Centurian1985 said:
On cost I have to disagree. Yeah they are cheap to train (in equipment and food), but doesnt it take a while to train these pups? Plus the housing, health and vets, fenced areas, screening soldiers to match the dogs, screening out dogs that 'dont have what it takes', etc. Any experts able to comment on this?
well, the Brit model isn't that pricey, over all.
They aren't trained from birth. It only takes a few weeks, with the proper selection. There's a Sr NCO of the RAVC whose only job is to drive around the British Isles and play with dogs. That's the selection process.
You see, in the UK (at least in the late '90s, anyway) if any dog bit a human twice, for any reason, it was destroyed. The only way to keep your pet alive was to give him to the Army. So, you'd call up the RAVC, and this Sgt would show up. He'd look at the pooch, test him for soundness, and play 'fetch' and 'tug of war'. If the dog was a better 'fetcher', or was a smaller breed, he'd most likely be a search dog.
If he was good at 'tug of war', had a bit of aggression and size to him, he'd likely be a patrol dog. Then he'd get conscripted, which gave him a few more years of life, and be trained. The training is done in such a way that it appeals to his instincts and sense of play. He's taught that it's a game, and most take to it very quickly. They only get fierce when it's real, but that's because he's picking up "Dad's" fear/anger vibes.
And the ones selected for search roles, aren't fierce at all, for the most part. They're playing! They're playing 'fetch' and 'hide and seek'.
As for screening the troops, it isn't done. You can ask for it, or be tasked, but it's just another task. You do it for 6 or 12 months, and rotate out when your unit does, or your TA contract expires. Then, someone else takes over your dog. You go through a short course, play with your pooch, learn what he already knows, and bingo! You're a Dog Handler. Your selection process is walking into his kennel when he's snarling and snapping at you through the wire mesh. If you can do it, he'll accept you. (The food dish in your hand helps.) Then you learn to care for him and his equipment, you clean his kennel and kit, and go play "sic 'em"! After he grabs you or his co-handler through the padded sleeve a few times, you guys grab some water, play a bit, and shut 'er down until patrol time.
For those dogs that simply don't have enough aggression, or intelligence, well... They're all already living under a death sentence, and theirs are carried out.
As for housing and such, it'd be pricey at first, but static kennels at a base, once built, would be good for years. Fences would only have to be the standard wire we already use to fence Infantrymen in, in Garrison. Their over-seas kennels are just el cheapo, insta-kennels slapped together, like Home Hardware garden sheds. The Engineers built a huge kennel for them in Camp Maple Leaf. They named it Jurassic Park. It was incredible, and it only took a couple grand and some serious sweat on Echo's part, Bless those boys. (The hard part was keeping them out of the dang thing. Everyone wanted to play with the dogs.)
Vets and such, in the Brit model, is taken care of through the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, whch, of course, we don't have. But, that's not insurmountable, either. We can just lure some of them away with better pay and pensions, like we did with certain other pers. They establish a school, and Robert is your Mother's brother. We're away.
It might be a little pricey at first, but not nearly as much as you might think, and the dividends would be huge! Freakin'
HUGE! Dogs are amazing Force Multipliers! The psychological impact of a snarling German Shepard or Rottweiler is not to be underestimated. One dog had more impact on a rioting mob of Croats, than an entire armed Infantry platoon. And their usefulness on patrols in Vietnam is legendary. And we all know how effective they are at detecting arms/explosives.
The only downer is that they have to be destroyed after their Service, since they were already condemned. But the Army can give them another several years of life. And a pretty good one, too.
