The Army Quartermaster Corps began the U.S. Armed Forces first war dog training during WWII.  By 1945 they had trained almost 10,000 war dogs for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.   Fifteen War Dog platoons served overseas in World War II. Seven saw service in Europe and eight in the Pacific.  In 1951 the responsibility for training military dogs was given to the Military Police Corps.  Dogs continued to serve the armed forces with distinction in Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm and many recent contingency operations.

K-9 Deployment 1965-1972

Between 1965 and 1972, three Army Sentry Dog Companies, two USMC Sentry Dog Platoons and ten Air Force Security Police Sentry Dog Squadrons patrolled the many United States military compounds and bases through out Vietnam. Most of the sentry dogs were German Shepherds with a smattering of Belgian shepherds. In the early years, the dogs were trained as "attack" dogs and were known to attack almost anything, including their handler. In 1969, the dogs were beginning to be trained as "patrol" dogs, much like the dogs in today's police departments. They were trained not to attack until commanded to do so, or if the handler was in duress.

The Sentry K9 Team, a handler and his dog, patrolled only at night and were assigned to secure a designated area around the base perimeter. They were the first line of defense and were left on their own to hold off any enemy attacks until back up could be called in. They also patrolled supply and ammo depots and aircraft flight lines and runways.

From 1966 to 1971, twenty-one Army Scout Dog Platoons, eleven Army Combat Tracker Platoons, and two Marine Scout Dog Platoons were deployed throughout South Vietnam.

The Army's Scouts and Trackers were centered mostly in I Corps and III Corps. The Marines were exclusively in I Corps, mostly around the DMZ.

The 48th Infantry Platoon, Scout Dog (IPSD) is listed as being located at Chu Lai, in I Corps, but the contingent there was very small. The platoon was actually located at LZ Baldy, north of Chu Lai.

Late in the war, the Army's main goal was to stop the North Vietnamese's southern movement, through III Corps, towards Saigon. That might explain the large contingent of Scout and Tracker teams in that area.

The differences between sentry and scout dogs were such that it was difficult to expect one to be able to do the job of the other. However, both types of dogs were used to do both types of duty...even though they were not trained to do so.