German Malinois ... Army Seal ... Thx Dr. H!

NAVY SEAL DOGS ! ! !

    How cool is this...

When U.S. President Barack Obama went to Fort Campbell , Kentucky ,

for a highly publicized, but very private meeting with the commando

team that killed Osama bin Laden, only one of the 81 members of the

super-secret SEAL DevGru unit was identified by name:

Cairo , the war dog.

Cairo, like most canine members of the elite U.S. Navy SEALs, is a

Belgian Malinois. The Malinois breed is similar to German shepherds

but smaller and more compact, with an adult male weighing in the

30-kilo range.

German shepherds are still used as war dogs by the American military

but the lighter, stubbier Malinois is considered better for the tandem

parachute jumping and rappelling operations often undertaken by

SEAL teams. Labrador retrievers are also favored by various military

organizations around the world.

Like their human counterparts, the dog SEALs are highly trained, highly

skilled, highly motivated special ops experts, able to perform

extraordinary military missions by

Sea, Air and Land (thus the acronym SEAL). The dogs carry out a wide range of

specialized duties for the military

teams to which they are attached: With a sense of smell 40 times greater

than a human's, the dogs are trained to detect and identify both explosive

material and hostile or hiding humans.

The dogs are twice as fast as a fit human, so anyone trying to escape is

not likely to outrun Cairo or his buddies.

The dogs, equipped with video cameras, also enter certain danger zones

first, allowing their handlers to see what's ahead before humans follow. As I

mentioned before, SEAL dogs are even trained parachutists,

jumping either in tandem with their handlers or solo, if the jump is into

water. Last year canine parachute instructor Mike Forsythe and his dog

Cara set the world record for highest man-dog parachute deployment,

jumping from more than 30,100 feet up - the altitude transoceanic

passenger jets fly at. Both Forsythe and Cara were wearing oxygen

masks and skin protectors for the jump.

Here's a photo from that jump, taken by Andy Anderson for K9 Storm Inc.

(more about those folks shortly).

As well, the dogs are faithful, fearless and ferocious ³incredibly

frightening" and efficient attackers.

When the SEAL DevGru team (usually known by its old designation,

Team 6) hit bin Laden's Pakistan compound on May 2, Cairo 's feet would

have been four of the first on the ground.

And like the human SEALs, Cairo was wearing super-strong, flexible body

Armor and outfitted with high-tech equipment that included "doggles" -

specially designed and fitted dog goggles with night-vision and infrared

capability that would even allow Cairo to see human heat forms through

concrete walls.

Now where on earth would anyone get that kind of incredibly niche

hi-tech doggie gear?

From Winnipeg , of all places. (*NOTE: Not Made in China )

Jim and Gloria Slater's Manitoba hi-tech mom-and-pop business,

K9 Storm Inc., has a deserved worldwide reputation for designing and

manufacturing probably the best body Armor available for police and

military dogs. Working dogs in 15 countries around the world are

currently protected by their K9 Storm body Armor.

May God bless our military and their DOGS!