Every year, an elite group of recruits arrives at Joint Base San Antonio for an intensive training program and evaluation—all before the recruits turn 1 year old.

These 50 to 90 puppy candidates are Belgian Malinois, a smart, confident and versatile breed of dog similar to the more compact German shepherd. They are trained and evaluated by the Air Force’s 341st Training Squadron, which is responsible for training military working dogs for all the services and the Defense Department. Alongside fellow canine recruits from global breeders, these dogs are an essential part of the U.S. Army’s military working dog teams.

Combined with skilled Army military working dog handlers, these teams “provide a valuable asset to military police, combined arms, DoD, and other governmental agencies,” according to Army Techniques Publication (ATP) 3-39.10: Police Operations, dated August 2021.

When asked about the value of military working dogs, Sgt. Maj. Viridiana Lavalle, Army Military Working Dog Program manager at the Office of the Provost Marshal General in Washington, D.C., cites a quote from now-retired Gen. David Petraeus, who at the time commanded Multi-National Force-Iraq.

Petraeus said, “The capability that military working dogs bring to the fight cannot be replicated by man or machine. By all measures of performance, their yield outperforms any asset we have in our inventory. Our Army would be remiss if we failed to invest more in this incredibly valuable resource,” according to Lavalle.

Given the capabilities that military working dogs bring to the fight, the Army is working to ensure they have a role on the future battlefield. Efforts include providing better, more holistic care to the dogs and making sure handlers are ready to maximize the military working dog teams’ impact on an increasingly complex and lethal battlefield.

Edge to Win

Dogs have played a role alongside troops since America’s earliest battles, but they officially gained their role in the Army when the U.S. Army K-9 Corps was created in 1942, according to a DoD news release.

Dogs’ heightened senses offer soldiers a unique edge. “The dog’s sight, smell, and hearing ability enhance detection capabilities and provide commanders with a physical and psychological deterrent to criminal activity,” ATP 3-39.10 says. “[Military working dog] teams are key resources for use in Army law enforcement, combat, logistics, and sustainment operations for explosive, drug and human detection.”

The major conflicts throughout history that American service members fought in have shaped the development of the Army’s Military Working Dog Program.

As the U.S. involvement in World War II increased, so, too, did the role of U.S. war dogs.

By 1945, the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps, which began the first war dog training program for the U.S. military during World War II, had trained nearly 10,000 war dogs for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, according to the Army Quartermaster Foundation.

During the war efforts overseas, service members found “there were certain jobs that dogs seemed ‘made’ to perform,” like detecting enemy activity and serving as scouts, guards and messengers, according to a military medical education textbook published in February 2019.

The Vietnam War saw the rise of care for dogs serving downrange with the addition of “the first real battlefield casualty care system for military working dogs,” according to a September 2020 social media post from the U.S. Army Medical Department Center of History and Heritage.

And when troops experienced insurgent attacks from IEDs in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan during the global war on terrorism, the Army looked to increase the number of its military working dogs to assist brigade combat teams.

“IEDs were taking out our kids left and right,” retired Lt. Col. Rich Vargus, who directed U.S. Central Command’s law enforcement operations in the Middle East at the time, said in an October 2022 Army News Service article. “We didn’t have enough traditional military working dog teams to deploy.”

It wasn’t until Oct. 16, 2014, that the Army officially established its military working dog handler MOS, or 31K.

“We are a new military occupational specialty, and we have much more room to grow,” said Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Leo, kennel master for the 544th Military Police Detachment at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia, formerly known as Fort Lee. “Our current program leadership is constantly working hard for our military occupational specialty. They are creating new opportunities, new schools and ensuring we become stronger.”

Growing Force

Today, the Army has just over 500 military working dogs and mine-detection dogs, Lavalle said in a written statement. “Today, Military Working Dog teams are employed in dynamic ways never before imagined,” according to Field Manual 3-19.17: Military Working Dogs. “Even the most complex machines remain unable to duplicate the operational effectiveness of a properly trained [military working dog] team.”

Since military working dog teams often work and deploy as a duo, unlike soldiers in other roles who work and deploy in larger groups, “military working dog handlers are held to a higher standard than most soldiers,” Leo said.

“They are responsible for the well-being and training of their military working dog. We ask them to deploy all over the world as a single augmentee. They are sent on short-notice missions all over the U.S. They conduct garrison law enforcement duties and everyday kennel responsibilities,” he said.

Military working dog handlers also must be able to operate independently, said Sgt. Sydney Lee, a squad leader and military working dog handler with the 544th Military Police Detachment.

“You and your dog are the team that gets sent out to do various different things,” she said. “I don’t have anyone speaking for me or handling things for me. I’m expected to operate off the bat. … I’m expected to know my job and be confident about it and be able to perform when put into those roles.”

Given the demands of serving as a military working dog handler, patience and personality are key factors to success, Lee said.

“Within our job, we definitely have to have some form of confidence off the riff,” she said. “Something that I … have slowly had to learn is patience, that’s for sure. Training dogs is rewarding, but it’s also exhausting as well. … You have to … know when to take a break and when to keep pushing.”

Many Capabilities

Military working dogs provide several critical capabilities, including patrol and explosives or drug detection.

“Patrol dogs are used in routine military police law enforcement patrol operations at bases and base camps,” according to ATP 3-39.10. But dogs trained to patrol and detect either explosives or drugs, or dual-purpose military working dogs, are especially useful in real-world environments, Lee said.

“Our dogs are dual-purpose, meaning they are patrol-capable and detection-capable,” she said. “Their scope of usefulness spans far in a real-world environment. Not only have I seen and witnessed their usefulness here on-station, but I have also seen it on president of the United States and vice president of the United States missions across the nation and overseas during combat-related deployments. They are an asset when allowed to be used and valued.”

While deployed, particularly in a combat environment, these capabilities “make a substantial impact to the safety of the soldiers they are deployed with,” Lavalle said.

Military working dogs can perform “area and route reconnaissance, explosive and drug detection, perimeter security, vehicle searches at checkpoints and more,” Lavalle said. “They also provide a variety of additional patrol capabilities, such as building searches and support to raids to help acquire combatants, allowing the soldiers to maintain standoff and not put themselves in harm’s way unnecessarily.”  

Beyond effectively performing their tasks, the best military working dog handlers have dedication and passion for their role, Lavalle said. “The best military working dog handlers … are the ones dedicating extra time to exceed the standard and constantly strive to find ways to advance as a military working dog team,” she said. “Whether it’s tactical obedience, physical conditioning, environmental training, patrol or detection training, … they are constantly trying to become masters of their craft by seeking additional education.”

In the Works

As the Army’s Military Working Dog Program looks to the future, leaders are “working toward adding a tracking/trailing capability focused for our patrol-drug detector dogs,” Lavalle said.

She also is working on an initiative called “MWDs for Life,” which stands for “Military Working Dogs for Life,” that aims to keep handlers and their military working dogs together by allowing them to stay together when they move from one duty station to another.

Initiatives like this will improve quality of life for military working dogs and their handlers, Lavalle said.

“This won’t apply to all military working dogs, but Maj. Gen. Duane Miller’s intent is to maximize this initiative across the Army Military Working Dog Program,” she said, referring to the Army provost marshal general, who oversees the program. “It will increase our overall effectiveness, assist with retention, and improve the quality of life for our handlers and military working dogs by providing them continuity and an opportunity to advance as a team.”

The Army Military Working Dog Program also is developing a certification process, Lavalle said. “Some other hopes that I have for the program include a tiered certification process, which enables our teams to continue to improve their capabilities and achieve a much higher standard,” she said. 

In addition to other modernization efforts, the DoD Military Working Dog Veterinary Service is pioneering a canine holistic health and fitness program called K9H2F, which stands for K-9 Holistic Health and Fitness.

The initiative is “still in development,” Lavalle said, and “there are ongoing efforts to continue improving military working dogs’ quality of life and overall wellness through a holistic approach by the [U.S. Army] Veterinary Corps and the Army Military Working Dog Program,” Lavalle said.

As future conflict and global threats wax and wane, the Army’s Military Working Dog Program will remain steadfast in its commitment to support the Army and soldiers, Lavalle said.

“We are constantly looking ahead on how we can continue to best support our warfighters during Army operations and improve the law enforcement support we provide to installations,” Lavalle said. “We have Military Working Dog Program managers assigned to all major commands [who determine] how military working dogs can best support current mission sets within each major command and [identify] future requirements.”