Photo By Staff Sgt. Samantha Simmons | Elco, a Belgian Malinois, returns a tennis ball to Pfc. Justin Kintz after retrieving...... read more read more
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BAGHDAD – U.S. Soldiers have partnered with military working dogs in Iraq for quite some time, in an effort to find explosives as well as the person who may have assembled or detonated any explosive device.
Pfc. Justin Kintz, a Las Vegas native, assigned to 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, U.S. Division – Center, works alongside his partner, Elco, a Belgian Malinois, whose primary mission is to act as a combat tracking dog.
Unlike the more commonly used combat search dogs, whose job it is to which search for various known odors such as explosives, munitions, narcotics, or human remains, Elco's job consists of picking up a very specific scent and tracking that scent down.
"Once the scent is picked up, [my dog knows] 'okay, I need to find this specific dirt mixture with boot, [denim] and sweat in order to get my reward,'" said Kintz.
A typical reward used for Elco is a simple, green tennis ball. Kintz will start a fresh track, winding and curving about an area, place the tennis ball, and then send Elco to track down the path Kintz took.
Tracking dogs don't have a predetermined odor as search dogs do. The odor Elco starts with has to be fresh and isolated, said Kintz.
"The key factor in every track is the beginning," said Kintz, "I have to ensure that the first scent he picks up on is the one I want him to find."
Elco's nose breaks down each individual scent in a particular area. If he smells a dirt, hair, sweat and denim mixture, he follows this combination of odors, said Kintz.
"His primary mission is to track human odors—possibly to where explosives were laid or to where they were made," said Sgt. Kyle Louks, Kintz' supervisor and a patrol explosive detection dog handler assigned to the 501st Military Police Company, 1st Armored Division.
Kintz and Elco currently run rotations at Contingency Operating Location Nasir Wa Salam joining infantrymen conducting route reconnaissance missions, where the team is available if need be. They also act as an asset for the quick reaction force when they deploy directly to an incident.
Kintz said the most important tasking on these missions is to find the triggerman, "If the area is isolated, we'll find the guy."
Although this may seem like a simple task, there are a lot of variables that come into play, said Louks. Time lapse, the possibility of scents being carried away with the wind, and the amount of people in and out or near the area is crucial when tracking, he added.
"It's really difficult to be successful out here, in such a populated area," said Kintz. "I have steps to get my dog prepped."
Kintz uses a light harness with a strap down the middle that connects just around the front legs, which gives him a carrying handle for which to keep the dog's feet off the ground. He then preps him with an aggressive voice to get the dog excited for the mission.
"At that point, he wants to work, he wants nothing more than to get going, and not do anything but track," said Kintz.
A mission last January resulted in a successful track for Kintz and his dog. Investigators wanted to find the person responsible for a dig site to question his intentions. Kintz and Elco tracked a scent to a small village, which is when the interpreters took over with security forces. After questioning many locals, security forces were able to find the man responsible for the digging.
"We had no idea what he was doing, but he was out there digging in the middle of nowhere, and we needed to investigate," said Kintz. "I was told to find the guy, and we did,"
The duo partnered up last June and spent two months in school together: getting to know each other, building rapport, and preparing for a desert-like environment.
"I've always been an extroverted person, and that's exactly what you need in order to work a dog," said Kintz. It's also important to pay attention and know the dog because each one has their own little quirks, said Kintz.
Learning to praise and discipline the dog, regardless of who's around or watching, is the only way to be successful, said Kintz. It is important that the dog sees praise or is corrected every time.
"My dog does [well] most of the time, so I've had to get used to, real quick, talking in a high-pitched, girly voice," said Kintz.
In the end, Elco believes he is looking for the green tennis ball that he's been trained to crave, following a scent to get to his target, said Kintz.
"He works so hard and so fast … he will run, sprint … he will rip up the ground trying to get to that ball as quickly as possible," he added,
| Date Taken: | 04.26.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.26.2010 02:17 |
| Story ID: | 48689 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 915 |
| Downloads: | 865 |
This work, A partnership with 'man's best friend', by SSG Samantha Simmons, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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