Four military working dogs from the 5th Security Forces Squadron trained at Minot Air Force Base on April 21, 2025. Paws on Patrol: Military dogs train for success – Minot Daily News

The session, conducted by three squadron personnel, focused on obstacle-navigation, bite work and obedience drills intended to sharpen the teams’ responses for real-world missions. Military working dogs typically play vital roles in security operations, including patrols and the detection of explosives or narcotics, which are essential for ensuring safety on military installations.

Handlers and trainers moved through a sequence of realistic tasks across the base’s training area. The dogs negotiated tunnels and course elements meant to test balance and endurance, took part in controlled bite-training scenarios and practiced obedience exercises that reinforce command response under pressure. This training is crucial, as military working dogs are conditioned to perform in high-threat environments, distinguishing their regimen from that of civilian service dogs. .

Three of the dogs were identified by name: Manson-Pogo, who looked through a tunnel obstacle during training; Hexo, who navigated the obstacle course and participated in bite training; and Hektor, who bit a toy during obedience drills. The fourth dog was part of the session as well, bringing the total to four animals engaged in the exercises.

Staff Sgt. Sandra Ohta-Jones Harris served as a military working dog handler during the event, and Staff Sgt. Wade Alfson acted as a military working dog trainer for the 5th Security Forces Squadron. Both worked alongside the dogs throughout the drills to reinforce handler–canine teamwork and to maintain the animals’ responsiveness in dynamic scenarios. It’s noteworthy that only about 50% of dogs in U.S. military training programs successfully complete their training to become operationally effective.

Obstacle courses at the training emphasized physical skills: they improve a dog’s strength, coordination, balance and endurance while introducing environmental complexity the animals may encounter during missions. The squadron trains its dogs to support a range of tasks, including drug detection, explosive ordnance detection, and security patrols, roles that require steady focus and rapid, reliable responses in operational settings.

Handlers rehearsed clear command sequences and team movements so that dogs remain effective when operating with people they do not encounter daily. Training sessions like this pair obedience and patrol tasks with detection and bite work to preserve the versatility the unit relies on for base security and law-enforcement support.

Local reporting captured scenes of handlers guiding dogs through exercises and described the unit’s emphasis on realistic, scenario-based practice; that reporting is available from the Minot Daily News. Additional context about the roles military working dogs serve in patrol and detection missions can be found through the Association of the United States Army’s resources on working dog duties, which outline common operational tasks for K-9 teams.

The training on April 21 formed one element of the 5th Security Forces Squadron’s program to keep handlers and dogs proficient across the full suite of tasks they perform on the installation. The unit operates its military working dog program as part of base force protection and law-enforcement operations.