Most of us know how amazing dogs are and how they can sense things humans cannot. According to the New York Times, the team of Navy Seals involved in last Sunday’s raid on Osama Bin Laden’s secret lair was made up of 79 commandos and one dog.
The dog, trained for explosive-sniffing, was lowered from one of the Black Hawk helicopters into Bin Laden’s home in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
For over 100 years dogs have been right beside U.S. soldiers in combat. It wasn’t until 1942 when dogs were officially inducted into the U.S Army. Foreignpolicy.com states “as of early 2010 the U.S. Army had 2,800 active-duty dogs deployed deployed (the largest canine contingent in the world). And these numbers will continue to grow as these dogs become an ever-more-vital military asset”.
The Sun reports the Navy Seal dogs are trained to wear oxygen masks and jump from 25,000 feet before seeking out their targets in hostile areas. The dog was heavily armored and was equipped with infrared night-sight cameras. The dog also wore ballistic body armor that “is said to withstand damage from single and double-edged knives, as well as protective gear which shields them from shrapnel and gunfire.”
The dogs are trained to attack anyone carrying a weapon and can crawl unnoticed into rooms and through tunnels. The cameras they wear send live pictures back to the Navy Seals and allow them to look for ambushes and retrieve other critical information.
Considering dogs are formidable soldiers it’s not surprising one was tasked to assist the Navy Seals with this operation.
God Bless our military and their four-legged companions.
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