Fort Rucker MP, partner return home

By Russell Sellers, Army Flier StaffNovember 4, 2010

Fort Rucker MP, partner return home
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- A 6th Military Police Detachment working dog handler and his partner returned from a four-month deployment to the Middle East Nov. 1.

Staff Sgt. Jonathan Rose and Micki, an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois and patrol explosive detector, were greeted by Family, friends and fellow Soldiers upon returning here. Rose said he's happy to finally be home and is ready to spend time with his Family.

"It was a shorter-than-usual deployment, but it was still rough. There seemed to be a lot more fighting," he said. "I'm just going to spend as much time with the Family as possible."

This deployment was the first time Rose had gone downrange with a military working dog. He said the two worked well together, but both are ready for some time apart.

"He did really well there, but he's a lot skinnier now," Rose said. "Being with a dog like that is a lot like having a roommate, after a while you need some time apart."

Rose's wife, Michelle, and their two sons, Keith and Conner, were among those who welcomed Rose home Monday. Michelle said she and her sons are looking forward to spending as much time together as possible.

"We're just glad he's finally home," she said. "When I told the boys he was coming home they both screamed 'Daddy' and it's been hard to get them to go to sleep at night. They didn't get to bed until 11:30 p.m. the night before this."

She added that in past deployments, she and her husband had been able to communicate regularly, but this time it was more difficult.

"We didn't talk as often because he didn't have as much Internet access this time," she said. "It made the time away seem a lot longer."

Capt. David LeMay, 6th MP Detachment Company commander, talked about the accomplishments Rose and Micki achieved while downrange and that everyone was glad they both returned safely.

"His deployment was unique, since he left to complete a deployment for one of our other Soldiers who was wounded in action," he said. "He and Micki had two separate finds including a buried (improvised explosive device) and an IED factory. Those are just the major contributions, but they did a lot more, like cache searches and counter IED operations, that played a very vital role. We're very glad you're both back."

Rose and Micki originally deployed to replace Sgt. Stephen Rose, who was injured in Afghanistan in May by an improvised explosive device.

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