Please Welcome MDD Roky #387

Please welcome retired United States Army Military Working Dog/Mine Detection Dog (MDD) “Roky” (Z278) to the Project K-9 Hero Pack, as our 387th Program Member.

MDD Roky is a 10 year old, male German Shepherd, who honorably served with the U.S. Army's Engineer Canine Company, 94th Engineer Detachment at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The 94th Engineer Detachment, 5th Engineer Battalion, is the only combat engineer unit with mine detection and specialized search dogs. While the origins of the Army MWD Program can be traced back to World War II and again in Vietnam, the current Mine Detection Dog Program has only been around since 2005. The unit was reestablished for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom because of the influx of mines being used in combat.

MDDs proved their importance while deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan. Whether it was finding an IED that was buried six-feet deep, performing casualty extraction missions, leading dismounted patrols and/or route-clearance missions, the MDDs never faulted. Their ability to find buried odor and land mines is something that cannot be duplicated.

In 2019, Roky completed Military Working Dog (MWD) pre- deployment training in Yuma, AZ. This training centers on advanced, high-stress, and realistic scenarios, utilizing the desert terrain and facilities at MCAS Yuma and Yuma Proving Grounds. The 3-week MWD Team Deployment Training Course prepares handlers in detection, patrol, and live-fire exercises.

MDD Roky retired on January 1st, 2024 and was adopted by a retired enlisted Military Police Officer and his family in Virginia, when Roky was unable to be adopted by his original handler, who was a Combat Engineer. After his service, Roky has been diagnosed with an enlarged spleen and hospitalized with a syncopal episode. Roky is also on prescribed medication for a heart condition, allergies, motion sickness, and respiratory infections costing several hundred dollars a month.