Military Officer - December 2008 - (Page 63) Friendly, patient dogs, of any breed, make the best service dogs. Inmate-trainers develop a sense of purpose. “That was fine,” recalls Rick Hairston, president and CEO of Carolina Canines for Service, “but we started thinking, how can we increase the number of dogs given to veterans on a regular basis? The answer was that we needed a new labor source to train the dogs, and the inmates at a military prison [seemed ideal].” Hairston made several trips to Washington, D.C., to engage members of Congress and eventually met with Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.), who represents Onslow County, where Camp Lejeune is located. Jones liked the idea of using the prison there to train service dogs and offered his support. “We had a couple of meetings with the commanding officer at Camp Lejeune and a few people lower in command, and finally, we met with some of the guys at the brig,” Hairston says. “Everyone thought it was a great idea.” Indeed, the program has proven beneficial to all involved, says CWO John Nolan, USMC, brig executive officer. “This is just one way to make life easier for those returning from Operation Enduring Freedom [and] Operation Iraqi Freedom with a disability,” he explains. “The Wounded Warrior battalion for the East Coast is located here at Camp Lejeune, so it was very easy for our commanders to approve it. I can’t During the training period, service dogs and inmates spend most of their waking hours together. find a downside to the program — it’s a win-win for everyone.” The training program currently involves 11 inmates and two guards. The inmates are divided into pairs, with each pair responsible for one dog. Guards Lance Cpl. Jeffrey St. Jean and Cpl. Jennifer Stacy also help train the dogs and are available to assist in the training should an inmate become unavailable. The dogs live in the squad bay with their trainers, sleep in kennels between the inmates’ beds, and even
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