The heat is on

Image courtesy: Tech. Sgt. Caycee Cook

Thousands of Americans endured 116 degree heat on Thursday afternoon. Yet you likely didn't hear about it on the news, as the almost unfathomable conditions were affecting Baghdad. While Thursday's high is well above the August average, temperatures in Iraq can even climb to 120 degrees and beyond.

Despite intensive military training, extreme temperatures are never easy to deal with. As The Unknown Soldiers noted on Tuesday, Spc. Michael Stansbery was asking friends and relatives for care packages of headbands for his unit before he was tragically killed on Friday by an improvised explosive device. The temperature in Kandahar, Afghanistan, is expected to reach 109 degrees on Sunday.

Sgt. Benjamin R. Kibbey with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs office recently wrote a story about how extreme heat is also affecting the all-important bomb-sniffing dogs in Iraq. The soldier spoke with Sgt. Jared Wall about how he keeps Staff Sgt. Robbie, the dog he is assigned to work with, on brutally hot days like Thursday.

"Their temperature can change dramatically when we’re working," he said. "Once he starts getting to 105, you have to start cooling him down, because if you let him get to 108, his brain starts cookin’. I’ve seen dogs go from 100 to 108 in ten minutes, so it’s definitely something you’ve got to be constantly aware of."

As the story of Sgt. Chris Duke shows, canines are critical for many U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. As this blog relayed back in February, three dogs alerted American forces to a terrorist trying to infiltrate their base in Dand aw Patan, Afghanistan. While five soldiers were injured in the attack, including Sgt. Duke, the volunteer warriors have no doubt they are alive because of warning barks that gave them a few extra moments to prepare.

On Friday, Sgt. Duke was reunited with Rufus and Target, two of the dogs that helped save his life. As WXIA-TV reported, the third dog, Sasha, was killed in the attack. Rufus was badly wounded, but was given medical treatment and eventually adopted by soldiers in Bravo 2-121, a unit of the 48th Brigade of the Georgia Army National Guard.

As someone who hasn't had the honor of serving in the United States military, completing missions in full combat gear in 110-120 degree heat is hard to imagine. Even moments that are supposed to be simple, like getting to sleep at night, must be difficult for many of our men and women enduring these high temperatures. As we fiddle with our air conditioning units at home and slap on sunscreen at the pool, let's take an extra moment to think about what many Americans are enduring half a world away on our behalf.