Story by Sgt. Christopher Gaylord 

FORT IRWIN, Calif. – Her tail wagging uncontrollably as passersby brush their hands across her fur, Coba, a 3-year-old chocolate lab, often stands for a lot of things.

She’s the dog troops leave at home before deploying; the one they grew up with. She’s a fond memory, a beacon of happiness – temporarily, if nothing else – in a place far from home.

“I just have to ask. Can I pet her?” a soldier asked Coba’s trainer, who brought Coba to the National Training Center, where soldiers with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division are making final preparations for a fall deployment to Afghanistan, to demonstrate her capabilities as a bomb-sniffing dog.

“I miss my dog,” the soldier said, kneeling down to stroke Coba’s coat of thick, brown fur, his gentler side clearly getting … Read More »

 Pfc. Steven Olson, a dog handler with 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, and his dog, Alex, take a moment to enjoy an abundance of tennis balls. The Tactical Explosive Detection Dogs are calm and collected until they see a tennis ball. The balls, nearly 3,000 of them, were donated to the TEDDs team by a Family member taking donations. (Photo by Capt. Allie Scott/4th BCT, 82nd Abn. Div. PAO) 

The 4th BCT, 82d Airborne Division TEDDs team handlers and dogs stand outisde their kennels 29 April 2012. They were waiting for the presentation of 3,000 donated tennis balls to their team. (Photos by Capt Allie Scott/4th BCT, 82nd Abn. Div. PAO)

Pfc Steven Olson prepares his Tactical Explosive Detection Dog “Alex” for mission. Alex is specially trained to detect explosive material which in turns … Read More »