Cpl Scott Ihle shows that Bear has well and truly recovered. Photo by Pte Duncan Carter, 1RAR

From Capt Nic Smith in East Timor

With little concern for his own safety, Cpl Scott Ihle, 4 MP Coy, jumped into a torrent of water in East Timor to save his best mate, military working dog Bear.

On a recent patrol along the border region in East Timor, Cpl Ihle, who is a military working dog (MWD) handler and his dog Bear, was helping provide security when Bear was washed downstream in the rugged conditions.

Cpl Ihle’s bond with his dog was evident, as Bear would undoubtedly have drowned without his assistance.

“I didn’t have time to be scared, I just had to get on with the job and was focussed on getting him out of the water,” he said.

“Bear even tried to bite me, as he was so scared of being washed down the river.”
Bear said nothing.

Cpl Ihle is currently serving on his second tour in East Timor but his first as a military working dog handler.

“I was a truck driver last time, so this time, being a dog handler is certainly interesting and definitely harder.

“I have to carry the dog’s food, water and medication on top of my own rations.”

Although, he loves being on deployment, there are things Cpl Ihle misses.

“My two and a half year old daughter and darling wife.”

Five handlers and their MWDs make up a military working dog team from 4 MP Coy, their role is to provide specialist security and patrol support to the other elements of the AUSBATT.

Their tasks include security patrols of villages and marketplaces, listening posts and tracking.

The dogs are capable of identifying human scent that is up to 36 hours-old and can follow it for up to 8km.

The military working dogs have been invaluable for deterring criminal activity in the newly independent country. They have bee part of deployments since Interfet.

Sgt Mark Pearson, the section commander of the team, said they were enjoying their deployment.

“It is good to see the dogs working under real operational conditions,” he said.

“The team, dogs included, are all working very well. The tasks are often difficult, yet this is the job we were trained to do.”.

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