Meet the Army's Brave "Mute Scouts" of South Kashmir

BENGALURU: Activities at border are rising with each day passing. The recent attack at Uri brought the attention of almost every individual of the country. We lost our 19 audacious soldiers in this cowardly attack by terrorists at the mid-night camp. In reply, Indian army operated a surgical strike, as claimed by Army chief Dalbir Singh in a brief meeting to press.

However, Indian army is not all alone in this combat against terrorism. ‘Tractor’ and ‘Sam’ are the two canine soldiers who work hard in counter-insurgency operations. After a long day at work when 'Tractor' and 'Sam' go on foot into their respective camps, they receive a champion’s welcome each day. The camps are located in a remote village of south Kashmir.

Besides alerting troops about suspicious movements, recently, both ‘Tractor’ and ‘Sam’ detected an Improvised Explosive Device(IED) and saved a dreadful mission of terrorists. The respect for these grows day by day as they had played crucial role by being part of the operation carried to catch young Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani . It is the same operation in which killing of Burhan and two others had (on July 8) brought massive disturbances and unrest into the Kashmir.

'Tractor', a Rottweiler, and 'Sam', a German shepherd, are a part of Army's Rashtriya Rifles unit. Their job is to watch and ward on sensitive acute areas of south Kashmir (including Kokernag, Achabal, Magam forests and Pahalgam).

"After the successful operation, these two colleagues of mine also had a sense of relief along with other team mates," says an Army Major referring to 'Tractor' and 'Sam'.

"When nation sleeps, people know that we are awake and when we take a nap, we know that these (dogs) are awake," says an Army officer as he fondly pats 'Sam' and 'Tractor' who had detected an IED on Dailgam-Achabal road.

As critical the tasks are, so is the level of care that they get. Soldiers engage themselves and commit a considerable free time from their schedule to hangout with them. The “mute colleagues" keep a watch when they are asleep in their make-shift tents or when they out on a limb.

The dogs, as we know, also act as "stress-busters" for the troops who like to play with us, says a handler. "’Tractor’s’ nervous system gets activated the moment he hears the word 'Azadi,’" an Army Office added.

Read Also:
IRCTC Gives Kashmir a Facelift through Glass-Top Train Coaches
India, Russia Ink Pact To Set Up 25 Irradiation Centers