Introducing Bingo

This handsome fellow deserves a post dedicated to him. Allow me if you will, to now introduce Bingo, my overly rambunctious and eager partner. I have never worked with a dog like him and as a result, I have no comparative equal. Let me say without reservation however, that if Bingo were a human, he would undoubtedly be overly-medicated on Ridlin. He is incredibly adept at finding explosives, but when stillness and passivity are required, he is found lacking. He is the proverbial child who is absolutely certain that if he is not at the center of activity, he will be left out of the festivities and forever forgotten. He is three, going on one. In an otherwise calm, quiet and relaxed environment, he is the ideal companion. One problem…combat is none of these. Prior to making entry into a house, where in his mind we are in the rear of all the “activity”, his impatience and constant jockeying for position had me at wits end. Exiting the amtracks during the operations was no different. I had to be the first to exit the vehicle as Bingo would have either dragged me over everyone else, or injured himself in the attempt. On foot patrols, the only reprieve I found was when he would tire himself out to the point where he was content to simply walk along beside me. To this day, I have not been able to find a solution to his incessant longing to be at the forefront of everything but I trust six months in a combat zone may slow him down a bit. If not... ridlin may do the trick. Regardless of his over-zealous nature, I would not trade him for any other explosive detection device ever created. In this area, his equal cannot be found. He has potentially saved the lives of many Marines here and for that, he will always have a place with us...even if it is at the front of everything!