| Submit your comments on this article |
| Afghanistan |
| General: K-9 Teams Find IEDs Better Than $10 Billion Tech Gear |
| 2010-10-21 |
| Recognition for our canine friends The Army general in charge of defeating roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan says the most effective tool is "two men and a dog," even though the military has spent nearly $10 billion on new detection and clearing technologies. Lt. Gen. Michael L. Oates said his task force is surging anti-bomb resources — human and technological — into Afghanistan to support the expanded U.S.-led coalition troop presence there. But he acknowledged that he has more work to do to find ways to measure how effective their efforts are. |
| Posted by:Sherry |
| #11 There used to be "War Dogs", Mastiffs if I remember correctly. You're right. There's engravings showing them clad in studded leather armor. What did war dogs used to do, Redneck Jim? In WWI, the Bouvier des Flandres breed were used to pull carts, relay messages, as rescue dogs in the trenches, and guard dogs. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2010-10-21 23:49 |
| #10 What did war dogs used to do, Redneck Jim? They didn't have IEDs back in the day... |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-10-21 23:11 |
| #9 There usedto be "War Dogs", Mastiffs if I remember correctly. Hmmm, a quick glance though wikipedia reveals Many different dogs mostly specialized for game tracking, War, Guarding and Herding. Danes and Bloodhounds included. Hmmm. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2010-10-21 22:58 |
| #8 Don't the French use pigs to hunt for truffles? It shouldn't be that hard to train the pigs to look for IEDs. And watching all the Muslim's heads explode would be fun to watch. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2010-10-21 20:38 |
| #7 Bomb sniffing kangaroos would work better than dogs. And the PETA crowd going crazy over it would be worth watching. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2010-10-21 19:57 |
| #6 I'd sooner a brigade of giant boar. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2010-10-21 18:56 |
| #5 We know enough about genetic engineering that in just a few years we could produce a brigade of war dogs large enough to ride like a horse. Imagine giving them some anti-bullet armor, then sending them after Taliban. Chomp. Train them to only go after men with beards. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-10-21 18:42 |
| #4 Methinks #3 a contender for snark of the day. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-10-21 17:39 |
| #3 Maybe the surge should of included a couple of thousand well trained Canines. But then again the 'pussies' in the Whitehouse would never go for that |
| Posted by: airandee 2010-10-21 17:33 |
| #2 Hey, we've been at this technology business a few hundred years---evolution been going on for a few hundred million. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-10-21 17:00 |
| #1 .....even though the military has spent nearly $10 billion on new detection and clearing technologies. "Technologies" which have resulted in the deaths of thousands of terrorists and ensurgent bombers and the saving of an untold number of US soldiers, Marines, Afghan civilian and coalition partner lives. It continues to be a multi-promged effort. Placed beside the cost of one nuclear submarine, I'd call it something of a bargain. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-10-21 13:53 |