MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, Calif. -- The capabilities of the Marine Corps Police Department Working Dog Unit were on display here during a working dog demonstration at Sorensen Field April 8.
On hand for the event were 22 eager members of Boy Scout Troop 224 from Lafayette, Calif., who were finishing a weeklong road tour and had previous experience at MCLB Barstow.
“We’ve camped out here overnight before about 5 years ago,” recalled Bill Lew, a 62 year-old Scoutmaster with Troop 224. “We slept on your grass and heard helicopters land and everything.”
Conducting the training exhibition was MCPD Lt. Robert Ortiz, the Working Dog Unit supervisor and Cpl. Nadeem Seirafi, a working dog handler within the section.
During the presentation military working dog “Tina,” a 2-year-old German shepherd, was run through a number of drills that demonstrated her obedience, discipline and ability to attack in an aggressive manner when commanded to.
Wearing protective elbow sleeves and torso padding thick enough to prevent damage from a dog bite, Seirafi played the role of a suspect in both compliant and noncompliant scenarios, allowing Tina to show off her training, impressing the Scouts in the process.
“I’ve always been interested in dogs,” 15-year-old Adrian Shestakov said, “and the demonstration we saw today was pretty sick. It was awesome and I would love to see more in the future.”
“My favorite part was the very beginning when the dog chased down (Seirafi),” 16-year-old Nick Furman said. “It’s amazing how fast the dogs can catch up to their targets and attack.”
According to Ortiz and Seirafi, providing the demonstration for the Scouts gave them great satisfaction because of their previous affiliation with the more than a century-old group.
“The great thing about today’s demonstration is that I was a Boy Scout for a couple of years when I was growing up,” said Ortiz, a Tucson, Ariz., native, “and I was able to let them see things from a different perspective that they wouldn’t get in the civilian world. We showed them that you can train an animal to do many different things, such as protect the handler, property, or neutralize a non-compliant person, all within a team concept.”
“The Boy Scouts are an excellent organization,” added Seirafi, a native of Palm Springs, Calif. “As a former scout myself, it’s great to work and put on a demonstration for the younger generation. I think there will be a few of them who will be interested in pursuing a career as a canine handler because of what they saw here today.”
The leaders of Troop 224 were so impressed by what they witnessed that they will continue to have an ongoing connection with MCLB Barstow and other Marine Corps installations in the future.
“It would be great if we could form a lasting relationship with (MCLB Barstow) in the future, Lew said. “Our troop has had two Eagle Scouts who are now serving as Marines.”
“My nephew is a Marine who serves at Twentynine Palms,” Scoutmaster Ed Glantz added. “We would definitely like to visit that Marine Corps base as well.”