of soldiers may turn a house upside down, but often it is not until Rex or Lion is brought in that they find what they are looking for. The dogs can pick up the scent of six substances, any one of which is present in all explosives. Not only does this ability make it possible to prevent future casualties, but it enables the soldiers on the scene to stay on guard, to pay attention to the people in the area. If they had to get involved in time-consuming or involved searches, they would become more vulnerable and increase the chance of being harmed. Instead, the dogs can locate the explosives, and then soldiers trained to handle such devices can safely remove them. Any search is more effective and complete when Rex or Lion is present with his handler.
David and Jonathan work with SFC John Vicars, the Army’s MP coordinator at Warrior. A training session can be pretty intense. In the safety of the military base, it is easy to relax and believe the whole exercise of finding a bomb is really just a game. It is tempting to treat the dogs as pets, to let them off their leashes so they can run around and chase squirrels, or the Kirkuk equivalent of a squirrel (a gecko?). But the dogs have a job to do, and though they are well taken care of, they are not treated as pets. After all, it would be difficult to go from barking at the UPS man until he produces a dog biscuit to sniffing every package in his truck for explosives and possibly attacking him if he doesn’t cooperate. Most dogs could be bought with a biscuit.
The training sessions are a workout for the handlers and the dogs. Under the relentless Iraq sun the handlers must always watch the dogs to make sure they do not overheat, and the dogs are wearing protective equipment which is necessary, but also heavy and hot. The dogs search areas staged to resemble real-life scenarios. On the day I visited the dog training operation, David and Jonathan were hiding actual explosives and propellants in cars and in an open field on the base. The dogs took turns scouring the area, and the nose always prevailed. They made it look easy, though without their help it would be anything but. Every successful discovery resulted in a reward of praise accompanied by a toy, but they quickly returned to the job.
The dogs also took turns attacking us. SFC Vicars thought it would be a good idea if I participated in this part of the training. I must have said something that offended him. But I trusted Jonathan and his ability to control Lion, and it was kind of fun to see what it would take to remove my right arm from its socket. Of course, I was wearing a heavily padded cover to protect my arm from his teeth, and Jonathan made sure I was never in any danger. It is impressive to see how well the dogs respond to commands. They will attack, but they can be trained to restrain a suspect without doing any real harm, or they might just hover around a suspect to insure he does not try to escape.
Fighting a war is a complicated business. It is necessary to acknowledge the many forms the enemy may take, the many ways he will try to do harm. It is necessary to employ every method we have available to us to neutralize the enemy and his weapons. At home, we take for granted that we are safe, and our dogs are often pets more than protectors. Here in Iraq, the dogs working with our soldiers add a level of security that is hard to measure. They don’t demand recognition for their efforts, but we should be grateful to them, and their dedicated handlers, for helping to keep the peace.
slm101st@yahoo.com
May 20, 2006
If bombs smelled like bacon, it would be much easier to catch the bad guys. But most bombs, until they’ve detonated, have no smell at all, at least not that a human nose can detect. When soldiers search a house or a vacant lot, a car or a person, they rely on sight and touch to determine whether or not any harmful or illegal substances are present. In old movies, bombs were ticking packages that gave themselves away. In a modern war zone, bombs are silent and often well concealed, but they do have a smell, if you are a dog.
Rex and Lion are two very important residents here at FOB Warrior. SGT David Yepsen is Rex’s handler, and SGT Jonathan Curl is Lion’s. David and Jonathan are members of the United States Air Force, and they have undergone special training to work with these dogs. The dogs have also undergone a very specialized training program. They have been trained to search and attack, and their training is ongoing. David and Jonathan must reinforce the dogs’ skills every day to keep them sharp and prepared.
Explosives are a constant threat to the safety of our soldiers, Iraqi soldiers and police, and innocent civilians. Most Americans don’t worry too much about being blown up. Even if we don’t know our neighbors, we assume they are not insurgents. They may put up too many lights at Christmastime, but they are not stockpiling rocket-propelled grenades or improvised explosive devices.
In Iraq, most people are good, decent people, good neighbors, but there are a few who ruin it for everybody. Coalition forces, together with Iraqi forces, are looking for the deadly few. Every day homes are searched, cars are stopped at checkpoints, and tips are investigated. A team of soldiers may turn a house upside down, but often it is not until Rex or Lion is brought in that they find what they are looking for. The dogs can pick up the scent of six substances, any one of which is present in all explosives. Not only does this ability make it possible to prevent future casualties, but it enables the soldiers on the scene to stay on guard, to pay attention to the people in the area. If they had to get involved in time-consuming or involved searches, they would become more vulnerable and increase the chance of being harmed. Instead, the dogs can locate the explosives, and then soldiers trained to handle such devices can safely remove them. Any search is more effective and complete when Rex or Lion is present with his handler.
David and Jonathan work with SFC John Vicars, the Army’s MP coordinator at Warrior. A training session can be pretty intense. In the safety of the military base, it is easy to relax and believe the whole exercise of finding a bomb is really just a game. It is tempting to treat the dogs as pets, to let them off their leashes so they can run around and chase squirrels, or the Kirkuk equivalent of a squirrel (a gecko?). But the dogs have a job to do, and though they are well taken care of, they are not treated as pets. After all, it would be difficult to go from barking at the UPS man until he produces a dog biscuit to sniffing every package in his truck for explosives and possibly attacking him if he doesn’t cooperate. Most dogs could be bought with a biscuit.
The training sessions are a workout for the handlers and the dogs. Under the relentless Iraq sun the handlers must always watch the dogs to make sure they do not overheat, and the dogs are wearing protective equipment which is necessary, but also heavy and hot. The dogs search areas staged to resemble real-life scenarios. On the day I visited the dog training operation, David and Jonathan were hiding actual explosives and propellants in cars and in an open field on the base. The dogs took turns scouring the area, and the nose always prevailed. They made it look easy, though without their help it would be anything but. Every successful discovery resulted in a reward of praise accompanied by a toy, but they quickly returned to the job.
The dogs also took turns attacking us. SFC Vicars thought it would be a good idea if I participated in this part of the training. I must have said something that offended him. But I trusted Jonathan and his ability to control Lion, and it was kind of fun to see what it would take to remove my right arm from its socket. Of course, I was wearing a heavily padded cover to protect my arm from his teeth, and Jonathan made sure I was never in any danger. It is impressive to see how well the dogs respond to commands. They will attack, but they can be trained to restrain a suspect without doing any real harm, or they might just hover around a suspect to insure he does not try to escape.
Fighting a war is a complicated business. It is necessary to acknowledge the many forms the enemy may take, the many ways he will try to do harm. It is necessary to employ every method we have available to us to neutralize the enemy and his weapons. At home, we take for granted that we are safe, and our dogs are often pets more than protectors. Here in Iraq, the dogs working with our soldiers add a level of security that is hard to measure. They don’t demand recognition for their efforts, but we should be grateful to them, and their dedicated handlers, for helping to keep the peace.
slm101st@yahoo.com
posted by Shelby Monroe at 2:07 AM
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