Sgt. 1st Class Rex, a patrol explosive detector dog for the 178th Military Police Detachment, waits with 32 other Soldiers to shake the hand of Command Sgt. Maj. Nathaniel Bartee, 15th Sustainment Brigade's senior noncommissioned officer, at a ceremo...

Sgt. 1st Class Rex, a patrol explosive detector dog for the 178th Military Police Detachment, waits with 32 other Soldiers to shake the hand of Command Sgt. Maj. Nathaniel Bartee, 15th Sustainment Brigade's senior noncommissioned officer, at a ceremo...

Command Sgt. Maj. Nathaniel Bartee, 15th Sustainment Brigade's senior noncommissioned officer, shakes the paw of Sgt. 1st Class Rex, a patrol explosive detector dog for the 178th Military Police Detachment, at a ceremony in which Rex was inducted int...

Sgt. 1st Class Rex, a patrol explosive detector dog for the 178th Military Police Detachment, rests at the feet of Staff Sgt. Cully Parr, a McBride, Mich., native and military police dog handler for the 178th Military Police Detachment, at a ceremony...

Staff Sgt. Cully Parr, a McBride, Mich., native and military police dog handler for the 178th Military Police Detachment, tells Sgt. 1st Class Rex, a patrol explosive detector dog for the 178th MP Det., to "speak" after a ceremony in which Rex was in...

Soldiers of the 15th Special Troops Battalion color guard prepare to remove the colors behind the Fallen Soldier's Table, which memorializes Soldiers missing or killed in action and prisoners of war, at an NCO induction ceremony in the Morale Welfare...

Soldiers of the 15th Special Troops Battalion color guard prepare to remove the colors behind the Fallen Soldier's Table, which memorializes Soldiers missing or killed in action and prisoners of war, at an NCO induction ceremony in the Morale Welfare...

1st Sgt. Jeanette Short [foreground], Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 15th Special Troops Battalion, first sergeant, administers the Charge of the Noncommissioned Officer at an NCO induction ceremony in the Morale Welfare and Recreation tent h...

1st Sgt. Jeanette Short [foreground], Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 15th Special Troops Battalion, first sergeant, administers the Charge of the Noncommissioned Officer at an NCO induction ceremony in the Morale Welfare and Recreation tent h...

1st Sgt. Jeanette Short [left], Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 15th Special Troops Battalion, first sergeant, administers the Charge of the Noncommissioned Officer at an NCO induction ceremony in the Morale Welfare and Recreation tent here De...

Sgt. 1st Class Rex, a patrol explosive detector dog for the 178th Military Police Detachment, is presented to the audience as a new member of the Corps of Noncommissioned Officers at an NCO induction ceremony in the Morale Welfare and Recreation tent...

1st Sgt. Willie Johnson [background], A Company, 15th Special Troops Battalion, first sergeant, administers the Oath of the Noncommissioned Officer at an NCO induction ceremony in the Morale Welfare and Recreation tent here Dec. 12. (U.S. Army photo ...

1st Sgt. Willie Johnson [background], A Company, 15th Special Troops Battalion, first sergeant, administers the Oath of the Noncommissioned Officer at an NCO induction ceremony in the Morale Welfare and Recreation tent here Dec. 12. (U.S. Army photo ...

Sgt. Joseph Cooperwood, an orderly sergeant for Headquarters and Headquarter Company, 15th Special Troops Battalion, is presented to the audience as a new member of the Corps of Noncommissioned Officers at an NCO induction ceremony in the Morale Welf...

Sgt. 1st Class Rex, a patrol explosive detector dog for the 178th Military Police Detachment, rests at the feet of Staff Sgt. Cully Parr, a McBride, Mich., native and military police dog handler for the 178th Military Police Detachment, at a ceremony...

Sgt. 1st Class Rex, a patrol explosive detector dog for the 178th Military Police Detachment, is presented to the audience as a new member of the Corps of Noncommissioned Officers at an NCO induction ceremony in the Morale Welfare and Recreation tent...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING LOCATION Q-WEST, Iraq - Most dogs aren't required to do more than eat, sleep, and occasionally play fetch, but Rex isn't a normal German Shepherd.

15th Special Troops Battalion, 15th Sustainment Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), inducted Sgt. 1st Class Rex, a patrol explosive detector dog for the 178th Military Police Detachment into the Corps of Noncommissioned Officers Dec. 12, at a ceremony in the Morale,Welfare and Recreation tent here.

The ceremony, which is normally for newly promoted NCOs, inducted 32 human Soldiers and Airmen along with Rex, who was the highest ranking NCO to be inducted, welcoming them to the "time honored corps."

Military working dogs are given a rank one higher than their handlers, so it's normal to have canine NCOs, but very rare to have one officially inducted into the corps, said Staff Sgt.

Cully Parr, a McBride, Mich., native and Rex's military police dog handler for 178th MP Det.

"It's probably the first time they've ever done this for dogs," he said.

The duo paired up in July after Rex, a two-year-old, finished the military's dog version of basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Parr said.

"He doesn't work without me - I don't work without him. He's like any other Soldier," Parr explained.

Rex's primary job, explosives detection, is only awarded to dogs that meet very strict special requirements determined by thorough testing, Parr said.

Parr began his career as an Army dog handler in late 2005 because he enjoys working with dogs and believes he can use the skills he's learned in a civilian career someday.

"It's one of the best jobs in the Army," he said.

Parr said that having Rex inducted was good for the other Soldiers' morale and showed that military working dogs are Soldiers too.

"People just light up when they see him," Parr said.

After the ceremony, dozens of Soldiers went to Rex to pet him and have their pictures taken together

.

Parr cautioned that not all military working dogs are as well socialized as Rex though, and that one should ask the handler before petting one.

According to Parr, the Army tries to pair working dogs and handlers with similar personalities as it helps them work together better as a team.

He also said that he enjoys taking Rex to such events because it might get Soldiers interested in the program.

All of the NCOs inducted into the corps were presented with a certificate and presented by name to the audience as they stood, one by one, under crossed sabers.

"Being an NCO is more than acquiring skills, passing boards or completing courses ..." Sgt. Elizabeth Whitehead, 15th STB personnel NCO said during the ceremony.

"... It is a change in the mentality of how we conduct our day-to-day business."

Prisoners of war and Soldiers missing in action were honored at the ceremony by the presence of the Fallen Soldier's Table, a small empty dining table set for one.

Master Sgt. Terry Moten, a Dallas native and 15th STB training and schools NCO in charge, was the ceremony's guest speaker. 1st Sgt. Willie Johnson, A Company, 15th STB, first sergeant and 1st Sgt. Jeanette Short, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 15th STB, first sergeant, administered the Oath of the United States Army Noncommissioned Officer and Charge of the Noncommissioned Officer respectively.

Although Rex could not take the oath, he barked excitedly after the ceremony.

"He is also a Soldier," Parr said.