374th Security Forces receive new Black Labs Military Working Dogs

June 16, 2021 Defender Magazine 374th SFS Comments Off on 374th Security Forces receive new Black Labs Military Working Dogs
Security Forces


YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — The 374th Security Forces Squadron received a 5-year-old and 4-year-old black Labrador retriever from the III Marine Expeditionary Force located at Camp Hansen in Okinawa, May 17.

Staff Sgt. Miguel Guajardo, 374th SFS Military Working Dog handler, with the help of the 459th Airlift Squadron, travelled to Okinawa to pick up MWDs Splash and Allie last month.

“It was a last minute notice and I was told I had to go pick them up,” said Guajardo. “The 459th had a plane for me, a C-12 [Huron]. We flew all day to get them. It was four hours there and another five hours back.”

The dogs came from a deployment program the Marine Corps is downsizing in favor of normal law enforcement MWDs.

“The Marine Corps were originally going to retire these dogs,” Tech. Sgt. Seth Shannon, 374th SFS MWD kennel master, said.

“These dogs are worth $100,000 apiece. Instead of retiring them at such a young age, it made more sense for them to reach out to the other services. When we found out about it, I immediately reached out.”

(*This article includes 5 photos)

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About Defender Magazine 754 Articles
Jose J. Sanchez, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Defender Magazine, is a U.S. Air Force veteran who served in the Presidential Honor Guard, Bolling AFB, Washington DC, the 416th Security Police Squadron, Griffiss AFB, NY, and the 89th Security Forces Squadron, Andrews AFB, MD
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