NOWY DWOR MAZOWIECKI, Poland (AP) — The new privates received their ranks amid military pomp in a town near Warsaw where a Napoleonic fortress attests to a long military history. The group was made up of a German shepherd, a Dutch shepherd and two Belgian Malinois.
The dogs — Einar, Eliot, Enzo and Emi — were bestowed with their ranks Friday as part of a new Polish program aimed at honoring the service of dogs used to detect explosives, a job valued for its role in protecting human life.
Gen. Wiesław Kukuła, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army, decided last year that dogs serving in the Polish army would qualify for six military ranks ranging from private through corporal to sergeant.
The change has been welcomed by their loyal human handlers.
“The rank is meant to honor the hard work of the dog in service,” said Lance Corporal Daniel Kęsicki, who recently completed a five-month training course with Eliot, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois. “To me it’s a symbolic recognition that the dog is serving the homeland.”
The dogs honored Friday belong to the 2nd Mazovian Engineer Regiment, which in 2007 became the first unit of Poland’s armed forces to introduce dogs into service, according to spokesman Capt. Dominik Płaza. He said none have died in action.
During the ceremony the dogs' handlers were one by one handed a badge with their animals' rank which they attached to their dogs' harnesses. The ceremonies take place during other military events, and this one occurred during the commemoration of the regiment's 80th anniversary. The dogs were given their ranks for having completed basic training and having served for more than a year.
The ranks are a largely symbolic recognition “so that we, too, are aware that such a dog is a member of the armed forces,” Płaza said.
"It is not just a tool for detecting explosives, but it is a living being,” he said.
The unit was recently deployed to Paris for the Summer Olympic Games and the Paralympics, where the regiment's soldiers and four of its 16 dogs reinforced French security efforts in scanning facilities for explosives. Everything passed off peacefully.
Polish army dogs have carried out service elsewhere in international missions, including Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the NATO nation's support for U.S.-led efforts.
Poland, a close ally and neighbor of Ukraine, earlier this summer also announced that it was sending 12 trained dogs to support the Ukrainian military in clearing mines.
The soldiers who work with the dogs volunteer for the assignment, and it becomes a commitment that lasts for the rest of the dog's life.
Soldiers who were with their dogs on Friday explained that they select their dogs, train with them, live with them, and care for them even after their four-legged charges become too old to work.
Kęsicki described Eliot as an obedient companion who has become integrated into his family life.
“The dog can already do a lot after the beginning course alone, and we still have a few more years of service ahead of us,” he said.
Płaza, the spokesman, laughed when asked if a dog could ever outrank his handler — or if a soldier might have to salute a dog.
“Soldiers do not salute dogs,” Płaza said. "The handler will always be of a higher rank than his dog. It is simply impossible for a service dog to have a higher rank than his handler.”
Though the master-dog hierarchy is preserved, great love and appreciation are clearly shown to creatures in Poland, where pets are everywhere and some even lay their beloved companions to rest in special pet cemeteries. The Polish government has in recent years also ensured retirement benefits to dogs and horses working in the police, border guard and fire departments.
On Friday, as the sun beat down on a hot square in the middle of town, Gen. Kukuła interrupted the ceremony and ordered the overheated dogs removed — even as human soldiers continued to stand there in their uniforms and boots.
Staff Sergeant Michał Młynarczyk served in Afghanistan with a dog named Elvis starting in 2011. Together they checked vehicles arriving at the base of an international force in Ghazni for explosives. Elvis died in 2018.
Now Młynarczyk is paired with Kobalt, a German shepherd who received his private rank in April.
Private Kobalt goes home with him at night and plays with his children. While he loves the entire family, he never loses sight of who is master.
“All of the work the dog does, is done for me,” Młynarczyk said. "It’s a bond, it’s a friendship.”
Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press
