Sgt. David Ricks works with his dog, Storm, before heading to the trials.
Story and photo by Amy Newcomb
GUIDON staff
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Two of Fort Leonard Wood’s own are scheduled to attend the Department of Defense Military Working Dog Training Seminar and K-9 Trials, which will be held at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, April 30 – May 3.
Sgt. Jason Cartwright, 5th Engineer Battalion and his Specialized Search Dog, Isaac, as well as Sgt. David Ricks, 92nd Military Police Battalion, and his SSD, Storm, were selected to attend the event and are looking forward to the seminar and the challenges the trials will bring.
The K-9 Trials are intended to showcase the best K-9 teams throughout the Armed Services, and each team will be tested in a variety of missions to include explosive and narcotics detection, handler protection, building searches and special search missions.
“The biggest challenge for me and Isaac is slowing our search down. He searches real fast and I want it to get done in a timely manner, but I like to be thorough. The challenge is going to be meeting the criteria on how they want us to search,” Cartwright said.
Cartwright and Ricks said they were interested in the information they would gather during the seminar and both were looking forward to bringing that information back to their respective kennels.
“I have been to all of the MWD courses, except for the mine dog and combat tracker dog courses, so I just want to see what the seminar has to put out to the WMD handlers so we can bring that to our handlers here,” Ricks said.
Two of Fort Leonard Wood’s own are scheduled to attend the Department of Defense Military Working Dog Training Seminar and K-9 Trials, which will be held at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, April 30 – May 3.
Sgt. Jason Cartwright, 5th Engineer Battalion and his Specialized Search Dog, Isaac, as well as Sgt. David Ricks, 92nd Military Police Battalion, and his SSD, Storm, were selected to attend the event and are looking forward to the seminar and the challenges the trials will bring.
The K-9 Trials are intended to showcase the best K-9 teams throughout the Armed Services, and each team will be tested in a variety of missions to include explosive and narcotics detection, handler protection, building searches and special search missions.
“The biggest challenge for me and Isaac is slowing our search down. He searches real fast and I want it to get done in a timely manner, but I like to be thorough. The challenge is going to be meeting the criteria on how they want us to search,” Cartwright said.
Cartwright and Ricks said they were interested in the information they would gather during the seminar and both were looking forward to bringing that information back to their respective kennels.
“I have been to all of the MWD courses, except for the mine dog and combat tracker dog courses, so I just want to see what the seminar has to put out to the WMD handlers so we can bring that to our handlers here,” Ricks said.
During the seminar, Ricks and Cartwright can look forward to three full days of information and practical application training provided by expert dog trainers and speakers. The seminar is designed to provide DoD MWD handlers and trainers a variety of information.
The competition is nothing new for Cartwright and Isaac, who have attended events like this before and came home with trophies to show for their hard work and dedication.
Both Cartwright and Ricks have a special relationship with their dogs who have deployed with them, helped save countless lives with them and become a member of their families.
“I took this dog from Lackland as a puppy, taught him everything he knows, and then deployed twice with this dog, PCS’d with this dog — my family knows this dog,” Ricks said. “He is part of the family, and I hope when it comes to retirement, when he is done working, he can come home to us.”
“We have an awesome relationship. Our rapport is outstanding. He listens, he is very loyal to me. If I get snatched up while he is searching, he is going to track my tracks down and get me,” Cartwright said. “After the Army says he is done, I will start putting in the (retirement) paperwork and try to get him.”
Although both Cartwright and Ricks care for their dogs, they are going to the trials with the mindset of showing they are the best and hopefully to bring home some trophies.
“I want to bring that trophy back to the 92nd MP Bn. and the 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade,” Ricks said. “I have always wanted to be the best SSD handler out there, and when I go down there I will try my hardest and give it everything I got and see what I come back with.”
“We have been training up for the last month,” Cartwright said. “I am representing Engineer Canine (Company) … to get our name out there and show that me and Isaac have put in a lot of hard work and dedication and take some trophies home.
For more information on the DoD MWD Training Seminar and K-9 Trials, visit www.signup4.net/public/ap.aspx?EID=20121578E&OID=50. For full coverage on this event, look for future GUIDONs.
The competition is nothing new for Cartwright and Isaac, who have attended events like this before and came home with trophies to show for their hard work and dedication.
Both Cartwright and Ricks have a special relationship with their dogs who have deployed with them, helped save countless lives with them and become a member of their families.
“I took this dog from Lackland as a puppy, taught him everything he knows, and then deployed twice with this dog, PCS’d with this dog — my family knows this dog,” Ricks said. “He is part of the family, and I hope when it comes to retirement, when he is done working, he can come home to us.”
“We have an awesome relationship. Our rapport is outstanding. He listens, he is very loyal to me. If I get snatched up while he is searching, he is going to track my tracks down and get me,” Cartwright said. “After the Army says he is done, I will start putting in the (retirement) paperwork and try to get him.”
Although both Cartwright and Ricks care for their dogs, they are going to the trials with the mindset of showing they are the best and hopefully to bring home some trophies.
“I want to bring that trophy back to the 92nd MP Bn. and the 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade,” Ricks said. “I have always wanted to be the best SSD handler out there, and when I go down there I will try my hardest and give it everything I got and see what I come back with.”
“We have been training up for the last month,” Cartwright said. “I am representing Engineer Canine (Company) … to get our name out there and show that me and Isaac have put in a lot of hard work and dedication and take some trophies home.
For more information on the DoD MWD Training Seminar and K-9 Trials, visit www.signup4.net/public/ap.aspx?EID=20121578E&OID=50. For full coverage on this event, look for future GUIDONs.