![]() “The job was physically and mentally draining, but none of that mattered if I had my dog beside me,” she said.Īs a career handler, Johnson attended the unveiling ceremony with other military handlers. The Army transitioned to the new 31K MWD handler career field just two years later. Johnson proudly served as a handler before retiring in 2012 as a sergeant first class with a military occupational specialty code of 31BZ6, or a MP officer with a working dog additional skill identifier, she said. It captures a feeling of commitment and support, as both reach out to each other with a desire to accomplish their mission, Bahary added. The monument depicts a dog reaching up to her handler as she kneels beside the dog. The monument, titled "The Pledge," captures a moment of mutual respect and love between a female handler and her Belgian Malinois, said Susan Bahary, its artist. The memorial honors and tells the stories of women, past and present, who have served the nation. 17, the Military Women’s Memorial unveiled its first monument on the eve of its 23rd anniversary. "Being an MWD handler is an intense and high-impact job - a way of life.” "I just knew it was something I was meant to do," she said. Johnson would then go on to spend the next seven years, to include multiple deployments and assignments, working toward her goal, she said. Six months later, she finalized her transition paperwork and moved to active-duty. He stuck around to answer all of Johnson’s questions and even suggested she move to active-duty to pursue a career as a MWD handler, she said. Solo stood idly beside him and appeared just as large and threatening as his handler. McKinney was an imposing figure, standing over 6-feet tall with stacked airborne and air assault badges on his uniform, Johnson said. John McKinney and his narcotics detection dog "Solo 503P" out on patrol, she explained. "That is when I met my first military working dog (MWD) handler coming out of the jungle," as she crossed paths with then-Staff Sgt. Determined to protect and serve, she enlisted just a year prior at age 17, which landed her a short deployment to support local law enforcement efforts with the 534th MP Company.Ī career with the Missouri Guard felt like the right path at the time, or at least that was what Johnson thought until that evening, she said. It was 1992, and Johnson was a member of the Missouri National Guard's 205th Military Police Battalion. Renae Johnson scanned the jungle tree line in an attempt to stop thieves from gaining entry into the installation. WASHINGTON –- It was a hot and muggy evening at Fort Clayton, Panama, as then-Pfc. ![]() (Photo Credit: Military Women’s Memorial) VIEW ORIGINAL (Photo Credit: Military Women’s Memorial) VIEW ORIGINAL 2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The statue depicts a dog reaching up to his handler as she kneels beside the dog. The Military Women’s Memorial unveiled a new monument, titled "The Pledge," that captures a moment of mutual respect and love between a female handler and her Belgian Malinois in Arlington, Va., Oct. ![]()
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