The Military Police at Lackland Air Force Base

Military Police, Sept, 2003 by Steven Parker, Richard Emery, John Chandler

Company D of the 701st Military Police Battalion at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, is where military working dog handlers and their canine partners start their careers. This is also where our MP personnel come to attend the Traffic Management and Accident Investigation Course. This is a very rewarding assignment that allows a soldier to work in a joint service environment that trains and prepares soldiers and canines for worldwide deployment.

History

Since World War II, the unit has been known by different names. Originally, it was under the operational control of the Quartermaster Corps in Front Royale, Virginia, and later, the infantry at Fort Carson, Colorado. The Army Dog Training Center at Fort Carson was primarily used from 1954 to 1957 to train military working dogs (MWDs) for the U.S. Air Force. In 1957, the center was deactivated and responsibility for the training was transferred to the Sentry Dog Training Branch at Lackland in 1958.

An Army detachment consisting of six dog handler instructors, one noncommissioned officer, and one clerk went to Lackland to serve as a support unit. Over the years, the detachment trained thousands of soldiers and canines. During the Vietnam War, the Army was responsible for training scout dogs, combat tracker dogs, mine dogs, tunnel dog teams, and marijuana detector dog teams at Fort Gordon, Georgia. In June 1973, the interservice training review executive committee decided to centralize all MWD training at Lackland. (This was the same year that the last marijuana detector dog graduated from the U.S. Army Military Police School [USAMPS] at Fort Gordon.)

January 1974 was the start of the new centralized U.S. Army Military Working Dog School at Lackland. The U.S. Army Military Police School Training Detachment was also established there on 2 October 1974. On 10 November 1982, the detachment was redesignated as the Lackland Training Detachment of the 701st Military Police Battalion, assigned to Fort McClellan, Alabama, and attached to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, with duty at Lackland. On 5 December 2002, the detachment was redesignated as Company D, 701st Military Police Battalion, 14th Military Police Brigade. The company's mission is to:

* Provide expert instructors to the Department of Defense Military Working Dog School and the Traffic Management and Accident Investigation Course.

* Advise the USAMPS Commandant and Director of Training about the training and employment of MWDs and the Traffic Management Accident Investigation training.

* Provide the operational Army with current training techniques and procedures.

* Provide command and control, training, and administrative and logistical support to students and staff.

MWD Handler Course

The 341st Training Squadron oversees the MWD Handler Course, with instructors from all four branches of service. Because college credit is awarded for this course through the Community College of the Air Force, instructors must have an associate's degree to teach. Instructors must also complete a six-month subject matter qualification process before they are allowed to teach without a subject matter instructor present. The Army has nine instructors teaching in this course.

Students are trained in two blocks of instruction. The first is a six-week block during which students learn the aspects of handling a patrol dog. The first four days involve classroom instruction. Students learn about maintaining dog gear, performing safety procedures, maintaining kennels, managing health, using first aid, applying the principles of behavioral conditioning, documenting training, and maintaining utilization records. Other classroom instruction includes these topics:

* Concepts of utilization

* Use of force

* Vehicle patrol

* Performing as a decoy

On the fifth day of training, the students are assigned an MWD. Once the students have established rapport with the dog, the hands-on portion of their training begins. Students learn dog training principles: basic obedience, running the dog over obstacles, building search procedures, locating a suspect in a building, scouting, locating a suspect in a field or wood line, controlled aggression, how to apprehend a suspect, and control under gunfire. At the end of the six weeks, each student must complete a performance test for the instructor supervisor before being certified as a patrol dog handler.

In the second block of instruction, students learn about handling a detector dog. The first day of the five-week block is classroom instruction during which students learn more about behavioral conditioning, protocol training, detecting an odor, and proficiency training (how to maintain a dog's level of training). Other classroom instruction includes the following:

* Using detector dog teams

* Documenting training and utilization records

* Securing explosives, chemicals, and drugs

* Using detector dogs legally and safely

Students also learn about handling a detector dog in a variety of areas: barracks/buildings, warehouses, vehicles, and aircraft. Students run through many scenarios. Some simulate narcotic searches, and others are set up as explosives searches. By using both scenarios, students see the different aspects of detection work. At the end of five weeks, students are once again given a performance test before being certified as detector dog handlers. Students graduating from the handler course know the basics. Like all personnel who are new to a job, the handlers need advanced training after they are assigned to a kennel. On average, the handler course trains and certifies more than 400 MWD handlers annually.