An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir Dec 2019/Jan 2020 www.dfmagazine.ie 32 | BY SGT BRENDAN CRUISE, AIR CORPS COLLEGE C asement Aerodrome has recently seen a new recruit added to its strength, a red/white setter called Finnegan who follows in the paw-prints of Fionn, the 4-year-old Irish Wolf Hound mascot of 3rd Infantry Battalion. These canines bring a certain uniqueness to each of their respective units. Traditionally military dogs are awarded the rank of an NCO, with the thought being that this was to prevent handlers from mistreating their dogs; hence, a dog is always one rank higher than its handler. Dogs have a long tradition of being part of military units with an- cient cave drawings depicting dogs hunting alongside humans. Ar- chaeological digs have also discovered armour worn by dogs. There are recorded documents of Persian and Assyrian deploying dogs during battle, and Napoleon used guard dogs as sentries, chaining them to the walls of Alexandria to ward off any potential attackers. Today, military working dogs are trained in a variety of differ- ent roles, from detecting explosives or illegal drugs to searching for missing comrades or targeting enemy combatants. It is the dog handler's objective to maximise the dogs' natural gifts for focus and aggression to their advantage. Not only are dogs active on the front lines they also serve as therapy dogs, service dogs, and loyal companions. History has seen numerous examples of dogs being utilised in military operations, in 1518 King Henry VIII dispatched around 400 English Mastiffs issued with protective iron collars to the aid of Charles V Spanish Army. These dogs were trained to lunge at the enemy horses, latching onto their noses causing widespread panic. During World War I both Germany and the United Kingdom implemented dog-training programs. Germany utilised around 30,000 dogs for attack and courier purposes while dogs belonging to British forces were trained to deliver messages by navigating the trenches whilst braving bullets, bombs and gas exposure. Aside from these sentry and messenger duties dogs also aided the Red Cross in helping locate incapacitated wounded soldiers on the front lines these were known as "mercy dogs" they would alert their han- dlers by bringing back a piece of clothing or displaying other signals. This type of canine search and rescue was later witnessed in the aftermath of the New York terrorist attacks conducted on 9/11. The first rescue dog, Apollo, arrived a mere 15 minutes after the attacks had commenced, and an additional 300 specially trained dogs would be used during this massive search and rescue operation. Sadly, the last of these dogs, Bretagne was laid to rest in June 2016. During World War II dogs were utilised to recognise incoming shellfire before human ears could hear it. German forces amassed a staggering 50,000 dogs, the biggest and most highly-trained group of war dogs throughout history. This consisted mainly of Rottweilers, Sheepdogs, and German shepherds. Since WWII, the use of dogs in warfare has diversified along with the evolution of new technology and tactics. In Vietnam, they found safe passage for American GIs through the dense jungles as well as alerting their handlers to snipers and booby traps. In Iraq and Afghanistan coali- tion forces made their deployment safer and somewhat easier by exploiting their dogs' extraordinary sense of smell outpacing every technological advance made in the detection of IEDs. It is not just combative roles in an operational theatre that dogs are deployed in, therapy dogs were first introduced in the war zone in Iraq in 2007 to replicate the psychological benefits the troops gain from US homeland care facilities employing specially trained dogs, while Combat Stress Control dogs are also deployed in medical detach- ments across different regions of Afghanistan. There are cases where dogs that may have started out their "career" in one role later transferred into another such as the case Finnegan's handler Cpl Aidan Brosnan and Sgt Major James Scanlon, No 5 Sp Wing. GOC Air Corps Brig Gen Rory O'Connor meets Finnegan.

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