Man's best friend helps secure Bayji's voting sites

Photo By Spc. Jazz Burney | United States Marine Corps, Cpl. Justin Rodriguez, specialized search dog handler, K-9 Section, 1st Marine Expeditionary Forces and his search dog Rex, scan the sides of a Bayji voting site for improvised explosive devices and other harmful weapons in preparation of the provincial elections at Forward Operating Base Summerall, Jan. 28.  

BAYJI, IRAQ

01.31.2009

Story by Spc. Jazz Burney 

3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SUMMERALL, BAYJI, Iraq – Local Iraqi citizens were able to confidently vote in the Salah ad-Din provincial elections, Jan. 31, without fear of violence due in part to the expertise of the specialized search dog teams attached to the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division at Forward Operating Base Summerall.

"This is the first time the people of Iraq have seen a dog searching and securing the voting centers," said Lt. Col. Farooq Hussein, Iraqi police officer, Al-Messirah Police Station. "We have heard these things taking place up in the province but we haven't seen this in our city. This will certainly give the citizens additional courage to vote seeing this type of precautionary emphasis of safety at the voting centers," he continued.

The Summerall military working dog handlers, from the Air Force, Marine Corps and the Army, work side-by-side with their canine counterparts during a six-month training regimen at different military locations.

"The specialized search dog team's primary objective is to go out with quick reactionary forces to search the open desert terrains to find weapon caches, search houses and the like, but due to the elections we have been searching and clearing the voting sites for explosives and improvise explosive devices," said Air Force Tech Sgt. Sean Harvey, patrol and explosive detection dog handler, 23rd Security Forces Squadron, Moody Air Force Base, Ga.

There are three types of military working dogs. A specialized search dog is trained off-leash to find all size explosives, ammunition, weapon caches and other harmful elements. A combat tracker dog can pick up a human scent and retrace the steps of an insurgent who placed an improvised explosive device or other dangerous weapons. A patrol and explosives detection dog can attack and disable enemies and search areas while on-leash during a patrol. Each of three different types of military working dogs, together with their handler, make up a specialized search dog team that provides additional awareness for coalition patrols.

Leadership of the Iraqi police station in Bayji appreciated the enhanced security measures that the canines brought to the searches.

"I saw the excitement in the eyes and through the smile of an Iraqi major, when he saw our dog doing his job he was very pleased because he understands that with our dog on the scene lives will be saved," said United States Marine Corps Cpl. Justin Rodriguez, a specialized search dog handler, assigned to the K-9 Section, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

• Date Taken: 01.31.2009
• Date Posted: 02.17.2009 15:29
• Story ID: 30130
• Location: BAYJI, IQ