On April 6th and 7th, 2018, Travis AFB and the 60th Security Forces Squadron hosted the 5th annual DEFENDERS Military and Police Working Dog Competition.
Friday's events consisted of events that tested the K-9 teams' ability to locate concealed narcotic or explosive training aids. On Saturday the events consisted of four phases that tested the teams in searching for humans, obedience, agility and handler protection. All K-9 teams that participated competed for points, and the events were judged by officials with the Wetern States Police Canine Association. These events also give handlers the opportunity to interact with and learn from other handlers throughout the region.
Angels Camp PD K-9 Kato, and his handler Chief Todd Fordahl brought home several awards from the event. On Friday they won 2nd place in the building search and 3rd place in the vehicle search, and 3rd place overall in the narcotics detection phase of the competition. On Saturday they won 4th place in the protection phase of the patrol competition.
These competitions test and evaluate the K-9 teams abilities, as well as provide a valuable training resource for the teams to work in varied environments and interact with other handlers.
