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| Army dogs help fight terrorism and save lives in J&K | | | Anil Bhat | 4/8/2012 7:44:19 PM |
| It was indeed a rare treat for spectators of Republic Day Parade 2012 to watch sniffer dogs marching with the a tableau of the Army`s Remount Veterinary Corps (RVC), which is celebrating its Golden Jubilee. A trained dog and its handler together form an unique team. Understanding each other's signals very well, they have proved to be invaluable in a range of operations from counter-terrorism to even rescue and relief following disasters. Some of the countless instances of valour and bravery of these silent warriors, force multipliers of Armed Forces and saviours of many human lives are worth mentioning. Passengers travelling in a fully loaded video coach bus from Srinagar to Jammu on 29 July 2011, were unaware that two among them were terrorists planning to blow up the bus. At Quazigund halt for lunch break, two individuals did not boarded the bus, which waited for 20 minutes and finally moved on. At about 1530 hours, the passengers reported to the bus driver and co-driver about presence of an unattended bag on the seats of the two missing passengers. The driver and co-driver immediately stopped the bus and inspected the bag to find that there were three cookers with wires coming out from sides of the lids. The nearby Rashtriya Rifles Battalion and Superintendent of Police Kulgam were informed immediately and shortly after arrived Dafadar (ADT) (Dafadar is equivalent of Havildar in cavalry and veterinary units, ADT-Army Dog Trainer) Suresh Chandra of Army Dog Unit and explosive detection dog named Happy, who dog promptly indicated the presence of explosives in the bag. At 1720 hrs Bomb Disposal team of Central Reserve Police Force reached the spot and recovered RDX, TNT and three IEDs (improvised explosive devices), each containing approximately 2 kg of explosives in three cookers.
On 09 July 2011 an intelligence input was received from some Rashtriya Rifles sources about the presence of terrorists in the nearby village. In a joint operation launched to nab them, Acting Lance-Dafadar (ADT) Manoj Kumar of an Army Dog Unit came with Chimney, an extremely dependable and well trained in tracking human scent. During the search operation, Chimney and Manoj, supported by infantry troops tirelessly trekked for almost twenty hours in the most inhospitable and rocky terrain to the location where the terrorists were taken refuge in dense undergrowth. After a fierce gun fight the troops were able to eliminate the terrorists. Chimney and Manoj both sustained injuries owing to falls while trekking in the rocky outcrops and dense undergrowth but the determination and will to win conquered the distress.
Mini, a black Labrador of the explosives detection wing of an Army Dog Unit was awarded the Chief of Army Staff's commendation card for sniffing out two IEDs in the jungles of Poonch district, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), during a counter-terrorism operation in 2009. The highly-alert Mini, with her handler Devi Dayal, was part of the operation conducted by Rashtriya Rifles at Haryana Ridge area on March 13 2009, when she detected the two well camouflaged bombs placed to inflict maximum casualties on the soldiers. Rex, a recipient of GOC-in-C Northern Command's Commendation Card for his outstanding and exemplary performance against Pakistan army sponsored and supported terrorists was a golden Labrador was born on 25 February 1993 at Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC) Centre and College, Meerut. After a year's training, he was posted to an Army Dog Unit under Delta Force and assigned the areas adjoining the town of Bhaderwah, J&K, to help troops in trailing and tracking terrorists. In March 1995, while operating with troops of Rashtriya Rifles (RR) in the jungles of Badrot, South of Bhaderwah, he tracked a militant injured in an encounter for over 3 km in the thick of militant fire. In a chase that lasted for over four hours, he managed to recover one AK 56 rifles and an haversack containing 92 rounds.
In April 1998, out on a patrol in area Gulgandhar, J&K, security forces killed two dreaded terrorists and badly injured one, who managed to escape. Picking up the scent of his blood, Rex went hot on the trail moving speedily and stealthily over strenuous undulating mountains . After tracking over 2 km, he succeeded in tracing out the body of the militant in a hideout where he had succumbed to his injuries. Let out on yet another 'trial' with the Quick Reaction Team of 25 RR in Daraba near Rajouri, Rex suffered an unfortunate fall and sustained serious intestinal injuries. He was evacuated to the nearest Army Veterinary Hospital where he developed acute gastroenteritis and finally succumbed on 22 September 1999.
'Wardogs' were used in warfare throughout history. Long before the invention of gunpowder, military forces of the Roman Empire used dogs gathered in columns, many of them clad in mail armour and spiked collars. The English were known to have equipped their dogs with long spikes placed over their heads and had them charge forward to attack the enemy's calvary. Britain also used Mastiffs in 55 BC to fight Caesar's invading armies. Napoleon was probably the first one to make use of the superior senses of dogs to get warned of impending attacks. In Dalmatia, a Croatian seaside province, from where the black-dotted breed got its name, Dalmatian, these dogs were used to warn of approaching Turks from Croatia. The Germans trained dogs for scout duty with infantry patrols and to give warning of an enemy's approach. Dogs were also used to ferry messages between front line fighters and headquarters to the rear of the fighting. The Belgians and Russians followed closely behind Germany in their use of military dogs. The French used dogs for transportation purposes mainly for pulling light carts carrying food and supplies. With a canine training centre at Fontainebleau, it was also rumored that the French government encouraged the experimental use of dogs in areas other than rescue. In all, many European countries continued with use of dogs in one form or another up until the start of World War I. Germany had, by far, the most experience with training dogs for war. However, France and Great Britain made greater use of them as messengers during WWI than Germany. The advantages of using the four-legged messengers were that they were less likely to get captured than a human messenger, and less likely to get shot. Furthermore, sets of dogs were trained to run along the front lines and others to run to the back of the fighting to deliver messages. At the start of World War I, America had no program for training dogs, or for that matter, using dogs in any capacity. They however more made up for it by not only extensively using them but also built the United States War Dogs Memorial, located guarding the gateway to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Holmdel, New Jersey, where a bronze statue of a kneeling Vietnam War soldier and his dog are, set on a black granite base. There are innumerable historical events recorded to establish the participation of dogs in war. In World War -II more than 250000 War Dogs were used by Allied forces against Germans. Picking up from the history, the Indian Army Veterinary Corps of the Pre-Independence British Indian Army commenced its War Dog Training School in 1943 at Babugarh to train dogs in mine detection but closed it after WW II. After Independence RVC started its Dog Training Wing at RVC Centre and College, which became Dog Training School and rapidly developed into a world class Dog Training Faculty making its niche in the modern day warfare scenario. Last three decades of intense terrorism in the country has enhanced the need of highly specialized dogs for Counter Insurgency /Counter Terrorism operations. Always at forefront in relief operations, these dogs even had raised the hope of life for people trapped underneath the rubble during natural calamities like earthquakes, cloud burst at Leh, floods and Tsunami.
Rapid changes in scenario demanded adoption of innovative modification in the training methodologies. At a national seminar on 'Canines As Force Multipliers In War Against Terrorism' organised by RVC Centre and College, Meerut, on 28-29 March 2011, speakers and panellists from Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Protection Group, Indo Tibetan Border Police Special Services Bureau, Special Frontier Force and National Disaster Relief Force, all of which use highly trained dogs, elaborated on issues and aspects of employment of dogs in various operations. The seminar deliberated on issues of scenario based training, adoption of innovative training methodologies, utilisation of modern training aids in enhancing operational flexibility and proactive approach towards disaster management scenarios. It proved to be a valuable platform for the exchange of views, experiences and understanding on issues related to use of dogs in various operational situation. Being the first seminar of its kind, the deliberations and the benefits which are likely to accrue will form the backbone for their futuristic use in operations in the armed forces as well as better co-ordination with other security agencies involved in the safety of the nation.
Reportedly, Indian Army will soon have its first unit of dogs mounted with cameras which will help the troops with visual guidance during tricky situations and hostage crises. Dangerous situations like searching between a smoke, a fire or searching and locating terrorists hiding inside a building, which involve risk to human lives, will be dealt by these dogs with miniature video cameras mounted on their heads. Wherever these dogs enter and start searching, the cameras mounted on their heads will transmit back audio and video to the unit and the officers who will be controlling and monitoring from a distance. Not only are the golden and black Labradors, German Shepards, aka Alsatians and the lean Doberman Pinschers of dog units very effective in their tasks, they are fascinating and also endearing to watch in action. |
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