Photo By Staff Sgt. Quintin Gee | Spc. Cade Brown conducts routine drills with his military working dog, Deny, December...... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, TEXAS — It started as a normal day of ordinary annual leave for Spc. Cade
Brown, who was in his hometown of Iowa, La. taking his 2007 Harley Dyna motorcycle for a
spin.
Brown, a military working dog handler assigned to the 93rd Military Police battalion, 513th
Military Working Dog Detachment at Fort Bliss, was stopped at a red light when a white pick-
up truck traveling 45 miles per hour smashed into the back of his motorcycle, launching him 127 feet down
the road.
The driver of the truck that rear-ended Brown was texting while driving.
“I heard a loud explosion and I flew,” Brown said. “I tumbled a bunch, then I laid there trying to
figure out what just happened, then I looked over and seen my bike underneath a truck."
Brown did not realize it in that moment, but several bones in his left leg were broken and
dislocated. He also tore multiple tendons and ligaments.
“With the adrenaline, I didn’t feel it at first, but as soon as I turned around my foot was hanging
off in the wrong direction,” Brown said reflecting on the incident that took place over a year ago.
Five days after the crash, Brown received reconstructive surgery on his entire left leg. The
doctors told him that he should come close to making a full recovery despite the vigorous
physical therapy sessions that would follow.
“It’s never going to be quite the same because of the tendon and ligament damage,” Brown
added.
Nonetheless, within a year, Spc. Brown supported his first mission since the accident by being a part
of a U.S. Secret Service detail when Vice President Kamala Harris visited Austin, Texas in October,
2022.
“It felt like an achievement,” Brown said as he thought about his road to recovery. “I came from
not being able to walk on my own to running, catching dogs, doing controlled aggression, and
out there supporting some very important people.”
Brown and his assigned military working dog, Deny, were a part of a security
detail to make sure no contraband or harmful items entered the venue where Vice President
Harris was speaking. Explosive detection was the main priority for the pair during the mission, said
Sgt. 1st class Robert Citrullo, Kennel Master of the 513th Military Working Dog Detachment.
“A lot of times when you see a serious injury sustained to a joint like his, it’s very hard to come
back from being in K-9,” Citrullo said. “I love to be able to see any soldier who gets hurt and has
that resiliency to want to get back to where they were.”
Citrullo explained how the specialist and military service dog Deny are a dual-purpose team
because they can detect explosives and conduct “bite work” operations where a suspect can be
apprehended by the K-9 if needed.
Citrullo continued to discuss his appreciation for Brown’s ability to quickly recover from the
surgery and return to duty motivated and ready to assist the unit. The 18-year veteran attributed
Brown’s turnaround to his passion he has for the job.
“He was dedicated to his craft, and he wanted to move forward with his military working dog,”
Citrullo said. “I saw that and gave him the leeway that he needed to get back in the fight.”
Going forward, Brown wants the determination he exuded during his recovery to be a
reoccurring theme throughout his military career as he plans to complete a full career as a
working dog handler and retire from the Army.
Brown says being a soldier in the Army gave him opportunities he would not have experienced
in any other profession.
“I love the dogs,” Brown said with a smile as he pets Deny. “It’s like working with your best
friend every day.”
| Date Taken: | 12.16.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 12.31.2022 13:53 |
| Story ID: | 436075 |
| Location: | TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | IOWA, LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 591 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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