With kind permission from 44 MP PL - 2001

History

The first Army Police Dog section was formed in 1977. The purpose of this unit was to maintain a high level of security for the Army Aviation Centre, Oakey, QLD; a role which remains to this day. It was known as the Base Support Squadron Police Dog Unit, and boasted a posted strength of 5 man/dog teams. The members were all volunteers, and came from various Corps/trades.

The unit underwent many changes over the next 13 years, most frequent of these changes seemed to be the name by which the unit was known. Members were still recruited from all Corps, and retained whatever pay level they had previously been allocated. In 1990, however, the unit and its members were finally given a singular identity when they were incorporated into the Royal Australian Corps of Military Police (RACMP). With the raising of the 1st Military Police Battalion on 15 Jan 01, the unit is now known as the 44th Military Police Platoon, Military Working Dogs, 4th Military Police Company.

Incorporation into the RACMP provided for all members to receive the same pay level, and opened both career progression and posting opportunities. The next major change to occur was the introduction of new training doctrine, which saw the phasing out of Police Dog training, and the commencement of Military Working Dog (MWD) training.

Peacetime Role

The current peacetime role of the unit is as follows:

• Provide specialist information to formation/unit Commanders;
• Discipline and morale within the Army Aviation Centre;
• Maintenance of Law and Order;
• Vital Asset Protection / key point security (ie aircraft, airfields, defence installations, etc);
• Prevention of unauthorised removal of classified material;
• Defence Aid to the Civil Community and agencies (ie Olympic Games, Indy 500, etc);
• Defence Force Aid to Civil Power;
• Search and rescue capability;
• VIP protection; and
• Security of visiting forces aircraft.

Proposed wartime Role

The proposed war time role incorporates all of the aforementioned responsibilities, with added responsibilities including the following:

• Early warning at TCP’s;
• Building searches;
• Movement and detention of PW’s;
• Special operations; and
• Support to ADF, eg. infantry assisting with listening posts, clearing patrols and the pursuit of fleeing enemy.

The ADF support roles, in particular, have become a substantial part of training, with the advent of the MWD. Prior to this training regime, Police Dogs were generally very aggressive, and were rarely utilised for tracking exercises however, were mainly used for security, and crowd control. The MWD’s possess a less aggressive temperament and are primarily utilised for tracking purposes. This training technique is called "man-trailing", unlike their predecessors the Police Dog.

Military Working Dog Course

The MWD course is conducted at RAAF Base Amberley, at the RAAF Security and Fire training School. The course is 13 weeks in duration, and covers all aspects of the trade required to maintain team and individual proficiency, including the following:

• dog psychology and Pack theory;
• basic husbandry and physiology;
• basic obedience;
• obstacle negotiation;
• attack work;
• intruder detection;
• man-trailing; and
• building searches.

This course is an extremely comprehensive one, and graduating students will have a firm grounding on which to build an exciting and rewarding career. On return to 44 MP PL, new handlers are teamed with experienced handlers, to ensure their training continues to progress. Military Working Dog teams are assessed on their proficiency every three months, using a proficiency exam promulgated by the RAAF.