Page 664 - Total War on PTSD

and off. We spent six months training our K-9 companions and created a bond with them in the process. I was assigned two dogs, both black labs. One was named Beanie, and the other Bruno. After finishing our training Bruno and I returned to the U.S. for our next mission.
In late 2004 I was deployed for my first rotation to Afghanistan with Bruno. We were primarily used to clear unsafe areas in and around Bagram and Kandahar for various expansion projects I am sure they have long since completed by now. Our team was also used in emergency extractions for mined areas. While landing, a C-130 had a tire blow which caused them to pull off the runway into an uncleared area we used to call “Charlie keyhole.” My squad leader and I cleared a safe lane to the door which allowed them to exit the downed aircraft safely. After that extraction I was selected from a small group of handlers that supported a team of Special Forces in the Nangarhar Province.
I was introduced to the other side of war there. I was no longer behind safe high fencing and alarms; I was out on the very furthest reaches of the country with a team of 12 guys and a few support staff they kept on site. We lived in a what appeared to be a castle. We had the circular towers on each corner of our compound, each with some type of crew served weapon ready to be manned if needed. We had soft skin trucks with little to no armor and were told that speed was security.
This was where I started learning a lot more than handling a dog, I was retaught explosive calculations by the Weapons Sergeant. I learned ethernet cable network setup
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