Bastion's dogs and handlers – "One doesn't work without the other"

The other half is the human half, the military dog handlers at Camp Bastion's Military Working Dog Support Unit. The unit is made up of dogs and handlers from 102 Logistic Brigade, part of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps as well as from the RAF police. There are 17 handlers looking after the dogs in Afghanistan, spread from Kabul to the volatile Green Zone in Helmand province, with Camp Bastion as the base.

Each handler is normally appointed one dog to look after and work with, and developing the relationship between man and beast is essential to the unit's success as Sergeant Kev Gavin, temporarily heading up the unit, explained:

"If you're all trained with a rifle each person can pick up any rifle. But it's a bit different with dogs; you have to spend time with each dog before using it. Dogs don't speak to you, you've got to be able to read them."

Arms and Explosive search dog handler Corporal Charlie Bates, also currently in Bastion, added:

"The relationship between dog and handler has a massive impact on how you work together."

Cpl Bates handles Arms and Explosive search dog "Brandy" in Afghanistan. Brandy, like most search dogs, is a spaniel. The handler and dog are used for tasks that include searching vehicles coming into Camp Bastion and other Forward Operating Bases and going out on patrols with the infantry, checking routes in advance of convoys for mines or other explosives.

The dogs and handlers from 102 Logistics Brigade, based at Sennelager in Germany, like the RAF teams based at RAF Waddington, train at their bases before deploying to Afghanistan. The handlers deploy for between four and six months. The dogs however stay on, so when new handlers arrive they have to start the process of relationship building again:

"It depends on the person and the animal on how long it takes to get to grips with each other," said Sergeant Gavin. "It may take one week it may take three. The handler has to be happy, himself, with the dog. It's not an exact science with dogs. I wish it was."

When the dogs first arrive in Afghanistan the first task is getting them used to the environment:

"Dogs are not 100 per cent and they have off days. They are affected by the extreme weather just as vehicles and airframes are," said Sgt Gavin. "We train in Germany and the UK but you can't recreate Afghanistan. We can recreate big bangs, but not big mortar explosions. If the dogs suffer we take them out and retrain them to get used to it."

There have only been dogs at Camp Bastion since April 2006, when the kennels were just makeshift Hesco builds. The amount of dogs there has grown massively in that time and there are now search dogs and handlers permanently based at other Forward Operating Bases.

At Bastion the dogs are now housed in air conditioned kennels which also have heating for the colder winter nights and each dog has a bit of a run area and covered sleeping area in their individual kennel. The unit also has the free reign of the camp in which to train:

"We keep the animals adjusted to the environment," said Cpl Bates. "And use basic common sense and animal husbandry when the dogs first come into theatre. We start with short walks and try not to give them air conditioning as this can hinder acclimatisation."

And according to Sgt Gavin, the dogs need to be constantly trained:

"We have to keep on top of training methods and keep adapting."

Corporal Mike Mortimer, from the RAF Police Dog Squadron, at RAF Waddington, is in Afghanistan handling "Bony", a German Shepherd Force Protection dog, used for guarding the Camp's gates, fences and other vulnerable points. Bony is in Cpl Mortimer's own words, a trained killer. He looks and acts it, and getting near him, even when he's safe in his kennel is a scary affair. The fact he doesn't like strangers appears to be the understatement of the year:

"Bony is hard as nails," Cpl Mortimer says. "I'm trying to chill him out. We had three weeks in the UK training. We start with getting the dog out of the kennel, walking grooming and simple obedience. Bony keeps you on your toes. He's always on the look out, always alert and doesn't seem to switch off.

"If you've got a weak handler and a strong dog, the dog will exploit you. But being strong handed is not the same as being aggressive."

Each dog has a first aid kit too, much of which has the same contents as those for humans, says Sgt Gavin. One of the daily tasks for each handler is kennel administration and making sure the dogs are fit and healthy:

"It's quite labour-intensive looking after the dogs on a daily basis," said Cpl Bates. "We carry out basic daily training, health checks, grooming and bathing. If a dog goes down due to health problems, it has a big knock on effect for other units."

Corporal Mortimer added:

"We groom the dogs every day. Not just so they look good, but also to promote the health of the dogs' coat. It helps keep him waterproof and cooler in the summertime and warmer in the winter. Some dogs don't like it and always move about, others just roll over. Most like the attention."

Although the Army dog handlers are part of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, they are not vets. If something is wrong with a dog at Bastion though there is a vet not far away at Kandahar. But as Cpl Bates said:

"Every time a handler gets the dog out of the kennel he knows if his dog is OK or if something is out of sorts."

The unit gets a lot of good feedback from Commanders and officers who see the dogs as an excellent asset:

"People say it's like a spanner," said Cpl Mortimer, "If you snap a tool you throw it away. But you can't think like that. It can be quite destroying for a handler if a dog gets injured and has to be put down. I had one and it was very hard to take. It's part of the job but that doesn't make it easier."

Cpl Bates added:

"You can get quite close to your dog and it can be sad when leaving theatre and the dog has to stay behind."

There hasn't been a dog lost in Afghanistan since they were first used in Kabul in 2003. Most of the dogs are donated to the military by civilians because of behavioural problems. Cpl Mortimer said:

"Now they have an aim in life and a purpose, with less distractions, now they are working. Most have done more tours than I have. They're good at what they do, if trained properly and part of a team. But if the dog or the handler isn't up to scratch it falls apart. One doesn't work without the other."