I have great admiration for Danielle Roche, who was in charge of all the dog teams on Lucca’s first deployment. She provided me with some wonderful details that enrich the book.
Retired U.S. Army Colonel Peter Mansoor, who served as General Petraeus’s executive officer during the troop surge of 2007 to 2008, was my go-to man for questions about the situation in Iraq from a military and historical perspective. I feel very lucky to have had Mansoor, the General Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair of Military History at the Ohio State University, as my consultant on these matters. He has written some excellent books, and his book Surge was a valuable resource.
Also on my valued volunteer team of experts was marine EOD tech Matt Lenz. He fielded my inquiries about explosives, particularly as they pertained to explosive ordnance disposal. Matt: Get ready to buy the shop a case of beer, because someone there is bound to see this!
Pilot Tim Raynor, of American Airlines’ Veterans and Military Initiatives, was always right there whenever I had questions about how the airline provided travel arrangements for Lucca, Chris, and Rod (most notably for the reunion) and about its support of many military and veterans programs. I applaud what this airline does for those who have served and for the families of those who have given their lives.
The staff at the American embassy in Helsinki provided excellent insight into Chris’s devotion to Lucca and the U.S. Military Working Dog Program, and they helped me with details of the reunion. Thanks especially to Nicholas Kuchova for his at-the-ready assistance and for helping make the reunion a reality.
I’m also indebted to all the others who gave their time to interview with me for this book, including Danny Cornier, Kevin Wiens, Al Brenner, Billy Soutra, Brian Kolfage, Julie Schrock, Chuck Rotenberry, Liz Rotenberry, Autumn Swank, Crystal Fenn, Leslie Nicole Smith, Kalevi Soderlund, Branden Deleon, and Jim Palmersheim.
On the editorial side, my talented Dutton editor, Stephen Morrow, has once again been a hell of a lot of fun to work with, despite yet another tight deadline. Good on ya, mate! Enthusiastic and first-rate assistant editor Stephanie Hitchcock worked tirelessly to help all the pieces come together. I’m also grateful for my hardworking agent, Carol Mann, and a kickass freelance copy editor who I apparently shall know only by her Track Changes name of “COPY EDITOR.”
Finally, my own family—husband, Craig, and daughter, Laura—for once again being hugely supportive as I disappeared into another book. Craig, you blew me away with your excellent editorial advice throughout. It’s good to be back.
NOTES ON SOURCES
All interviews in this book were conducted between August 2013 and April 2014, either in person, by phone, via Skype, or by e-mail, with occasional questions answered via text or Facebook.
I spent about eleven days in November to December 2013 living with the Willinghams, who graciously opened their home to me so I could get to know Chris, Jill, the children, and, of course, Lucca. This is where the most extensive interviewing of Chris Willingham took place, but it continued for months afterward on an almost-daily basis via e-mail and phone.
Special Forces soldier Jake Parker’s name has been changed in this book, as have the names of the two other Green Berets I wrote about. “Jake” asked not to use real names of the members of his Special Forces team, and I am honoring his request. There’s a reason Green Berets are known as “the quiet professionals.”
If I were starting to learn about military dogs from scratch, there would be a litany of sources I would cite in this section. However, I have become something of a civilian version of a subject matter expert on military dogs thanks to my previous book, Soldier Dogs. I keep on top of all things military dog on a daily basis and am in regular communication with many in the military working dog community. My knowledge of the topic meant I didn’t have to pore over reams of papers and books, and interview countless dog experts, in order to gain insight into these dog teams.
That said, I did rely on dozens of articles, books, videos, websites, government documents, and PowerPoint presentations about various topics addressed in this book—particularly certain moments in the Iraq War about which I was not well versed. In this section, I cite primarily from sources that contain information that’s not widely disseminated.
A word about dialogue in Top Dog. Since I was not there for most of the action, I relied on descriptions from those who were. They did their best to portray conversations, and I took it from there. Because of this, the book cannot always have exact quotes, but I did my best to capture the conversations and dialogue. The same with the scenes and settings. I was able to supplement the descriptions from those I interviewed with photographs and videos they provided, as well as finding details online and elsewhere.
This book captures the highlights of Lucca’s story. She had numerous IED finds I didn’t write about, was in more firefights, and had many other book-worthy experiences—even after retirement—that couldn’t fit into the pages of this book. I’m sure she and Chris Willingham will go on to have many more, because that’s how they roll.
CHAPTER 1
Interviews with former Marine Corporal Juan “Rod” Rodriguez, former Special Forces Sergeant Jake Parker, and Marine Gunnery Sergeant Chris Willingham.
CHAPTER 2
Interviews with Marine Gunnery Sergeant Chris Willingham, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Kristopher Knight, Jill Willingham, and Elden Willingham.
CHAPTER 3
Interviews with Marine Gunnery Sergeant Chris Willingham, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Kristopher Knight, and former Army Captain Danielle Roche.
CHAPTERS 4 AND 5
Broadwell, Paula, with Vernon Loeb. All In: The Education of General David Petraeus. New York: The Penguin Press, 2012.
“Department of Defense Bloggers Roundtable with Lieutenant Colonel Ken Adgie,” transcript. September 27, 2007, http://www.defense.gov/home/blog/docs/0927adgie_transcript.pdf.
Interviews with Marine Gunnery Sergeant Chris Willingham; Army Colonel (Ret.) Peter Mansoor; Army Captain Nathan S. “Shane” Chumbler, DVM; and Marine Gunnery Sergeant Matthew Lentz.
Kagan, Frederick W. “Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq.” American Enterprise Institute Online, January 5, 2007, http://www.aei.org/papers/foreign-and-defense-policy/regional/middle-east-and-north-africa/choosing-victory-a-plan-for-success-in-iraq-paper.
Mansoor, Peter R. Surge: My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013.
MRE Info. “MRE Menus.” Accessed June 17, 2014, http://www.mreinfo.com/us/mre/mre-menus.html.
Partlow, Joshua, and John Ward Anderson. “Troops Pushing South Through Insurgent Area.” The Washington Post. June 22, 2007, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/21/AR2007062100597.html.
Petraeus, David H. “CENTCOM Update, Center for a New American Security.” Multimedia presentation. June 11, 2009, http://www.cnas.org/files/multimedia/documents/Petraeus%20Slides.pdf.
Rising, David. “U.S. troop buildup felt in Iraq hotspots.” USA Today. September 4, 2007, http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2007-09-04-3523744152_x.htm.
Roggio, Bill. “Arab Jabour: ‘This Is al Qaeda Country.’” The Long War Journal. September 22, 2007, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/09/arab_jabour_this_is.php#.
West, Bing. The Strongest Tribe: War, Politics, and the Endgame in Iraq. New York: Random House, 2008.
CHAPTER 6
“DoD News Briefing with Maj. Gen. Lynch from Iraq,” transcript. July 6, 2007, http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4007.
Interviews with Marine Gunnery Sergeant Chris Willingham, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Kristopher Knight, former Army Captain Danielle Roche, and Kevin Wiens.
Report on the death of Kory Wiens was merged information from two official military reports.
CHAPTER 7
Interviews with Marin
e Gunnery Sergeant Chris Willingham, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Kristopher Knight, Jill Willingham, and former Army Captain Danielle Roche.
CHAPTER 8
Interviews with Marine Gunnery Sergeant Chris Willingham, Elden Willingham, Jill Willingham, and Marine Sergeant William “Billy” Soutra Jr.
Lamothe, Dan, and Andrew deGrandpré. “MARSOC team honored for breaking Taliban ambush.” Military Times. December 4, 2012, http://www.militarytimes.com/article/20121204/NEWS/212040324/MARSOC-team-honored-breaking-Taliban-ambush.
CHAPTER 9
Interviews with Marine Gunnery Sergeant Chris Willingham, Julie Schrock, former Marine Corporal Juan “Rod” Rodriguez, former Marine Sergeant Alfred Brenner, Megan Brenner, and Marine Sergeant Branden Deleon.
CHAPTER 10
“A Birthday Message from the Commandant of the Marine Corps.” Accessed on June 19, 2014, https://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/birthday-message-commandant-marine-corps.
Interviews with Marine Gunnery Sergeant Chris Willingham, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Chuck Rotenberry, former Marine Corporal Juan “Rod” Rodriguez, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Kristopher Knight, and Jill Willingham.
Sgt Grit Staff. “Marine Corps Birthday Message.” Accessed June 19, 2014, http://www.grunt.com/corps/scuttlebutt/marine-corps-stories/marine-corps-birthday-message.
Yount, Shannon. “Mark Wahlberg visits troops in Afghanistan.” DVIDS. December 19, 2010, http://www.dvidshub.net/news/62281/mark-wahlberg-visits-troops-afghanistan#.U5OrsZRdUZ2.
CHAPTER 11
Burton, Janice. “Game Changers: ANA Special Forces Impact the Course of Afghanistan.” Special Warfare. October–December 2011, http://www.soc.mil/swcs/SWmag/archive/SW2404/SW2404GameChangers.html.
Foreman, Jonathan. “The Meaning of ‘Green on Blue’ Attacks in Afghanistan.” National Review. September 18, 2012, http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/322428/meaning-green-blue-attacks-afghanistan-jonathan-foreman.
Gentile, Carmen. “In Afghanistan, special units do the dirty work.” USA Today. November 9, 2011, http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/afghanistan/story/2011-11-09/special-forces-key-in-afghanistan/51145690/1.
Interviews with former Marine Corporal Juan “Rod” Rodriguez, former Special Forces Sergeant Jake Parker, Marine Sergeant Daniel Cornier, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Matthew Lentz.
Training Developers of Training Development Division 1, “Inside the SFCQ,” http://www.specialforcesassociation.org/inside-the-sfqc.
CHAPTER 12
Department of Health and Human Services. “Explosions and Blast Injuries: A Primer for Clinicians.” Accessed June 19, 2014, http://www.cdc.gov/masstrauma/preparedness/primer.pdf.
Interviews with former Marine Corporal Juan “Rod” Rodriguez; former Special Forces Sergeant Jake Parker; Marine Sergeant Daniel Cornier; Marine Gunnery Sergeant Matthew Lentz; Army Lieutenant-Colonel James Giles III; Army Captain Nathan S. “Shane” Chumbler, DVM; Marine Gunnery Sergeant Chris Willingham; and Jill Willingham.
UXO Info. “Ordnance Hazards.” Accessed June 19, 2014, http://www.uxoinfo.com/uxoinfo/ordhazards.cfm.
CHAPTER 13
Alho, Olli. “A guide to Finnish customs and manners.” November 2002, http://finland.fi/public/default.aspx?contentid=160036.
eDiplomat. “Finland.” http://www.ediplomat.com/np/cultural_etiquette/ce_fi.htm.
“Finland,” http://wikitravel.org/en/Finland.
Goodavage, Maria. “Dispatches from Helsinki: Hero Dog Amputee Reunites with First Handler.” Soldier Dogs. July 12, 2012, http://www.soldierdogs.com/2012/07/12/dispatches-from-helsinki-hero-dog-amputee-reunites-with-first-handler/.
Interviews with former Marine Corporal Juan “Rod” Rodriguez, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Chris Willingham, Nicholas Kuchova, Jim Palmersheim, Marine Colonel Tim Raynor, Jill Willingham, and Kalevi Soderlund.
Orchard Group Productions. “American Airlines Sendoff for Lucca.” Accessed June 19, 2014, http://vimeo.com/46908687.
“Welcome to the University of Joensuu!” http://www.mendelu.cz/dok_server/slozka.pl?id=39552;download=41541.
CHAPTER 14
American Airlines. “In Support of All Who Serve.” http://www.airlinereporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/INITIATIVES-BROCHURE-2013_Final.pdf.
Interviews with Marine Gunnery Sergeant Chris Willingham, Jill Willingham, former Marine Corporal Juan “Rod” Rodriguez, Marine Colonel Tim Raynor, Nicholas Kuchova, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Chuck Rotenberry, Liz Rotenberry, Autumn Swank, Crystal Fenn, Elden Willingham, former Security Forces airman Brian Kolfage, Army Captain (Ret.) Leslie Nicole Smith, Marine Sergeant William “Billy” Soutra Jr., Kevin Wiens, and Marine Gunnery Sergeant Kristopher Knight.
In 1864, E. P. Dutton & Co. bought the famous Old Corner Bookstore and its publishing division from Ticknor and Fields and began their storied publishing career. Mr. Edward Payson Dutton and his partner, Mr. Lemuel Ide, had started the company in Boston, Massachusetts, as a bookseller in 1852. Dutton expanded to New York City, and in 1869 opened both a bookstore and publishing house at 713 Broadway. In 2014, Dutton celebrates 150 years of publishing excellence. We have redesigned our longtime logotype to reflect the simple design of those earliest published books. For more information on the history of Dutton and its books and authors, please visit www .penguin.com/dutton.
Chris Willingham
Marine dog handler Chris Willingham promised Lucca he’d carry her back to the kennels—about one and a half miles—if she performed well on a validation despite the blazing heat in Iraq. She aced it, and he kept his word.
Chris Willingham
Willingham (left) and fellow marine dog handler Kristopher Knight (right) strike a pose with Lucca and Knight’s dog, Bram, in front of the Perfume Palace in Baghdad. Lucca and Bram excelled at their jobs but had completely different personalities. “For one thing, Bram is crazy; Lucca is not,” Knight told a soldier.
Chris Willingham
Army Lieutenant Danielle Roche reenlists Willingham under the Victory Arch in Baghdad. Willingham and Knight explored their options for reenlistment venues and chose this triumphal arch in Baghdad’s Green Zone.
Chris Willingham
Kory Wiens (right) and his specialized search dog, Cooper—aka his son—formed a deep bond with Willingham (left) and Lucca in Iraq. The dogs would cut loose together anytime they got a chance, including between missions at Patrol Base Murray, pictured here.
Chris Willingham
Sometimes you have to think outside the box to foil the enemy. Willingham and Lucca discovered these DShK Soviet heavy machine guns buried under a tree by the Tigris River.
Chris Willingham
Training is continuous during deployment to ensure dog teams stay fully mission capable. Here, Willingham and Lucca hurry onto a helicopter normally used for medevac purposes, where they would be flown twenty minutes to do an explosives-detection problem. Lucca was always relaxed on helos, often falling asleep en route to a destination.
Chris Willingham
Lucca enjoys her Kong after finding a stash of weapons stuffed into a crypt in an Iraqi graveyard. Even clever hiding places can’t fool the nose of a good bomb dog.
Chris Willingham
Lucca led more than four hundred missions during her career, but there were times she didn’t need to walk point. Willingham would pull her back and let her walk without sniffing for explosives to give her nose a break.
Chris Willingham
Future Navy Cross recipient William “Billy” Soutra Jr. (above left) and his dog, Posha, get ready to head out on a mission with Willingham (above right) and Lucca from FOB Echo. This was the second deployment to Iraq for Willingham and Lucca.
Chris Willingham
Life imitates art. From left to right, Lucca, Posha, and Buddy pose for a badass marine version of the popular Dogs Playing Poker series of oil paintings. Humor helped the handlers cop
e with the stresses of war. Note which dog has the (unloaded) gun.
Chris Willingham
Willingham (far right) couldn’t bring Lucca when he deployed to Afghanistan as kennel master in charge of thirty dog teams in 2010. The teams in this photo were part of a clearing operation in Safar Bazaar. Tragically, dog handler Max Donahue, to Willingham’s right, would be mortally wounded by an IED several days after this photo was taken.
Chris Willingham
The dog handlers, hoping to be home for Christmas, walk their K-9 partners in orderly fashion to the C-17 waiting for them at the flight line at Camp Leatherneck.
Juan Rodriguez
Lucca’s second handler, Juan “Rod” Rodriguez, wanted Lucca to lie on the ground behind his waist while he zeroed the optics of his rifle during their Afghanistan deployment. She had a different idea of where she should be.
Juan Rodriguez
Dog handler Daniel Cornier (left) and his specialized search dog, Darko, often teamed up with Rod (right) and Lucca on long missions with the Special Forces in Afghanistan. The dogs, working off leash, helped ensure an extra level of safety for the Green Berets.
James Giles III
Even the best military dogs can’t always escape the devastation of IEDs. Rod stayed at Lucca’s side for days after she was wounded, even sleeping next to her for nights in the veterinary hospital kennel as she recovered from her amputation.
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