A perfect pair

Photo by Marny Malin-Staff Sgt. Ralph Futrell instructs his dog, Jofa, to inspect a car's exterior during a training exercise. The dogs are trained to detect base odors of explosives and to assist the military police in apprehensions.

"Max is my boy."

Leaning back with his arms behind his head and a proud gleam in his eyes, Sgt. Kyle Harris beamed as he talked about his 5-year old Belgian Malinois.

Members of Fort Belvoir's 212th Military Police Detachment, the pair have been partners since 2005.

"We put so many hours in with our dogs," he said. "We train seven days a week."

With other members of the Military District of Washington Canine Program and National Security Agency dog handlers, Harris and Max recently participated in the MDW Iron Dog Competition at Fort Meade, where Max was named hardest-hitting dog in the competition.

"He's a freight train," Harris said. "I put a lot of energy and time into that dog."

The duo has provided security and protection at events and for people at the highest level of the federal government, including First Lady Laura Bush.

Tarak and Spc. Joshua Smith have been partners for about a year. The five-year old German shepherd sat quietly by Harris' side during Tuesday's Community Update Breakfast at the Officers Club.

"We've been certified together for a year now," said Smith. "He's a narcotics dog, that's his mission."

While many attendees wanted to pet and interact with Tarak, Harris said that is not possible, due to the dog's training.

"Our dogs are trained to attack," he explained. "If you stare at him for a while, that makes him mad and he gets aggressive. If you walk away fast, he'll get mad at you ... That's not your puppy dog that you're taking home."

Harris said the dogs are purposely not socialized.

"They don't have any contact with any dog," he said.

All of the MDW dogs are part of the Department of Defense Military Working Dog Program and are trained at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. Each is certified as a patrol dog with an additional skill of detecting drugs or explosives. Patrol work, training and re-certifications take
place year-round.

A member of 212th's canine corps is on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week.