Agencies from across the U.S. train K-9s at Camp Pendleton to identify explosive threats

CAMP PENDLETON  Arthur, a Belgian malinois shepherd, and his handler, California Highway Patrol Officer Robert Stage, circled 15 large cans, some of which held explosives without detonation devices.

Within seconds, Arthur identified all five cans containing the explosives.

The exercise, a trial run on the first of a three-day national explosive certification held by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Canine Division, was designed to teach canine teams from across the nation the newest strategies to fight the ongoing threat of high-tech terror.

Security experts look to dog teams as a way to get a leg up on the expanding technology of explosives. Dogs’ detection capabilities are the only thing aside from intelligence gathering that can detect a bomb, experts say. Canines are capable of detecting 19,000 explosive formulations, they say.

“In London, in France, terrorism is everywhere, whether it’s domestic or international,” Stage said during the training Tuesday, June 6. “This training is necessary for law enforcement and the general public. Dogs can do a lot of things we can’t.”

Stage, 47, from the  CHP’s Inland  Division in San Bernardino, expertly maneuvered the 2-year-old dog around three more ring drills after that first success. Each time, Arthur scored five out of five — a crowning achievement for a young explosive-sniffing dog that had just completed the CHP’s dog training program in November.

“His very first pass he got the odors right away,” said James James, a lead instructor from the ATF’s National Canine Division who oversaw Arthur’s training. “He was a rock star.”

Arthur was one of 25 law enforcement and military dog canine explosive teams participating in National Odor Recognition Testing, a program held by the ATF at Camp Pendleton for the first time. Among the participating agencies in addition to the Marine Corps were the Los Angeles Police Department, the U.S. Navy, the Federal Protective Service, the California Highway Patrol, the Riverside Police Department and the U.S. Marshal Service.

The focus on canine training in explosives detection followed 9/11. National Odor Recognition Testing was established by Congress in 2007.

This year alone, the ATF has trained 346 teams, James said. Since the program’s inception in September 2005, 2,953 federal, state, local and military canine teams have participated, he said.

The training exposes dog teams to new strains of explosives and the six key components found in bombs. They are also taught to find homemade peroxide-based explosives, something used by Richard Reid, who in 2001 was arrested for attempting to detonate explosives hidden in a shoe on an American Airlines flight.

“It’s important we’re out there making sure that dogs are imprinted with newer explosive combinations as well as being kept up to standards,” said Ginger Colbrun, spokesperson for the ATF. “The number one goal is public safety.”

While each of the agencies represented has its own training protocols, the ATF program sets a common practice for bomb detection, said Cody Monday, lead instructor for the program.

“If the dogs can find odors, they should be able to find the explosive,” he said.

The training is also a place where handlers from different agencies can share ideas and create bonds for upcoming security events.

Monday pointed to this year’s Boston Marathon in April as an example of multiple agencies working together. More than 100 dog teams traveled there two weeks before the race, he said, and worked to clear the area where pedestrians would be and led searches for suspicious items and people.

Arthur was one of two dogs to get certification by the U.S. Department of Justice on the first day of training at Camp Pendleton.

In the afternoon, a chemist from the ATF awaited the dog in a nearby room for the actual certification.

Stage, who served in the Marine Corps from 1991-1995, put Arthur through the paces. The dog instantly identified the explosives hidden in the cans.

As he had in the other drills, Stage removed a plastic chew toy attached near his gun and gave it to Arthur as his reward.

“He was pretty locked on, he’s well-trained,” Stage said. “He’s doing his thing to get his toy and it makes him happy.”

What Stage said pleased him the most, though, was seeing progress in Arthur and his own explosive-training expertise. While finding explosive scents might seem a game for Arthur, Stage, a 12-year CHP veteran said he knows the dangers firsthand.

He calls being a dog handler, the “coolest job at the CHP.”

“The work Art and I do is a great asset to the public,” Stage said. “We work to either detect or deter potential life-threatening incidents from occurring.”