War dogs: They are dogs that help fight war. The U.S. has some 2,700 of them deployed on active duty, and they are a key part of U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of them — who, at this point, “remains an enigma” — was involved in the raid on Osama bin Laden. We imagine that if we were being lowered out of a helicopter to go catch and kill Osama bin Laden, it would probably rather reassuring to have a trained fighting best friend along with us — not least because these dogs are pretty bad-ass. Foreign Policy has a great photo essay on them. After the jump, some fascinating facts about “Military Working Dogs,” or “WMDs.”
- “Dogs usually jump in tandem with their trainers, but when properly outfitted with flotation vests they can make short jumps into water on their own.”
- “A dog can have up to 225 million olfactory receptors in their nose.”
- In terms of bomb detection, the Pentagon’s best technology had a 50 percent success rate; when dogs helped, “it rose 30 percent.”
- Training a dog takes 120 days.
- There’s a U.S. War Dogs Association.
- Gear for war dogs includes “Doggles (protective eye wear), body armor, life vests, gas masks, long-range GPS-equipped vests, and high-tech canine ‘flak jackets.'”
- War dogs are usually Belgian Malinois, German Shepherds, and Labradors.
- “The average German Shepherd’s bite exerts between 400 and 700 pounds of pressure,” according to the U.S. Air Force.
- War dogs are incredibly loyal:
When Private First Class Carlton Rusk was shot after his unit came under Taliban sniper fire during a routine patrol in Afghanistan, Rusk’s bomb-sniffing dog, Eli, crawled on top of his body, attacking anyone — including Rusk’s fellow Marines — who tried to come near him. Rusk did not survive the assault, but Eli was granted early retirement so he could live with Rusk’s family.
- Retired military dogs can be adopted.
Want to know more? Gerry Proctor, an officer at Lackland Air Force Base where the dog was trained, answered questions about war dogs in a live Q&A on WashingtonPost.com.
War Dog [FP]; Belgian Malinois, German Shepherd breeds under spotlight as possible war hero dogs [WP]; The heroic war dog who helped nail bin Laden [The Week]