MWD handlers face obstacles

Published Sept. 19, 2014
By Senior Airman Madelyn Brown
60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The 60th Security Forces Squadron Military Working Dog team and the 60th Maintenance Squadron Aircraft Structural Welding shop are two units that would not normally work closely together.

However, in support of their four-legged wingmen, the Airmen are overcoming financial hurdles by building their own training obstacles.

"Our current training obstacles for the canines are around 15 years old, and they're pretty beat up," said Tech. Sgt. Chris Smith, 60th SFS MWD kennel master. "It would cost the Air Force around $28,000, plus shipping, to replace these items."

The obstacles the MWD team sought were a ladder, dog-walk with steps, teeter totter and four boxes for bad guys to hide in during detection training. With only $3,000 available, the MWD handlers turned to innovation.

"Instead of buying these, and with the financial climate being what it is, we decided to go a different route," Smith said.

One of the MWD handlers, Staff Sgt. Zahir Mohammed, grew up in Sacramento in the same neighborhood as the Perrotta family. Senior Master Sgt. Camillo Perrotta is now the 349th Air Mobility Wing superintendent of the Aircraft Structural Welding shop. Through this contact, the two agencies were able to coordinate their request.

"I used a drawing/engineering program to lay out the dimensions," Smith said. "I knew how tall and how wide I wanted everything to be and the engineering program let me put all that into view."

The MWD unit then purchased the necessary steel and decking materials for less than the $3,000 budget, and relied on the Airmen welders to fabricate the metals into the appropriate dimensions.

"Usually we work with mild steel to help build and repair aerospace ground equipment," said Airman 1st Class Jeremy Halcomb, 60th MXS metals technologist. "It's awesome when we get these unique projects. I have great respect for the MWD Airmen and we're happy to help them out."

Four days and approximately 1,200 pounds of steel later, the welding shop has completed the frames of four boxes, the ladder with the dog walkway and the teeter totter.

According to the kennel master, these obstacles will prove valuable to all nine of the Travis canines as they progress in their training.

"The obstacles will advance the dog's agility and boost their confidence," Smith said. "If we can get them trained on climbing a human style ladder, then walking a narrow plank or walking up a teeter totter and riding it down safely, then there isn't much in the real world they won't be able to negotiate."

This isn't the first time the MWD handlers have creatively faced financial constraints. In the Western States K9 trial hosted on Travis Air Force Base in May, the handlers constructed a "barricaded suspect" box by fashioning together donated plexiglass and plywood.

"The box project really got the ball rolling for us as far as the idea of fabricating our own obstacles," Smith said. "It was such a success that we felt like we could build anything we wanted, and save the unit and Air Force tons of money in the process."

With the frames completed, the handlers will begin working on the composite decking to finish the obstacles. The projected completion date is Oct. 10.