U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Brandon Mann, a dog handler with Alpha Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, and native of Arlington, Texas, sights in with his infantry automatic rifle while providing security with Ty, an improvised explosive device detection dog, during a patrol, Feb. 16, 2012. DoD photo by Cpl. Alfred V. Lopez A dog rides in a U.S. soldier's backpack at Combat Outpost Jeleran, Afghanistan, Nov. 20, 2009. The dog, named Cookie, is the unofficial mascot of 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment. DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Francisco V. Govea II, U.S. Air Force U.S. Army soldiers being mustered out at Camp Dix, N.J., 1918. It isn't mentioned who got to keep the dog that came along for the ride. National Archives photo U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Steve Hanks, a military working dog handler with the 55th Security Forces Squadron, hoists Ada into the air after she clamped down on a bite sleeve as part of a working dog demonstration Oct. 20, 2010, at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. The demonstration was part of a base tour for high school and college students ready to enlist in the Air Force. U.S. Air Force photo by Josh Plueger Brady Rusk, 12, gets a somber kiss from Eli, the bomb-sniffing Labrador retriever that was assigned to Brady's older brother, Marine Pfc. Colton Rusk. Rusk was killed in action in Afghanistan by Taliban sniper fire Dec. 5, 2010. The Department of Defense granted the Rusk's permission to adopt Eli and allow him to join their family. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III Staff Sgt. Michael Stevens, a military working dog handler with Combined Team Zabul, Afghanistan, runs his military working/patrol explosive detection dog Karo through an explosive device detection training session at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Lagman. Combined Team Zabul is made up of dogs and dog handlers from the Air Force, Army, and Navy who help support the various units at FOB Lagman during patrols and other missions. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz Pluto the dog, mascot of HMS Cossack during World War II, stands on the lap of one of the ship's company as a group of them pose during torpedo and anti-submarine exercises. © Crown copyright. IWM U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Evan Frickey, a 21-year-old improvised explosive device detection dog handler with 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and native of Idaho Falls, Idaho, plays with Cookie, an improvised explosive device detection dog, while providing security on the perimeter of the Safar School compound in Garmsir district, Afghanistan, March 18, 2012. DoD photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder U.S. Army Spc. David Walls, of Warren, Mich., mine detection dog handler, 49th Engineer Detachment, oversees Sgt. Homer, a mine detection dog, as he performs a mine-proofing sweep at the Russian Grain Silo Combat Outpost, Kandahar, Afghanistan. Walls and Homer were deployed to Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan. ISAF photo by Tech. Sgt. Samuel Padilla U.S. Army Spc. Leo Leroy gets a kiss from Regina Leroy and a bow-wow welcome from dogs Yoshi and Bruiser at a homecoming ceremony on Fort Hood, Texas, Nov. 28, 2009. Leroy, assigned to E Forward Support Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, returned after a year in Qayarrah in northern Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Sharla Lewis Then-Lt. George Custer with his dog during the Peninsula Campaign, 1862. Throughout history dogs have provided companionship and comfort in the midst of war. Library of Congress photo Petty Officer 1st Class Mike Boyle and Dusty, an explosives detection team from Marine Safety and Security Team Los Angeles, are hoisted in a basket from an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter during vertical insertion training in San Diego Bay Sept. 24, 2008. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Henry G. Dunphy U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Michael Hall, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, takes a minute to pet a puppy while clearing the Owja Desert of Iraq, Oct. 10, 2008. DoD photo A U.S. Marine with the 7th War Dog Platoon, 25th Marine Regiment, takes a nap while Butch, his war dog, stands guard, Iwo Jima, February 1945. DoD photo A military working dog wears Doggles to protect his eyes as a Chinook helicopter takes off, kicking up dust and debris, during an air assault operation by U.S. soldiers assigned to Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron, 172nd Cavalry Regiment, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Parwan province, Afghanistan, May 11, 2010. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jason Brace Master-at-Arms Seaman Sharon Berg, a K-9 handler with the military working dog unit at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., runs her K-9 partner, KKowalski, through an obstacle course at the base kennel. Berg runs the course with KKowalski multiple times a day to promote endurance and motor skills. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Damian Berg Along with the many millions who mourned the passing of Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., was his dog Willie, the late general's pet bull terrier. National Archives photo Lance Cpls. Matthew Scofield (left), 19, from Syracuse, N.Y., and Jarrett Hatley, 21, from Millingport, N.C., a squad automatic weapon gunner and an improvised explosive device detection dog handler with 3rd Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, rest next to Hatley's dog, Blue, after clearing compounds with Afghan National Army soldiers during Operation Tageer Shamal (Shifting Winds) in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Jan. 4, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder Marine Raiders and their dogs, which were used for scouting and running messages, starting off for the jungle front lines on Bougainville in 1943. U.S. Marine Corps photo Lance Cpl. William Sullivan, a dog handler with the mobile section of 81 mm Mortars Platoon, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, provides security with his dog, Coal, during a patrol in Marjah, Helmand province, Afghanistan, March 31, 2010. U.S. Marine Corps photo Staff Sgt. Shaun Crouse, Multi-National Task Force-East K-9 unit, and his dog, Johnson, take flight as they participate in medical evacuation hoist training at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Ty Stafford In 1942, the U.S. Coast Guard recognized that the use of dogs, with their keen sense of smell and their ability to be trained for guard duty, would help enhance their beach patrols. The Coast Guard eventually received about 2,000 dogs for patrol duties. The dogs and their trainers were schooled at Elkin Park Training Station, Pa. Others trained at Hilton Head, S.C. The first dog patrols began at Brigantine Park, N.J., in August 1942. The dogs were so successful that within a year, the animals and their handlers were on duty in all the districts. U.S. Coast Guard photo Fanta, a 51st Fighter Wing military working dog, barks at a "bad guy" at Osan Air Base, South Korea, June 20, 2011. Military working dogs work closely with their handlers and perform duties that range from drug and explosive detection to patrol. DoD photo by Senior Airman Evelyn Chavez Mike, the mascot of the U.S. Marine Corps recruits in training at the recruit depot on Parris Island, S.C., stands guard under stacked arms as the 'Boots' (background) march off to another class. Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections photo A U.S. soldier with the 10th Special Forces Group and his military working dog jump off the ramp of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment during water training over the Gulf of Mexico March 1, 2011, as part of exercise Emerald Warrior 2011. DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Manuel J. Martinez, U.S. Air Force U.S. Army working dog Karlo, enjoys some rays after completing a full day's work with his handler in Kirkuk, Iraq, March 20, 2008. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet