MCENTIRE JOINT NATIONAL GUARD BASE, S.C., - The South Carolina Air National Guard's C-130 flight assisted local law enforcement officials pick up two very special - and furry - passengers at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas March 18.
Lt. Col. Buck Shuler, the command pilot for the C-130, which is assigned here to the 169th Fighter Wing, said their primary mission that day was to deliver a trailer of two F-16 smoke missile generators to the Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base in Texas.
But when a support request came in from the Batesburg-Leesville Police Department, Shuler said they were more than willing to lend a hand.
"We are a unique asset as the only cargo aircraft in the South Carolina Air National Guard," he said. "We not only provide mission essential lift capabilities for repairs to keep the F-16s flying, we're ready to support whenever and wherever needed."
The department procured the dogs through the Department of Defense's Military Working Dog School, where dogs are trained and donated to qualified law enforcement agencies.
Police Chief Wallace Oswald, who also is a first sergeant in the South Carolina Army National Guard, flew out to pick up the animals accompanied by one of the department's dog handlers, Nick Carver, who also serves in the 169th Security Forces Squadron.
Oswald, who has served in the department for over 30 years, said the department was very grateful for the South Carolina Guard's quick response and assistance in getting the dogs and supporting the community.
Carver, who has been a dog handler with the police department for over two years said his new partner is Sisko, a two-year-old, 79-pound German Shepherd. His duties will include patrolling and drug and explosive detection.
"Although they received training at the school the training never stops with a patrol and detection dog," said Carver. "You have to work with them everyday, provide different scenarios and keep them interested."
Carver said Sisko will be with him on the job and even live at his home. He said when a dog joins the police department, they are treated like a police officer and even receive a badge.
The department also picked up a two-year-old 49-pound black Labrador Retriever named Kkaplan from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) puppy program at Lackland. The doubled first two letters in the spelling of a dog's name is the unique indicator of a TSA trained dog.
"Kkaplan is not only going to be a drug and bomb detection dog for the department, but also our community relations dog, who travels to schools," said Oswald. "The kids just love when we visit and bring one of our dogs along."
Sisko and Kkaplan immediately warmed up to their new teammates with lots of enthusiastic tail wagging and generous licks to their hands. After loading onto the C-130, they quickly settled in their crates for the ride home.
"You can read a dog when you work with them for so long," said Carver. "These dogs have a lot of energy, which will make them good to train, because they have that special drive."
The MWD program trains over 800 dogs at a time for all Department of Defense and government law enforcement agencies. Not every dog is going to meet all of the mandates in their rigorous 120-day initial training.
The dogs they determine would perform better with more one-on-one and consistent interaction are adoptable by approved outside law enforcement agencies.
"Sisko and Kkaplan will get the first few days off to get acclimated," said Carver. "But after this it's going to time for them to step up and start earning their keep."
Carver said the relationship between a dog and his handler gets so tight, the dog eventually just knows when it's a work day and when it's not. They routinely work 12-hour shifts and rotate every two weeks for day and night hours.
"I had one dog, who knew when it was a day off as he'd still be asleep when I'd look for him," said Carver. "When it was a work day, he'd be up and ready to go as soon as he saw me."