JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, South Carolina – Military working dogs have been a vital part of our military since the early 1940’s. But how does the Air Force train our K9 partners? The 628th Security Forces Squadron afrom Joint Base Charleston is hoping to add best practices training to the curriculum going forward.
The 628th SFS held the first ever Green Dog Seminar at the Joint Base Charleston kennels Oct. 18-22. Defenders from the 628th SFS partnered with local law enforcement as well as nearby bases for the training seminar. Airport police of Charleston as well as Defenders from MacDill AFB, Florida, Shaw AFB, South Carolina and Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina, attended the seminar.
Military working dogs are trained by the 341 Training Squadron military working dog course at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. They are trained for 120 days before being shipped to bases around the world. MWD handlers train for up to 90 days before being certified by the commander to start working.
The Green Dog Seminar is meant to add more hands-on training opportunities to share best practices when training Green Military Working Dogs. Leading the training was Master Sgt. Lindsay Thompson, a flight chief with the squadron with more than 12 years of experience, five as an essential trainer at the Military Working Dog Course at JBSA-Lackland. Thompson’s goal for the seminar was to give handlers more tools for their toolbox when it comes to training new canines.
The 628th SFS is hopeful that Joint Base Charleston will become a hub for the Green Dog Seminar in the future. Their goal is to get more bases involved and to do the training quarterly as a refresher. “I hope people read this and get more excited,” said Tech. Sgt. Amadio Apilado, 628th SFS Dog Handler. Apilado said they had a great turn out with lots of positive feedback. For anyone who wants to learn and gain more military working dog training tools and techniques, call the 628th SFS at (843) 963-1311 for more information on the next training opportunity.