Explosive Detection Dog Program

As the US moved deeper into Afghanistan and Iraq wars in 2003, it was evident that using existing methods for bomb searches of vehicles, buildings, and roads was lacking. After decades of terrorism, the UK had developed the world’s premiere bomb detection dog program, and as an ID on this project I got the opportunity to go to London and observe this program directly. These dogs are “people-friendly” breeds like labs and spaniels that don’t intimidate people like German Shepherds tend to. The dogs work off-leash and can search over seated passengers or run through crowded buildings like a night club without disturbing people. They are trained with positive reward and play.

My role was to observe the UK training tactics, gather existing materials, and take that back to help create a pilot program in the US. After conducting the analysis, defining learning objectives, and getting the program started I slid into a PM role and handed off the ID work to another ID. We teamed with the director of the umbrella program as he worked on the logistics side with the military. While we developed training, the pilot facility was coming together. By the end of the project, dogs, kennels, and training facilities were set up and running, and we plugged in the training to create the pilot program. A version of this program is still in effect today.