Face of Defense: 'Lady' Sniffs Out Explosives in Afghanistan
Friday, March 27, 2009
Face of Defense: 'Lady' Sniffs Out Explosives in Afghanistan
By Army Spc. Matthew Thompson
Special to American
Forces Press Service
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, March 26, 2009 - She takes a few steps forward and then glances over her shoulder. A few feet up the road she stops and lies down on the ground, a sign of possible danger.
Army Sgt. Stephen Netzley, a K-9
handler with 3rd Squadron, 71st Calvary Regiment, and his German shepherd, Lady,
search for explosive devices during a route clearance patrol in Afghanistan's
Logar province, March 9, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew
Thompson
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);
Lady is a German shepherd trained to sniff out explosives and their components. Her handler is Army Sgt. Stephen Netzley, a scout with 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment at Forward Operating Base Altimur in Afghanistan's Logar province.
"I know the discomfort of not knowing if there is an [improvised explosive device] out there while patrolling the roads," said Netzley, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the K-9 section at FOB Altimur. "Now I have a chance to make the roads safer."
The 2-year-old
German shepherd and Netzley have been working together for six months, including
six weeks of training together at Vohne Liche Kennels, in Peru, Ind.
"Learning how to work with a K-9 is challenging, but once you learn how to
do it, it becomes easier," Netzley said.
The pair works together as a team.
"She'll pick up a scent, and if I know or see something, I'll lead her to it or
she'll lead me to it, and I'll watch her reaction," Netzley said. "Through
training, she has learned how to determine where the odor is coming from."
Netzley and Lady work with the route clearance patrol and the counter IED
teams.
"They help us a lot because they can pinpoint exactly where something
is," said Army Cpl. Adam Kodras, a member of the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry
Regiment's counter IED team. "They'll find the secondary IED, caches, or
anything that you wouldn't normally see with the naked eye."
When Lady finds
something and it is confirmed positive, her reward is a tennis ball and a lot of
petting. But more importantly, she is helping to save lives.
"We're happy to
know that we are going to save people," Kodras said. "We've probably saved a
Humvee full of soldiers with what the dogs have helped us find."
"I like
being a scout, but being a dog handler gives me a better opportunity to ensure
all of my battle buddies are safe," Netzley added.
(Army Spc. Matthew
Thompson serves with the 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)
Related Sites:
U.S. Forces Afghanistan
Combined Joint Task Force
101
NATO
International Security Assistance Force