JB MDL military working dogs

Senior Airman Allison Price, 87th Security Forces Squadron dog handler, leads her dog in a controlled aggression exercise. Department of Defense military working dogs receive their initial training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, but handlers must provide continuous training to ensure the dogs stay sharp. (U.S. Air Force photo/Steve Snyder)

JB MDL military working dogs

Senior Airman Allison Price, at left, 87th Security Forces Squadron dog handler, uses a protective sleeve to prevent injury while Master at Arms 2nd Class Ashley Bidon, Navy dog handler, waits to give the release command to her dog during a controlled agression exercise. The handlers use positive reenforcement such as verbal praise and toys to reward their dogs for good behavior. (U.S. Air Force photo/Steve Snyder)

JB MDL military working dogs

Master at Arms 2nd Class Ashley Bidon, a Navy dog handler at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., guides her dog over an obstacle on the training course at the McGuire kennel. The dogs, usually German Shepherds or Belgian Malinois, are selected for military working dog duty based on traits such as intelligence and energy. (U.S. Air Force photo/Steve Snyder)

Military working dog teams protect Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst

Published Jan. 5, 2010
By Steve Snyder
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- It's a dog's life for members of military working dog teams stationed with the 87th Security Forces Squadron.

Dog handlers at McGuire and Lakehurst maintain kennels while training and taking care of canines under their charge. Military police and their animals work together to thwart security threats directed against military enterprises.

"Our main mission since 9/11 has been explosion detection," said Tech. Sgt. Roland Lovitt, kennel master at McGuire, which houses 12 kennels and 10 dogs.
Military working dogs are also taught obedience as well as other skills such as how to attack (to protect their handler), how to sniff for specific substances, how to aid handlers in crowd control, how to warn handlers of imminent danger from behind and how to patrol areas including air fields, buildings and other locations.

More than 500 dogs are trained every year in a 120-day program at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, the vast majority being groomed to act as sentries and bomb-sniffers.

"We train them on about five different levels," Sergeant Lovitt informs, adding that canine training involves huge doses of repetition while exposing the animals to different locations. Training begins when dogs are just a year-and-a-half to two-years old, and a military working dog can have a career lasting as long as 12 years.

Sergeant Lovitt says his job involves mostly paperwork, ensuring dogs get the care they deserve and proper training accomplished. "Our squadron commander tests [the dogs]" to verify the effectiveness of the training they've received.

A native of Jacksonville, N.C., Sergeant Lovitt has been training dogs for 12 years now. He said he wouldn't trade his experiences for anything.

"If you're bored with this job, there's something wrong," insists the veteran Airman. In fact, "I'd rather have a dog as a partner than a human - anytime. Not once have I had to search a building that my dog was afraid to go in," he notes.

The United States military utilizes German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois for duty as military working dogs. Malinois are Belgian shepherd dogs who resemble smaller versions of German Shepherds and share that breed's high energy and ability to absorb training.

The Navy maintains six kennels at Lakehurst and four dogs, cooperating closely with their counterparts at McGuire to secure the joint base. Dog handlers even deploy overseas with their animals when mission requirements compel them.

Master at Arms 2 Ashley Bidon is an eight-year Navy vet who's deployed with her dog and she enthusiastically embraces teaming trainers with their animals on duty.

"I've been a dog handler for three years now," says the native of Marquette, Mich. "My gosh, it is 100-percent better than regular police work."

Starting at 16, MA2 Bidon "grew up working at a bird-dog kennel." In her view, working with dogs provides "more freedom to do the job you want to do." There's what she calls the "intimidation factor" operating, too. Few people relish tangling with a German shepherd.

Plus, "[her dog] is there when you need him."

Senior Airman Allison Price is a four-year Air Force veteran who hails from Chelsea, Mich. She's worked only a year as a dog handler but said she's convinced it is the field for her.

"You need to build repartee with a dog, make health checks and treat the animal almost like you would treat a small child," Price says. She claims to believe in the old adage that "Your mood travels down the leash." Dogs pick up on their masters' whims.

Price currently is working with a German shepherd named Rudy that she describes as "a bundle of energy."

"I've always had a dog on my missions," she said, and hopes to continue that tradition.

Tech. Sgt. Michael Coulter is a dog trainer at McGuire's kennels. He's trained military dogs for seven of the 11-and-a-half years he's been in the Air Force.

"I came in (the Air Force) for dog handling but had to wait" to break into the field. Like his comrades, the Niagara Falls native says he loves the work and wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

On the joint base, dogs are more than man's best friend. They're a military asset second to none.