Giving program some sure footing
By Lee Anne Hensley (Hilltop Times staff)
When Tech. Sgt. Joseph Throgmorton volunteered for a kennel master job at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, several months ago, he had no idea it would be what he describes as “probably the most complicated and the most stressful job I’ve had in my 13-and-a-half years (of service).”
The kennel master from the 75th Security Forces Squadron Military Working Dog Unit here did not know what his mission would be until he arrived at JBB last January. When Throgmorton arrived there with his dog teams, he quickly learned there were several missions, and the largest of those missions would be to stand up a kennel for the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Group.
“When I got there, I realized we were starting from scratch,” Throgmorton said. “We were the first Air Force dog teams to be assigned to Joint Base Balad.”
The joint forces base had an existing kennel operated by the Army military working dog units and the original plan was to build an extension to that kennel for the 332nd ESFG to operate from.
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I have a lot of respect for these guys. They’ve got a hard job, few resources, and they’re operating in a very hostile environment. It’s soldiers like Tech. Sgt. Throgmorton I’m writing about in War Dogs of Mars.