Keesler Air Force Base honors K9 Veterans Day

March 13 is Veterans Day for a specific species of animal that has a special role to play in the armed forces.

Keesler Air Force Base hosted a ruck march in honor of K9 Veterans Day.

A group from the Naval Construction Battalion Center also brought their K9 unit over for the fun.

The event honored past and present military working dogs in the Department of Defense.

Handlers also followed the march with demonstrations displaying commands, signals, and attacks.

Staff Sergeant Ryan Wood talked about the bond she shares with her K9 Victor.

“So military working dogs have been used dating back to the creation of the Army Canine Corps in 1942. And we’ve used them through World War Two through Vietnam, and so on,” said SSGT Wood. “And they’ve provided us with a lot of capabilities that humans just cannot provide. And he’s taught me so so much over these last three years and just getting to see him grow as a dog and seeing growth within myself. It’s something that I just couldn’t trade.”

There are three types of military working dogs: working in apprehension, explosive, and narcotic detection.