Army gets Belgian Malinois to Mine Detection Dog fleet

By Darshana Sanjeewa   
The Mine Detection Dog (MDD) fleet of the Humanitarian De-Mining Unit (HDU) had received the 4-year old Belgian Malinois from the US-based Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI) for its mine clearing work, the Army said.   

Born in Bosnia on May 15, 2015, Belgian Malinois named Nam, has been serving in the mine-infested northern Iraq as a member of the MDD team before she was brought down to Sri Lanka with the international MDD trainer, Adis Pelto, multiplying the Army’s MDD fleet to eight dogs.   

Upon completion of basic quarantine procedures, the international MDD trainer in Sri Lanka subjected her to ‘obedience and orientation’ trainings inside the Boo Oya Engineer Brigade Headquarters in the company of an Army Dog Handler before she was declared acclimatized to perform her duties.   

A ceremony to hand over Nam officially to the HDU took place a few days ago at Boo Oya Engineer Brigade Headquarters.   Brigadier A. N. Amarasekera, Commander, Engineer Brigade of the Army received the dog from the MDD trainer, Adis Pelto after exchanging respective documents. Several Senior Officers were also present during the occasion.   

Meanwhile, the Army said a total of 25.61 sq. km land area was yet to be cleared by the Humanitarian De-Mining Unit (HDU) of the Army, according to the Engineer Brigade. “The Army de-miners are currently conducting de-mining work in the general mine-fields of the country,” the Army said.