New military working dog unit activated

FORT LEONARD WOOD — Sgt. Marcus Bates loves the challenge of working with military dogs, preparing them for anything from domestic narcotic detection to searching for explosives in Iraq and Afghanistan. He likes the thrill of going between different dogs with different personalities and advancing their detection skills to search deeper, faster, and more effectively.

Bates, who is now the acting kennel master, has been interested in working with military dogs since his first year in the Army. While he was stationed in Korea, he spent a lot of time around the dog handlers. But because of Army requirements, Bates wasn't able to become a dog handler until 2006, when he was eligible for reenlistment.

Fortunately for the new soldiers who are interested in working with dogs for their military career, things are starting to change.

On Oct. 16, the Army made a historical move with the activation of the 180th MP Detachment, a newly formed unit that will command military working dogs and their handlers, enabling the formation of a new military occupation specialty, called 31 K.

"With this activation of the unit, there also comes a new opportunity for new soldiers coming into the Army," said Bates. "It allows new soldiers to come in and enlist as military working dog handlers, where as before, people interested in the position had to wait a few years."

Bates said that this occupation will provide a special combination of skills for someone starting out in the military, and those skills will also apply to civilian jobs down the road.

"It's a great career opportunity for people who are enlisting," said Bates.

But the job isn't for everyone, Bates said.

"It challenges your patience and personality," said Bates. "It takes a special breed of person to be a handler, not all people have the patience of it. You have to be able to go from one dog to another dog and seeing what kind of personality and attitude that dog has and adjusting to it."

According to the Army's official website, dogs have served as an important resource for the U.S. Military for more than 100 years. The U.S. Military officially started training dogs in during World War II.

Bates said that he has seen first-hand what a great asset dogs provide for the military. The dogs in Bates' unit mainly focus on enforcement operations and help ensure the safety and well being of people leaving here on post. They also work with narcotic protection dogs and patrol explosive dog, which are trained for Operation Freedom in Iraq and enduring freedom in Afghanistan to support the installations in those theatre.

"Military working dogs provide a great psychological deterrent for anything that's going on," he said. "But also they can help save time when it comes to searching for things."

Bates explained that the dogs he works with can work faster than both soldiers and detectors in many situations.

"A dog is a great strength multiplier on the battlefield: what can take a human to do a dog can do in half the time with one or two dogs."

The new position will be fully active in 2014 and Fort Leonard Wood is now looking for soon-to-be graduates of the Military Police School interested in the job.

"Now that that they've started implementing the position, the limelight is really starting to shine on the military working dogs program," said Bates.