Photo By Senior Airman Daniel Walderbach | Distinguished guests and base personnel toss dog toys toward the stage in a final...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. — Military Working Dogs Cchango and Nero were honored during a ceremony Aug. 6, 2025, recognizing their retirement from active duty and adoption into permanent homes. Both dogs served with the 316th Security Support Squadron, supporting presidential missions and high-level security operations before becoming family companions.
MWD Nero was adopted by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Katelyn Relihan, assigned to the 316th Security Forces Squadron. MWD Cchango was adopted by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Alexis Krippel, a military working dog handler with the 316th Security Support Squadron. Both dogs served in high-tempo security roles vital to the installation's presidential mission.
As the largest military working dog kennel in the Department of Defense, Joint Base Andrews supports an operational tempo that includes deployments, temporary duty travel, and missions in support of the president of the United States.
"The dogs are not a weapon system that you go and check out from the armory and do your tour of duty with and come back," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Joseph Ritchie, 316th Security Support Squadron commander. "You're a team. You're certified together. Without one of you, there is no team."
Both dogs leave behind decorated careers. Nero completed 10,743 utilization hours, participated in 2,500 vehicle searches, and assisted with 168 detection exercises. Cchango accrued more than 10,000 hours and contributed to multiple presidential support missions and high-profile security sweeps.
"Cchango has played a big, big part with Andrews’ mission," said Krippel. "He's been on countless missions, he's deployed before and he's had real-world finds on base."
Krippel, who previously worked with Cchango's brother Chewy at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, said adopting Cchango felt like fate. "Knowing his history, working with him and seeing him being such a goofball, it felt like he fit perfectly in my life," she said.
Relihan, who stayed close to the kennels as someone interested in prospecting into the K-9 field, said she stepped forward when Nero needed a home. "When I found out about Nero... everybody wanted to give him a home, but with their current life situations, they just weren't able to take on another dog," she said. "When I heard that Nero needed a place, I jumped on the opportunity because I love Nero."
"They provide a detection and deterrence capability that is pretty much unrivaled," said Ritchie. "We're talking about a nose that is as much as 100,000 times more sensitive than the human nose. So that is an extreme capability that is an asset to us that we're able to leverage with the dog."
He added, "You go back to the inception of the American military working dog, all the way back into World War II, up until today, we still have not been able to build something that gives us the capability or approaches the practicality and usefulness of a dog."
"These dogs give almost all of their best years to the military," said Ritchie. "When you think about their lives and everything that they have gone through in service to the military, I have a hard time thinking of a better example of service before self."
Both adoptions highlight the deep bonds forged through service and the unwavering commitment of the MWD community to provide dignity and care beyond duty.
| Date Taken: | 08.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.08.2025 09:50 |
| Story ID: | 545152 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, From Kennel to Couch: MWD Cchango and Nero Retire After Distinguished Service, by SSgt Isaac March, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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