Dogs have been employed in warfare for centuries, but until World War II the United States Army had almost completely overlooked the special capabilities and characteristics dogs possess that, with the proper training, could turn them into valuable warfighter assets. When the U.S. entered World War I, for example, the only canines it had in service were a few sled dogs in Alaska; these were used in Europe to carry supplies and ammo through snowy areas that were difficult to traverse for people.
The use of dogs in the U.S. military resulted in large part from the work of a civilian group comprised primarily of dog breeders and owners that began advocating for the use of dogs as sentries or to carry emergency supplies to wounded soldiers. Eventually incorporating as Dogs for Defense, the group at first tried to train the dogs for these roles, but an inspection by the Quartermaster General found the results far from satisfactory; though well-intentioned, the civilians were not familiar with all the requirements of sentry work, and they were not training the men who would be working with the dog. But the Quartermaster General saw the potential of the program, and established a War Dog Program in which Dogs for Defense would provide the dogs and the Army would handle the training.
With the creation of the War Dog Program, the types of work dogs would be assigned broadened considerably. The program featured eight types of training: Sentry, Attack, Tactical (this included the dogs wea
ring gas masks and camo), Silent Scout (alert handlers to the presence of enemies), Casualty (locate wounded soldiers on the battlefield or survivors buried in debris), Sledge, and Pack. Pack dogs were trained to carry loads of up to 40 pounds of ammo, food, and even small machine guns, but while the Army trained over 90 of them, they were never used in the field.
Both the Army and Air Force used dogs extensively for base patrols and sentry duties in Vietnam, and soon they became associated with the Military Police or Security Forces carrying out these assignments. But it wasn’t until 2013—over 70 years from the establishment of the War Dog Program—that the U.S. Army created a specialty for Military Police who use Military Working Dogs as part of their everyday assignments.
Until the establishment of 31K, Military Working Dog (MWD) Handler, MPs who worked with dogs were required to earn the Additional Skill Identifier Z6—but before they could even try they would have to spend at least two years in the 31B MOS, Military Police. Now, Soldiers selected for the 31K MOS will begin learning how to work with these amazing animals from the moment they begin their Advanced Individual Training.