Four-legged Soldier sniffs out explosives, weapons

By Spc. Alicia T. Clark, 20th Public Affairs Detachment

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. " The furry, four-legged Soldier quickly searched the brush and trees on the outskirts of the open field. She used her sensitive nose to look for signs of buried explosives nearby while her partner called directions to her from a safe distance away.

Nouschka, a black Labrador retriever and specialized search dog with the 51st Military Police Detachment worked with her partner, Sgt. David Varkett, military police officer, 51st MP Detachment to save hundreds of lives of the Soldiers they worked with every day during their recent deployment to Afghanistan.

Nouschka arrived from her last duty station at Fort Polk, La., with her partner, to Joint Base Lewis McChord, Wash., after completing a combat tour together. She is one of the few military police dogs in the Army to transfer with her partner because she isn’t trained in aggression or bite tactics.

Search dogs and their handlers spend all of their time together while they are deployed. They eat together, sleep in the same room, train and live together for the entirety of their deployment.

“Everything that a Soldier goes through, she goes through [with you],” Varkett said. “The dog relies on you and you rely on that dog.”

The partners spent their deployment lending Nouschka’s skills to other units to search for explosives or weapons caches.

“The best deployment that I’ve ever had is with this dog and this is the best partner I’ve ever had too,” Varkett said.

The pair have been working together for about two years and have formed a bond that is different from one formed between two people.

“The bond we have is amazing,” said Varkett, a resident of Springfield, Ore. “Every day I come into work and she’s happy to see me.”

Varkett said he chose to become a dog handler because of his love of animals, dogs especially, and because he wanted to do something different.

“I wanted to contribute in a different way than what other people were for the war,” Varkett said.

In order to become a dog handler in the military, Varkett says that an individual must be highly self-motivated and independent, but also be willing to work on a team to accomplish a mission.

“It’s the greatest job in the MP Corps,” Varkett. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”