War Dogs

June 30, 2014
Though she’s is a senior editor of special projects at Foreign Policy, Frankel’s weekly column about war dogs in the same publication is clearly where her heart lies; she shares her admiration for them in this frequently fascinating study of their role in the military. Dogs have been used in war for centuries, more often in more to take live than to save them, but their uses are many: they alert troops to danger, seek out bombs, send messages in hostile environments, and provide therapeutic comfort to veterans. Frankel explores all of these roles and more, explaining what makes dogs uniquely suited for these tasks, and shares numerous vignettes of dogs (and their handlers) in action, from training to deployment. Frankel’s stance on military’s use of dogs is far from passive. She is highly critical of the U.S. Army’s indifferent attitude to the effects of war on the dogs themselves, some of whom return from the field irrevocably changed and suffering from a canine version of PTSD. Her passion for her subject matter and deep appreciation for the dogs is heartwarming and inspiring throughout. Military aficionados as well as dog lovers will learn from and enjoy from this study of canine commandos and the service people who count on them.

September 15, 2014
Stories of dogs and their human handlers on the front lines of war. Frankel tells the stories of canines and their companions who have aided soldiers in the first and second world wars, Vietnam, and the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. On the battlefields and off them, dogs bring an added level of security to highly unstable situations, since their ability to sniff out potential danger far outshines that of their human counterparts. For instance, in Iraq and Afghanistan, IEDs are used with increasing frequency and have become the "single biggest threat to U.S. troops on the ground." As the author notes, "the role of military working dogs in these wars has almost exclusively been devoted to combating IEDs." In order to distinguish a plain pile of rocks from a pile with a bomb underneath, the dogs must be able to identify the different smells found in mortar shells, C-4, detonation cords and pressure plates, while their handlers must watch for anything out of the ordinary or anything that shows the tiniest sign of human interference. Together, the dog and handler form tight bonds that remain strong on and off the battlefield. Frankel chronicles her discussions with handlers and kennel masters who have worked with numerous dogs during their military careers, bringing to light the personal stories of love and devotion each feels toward the other. Although "canine training can be a rough-and-tumble business" with multiple scratches and bite marks as evidence, Frankel discovered that having dogs involved in combat situations brings a much-needed layer of understanding to the complex experience of war. For those not in the military, the author's observations will aid them in gaining a deeper appreciation of what the troops on the ground and their dog companions endure. Engaging accounts of dogs working in war zones and aiding their handlers despite the imminent dangers.

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