By M S Nazki
Hey K-9 you just have to sniff and we will find the target! The girls in uniform who handle the dogs are trained for this! It is a sniff and kill sort of methodology that is adopted! Dogs sniff and the handler kills! The handler could be he or she! In this story we would be talking of dog handlers who are basically ladies from the elite Assam Rifles!
-We usually begin with a story and here is one that would interest the readers!
-Female military working dog handlers honored at Military Women’s Memorial was a story which I read a long time back and thought it worth quoting! The year was 2020!
-The story goes something like this:
-It was a hot and muggy evening at Fort Clayton, Panama, as then-Pfc. Renae Johnson scanned the jungle tree line in an attempt to stop thieves from gaining entry into the installation. It was 1992, and Johnson was a member of the Missouri National Guard’s 205th Military Police Battalion. Determined to protect and serve, she enlisted just a year prior at age 17, which landed her a short deployment to support local law enforcement efforts with the 534th MP Company. A career with the Missouri Guard felt like the right path at the time, or at least that was what Johnson thought until that evening, she said. “That is when I met my first military working dog (MWD) handler coming out of the jungle,” as she crossed paths with then-Staff Sgt. John McKinney and his narcotics detection dog “Solo 503P” out on patrol, she explained.
McKinney was an imposing figure, standing over 6-feet tall with stacked airborne and air assault badges on his uniform, Johnson said. Solo stood idly beside him and appeared just as large and threatening as his handler. He stuck around to answer all of Johnson’s questions and even suggested she move to active-duty to pursue a career as a MWD handler, she said.
Six months later, she finalized her transition paperwork and moved to active-duty. Johnson would then go on to spend the next seven years, to include multiple deployments and assignments, working toward her goal, she said. “I just knew it was something I was meant to do,” she said. “Being an MWD handler is an intense and high-impact job — a way of life.” The monument, titled “The Pledge,” captures a moment of mutual respect and love between a female handler and her Belgian Malinois, said Susan Bahary, its artist.
The monument depicts a dog reaching up to her handler as she kneels beside the dog. It captures a feeling of commitment and support, as both reach out to each other with a desire to accomplish their mission, Bahary added.
Johnson proudly served as a handler before retiring in 2012 as a sergeant first class with a military occupational specialty code of 31BZ6, or a MP officer with a working dog additional skill identifier, she said. The Army transitioned to the new 31K MWD handler career field just two years later. “The job was physically and mentally draining, but none of that mattered if I had my dog beside me,” she said.
As a career handler, Johnson attended the unveiling ceremony with other military handlers. Together, they showed their combined support for their career field and paid respect to the female handlers who helped paved the way, she said.
-Military working dogs are a force multiplier, often used to provide patrol, narcotics, and explosive detection capabilities in garrison or on the battlefield, said Sgt. Maj. Viridiana Lavalle, the Army’s most senior ranking 31K MWD handler. These dogs can do “a plethora of things that no piece of equipment or Soldier can emulate … with their sense of hearing, smell and ability to detect,” said Lavalle, who is the provost sergeant major for the directorate of emergency services at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Handlers often operate as individual augmentees and can deploy at home or abroad with any unit or agency to provide immediate animal support, she said. “Dog handlers must be extremely self-sufficient and independent, regardless if they are an 18- or 19-year-old private first class or a seasoned staff sergeant,” Lavalle added.
These Soldiers need to display a high level of maturity and professionalism to find success, she said. Handlers are considered subject-matter experts the moment they arrive and must be able to articulate the limitations and capabilities of the MWD to their chain of command.
-Building trust with a K-9 counterpart is a critical aspect of the career field, Johnson said, as she recalled one incident with her explosives detection dog named Fido that warned Soldiers of a possible danger.
-While deployed to Iraq, Johnson and another MWD handler joined a quick reaction force to track down an escaped prisoner in a vast junkyard filled with decommissioned Iraqi military equipment and vehicles.
-The junkyard spanned across several acres with multiple entry points, Johnson said. Leaders decided to split the handlers into smaller squads and enter the scrapyard on opposing sides to cover more ground.
-“I am telling my dog, ‘Find the bad guy,’ as he almost pulls my arm out of the socket,” Johnson said. “We are moving through the junkyard when he starts going crazy and immediately sits down.” Thinking Fido was just confused by her command, Johnson encouraged him to get back up and continue the search. He pressed forward a little further before deciding to sit once again. That was when it dawned on her that she recognized her dog’s signal for unexploded ordinances in the area.
-Maybe it’s just a story but let us be practical, females can train dogs and handle them properly better!
Here is another story: Riflewoman Sreelakshmi Pv Becomes Assam Rifles’ First Woman Dog Handler!
-The accolades flowed and all of them were centered around the theme that Riflewoman Sreelakshmi PV makes history as the first woman dog handler in Assam Rifles, breaking gender barriers in India’s oldest paramilitary force.
If you’ve been following current affairs on social media, chances are you’ve come across striking visuals of a woman in uniform training alongside a canine. That woman is Riflewoman Sreelakshmi PV, who has etched her name in history as the first woman dog handler in Assam Rifles.
Contrary to the popular notion of pet companionship, handling a dog in a military setting is an intensive, high-responsibility role. It demands physical endurance, psychological resilience, and specialised training in areas such as obedience drills, explosive detection, and tactical field operations. Not everyone who volunteers is selected, the process involves rigorous evaluation and adherence to strict protocols.
As India’s oldest paramilitary force, Assam Rifles represents a legacy of discipline and service. For Riflewoman Sreelakshmi, this milestone is not only a personal achievement but a symbol of honour and progress for women in the armed forces.
Sreelakshmi’s journey has been anything but ordinary. Selected through a rigorous process that included physical endurance, psychological evaluation, and specialised training, she demonstrated exceptional skill in working with canine units. Her training, conducted under exacting conditions, involved obedience and protection drills, explosive and narcotics detection, tactical deployment, and search-and-rescue operations. Her partner: a Belgian Malinois, one of the world’s most capable breeds for defence work.
What makes Sreelakshmi’s achievement all the more inspiring is the context. Women currently make up just over 4% of Assam Rifles personnel. With goals to increase this to 10% by 2030, her appointment is a bold signal of progress and intent. The viral videos of her in uniform, confidently commanding her canine companion, have struck a chord with viewers across India — especially young women who aspire to join the forces.
The role of dog handlers in security operations is crucial. These K9 units are integral to explosive detection, disaster response, narcotics control, and securing sensitive zones. Sreelakshmi’s induction into this elite group affirms the belief that gender is no barrier to excellence, grit, and service.
She now stands as a role model, encouraging a new generation of women to take their rightful place in India’s defence services, not just in support roles but at the operational front.
Indeed she is special and so are the female dog handlers! In all senses if the US is a pioneer but we are not far behind! Keep reading us as more different things are going to come as the days pass by!
