Night Show
Mike's SEAL team platoon consisted of 16 people and 25 thousand Marines. When they got to Baghdad, insurgents attacked Mike's crew launching missiles and shooting rifles. After the ambush was clear, they continued off to Tikrit, coming in from all sides. The place looked deserted, even though they were sure that the insurgents were hiding somewhere. At Saddam Hussein's presidential palace they met limited resistance, but the place was so massive it took ages for them to cover and secure the whole place. By the time they were done, Hussein left the palace and was on the run. They stayed in there for 4 days and various of U.S. Air Force bombers had destroyed weapons and ammunition crates from the enemy. On the roof, Mike's squad could watch a series of bombs being accidentally triggered and would sometimes trigger other explosions. One night, Mike saw three flashes of light followed by three big explosions that were really near to them. Gunfire erupted everywhere and the insurgents were wiped out by a counter artillery unit from the army. Life with the SEALs became normal to Mike in the following weeks, sleeping in tents, fighting against insurgents and occasionally a bit of relaxation. His platoon had to be aware of mines scattered across the ground, which were really hard to see so they were assigned an explosive-detection dog. Mike was impressed and surprised by the canine which alerted the soldiers when explosives were present. The dog also smelled humans and could easily detect them in hiding. Mike Ritland found the way to share his love of dogs and serve his country at the same time. He was going to train dogs for Navy SEAL teams. Years later, he still operated with the SEALs and actually liked it. He loved his team and would enjoy spending time with them. After that, he spent 18 months in a SEAL Qualification Training. He caught Valley Fever which is a fungal infection that causes you to lose your lung capacity. When he recovered he moved on to be a BUD/S instructor and spent 4 years there. In 2004, military activity in Iraq intensified and the SEALs had begun to use specially trained dogs to help the SEAL teams in any way. The use of dogs had evolved over the years and many trainers use several techniques to train them. Mike joined a group to train dogs and saw that they were very tight. He trained dogs who saved the lives of countless men."A few weeks into our operation, we had another valuable 'weapon' at our disposal"(Ritland, 21).
When Mike refers to "weapon" he means that a MWD (Military War Dog) is inbound and ready for deployment. The MWD is a huge advantage in war as it can sniff out bombs, explosives, enemies and warn you of incoming danger. It's funny how he refers an MWD as a weapon instead of a loyal friend. As the story progresses, he changes his view of canines and appreciates them. I think this is a good example of what people view dogs as and what they actually.
"I wanted to train dogs for Navy SEAL teams and other parts of the military"(Ritland, 24).
After seeing what a dog is capable of, Mike was fascinated by what dogs could do to save lives. He immediately knew what he was going to do with his life. I think dogs are brave, even if people don't see it. Saving the lives of countless men and women is a huge deal many people don't notice and dogs don't care that they do. Dogs do this because they feel it's the right thing to do to please their master and I believe that dogs would give their own lives for their master.
Conclusion
Mike is evolving into loving dogs once more and he is committed to helping dogs help people. Mike is a really great guy and he would do anything to help a dog and vice versa. Dogs can be really great companions and are pretty likeable and appealing to anyone. Dogs are also soldiers and can be really brave when facing dangerous situations. Who said that only humans are soldiers?
