Why Dogs Are 'Beloved Comrades' In Afghanistan

Making a practice jump with soldiers of the 10th Special Forces Group over the Gulf of Mexico. Manuel J. Martinez/U.S. Air Force, via Reuters

The Dogs Of War: Beloved Comrades In Afghanistan -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — Marines were on a foot patrol last fall in the Taliban stronghold of Marja, Afghanistan, when they shot and killed a lethal threat: a local dog that made the mistake of attacking the Marines’ Labrador retriever.

Capt. Manuel Zepeda, the commander of Company F, Second Battalion, Sixth Marines, was unapologetic. If the Lab on the patrol had been hurt, the Marines would have lost their best weapon for detecting roadside bombs — and would have called for a medevac helicopter, just as they would for a human. An attack on the Lab was an attack on a fellow warrior.

As Captain Zepeda put it that day, “We consider the dog another Marine.”

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My Comment: When I had my dog .... we all considered him as part of the family. I am sure the marines feel the same way with the dogs that are assigned to their company.