CHAPTER 1 

 GENERAL 



1 . Purpose 



This manual is a guide for Army personnel 

 charged with the training and employment of 

 mine and tunnel dog teams. When combined with 

 other applicable manuals and programs of in- 

 structions, this manual forms the basis for con- 

 duct of a formal program for the training of 

 mine and tunnel dogs and handlers. Addition- 

 ally, this manual provides guidance for com- 

 manders and staff officers in the capability, limi- 

 tations, and tactical employment of mine and 

 tunnel dog elements in infantry operations. 



2. Scope 



This manual covers the general and specialized 

 aspects of the training and employment of mine 

 and tunnel dogs and handlers. 



Note. FM 20-20, Basic Care and Training of Military 

 Dogs, is a prerequisite to this manual relative to dog 

 training. 



3. Mine and Tunnel Dog Team 



The mine and tunnel dog team consists of one 

 trained German Shepherd mine and tunnel dog 

 and one school-trained handler. Most of the in- 

 formation in this manual deals with the training 

 and employment of this element. Mine and tun- 

 nel dog teams can be grouped with administra- 

 tive, technical, and command and control person- 

 nel to form squads of composite tactical dog pla- 

 toons. A detailed discussion is contained in 

 chapter 7. 



4. Mission 



The mission of the mine and tunnel dog team is 

 to support infantry and combat engineer opera- 

 tions by detecting casualty-producing devices 

 and other enemy equipment and/or demolitions. 



5. Capabilities 



The mine and tunnel dog's training and superior 

 sense of smell enables it to detect a wide variety 

 of foreign devices and equipment. When com- 



bined with the handler's ability to interpret his 

 dog's responses and judge their significance, the 

 man-dog team can provide the commander 

 with — 



a. Positive detection of recently emplaced 

 mines of all types. 



b. Positive detection of boobytraps and trip- 

 wires. 



c. Positive detection of tunnels and caches. 



d. Warning of minefields or boobytrapped 

 areas, and their boundaries. 



e. Detection of mines missed by other mine 

 detectors, and/or confirmation of their finds. 



6. Evolution of the Concept 



a. The mine and tunnel dog is a relatively re- 

 cent development of the military use of dogs. In 

 the summer of 1943 the Quartermaster Corps 

 Remount Branch began experimenting with war 

 dogs as mine detectors. This resulted in the ac- 

 tivation of the 238th Engineer Mine Detection 

 Company (Dog) on 17 December 1943. Shortly 

 thereafter the 36th Quartermaster War Dog Pla- 

 toon was activated. In the early fall of 1944 the 

 238th deployed to North Africa and the 36th de- 

 ployed to the Mediterranean Theater. Due to a 

 lack of knowledge of animal behavior, training 

 and employment techniques, the concept failed 

 to work in combat. Both units were deactivated 

 in October 1944 and the program was abandoned. 

 Parallel efforts by the British and Germans met 

 with similar lack of success. 



b. Major usage of casualty-producing devices 

 in Southeast Asia prompted a renewal of interest 

 in the mine dog concept. In May 1967 the Chief 

 of Research and Development asked the US 

 Army Limited War Laboratory (USALWL) to de- 

 termine the feasibility of the concept. By devel- 

 oping new training techniques, USALWL dem- 

 onstrated feasibility of the concept in July 1968. 

 The 60th Infantry Platoon (Scout Dog) (Mine 

 and Tunnel Detector Dog) was activated in 



