Army

Meet The Real Dogs Of War

One of the Army’s newest reserve units has spent two weeks in Germany for its first annual camp.

101 Military Working Dog Squadron, based in Rutland, was launched only last year.

It is part of 1st Military Working Dog Regiment, the Army’s only unit that sends animals into action.

101 Squadron has recently been practising in Sennelager training area in north Germany.

One of the reservists is Private Kelly Judge, who said:

"I wanted to join the Army when I was younger, but I didn’t... I’ve always wanted to work with dogs, so last year, as soon as I saw that the dog squadron was being formed, I decided just to apply."

The reserve squadron supplements three regular squadrons of 1st Military Working Dog Regiment.

The original aim was to attract enough reservists to fill the squadron by the end of the decade.

Now, after a nationwide recruitment drive, it will be up to strength by the end of the year. Lt Col Stephen Foreman said:

"People do get to do some of the exciting things that they would get to do joining the Reserve for a number of different reasons, but they also get to work with animals, and for a lot of the people that’s the key attraction."