Navy SEAL Dogs

by Mike Ritland

  While the vast majority of dogs that served in Vietnam were German shepherds, Labrador retrievers served with distinction on Combat Tracker Teams (CTTs). CTTs had two main purposes: to make contact with the enemy and to detect recent enemy activity in the area. The CTT units faced the same issues we do today with our SEAL team dogs and handlers. They train separately for a while and then the SEAL MWDs and handlers have to integrate themselves into the larger force. The overall easygoing ways of Labs made this relatively easy, and their keen sense of smell and innate tracking skills, sharpened by training, made the men quickly change from thinking What is that dog doing here? to Why didn’t we always have these dogs?

  In addition to their tracking work, the CTT team dogs were used to locate lost and missing friendlies. Together with a larger force working in advance of the CTT troops, the program was a success. However, the contributions of the CTT Labrador retrievers and their handlers didn’t receive a great deal of publicity or acclaim. In fact, the program was phased out entirely in 1970, but it has never been forgotten by breed enthusiasts and some of its participants and supporters.

  Labrador retrievers also worked with the army as part of tracker teams. The difference between a scout team and tracker team is this: Scouts search an area for signs of an enemy’s presence; trackers do the same but also then pursue that enemy aggressively. In all, nearly a dozen army tracker teams worked in support of U.S. troops during the Vietnam War. In addition to pursuing human targets, MWDs in Vietnam searched for explosives, as our dogs do today. That detection work was complicated by the fact that the Vietcong frequently used caves and tunnels, but the dogs’ adaptability to foreign environments and their courage and other attributes allowed them to rise to the challenges and get the work done.

  Estimates vary, but as many as five thousand dogs and ten thousand handlers served our country from 1964 to 1975. The sad reality is, with a few exceptions like Nemo, those dogs did not return to the U.S. The reality of warfare resulted in handlers having to either set their dogs loose to fend for themselves or turn them over to the South Vietnamese Army. Either way, it had to be a horrifically painful decision to leave a valued teammate behind.

  DOGS IN A POST-9/11 WORLD

  It seemed as if, after the Vietnam War ended and peacetime resumed, once again little real thought was given to how much dogs had aided us during the conflict. Training dogs to be combat-ready stopped, and dogs that had participated in the war were reassigned to sentry work. Unfortunately, it would take an attack on American soil to get the military to pay attention to the need for dogs to be part of an ongoing, active defense of our country and military personnel. September 11, 2001, served as a wake-up call and a rallying cry in many ways.

  On that day, my fellow SEALs and I quickly realized that the course of our service lives was going to change. I can’t say that other teams besides Team Six wouldn’t have begun to use canines if it weren’t for 9/11, but certainly that horrible event triggered a need for heightened security on the civilian side and hastened our preparations for the eventual conflicts our military engaged in.

  In New York City, one of the attack sites, dogs played a prominent role in returning the lives of the citizens to “normal.” Interestingly, since 2001, there has been a 17 percent decline in the number of New York City’s uniformed police officers, while the number of canine cops has doubled. Today, 100 dogs are on the force in New York, working in the narcotics, bomb, emergency-response, or transit squads. Working dogs are a familiar sight even to those of us who don’t live in major metropolitan areas.

  The Department of Defense has spent nearly $20 million on explosive detection since 2006. Noncanine detection units have had a 50 percent success rate, but the canine units raise that number by another 30 percentage points. That’s a huge increase, and it is little wonder, then, that the Navy’s Special Warfare brass came to the same conclusion as New York City and other agencies—dogs are the best detection “tool” available.

  GLOSSARY

  A School advanced, on the job training in the Navy

  AK a kind of assault rifle; one of the most popular is the AK-47

  Boatswain a noncommissioned officer on a ship in charge of the maintenance of the vessel, its boats, and other equipment

  BUD/S Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL, the navy SEAL training program

  C-4 a common kind of explosive

  Carrier pigeon a pigeon that carries messages; carrier pigeons were especially used to get messages to and from troops in the battlefield during World Wars I and II

  Clearing operation a military operation designed to clear an area of all enemy personnel, mines, or other obstacles

  Cobra Gold annual training exercises conducted by the U.S. military in Thailand between U.S. armed forces and Asia-Pacific military personnel

  Corpsman an enlisted member of a military medical unit

  Demilitarized zone an area from which all soldiers and weapons have been removed after an agreement to stop fighting is in place

  Downrange a combat zone

  EOD Explosive Ordnance Disposal; EOD members remove and dismantle IEDs and other explosives

  Esquive French for “dodge or sidestep”

  Firebase an area in a war zone where artillery can be housed to provide heavy firepower

  FOB forward operating base; a secured military position for U.S. troops fighting in another country

  Force Reconnaissance a special operations force of the U.S. Marine Corps

  Fusillade shots fired at the same time or in rapid succession

  Green Berets a special operations force of the U.S. Army

  Guerrilla a member of an unofficial military unit, often fighting to overthrow a government

  High-value target most often a person, but sometimes a thing, that is important to the completion of an enemy’s mission and that an opposing force tries to capture; as an example, Osama bin Laden of the militant group al Qaeda was an extremely high-value target who was eventually captured and killed by U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six

  Humvee a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or a four-wheel-drive military automobile

  ICOM radio two-way radio communication device

  IED Improvised explosive device, a kind of homemade explosive

  In country in foreign territory, especially a combat zone

  In theater in military terms, a place where the action is

  Insurgent a person who revolts against established authority or government

  JDAM Joint Direct Attack Munition, a kind of guided bomb

  Klick a kilometer, which is about two-thirds of a mile (.62 mile) or about 3,200 feet

  Maritime related to the sea

  MARSOF a special operations force of the U.S. Marine Corps

  Multipurpose K-9 a trained working dog with more than one skill set; Navy SEAL dogs, for example, are often trained to detect explosives and also apprehend “bad guys”

  Munitions military supplies, such as weapons and ammunition

  MWD military working dog

  No-man’s-land unoccupied land that is under dispute

  On comms communicating with headphones

  Outpost troops stationed away from a forward operating base

  Paramilitary a military-like force that isn’t officially a part of any country’s military

  PKM a Russian-made machine gun

  Quartermaster general staff officer in charge of supplies

  Rack military term for bed or cot

  Rangers a special operations force of the U.S. Army

  RDX Research Department Explosive, an element found in many military explosives

  Reconnaissance exploring and gathering information behind enemy lines

  Seabee a member of one of the construction battalions of the Civil Engineer Corps of the U.S. Navy

  SEALs the U.S. Navy’s elite special operations force; SEAL stands for Sea, Air, and Land, the ways they are able to literally approach a mission

  Security perimeter a bo
undary where security controls are in place

  Shalwar kameez traditional clothing worn by some Afghanis

  SOP Standard Operating Procedure

  Sympathetic detonations detonations usually caused unintentionally by a larger nearby denotation or explosion

  The War to End All Wars term used for World War I

  Trench warfare a kind of fighting used in earlier wars that involved troops fighting from the protection of trenches or ditches in the ground

  * * *

  COMMANDS USED WITH MWDs (FROM THE DUTCH)

  Braafy a word of praise

  Los “Release!”

  Reviere “Search for a person!” (used in apprehension work)

  Szook “Search!” (used in detection work)

  * * *

  REFERENCES

  Air Force Special Operations Command. “Heritage of the Combat Search and Rescue Professionals.” http://www.afsoc.af.mil/library/afsocheritage/afsoccsarheritage.asp.

  Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities. “The Dog’s Sense of Smell,” June 2011. http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/U/UNP-0066/UNP-0066.pdf.

  Alsop, Nigel. Cry Havoc. Chatswood, NSW, Australia: New Holland Publishers, 2012.

  Bilger, Burkhard. “Beware of the Dogs.” The New Yorker, February 27, 2012.

  Cawthorne, Nigel. Canine Commandos: The Heroism, Devotion, and Sacrifice of Dogs in War. Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press, 2012.

  Congressional Research Service. “U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: Operation New Dawn, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom.” September 28, 2010.

  Cordesman, Anthony H., Marissa Allison, Vivek Kocharlakota, Jason Lemieux, and Charles Loi. “Afghan and Iraqi Metrics and the IED Threat.” Center for Strategic & International Studies, November 10, 2010. http://csis.org/publication/afghan-and-iraqi-metrics-and-ied-threat-afghanistan.

  Elson, William Harris, and Christine M. Keck. Junior High School Literature. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1920.

  Johnston, J. M. “Canine Detection Capabilities: Operational Implications of Recent R & D Findings.” Institue for Biological Detection Systems, Auburn University. June 1999. http://www.barksar.org/K-9_Detection_Capabilities.pdf.

  Lemish, Michael. War Dogs. Dulles, VA: Potomac Books, 1999.

  Merritt, Sue Rogers. “Combat Tracker Teams: Dodging an Elusive Enemy.” Vietnam, October 2001; http://www.historynet.com/combat-tracker-teams-dodging-an-elusive-enemy.htm

  Nosaka, Ray. “Secret Mission: Dog Training.” The Hawai’i Nisei Story. http://nisei.hawaii.edu/object/io_1153256967265.html.

  Pets for Patriots. “America’s Four-legged Warriors.” http://m.military.com/off-duty/pet-corner/2012/05/07/military-working-dog-americas-four-legged-warrior.html.

  The author, two weeks before joining the Navy, atop the World Trade Center in NYC, aptly wearing a SEAL T-shirt.

  The author and “Bud,” the dog that started it all.

  The author in headdress in central Iraq.

  The author on patrol with the acrobat-ninja dog Luke.

  The author in front of the U.S.S. Cole after it was attacked in Yemen.

  SEAL Team Three Echo platoon, after the oil platform takedown operation and two days before the ground war started in Iraq.

  The author with Barco, the uphill-runaway-freight-train of a dog.

  Wayne doing what he does best.

  Lloyd with Cairo.

  Lloyd and Cairo on watch.

  Lloyd sending Cairo off to grab an insurgent.

  Training in bitework; notice the deep full grip of the dog’s mouth.

  Aaron and Castor after detonating one of Castor’s lifesaving finds.

  Dave and Samson, winning hearts and minds.

  The social nature of these dogs is of the utmost importance.

  Samson and the famous Elmo toy that became his favorite.

  Dave and Samson getting some much-needed rest.

  Aaron and Castor pose next to the company logo.

  Treadmills aren’t just for humans.

  Wayne and Luke, taking a break during a long training exercise.

  The author during a sequence of events from the window training scenario that didn’t quite go as planned.

  An MWD and his handler getting ready to do some helo operations.

  Gearing up for some cold weather detection exercises.

  The “company” logo.

  Luke smiling at the photographer.

  Dave and Samson getting ready to load up and get after it.

  Samson playing the role of “hood ornament.”

  MWD and handler getting ready to clear an Afghan village.

  Cairo gets his workout in for the day.

  Too cool for school …

  Another dog/handler team, Curt and Odin, after a long night of work.

  MWD and his handler fresh off an Afghan operation.

  Retired MWD with his handler on a wintery R & R hike.

  MWD and his handler on a CH-47 helo during insert.

  MWD and his handler after a long night of combat operations in Afghanistan.

  Arko, the retired but still very capable dog, who was wounded in battle and is now almost ten years old.

  The author with Carlos, the dog that protected his handler even when his own life was in the balance.

  Curt and Odin preoperation.

  Curt and Odin getting ready to clear a tunnel.

  Odin charging ahead, sniffing out the enemy.

  Odin showing off his goggles, a much-needed piece of gear to combat the dust and sand for our K9s.

  Odin on a munitions cache hunt.

  Odin ready to go as usual.

  Odin alerting on an explosive find.

  Curt and Odin about to load up for a raid.

  An MWD and his handler atop a mountain.

  Circling the wagons and getting some much-deserved rest after a long patrol.

  Also by Mike Ritland

  Trident K9 Warriors

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  MIKE RITLAND joined the navy in 1996 and graduated with BUD/S class 215. After years as a member of SEAL Team Three, he became a BUD/S instructor and then started his own company to train dogs for the SEAL teams. Today he continues to supply working and protection dogs to a host of clients, and he has also started the Warrior Dog Foundation to help retired special-operations dogs live long and happy lives after their service.

  This is a true story, though some names and details have been changed.

  NAVY SEAL DOGS. Copyright © 2013 by Michael Ritland. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  www.stmartins.com

  Cover design by Lisa Marie Pompilio

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

  Ritland, Mike.

  Navy seal dogs: my tale of training canines for combat / Mike Ritland.

  p. cm

  ISBN 978-1-250-04182-1 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-4668-4023-2 (e-book)

  1. Dogs—War use—United States. 2. Ritland, Mike. 3. United States. Navy. SEALs—Biography. 4. Dogs—War use—Iraq. 5. Dogs—War use—Afghanistan. 6. Iraq War, 2003–2011—Dogs. 7. Afghan War, 2001—Dogs. I. Title.

  UH100.R58 2014

  359.9'84—dc23 2013026244

  e-ISBN 9781466840232

  First Edition: November 2013