Battalion, 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, conduct their patrol and explosive
detection training led by Sgt. 1st Class James G. Bockelmann, kennel mast... VIEW ORIGINAL
BUSAN, South Korea--The 903rd Military Working Dog Detachments, 94th Military Police
Battalion, 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, conduct their patrol and explosive
detection training at Busan storage facility and US Navy Ship Red Cloud, Oct. 27-28.
Led by Sgt. 1st Class James G. Bockelmann, kennel master, 903rd MP company, three dogs Donja, Ferro, Senna and their handlers were assigned to locate and detain intruders, respond to a bomb threat, conduct sensitive site exploitation, and random anti-terrorism measures.
A military police dog, known as a 'K9', is a dog that is trained specifically to assist law
enforcement by searching for drugs and explosives. The K9s are also great at finding lost people.
As soon as Soldiers arrived to the Busan storage facility, Bockelmann kicked off the training
with obstacles for the Soldiers and dogs to endure, planning real world scenarios for the team to
go through.
"By using real time scenario training, we could challenge both Soldiers and military working
dogs," said Bockelmann. "Today we have to utilize and get familiar with the new area and ignore
the distracter to achieve the goal. We make bad guys think twice."
The first day, Soldiers were tested chasing "fugitives" through a storage unit and parked tactical
vehicles while searching the area with their military working dog for explosives.
Pvt. Jared C. Lee, K9 handler, 903d MWD Detachment, 94th MP BN, 19th ESC, said he learned
a lot from this training, although the weather conditions made the mission though.
"As the wind came in and started to whirl around in storage unit, the wind made this training
much harder. It was a real challenge for Donja to locate the explosive, but it was great teamwork
that made us finish the task," said Lee.
The next day, the stage changed to the United States Naval Ship Red Cloud.
Pfc. Scott Peterson, K9 handler, 903d MWD Detachment, 94th MP BN, 19th ESC, said getting familiar with new area is always a challenge for dogs.
"The USNS Red Cloud had her own vibration and noise and because of the complicated interior,
I had to calm Senna down and direct her to right location during the search, but she did well,"
said Pfc. Peterson. "It was great training for us both."
Many questions were asked and answered at the conclusion of the mission, allowing Soldiers to
get a better understanding of the teamwork needed to complete missions with their K9
the southern tip of Korea.
"I'm glad the team learned a lot, they exceeded my expectations," said Bockelmann after the
training. "This situational training was a good eye-opener and teams could satisfy whatever the
operational needs are wherever they will be."
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