 This is Sandy, a pre-roll German Shepherd. She is receiving her advanced obedience training here at the United States Army Infantry Center at Fort Benning, Georgia. As a member of a scout dog platoon, Sandy is one of hundreds of Army dogs who go to battle with the soldier to help detect the hidden enemy. Today on The Big Picture you will see the story of the scout dog, his role in military history, and how the Army trains different types of dogs for specific military missions. Just as dog has always been a friend to man, these canines in combat are proving every day that they are the soldier's best friend. To detect the presence of an enemy, to obtain warning of impending attack, the United States Army uses the most sophisticated detection devices that modern science can provide. A much less heralded but equally significant method of detection is through the use of man's best friend. Dogs have been used by man since primitive times to warn him of approaching danger and to help him in battle. Though dogs were employed by both Allied forces in Germany in the First World War, it was not until World War II that the United States Army used organized dog units to support combat operations. The Army, employing various breeds, trained dogs essentially for scout, sentry, and messenger duties. In the Korean War, the 26th Infantry Scout Dog Platoon, the oldest active Kenan unit, took part in more than a thousand patrols and helped reduce casualty rates on these missions by about 65%. The unit was awarded a presidential citation for its work. A previous citation had been earned by the platoon in the Philippine Campaign of World War II. Army dogs have served with the United States troops wherever their assignment has taken them, from Greenland to Japan, from Hawaii to Germany. Today the training of dogs for military purposes has taken on new complexity and sophistication. The Scout Dog School at Fort Benning, Georgia is one of several Army establishments which trains dogs for specific missions. All dogs used by U.S. armed forces are purchased by the Air Force and shipped to the training installations. These German shepherds are in various stages of training as scout dogs. Carefully selected for size, working ability, and temperament, the dogs will be matched with handlers to form scout dog teams which will be assigned to combat units. Dog handlers are carefully chosen and given thorough orientation in the mission and methods of the Scout Dog Platoon. Items used in the training program are explained along with general principles of care and safety for both dog and handler. The basic requirement for an Army dog handler is the same as that for any good dog owner. A love for the animal. Before formal training begins, dog and man get acquainted. Because the dog will normally work with the same handler for a long period of time, it is important that they get to know each other from the beginning. Basic obedience training for the dog involves the same elementary lessons known to many dog owners. The dog learns to respond not only to oral commands, but to gestures as well. Failure is met with a disapproving reaction from the handler. Success brings praise and a short break from the training routine. During the early stages of training, the dogs are carefully observed for any instinctive traits that might interfere with their mission. Only those animals who shape up to the strict discipline required of dogs in combat are allowed to proceed with their training. The Scout Dog detects his quarry by airborne scent. Because there may be livestock in the combat area, the dog must be taught to discriminate between animal and human scent. He is taught not to alert to the scent of animals he might encounter in the combat area. After two weeks of general orientation and basic obedience training, man and dog move out to the field for the next ten weeks. Here they will get down to the serious business of learning how to scout for the enemy's presence. Training areas are chosen to simulate an environment similar to the one in which the dog will be operating during actual combat. When the handler puts the harness on his dog, the animal knows he must begin to scout. The effect of the working harness is to prime the dog's whole body for his task. Dog and handler prepare to move out on the patrol. Enemy personnel have been placed in the area through which the patrol is about to move. The dog is attempting to locate them. The dog's sense of hearing is 20 times greater than that of humans. His sense of smell is 40 times keener. He cannot of course determine whether the scent he is getting is friend or foal. It's up to the handler and members of the friendly patrol to make this identification based on any combat intelligence they may have received. The Scout Dog team's mission is to give an early, silent warning of the presence of enemy personnel or equipment in the area. Already familiar with the scent of his handler and members of the patrol, the Scout Dog in combat will alert only to any new scent. Under ideal conditions, highly trained Scout Dogs can detect scent as far away as a thousand yards. The dog is taught to work silently so that the enemy will have no warning of his presence. Everything animate or inanimate has its own distinctive scent and the Scout Dog may alert to the scent of hazardous objects set by the enemy as traps for our soldiers. The handler must be able to interpret the dog's warning signs. Each time the dog alerts, he praises him. The association between alerting to the scent and receiving praise becomes fixed in the animal's behavior pattern. The handler interprets the dog's warning signal for the patrol leader so that he may take appropriate action. The big question is, what kind of danger is up ahead? A soldier is sent forward to check it out. This training area is set with simulated hazards, typical of those that may be encountered by our soldiers in Vietnam. Teaching dog handlers and patrol leaders to anticipate these dangers helps reduce American casualties. The dog's greatest reward is always approval and praise from his handler. After a hard day's work, it's chow time. Feeding the approximately 300 dogs at the Scout Dog School takes some doing. The total consumption of dog food at the school is 600 pounds of dry meal and 300 pounds of meat a day. Separate diets are arranged for dogs with special feeding requirements. Through these doors pass the best cared for canines in the world. When a dog has to go on sick call, he usually winds up here at the clinic. A licensed veterinarian and a vet technician provide all necessary medical aid for the animals. Laboratory tests too at no extra charge. An operating room is fully equipped with whatever it takes to keep Uncle Sam's four-footed helpers healthy and active. In the eighth week of Scout Dog Training, the animals are given a wide range of specialized experience. A training tower is used to accustom the dogs to working from high places if this should be necessary during the mission. This kind of training prepares the Scout Dog Team for service with any type of unit on any terrain and under the most adverse conditions. At the end of the 12-week course, the dog handlers receive certificates indicating their successful completion of the training program. Then dogs and handlers pass in review at graduation exercises. At Fort Gordon, Georgia, another important canine training center. The Tracker Dog Program employs a different technique for hunting down the enemy. Using another breed, such as the Labrador Retriever, Tracker Dog Training conditions the animal to follow the direct scent of a ground track left by the enemy. While the Scout Dog picks up only a foreign scent that tells him humans are in the area, the Tracker Dog will follow the specific scent of one individual member of the enemy party. Due to the complexity of tracking, it takes longer to train the Tracker Dog, usually about nine months. These dogs are in various stages of training depending on their individual rate of progress. In basic Tracker Dog Training, a soldier simulating the enemy is sent into the woods. The dog is then put in the area where the track layer was known to have passed. He does not need an article of clothing or something that has been in contact with his quarry in order to start tracking. A well-trained Tracker Dog can follow a 24-hour-old track for as much as two days over many different types of terrain. As the scent of the track gets stronger, the dog will react, often by straining vigorously at his leash. This will alert the handler that the track is fresher and the enemy nearer. To make certain that the dogs are combat indoctrinated, they are familiarized with the sights and sounds of battle. The Tracker Training Project also uses human-visual trackers in conjunction with the dogs. These men, trained like the Indian scouts of our pioneer days, can get a lot of information about the enemy from the condition of the trail and the growth around it. Even such minute data as how many were in the enemy party, how long ago they passed through the area and which direction they took, can be determined by the visual tracker. When the trail can no longer be followed by signs, he returns to the combat tracker team and the use of the tracker dog may be called for. The tracker team consists of five highly trained and skilled individuals. They are the visual tracker, the cover man responsible for the tracker's safety, the radio operator, and the team leader, all of whom are trained visual trackers. And of course the handler and his dog, used here as the rear guard of the team. In this problem, enacted as part of the training program, a tracker team moves into the woods. They are in pursuit of an enemy party, which has eluded capture by our main force. The visual tracker examines the signs on the ground. These signs indicate that the enemy has discovered he is being followed and has picked up speed. The visual tracker signals for the team leader and gives him the information. The team leader has decided to use the tracker dog to speed up pursuit of the enemy. The dog's training has prepared him for this moment of trial. His reactions now will be critical. In actual combat, the dog's early warning of danger could help save the lives of many soldiers. Will this dog be equal to the task? It is a strange pursuit. Man and animal absorbed in one objective. Find the hidden danger and eliminate it. The dog has alerted on the enemy party. The handler signals for the team leader. Now the leader must decide what type of support will be needed to handle the job. The team leader informs the support commander of the situation and requests the support forces nearby to encircle the area indicated by the dog's alert. Whether the team mission is direct contact with the enemy or merely gathering reconnaissance information, the dog accomplishes his assignment. Another important military use for the dog is sentry duty. Sentry dog training is provided at army installations both in the United States and abroad. At Fort Gordon, orientation in sentry dog handling is given to members of military police units. Sentry dogs used mainly to guard army installations and storage areas are trained for attack if the situation requires them. The sentry dog is never released to attack unless the intruder refuses to obey the command to halt. At the Army Sentry Dog Training School on Okinawa, a six-week course emphasizes the training of replacement sentry dog and handler teams for duty in Vietnam. In all sentry dog programs, agitation training is stressed. For the dog who is under-aggressive or only moderately aggressive, lion agitation training brings out the attack qualities of the animal. From training programs at the various U.S. Army installations, army dogs are airlifted to their assignment. At this air base in Vietnam, they are transferred to trucks for the trip to a dog training detachment where they will receive additional conditioning. Repressure training is essential to accustomed the animals to the actual conditions of climate and terrain in the region where they will be working. They will accompany troops in jungle environment, operate in marsh and swamp areas, forward or swim waterways. They must withstand the low temperatures encountered in the mountains and the intense heat at sea level. The dogs become easily accustomed to the varied means of transport required for troop movement. Waterborne operations pose few limitations for their use. The dog handlers receive special briefings on all subjects involved in the use of dogs in combat operations. I'm sorry in Harman, I will be giving the class on safety measures of dog handlers. Safety measures of dog handlers is one of the most very important parts of being a good dog handler. In the event that two dogs get into a fight, a handler should never try to pull them apart. The handler should get to the rear of his dog and lift his hind quarters. The reason the handler should lift his dog hind quarters is because a dog, when he bites, he sits on his hind quarters just to give him leverage. Once the leverage has been lifted, the dog mouth automatically comes open. This is the easiest way to break two dogs from fighting. Another method for breaking two dogs from fighting is... An important phase of refresher training in the combat region is a realistic field exercise in tracking the enemy. Next man, Wilson. I want you to go out there about 200 meters where that pig pushes, place yourself there, be sure you cover yourself well and see yourself so the dog can see. Next man, Sheppard. I want you to follow the trail all the way out, go back out to the outer part where we were yesterday and off to the right. The winds blow from left to right. My dog and I will cover the left flank. You will keep your eyes on the right flank at all times. Any questions? No, it's not. Okay, change of motion right there. Left flank. The dog becomes accustomed to the successful results of his efforts, and as always, he waits for his reward, approval by his handler. Then, a critique of the field problem. Okay, Scott, you've got to find doggy work exceptionally on decoys. I've spent a lot more time on him calming them down. He's too noisy. And you know as well as I do that the scout dog team has to give an early silent warning. The dog's much too noisy to be a scout dog. So you have to work on it, calm down a lot more, and just work on it day in and day out. Enemy base camps and villages are often the objectives of U.S. Army search missions. The villages provide effective hiding places for the enemy. Many of the dogs are specially trained to discover hidden caches of food, weapons and ammunition, or to seek out personnel hidden in tunnels in the area. Army dogs are also being trained for off-leash operations. Here, a transmitter with miniature components is attached to the dog's harness. While the dog is in motion, the transmitter sends out an intermittent signal to a receiver. The receiver is either carried by the handler or worn in his headgear. When the dog stops and alerts, the signal continues without the interruption. Adaptable to many situations, responsive to teaching, and with a high degree of problem-solving ability, the expertly trained army dog has become a valuable ally to the American fighting man. Those of us who work with the army dog in training and in combat know just how much of a friend he can be. More and more of these animals are being trained in a widening range of army tracking and scouting skills. One thing is for sure. While the army is not going to the dogs, the dogs are more certainly going to the army.