RAF Mildenhall’s latest paw-some addition to its military working dog pack is 3-year-old Mmoab, a black Belgian Malinois who joined the 100th Security Forces Squadron’s canine team in May 2025.
While some may be a little confused by the spelling of Mmoab’s name, the double-letter at the beginning is completely intentional – it signifies him as a Puppy Program dog. He’s the only dog in the kennels born, bred and initially trained at Lackland Air Force Base (Joint Base San Antonio), Texas, and just the third specially-bred canine at RAF Mildenhall – the first in 16 years – his predecessors being MWD Vvonya in 2010, and MWD Ootto in 2006.
The Puppy Program was started at Lackland AFB – where all Department of War military working dogs are trained – to allow the military to breed its own dogs, cut costs and produce an even-better trained asset. The program provides hands-on training from day one as a puppy, and the Air Force can track the dog’s social progression. Their training includes several months of detection and patrol work.
Once a litter of puppies are whelped and weaned, they are placed in foster homes in and around San Antonio. The volunteer families must meet specific requirements before being accepted. They then provide the highest quality care before returning the puppies to the training program. Foster families are given everything required to care for the puppies, including dog food, veterinary care equipment, toys and training.
Once trained and ready to head to their new home station, a handler will travel to Lackland to personally collect them and escort the dog to its new home.
Mmoab’s handlers described how the pup showed right from the start how he was perfect for the job.
“He’s insanely fast, very driven and loves to give hugs to his handlers,” said Staff Sgt. Cameron Gilbert, 100th SFS MWD trainer, who was also the first handler to team with Mmoab. The pair just returned from a five-month deployment to RAF Fairford, where they performed patrol and detection duties.
The young Belgian Malinois is now teamed with Senior Airman Karina Flores, 100th SFS handler, and is the third K-9 she’s worked with in her Air Force career so far. They are currently in the rapport phase of their partnership.
“He’s my first Puppy Program dog and is focused 24/7 – other dogs can often be like, ‘Okay, I’m here so I’ll do it,’ but he’s completely dedicated,” she said. “Mmoab is definitely the most energetic dog I’ve worked with, and I’ve been spending a lot of time bonding with him and getting him used to me.
“I give him simple tasks, and, as he loves his toy, I’ll reward him with it all the time so he knows he can trust me and think, ‘Hey, she’s my mom!’
“It’s going good so far,” said Flores. “Because he’s so driven, I know he’s going to make me a better handler because of how much he wants to work.”
After military working dogs arrive at the base, which will be their home for the duration of their career, the next stage for them is to pass their field evaluation qualification.
“We made sure Mmoab can meet what’s asked of us operationally here,” Gilbert explained. “Once he arrived and settled in, we took him out to the different training areas to make sure he can do the tasks no matter what.”
“I’ve done his field evaluation from the ground up – everything he’s done and where he is now is a result of how I’ve worked with him, so I’m proud of where he’s at right now and when I handed him over to his new handler,” said Gilbert.
While everyone loves seeing the military working dogs out and about, don’t let the cute, furry faces fool you. With a top running speed of more than 30 mph, a bite force of more than 200 pounds, and a nose 40-times more powerful than a human’s, Mmoab and the rest of the MWDs here are highly trained psychological deterrents and a vital asset to Team Mildenhall, the U.S. Air Force and the Department of War.
| Date Taken: |
08.28.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
08.31.2026 14:07 |
| Story ID: |
573596 |
| Location: |
RAF MILDENHALL, SUFFOLK, GB |
| Web Views: |
46 |
| Downloads: |
0 |
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This work, Puppy Program MWD Mmoab is 100th SFS’s newest ‘goodest boy’ – but do NOT pet the dog!, by Karen Abeyasekere, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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