Military working dog team redeploys from 270 days in Iraq

FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. -- A 270-day deployment came to an end recently when a military working dog team from the 483rd Military Police Detachment returned from Iraq.

Spc. Seth Cunningham, military working dog handler, and, Jerry, a patrol explosive detector dog, recently redeployed from Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

The team was in Iraq for with the mission to provide safety and security for patrols.

"It was a lot of searching vehicles," Cunningham said explaining that he worked primarily in support of the Marines and military units from the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Denmark.

Aside from Jerry's working capacity, he served as a morale booster to those who missed their own dogs at home.

"People would say, 'Oh, it must be so nice having a dog here, I miss my dog.' So, I would go over with Jerry sometimes."

Jerry enjoyed a few luxuries while in Iraq, such as occasionally relaxing on Cunningham's bed. A new compound was built while they were there, which Cunningham admitted, "might not sound thrilling, but honestly the place we were before was so small [Jerry] didn't have a lot of room. Once we got to our new place, we each had our own space, but Jerry still hung out on my bed sometimes."

Jerry also enjoyed his window seat view on the plane ride home.

"He does pretty well flying, especially on the way back since he had spent so much time flying [on the deployment]," Cunningham said.

Despite growing up with at least one dog in the house at all times, Cunningham hadn't considered working with military dogs when he enlisted in the Army.

"I actually didn't know about the job as I was going through the recruiting process," he said. "I didn't know a whole lot about my options and my recruiter said 'working with military working dogs -- here watch this video,' and I said, 'I want that.'"

Though Cunningham has worked with two other dogs previously, he has been working with Jerry since March 2016. Even though Jerry can have a stubborn attitude at times, Cunningham admitted he's a part of his daily life, and he doesn't know what Iraq would have been like without Jerry.

Prior to deploying to Iraq, they completed Patrol Explosive Detection Dog-Enhanced (PEDD-E) training.

"I was proud of him, especially in the beginning of the course when he was doing better than his peers," Cunningham said.

Although Jerry just turned eight on Aug. 10, he is still performing well and eager to learn, Cunningham said, and they will continue to be a pair for the foreseeable future.

Now that they're back, they're looking to continue their training, maybe with a few more Kong fetch sessions instead of enduring the Iraqi summer heat and sandstorms.