Kirtland Air Force Base -- Keeping the population secure is the primary mission of the 377th Security Forces Squadron here at Kirtland Air Force Base. The specialized team tasked with supporting
this mission is the Military Working Dog section.
The section is comprised of highly skilled handlers and working dogs trained to detect
explosives and narcotics, perform search and rescue, and neutralize hostile forces.
Before joining the section, prospective working dogs go through extensive evaluations at the 341st Training Squadron Military Working Dog School at Lackland AFB, Texas.
S t a f f S g t . Mi ch a e l Schwartz, a handler with the 377th SFS Working Dog Section, said the dogs are "tested to see if they are really timid or highly aggressive. The goal is to find a good balance between the two."
The dogs must be able to work effectively under gunfire, as well as be able to work in crowds without becoming aggressive.
Dog breeds that most often enter the program are German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois.
"We look to balance the detection portion of the job with the aggression side of it, and these dogs have a better balance for both patrol and detection," he said.
Upon passing their evaluations, the canines enter training.
"Like Airmen, the dogs that are selected go through their own basic training," said Sergeant Schwar tz. "They are brought in and they don't know anything. They are then shown the minimum s tandards of what's expected of them."
In training, the first thing they learn is obedience.
"They learn the 'sit' command, the 'down' command and the 'stay' command," he said. "They build off of that obedience training for the rest of the training they do."
After mastering basic commands, the dogs enter advanced training, in which they learn how to search buildings and open areas, as well as learning controlled aggressiveness.
With controlled aggressiveness, the dog must be able to attack on command, cease attack when directed by its handler, and attack, without command, someone who is attacking its handler.
Training the dogs to be tough and aggressive is a gentle process revolving around play.
Handlers use games to prepare the dogs for realworld situations.
"When in real -world situations, our dogs are not thinking that it's a hostile threat, like we are," said Sergeant Schwartz. "To them, it's just a game."
While the dogs see their job as a game, they face serious challenges.
Because the security of so many depends on their success, nothing but perfection is expected of them. The dogs undergo constant training to keep their skill levels up so they're ready for any event.
Another challenge some dogs face after deployment is post-traumatic stress disorder,
which may cause severe anxiety.
"We had a dog that did work in Afghanistan and when she came back, she had problems around gunfire and people. When we train our dogs, they have to be comfortable around gunfire," Sergeant Schwartz said.
Dogs that develop medical issues are retired.
When the dogs retire, their handlers have the first opportunity to adopt them, after which the public is able to adopt them. Each year, the Air Force has dogs available for adoption.
For more information about adopting a military working dog, e-mail Tech. Sgt. Joel Bur ton at mwdadoptions@us.af.mil.