Tony Park - War Dogs: A modern breed of heroes

One man and his four-legged friends go to war in Afghanistan; a ten-year battle against enemies seen and unseen

In Afghanistan, sometimes all that stands between coalition troops and death or serious injury is a dog. Highly trained dogs and their handlers search for improvised explosive devices or hidden weapons out on patrol with combat troops.

Its a perilous job, often putting them right in the firing line, and making them high priority targets for the Taliban insurgents theyre fighting.

Shane Bryant, a former Australian Army dog handler, spent 10 years in Afghanistan, working with elite American special forces alongside his four-legged buddies, Ricky and Benny, and managing teams of dogs and handlers.

War Dogs is Shane's story a riveting tale of handlers and their dogs in combat, and a brutally honest account of how a decade as a contract warrior took its toll on Shanes personal life and his mental health, and how he found hope again.

.50 cal.50 calibre Browning heavy machine gun. First used by the American Army in World War I and still in use today.

1 CER1 Combat Engineer Regiment.

2407.62-millimetre light machine gun, adopted by the US Army as a replacement for the Vietnam-era M60 machine gun.

A-TeamOfficially Operational Detachment Alpha, a twelve-man US Army Special Forces team.

AC-130 SpectreC-130 Hercules cargo aircraft configured as a gunship, armed with 40-millimetre cannons, six-barrelled 20-millimetre Gatling guns and 105-millimetre howitzer.

AK-47Russian-made Kalashnikov assault rifle, in widespread use with both Taliban and Afghan government security forces.

Alice packThe common name for the US Armys aluminium-framed LC-1 backpack.

ANAAfghan National Army.

ApacheUS Army helicopter gunship, also used by the Dutch in Afghanistan.

B-TeamOfficially Operational Detachment Bravo, US Army Special Forces administrative and headquarters element overseeing a number of A-Teams.

B1 BomberUS Air Force supersonic strategic jet bomber, designed to drop nuclear bombs on Russia, but now in use in Afghanistan.

BBDABack blast danger area, the out-of-bounds area behind an anti-armour weapon while it is being fired.

BisonCanadian armoured troop carrier, a smaller version of the light armoured vehicle.

Black HawkUS Army troop carrying and medevac helicopter.

Brown RingCode name for regular supply run circuit flown by Chinook helicopters to firebases in Uruzgan Province.

C-17US Air Force medium-lift cargo jet.

C-130Four-engine Lockheed Hercules cargo aircraft.

CAICanine Associates International.

CANSOFCanadian Special Operations Forces.

Carl GustafSwedish-made 84-millimetre shoulder-fired anti-armour weapon used by US Special Forces.

CH-47 ChinookTwin-rotor cargo helicopter, first used operationally in the Vietnam War, with variants still in service today.

DooshkaSoviet-made DshK 12.7-millimetre heavy machine gun.

ETTEmbedded training team, coalition military personnel assigned to train and mentor Afghan security forces.

FOBForward operating base, outlying fortified encampment typically used by a Special Forces ODA.

GMVGround mobility vehicle. Also known as a gun truck, a humvee with a turret on its top and open rear load space. A heavy weapon launcher, such as a .50 calibre machine gun or Mark 19/Mark 47 grenade, would be mounted in the turret, and two 240 machine guns (or similar) mounted in the rear.

HajiUS Army slang for an Afghan male, derived from the name given to believers who have made a holy pilgrimage to Mecca.

HescoSteel mesh container lined with hessian and filled with earth, and used as a barricade.

HoochUS Army slang for a dwelling.

HumveeShort for high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle. US military four-wheel-drive.

IEDImprovised explosive device, usually a roadside bomb.

JTACJoint terminal attack controller, US Air Force air-to-ground controller, responsible for coordinating air strikes and air support.

M4Standard US Army Special Forces 5.56-millimetre assault rifle, a shortened version of the M-16 rifle.

Mark 19/Mark 47Automatic belt-fed grenade launcher that fires 378 40-millimetre grenades per second.

MEDCAPMedical Civic Action Program that provides medical care to Afghan civilians.

PKMRussian-made 7.62-millimetre belt-fed light machine gun in common use with insurgent and government forces in Afghanistan.

PsyopsPsychological operations.

PUCPerson under consideration, such as a suspected Taliban or al-Qaeda member targeted for questioning or arrest. (To PUC someone means to capture them.)

RPGRocket-propelled grenade, fired from a Russian-made RPG-7 launcher.

SASAustralias elite Special Air Service Regiment.

SFSpecial Forces

Soldiers fiveAustralian Army term for a short lesson, or briefing, given by one soldier to another.

Space-ASpace Available transport.

TerpStands for interpreter, an English-speaking Afghan interpreter assigned to coalition troops.

TICTroops in contact, under fire or engaged in combat with the enemy.

TurtlebackA humvee with a fully enclosed roof.

VCSIVigilant Canine Services International.

War Dogs was first released in Australia in 2010. This worldwide edition has been expanded and updated.

February 2007

The rain had stopped but it was still so cold up in the mountains, it hurt.

I took out a plastic bag of dog food and fed my dog, Ricky, then looked after my needs with some chunked-and-formed crap from an MREMeal Ready to Eat, or Meal Rejected by Ethiopians. I was in the team sergeants humvee. Before he did his evening walk-around the other vehicles, he told us what was what.

Theyre all around us, the grizzled Green Beret said, almost as though he were relishing this revelation. I got a feeling were going to get hit again tonight, so stay sharp.

I nodded. Two TICstroops in contact, what the Americans called firefightsin one day had been pretty full on, I thought. God knows what the night has in store.

Were getting lots of ICOM chatter. Theyre out there and they might be looking for another fight. The team sergeant added that headlights moving around the hills had been spotted, which was a bad sign, as villagers knew that, due to a curfew, they needed to be indoors by six in the evening. You could assume that anyone driving around at night was doing so for disturbing reasons. Dont worry too much, though. We got Spectre overhead tonight.

It was good to know the AC-130 Spectre gunship was orbiting up there somewhere, unseen and unheard, ready to unleash its awesome fury if needed. The AC-130 was a converted four-engine Hercules transport aircraft, which was loaded with guns and ammo. It had 40-millimetre cannons, six-barrelled 20-millimetre electric Gatling guns and even a 105-millimetre howitzer on board.