They are America’s humblest — and hairiest — military heroes.
Military war dogs may not get their own Memorial Day parade, but they are on the front lines, protecting American soldiers, sniffing out bad guys and detecting illicit drugs overseas.
“We handlers have the most sophisticated pieces of military machinery ever made,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Kathleen Ellison, 48, of Grahamsville, NY, a military-dog handler stationed at the US Naval Station in Rota, Spain.
“These dogs, no matter what their specialty, are saving US troops,” added Ellison, a lifelong dog lover.
Ellison was deployed three times to Iraq and Afghanistan with war dogs between 2004 and 2009.
Her favorite perky companion, a German shepherd named Riki, detected mountains of illegal drugs, including marijuana, hashish and opium, while on the job.
One night on patrol in northeast Afghanistan, Riki’s keen senses picked up on the movement of Taliban fighters 75 yards away. Thanks to the dog’s heads-up, US soldiers — whose night-vision goggles hadn’t even picked up the insurgents — were able to safely clear out of the area.
“[Military dogs] are on the absolute frontlines with our troops,” said Ellison, who re-enlisted with the Navy after her godson’s father, Lt. Vincent Halloran, was killed in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
There are approximately 3,000 military dogs safeguarding US bases and embassies, as well as patrolling in the Middle East, according to Ron Aiello, president of the US War Dogs Association and a handler during the Vietnam War. About 60 have been killed or injured in the line of duty in the last eight years, he said.
All of the dogs are trained to conduct dangerous missions, such as the one just handled by Cairo, the Navy SEALs pooch who policed Osama bin Laden’s compound during the raid that killed the al Qaeda leader.