The Morning Blend
Welcome
Complete Media Kit
Herald/Review
FORT HUACHUCA — The sounds of battle are strong enough to unnerve soldiers — the two-legged variety and the four-legged ones.
Not too long ago, a military team from this Army post was the victim of an improvised explosive device that hit the vehicle they were in while deployed to Afghanistan, where they arrived early last year.
Staff Sgt. Ruben Alaniz and his four-footed partner Anka received slight concussions, and it is thought this may have led the specialized search dog to become hesitant in performing her duties and become a little aggressive.
|
|
She had found a number of devices. Anka is trained to work off a lead in searching for explosives and weapons caches. But after the incident, her performance lessened.
Alaniz, however, is more concerned about Anka’s aggressiveness, which is not how a specialized search dog is trained to act.
“The vet said she needed to come home for some R&R (rest and recuperation),” Alaniz said.
The duo returned to the 18th Military Police Detachment.
Dogs are no different than people in not liking noise associated with combat, Alaniz said.
So, the question becomes how to help a dog to accept the noise of battle — individual shots, multiple fast firing rounds or the sounds of IEDs, mortars or rocket-propelled grenades.
That’s where the post’s engagement skill trainer is coming into play.
Master Sgt. James Knight, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the facility, said the training facility creates a sense of reality of what soldiers may face when deployed to places such as Afghanistan and Iraq.
In one of the old buildings on the fort, classrooms hold modified real weapons that are attached to a computer. When fired, the sounds and movements of the weapons are nearly realistic.
On Wednesday, Alaniz, Anka and another human and animal pair were going through training.
Sgt. James Adolfson and his German shepherd partner, J.R., are preparing for deployment soon.
For Alaniz and Anka, a Belgian malinois, the training was to help her rebuild her confidence.
As other soldiers fired the weapons, the nearly realistic explosive sounds echoed through the room.
At first, Anka’s ears went straight up, but then she returned to her chew toy, an article Alaniz said helps keep her calm.
The two were soon lying on the floor, the NCO petting her as he talked to her, whispering encouragement — “Good girl,” “That’s nice” and “Yes.”
Adolfson’s dog, J.R., was a little more nervous. The dog is younger than Anka.
When J.R. laid on the floor, he huddled close to his handler, who also spoke words of encouragement to him.
For Anka, it was her fourth time going through the course.
It was J.R.’s third.
Both handlers said their dogs are doing much better.
Adolfson said he believes J.R. was a little more skittish Wednesday because there were a lot of people in the room.
But the sergeant said J.R. will be ready to deploy with more training.
Alaniz said Anka is getting over her problem, and he expects she, too, will be ready to deploy, ending her forced R&R time ordered by the military veterinarian in Afghanistan.
Knight said using the engagement skill trainer is good for any Army team, be it a squad or soldier and dog.
The soldiers also get a chance to fire a weapon while still controlling their dog.
The training for the handlers and their animals takes place at times when other soldiers are not using the facility, Knight said.
Alaniz said there are other soldier and dog teams on the post that will be deploying, and two teams that have deployed will be returning. Some of the post animals are military working dogs, which are trained to be aggressive.
The training system helps, he said, adding he is looking forward to taking Anka out in the field on the fort to increase her confidence even more.
“But first I’ve got to recondition her to the noise (of battle),” Alaniz said.
Herald/Review senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
nicole ray wrote on Jun 21, 2009 3:35 PM: