MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Students of Matthew C. Perry Elementary School go to school every day just like fellow Marines and sailors who go to work, but sometimes special guests come to teach these children about things they do on a day-to-day basis.
The Marines of the canine unit at the Provost Marshal's Office held a demonstration for the elementary school by showing the capabilities of their military working dogs here May 14.
Students from M. C. Perry Elementary School came out to watch PMO’s demonstration and learn a little something from them.
“The kids really had a fun time and learned a lot,” said Naisha L. Hunter, a first-grade substitute teacher.
PMO Marines tried to tailor each lesson to every age group in order to keep them interested.
Although the demonstration was directed toward the students, it was interesting and even the teachers learned from it, said Hunter.
After the performance, dog handlers opened the floor for questions from the students.
“All of the kids had some great questions and it made learning fun,” said Hunter.
The kids asked questions regarding what tricks the dogs can do both on and off duty, along with what the mission capabilities of these K-9 units are.
The Marines responded by telling the students about various tasks and duties the dogs and handlers need to perform.
“These dogs are able to search for drugs, bombs, and help us to catch and detain suspects,” said Lance Cpl. Pham Q. Nguyen, PMO dog handler.
MCAS Iwakuni primarily uses the German Shepherd and Belgian Malino for a wide variety of tasks.
Nguyen taught students how the military uses different types of dogs for a variety of jobs and missions.
“The military uses beagles for ships because it allows them in tighter areas and lets them search more of the ship,” said Nguyen
The military is known to use German and Dutch Shepherds, and Belgian Malinois for a majority of their police work, but also use an assortment of shepherds, retrievers and beagles.
Although each breed of dog has its unique role in the military, the elementary school students were able to witness the obedience, biting force and drug detection abilities of MCAS Iwakuni’s K-9 force.