9th Security Forces Military Working Dog training with local Sheriff K9

Sacramento County Sheriff's Office EOD Dogs Train at Beale AFB's Dragon Town

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — Odor can seep and settle. Molecules of scent can make their way through stairwells and from the second story to the first. “He picked it up all the way from here—he was pulling like crazy,” said Sheriff’s Deputy Julian Gaytan. He and his dog Hugo just finished clearing one of the shipping container buildings which make up Beale’s Dragon Town.

Dragon Town is a training village. It is most often used by the 9th Security Forces Squadron (SFS) to practice clearing buildings. Today, it was the used by six dog teams of the Explosive Detection K9 unit from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office– Airport Bureau. Two more teams from Beale’s own 9th SFS Military Working Dog section cross-trained with the Sherriff’s Office teams.

For the airport teams, coming out to Beale was not just a change of scenery, but a change of smell. “Every area has its own unique odor,” said Sgt. Givens, the Airport K9 unit’s supervisor. While they train regularly at the airport, it was useful to, “get the dogs and their handlers in a new environment.”

U.S. Air Force “We Own the Sky” T-Shirt

With the help of Beale’s 9th Civil Engineer Squadron (CES) Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team, the dogs also trained with larger masses of explosives than usual. Ordinarily, both military and police explosives detection K9s work with less than a pound of explosives. With the help of the EOD team, both the SFS and the Airport dog teams were able to train with much higher threshold odors.

In combination, these high threshold odors and new environments can challenge both handlers and their dogs. “They’re not used to this much […] It’s good to work through it,” said Deputy Tim Petty after clearing another one of the mock buildings with his dog, Fado.

Training in varied scenarios helps the airport K9 unit hone their skills to work both at the airport and in the local community. The airport bureau teams respond to mutual aid requests and have swept grocery stores, schools and other areas.

The collaboration of these three teams, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office—Airport Bureau Explosive Detection K9, 9th SFS Military Working Dog section and the 9th CES EOD, helped challenge the dogs’ noses. The result? Good training for dogs and handlers wishing to experience a wide range of scenarios in a field that is constantly evolving.