What I Learned About Dogs From Marines On The Peleleu.
I just returned from a "Tiger Cruise." My son, a Marine helicopter pilot, was on a six-month deployment on a small Navy aircraft carrier. I joined on the ship as one of many "Tigers" for the last 8 days, from Hawaii to San Diego. I lived in a tiny "stateroom" with four bunk beds, ate with the troops in the "Wardroom," and made lots of new friends.
I met a Marine from Puerto Rico and told him about the column I'd written about the problem with stray "Sato" dogs in Puerto Rico. He had never heard the term, and said he didn't think Puerto Rico had any more stray dogs than typical cities on the US mainland. But he said stray dogs were a big problem in Iraq, especially in the country. They can be aggressive and dangerous toward humans. He said most of the Iraqis don't like dogs, think they are "unclean," and do not keep them as pets. But American soldiers often make friends with the stray dogs.
A couple of other Marines had experience with the dogs used to sniff out bombs at check points and during house searches. They said after about thirty minutes the dogs tend to get bored and seem to lose interest, and the hot weather quickly dries out their noses. They need about 6 dogs at a checkpoint so they can rotate them, and give them some time off.
They also said the dogs can be very sensitive and accurate. During one search, at a checkpoint, there was a large Iraqi truck loaded with many big cages full of canaries.
"Canaries?!" I said. They laughed and said it looked suspicious to them too. And shortly after starting to sniff around the canaries, the dog sat down - the signal that he smelled explosives or something. They began unloading and checking cages and, tucked down in the middle of all those canaries, found several boxes full of artillery shells.
We had virtually unlimited access to almost everything on ship. We toured the bridge, with its commanding view of the ship and 360 degrees of ocean, the many compasses, radar screens, speed indicators, and controls and communication for sailing the ship. In the air traffic control station they showed us the radar screens and explained how they monitor the ships aircraft and other aircraft in the vicinity and guide the pilots in to safe landings. I spent hours on the observation deck, watching the various helicopters and the Harrier jet fighters take off and land.
With my veterinary background, I was given an especially detailed tour of the medical facilities. They have two or three doctors on board, including a surgeon, laboratory machines for all the basic blood and urine tests, and wound cultures, and X-Ray machines with the capability to send images electronically, via satellite, to anywhere in the world for consultation. They have a good surgical suite. Most of the surgeries are draining and cleaning abscesses and other infections, but they said they had also done a few vasectomies and performed major abdominal surgery on a pirate.
"A pirate?!" I asked. The doctor smiled and said three Somali pirates had threatened a Navy ship with a rocket propelled grenade launcher. The pirates lost. One of them took a bullet in the rear end that wound up in his belly. After his recovery, he, wearing a colostomy bag, and his fellow pirates were returned to Somalia.
Oh, and the doctor? He was a Navy Lieutenant, which is equivalent to a Marine captain. His last name was Kidd. ( I kid you not.)