FORT RILEY, Kan. --The Military Working Dog demonstrations at the Fall Apple Day festival was a popular one and that suited the personnel of the 523rd Military Working Dog Detachment, 73rd Military Police Detachment, 97th Military Police Battalion just fine. It gave them a chance to communicate the true mission of the detachment.
"A lot of times the MWDs are overlooked as far as their capabilities and the readiness they build for the Army," said Capt. Justin Hilderbrand, commander of the 73rd Military Police Detachment and the 523rd Military Working Dog Detachment. "They provide a distinct service to the Army, and what I want people to take away is that we are all about protection of the Fort Riley community, building community relations and keeping the community safe."
The demonstrations show when on duty, the MWD handlers and their dogs are protecting the Fort Riley community from a variety of dangers, Hilderbrand said.
"They protect the 1st ID, the Soldiers and families and DA (Department of the Army) civilians every day from various criminal organizations and even terrorist organizations," Hilderbrand said. "My dogs have a distinct capability of patrol and detection so they are keeping illegal narcotics and dangerous explosives off this installation."
The military dogs and their handlers bring a host of capabilities to bear, said Spc. Ryan Wolfe, a military dog handler for the 523rd MWDD, and it begins with a selection of breeds suited to this type of work.
"We have Belgian Malinoise, German shepherds and Dutch shepherds," Wolfe said. "And we have one chocolate Lab."
The dogs come through a service from the U.S. Air Force, Wolfe said.
"They are products of selective breeding and are chosen because of their high energy levels and their ability to learn quickly. They (Airmen) also go over to Germany. They call them 'buy-trips,' and they'll go there and look for dogs (with those traits)."
The life of a dog handler can be challenging because "the dog has a mind of his own," Wolfe said. "Not only are you doing what you need to do but you are training to get the dog to do what you need him to do. You're working with a live animal and that sometimes can be frustrating when they are trying to do their own thing. Among the dogs, they can be either trained for explosive detection or drug detection."
Dogs trained for a specific tasks are not used for jobs outside the requirements of their duty.
"But all are patrol certified which means they can bite," Wolfe said. "But they are never trained to search for drugs and bombs. It's either one or the other."
The dogs and their paces didn't fail to fascinate.
For Gavin McGuire, son of Col. Jay McGuire, commander of the 1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade, it was a chance for an up-close look at a possible career.
"I want to be an (Army) aviator," Gavin said. "But if that doesn't work out, I'd like to train dogs."
For Madeleine Starr, daughter of Chief Warrant Officer 4 Dean Starr, squadron aviation safety officer for the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, the demonstration was "awesome."
"I love watching animal behaviors," Madeleine said. "I'm hoping to study animal biology or marine biology. So this was pretty cool."
Jackson Gray, son of Lt. Col. Peter Gray, an instructor for the Kansas State University Military Science Department, said simply, "I just like dogs."
"And I dragged him here," Madeleine said of Jackson.
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