When we last left Sergeant Noah Carpenter he was staring intently at a darkened spot of dirt on the ground. What initially caught his interest was that the dirt wasn’t the same color as the rest.

This is Part V of Chuck and Noah. If you haven’t read Part IV first you may wish to start there or skip back to Part I.

It could be nothing. What sent spikes of fear down his spine was that his Military Working Dog, Chuck the Natural, locked on that spot and refused to move. The Belgian Malinois was an unruly puppy with an incredible nose.The Natural loved to work and find explosives. But could Noah trust him?Noah looked over his shoulder at the hulking Green Beret behind him. This Special Forces A-Team hadn’t worked with a dog team since they’d arrived in … Read More »

This is Part IV of Chuck and Noah. If you haven’t read Part III first you may wish to start there or skip back to Part I.

Sergeant Noah Carpenter leaned up against a dirt-splattered tan Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle and sighed. He wouldn’t be in the relative protection of the MRAP today. No, today it would be he and his military working dog Chuck leading a foot patrol.

He had arrived at the remote camp a couple days before from the sprawling Bagram Airbase via Konduz Airfield. The small camp’s concertina-wired and dirt-berm perimeter was protected by battle hardened Unites States Army Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division.

Noah didn’t worry about the Taliban attacking the perimeter. They would have to get through the paratroopers. What concerned him the most was the 30 Afghan policemen that lived in and … Read More »

This is Part III of Chuck and Noah. If you haven’t read Part I or Part II you may wish to do so first.

When we last left Noah and Chuck they were standing on the Konduz Airfield in Afghanistan: man and dog alone on a remote Afghanistan airfield with about 20 Afghan Army soldiers. The sun had completely disappeared behind the dark brown jagged mountains. Time was running out for the nine-year Army veteran.

Sergeant Noah Carpenter watched a few of the Afghan soldiers looking at him curiously. A bone-thin older gentleman spat a tobacco-stained wad of spit on the dusty tan ground. He wiped the spit dribble that was rolling down his lip onto his tightly cropped beard. He nodded at Noah and stepped towards him. Two other soldiers followed.

“He must be in charge,” thought Noah. He … Read More »

 Note: This is Part II of this series. If you haven’t read Part I you might want to read that post first.

Spectacular brown jagged mountains surrounded the Konduz Airfield in northern Afghanistan, reminiscent of Sergeant Noah Carpenter’s home in Arizona. But Noah couldn’t focus on the spectacular scenery. His focus was squarely on the fact that he was standing on a flight line alone, with his Military Working Dog Chuck faithfully by his side.

“What the hell should I do now?” thought Noah?

He looked down at his two duffle bags, rucksack, ferry kennel and a “tough box” full of Chuck’s gear and supplied and shook his head in disbelief. There was no way he could “hump” all that gear anywhere.

“Crap!” he said under his breath.

The soldiers that had landed with him at the remote camp were already picked … Read More »

“BOOM! You and your dog just blew up, Sergeant. You both would be dead if this was Afghanistan and that was a real improvised explosive device,” declared the military working dog team evaluator.

Army Sergeant Noah Carpenter kicked at the dirt and shook his head in disbelief. He looked over at the 65 pound Belgian Malinois who was still digging at the explosive training aid. The dog had dirt and dust all over his paws and face. His tail was wagging with excitement. Noah looked at the other military working dog handlers who were shaking their heads at the two year old, squarely built dog. His temper flared.

The stress and pressure of certification can be overwhelming for a handler. Noah started to get light-headed as he stared down at the ground. He seethed with rage and embarrassment but … Read More »