Synopsis
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) dog handlers from across Allied countries gathered in Lithuania to carry out practical training together as part of exercise Engineer Thunder 23.
The dogs were presented with challenging scenarios to test their sense of sight and smell. A sports stadium in Kaunas was one such location, providing a whole day of training opportunities – with breaks for playtime of course. Military working dogs are an indispensable part of NATO’s forces, playing crucial roles in Allied military police, engineer and special operations units.
Organised and hosted by the Lithuanian Army’s Colonel Juozas Vitkus Engineering Battalion, the multinational exercise Engineer Thunder 23 featured the participation by over 1,000 troops from 11 NATO Allies.
Transcript
---SHOTLIST—
(00:00) MEDIUM SHOT – HUNGARIAN EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL (EOD) DOG SEARCHING STADIUM
(00:04) WIDE SHOT - HUNGARIAN EOD DOG SEARCHING STADIUM
(00:07) MEDIUM SHOT – HUNGARIAN EOD DOG SEARCHING STADIUM
(00:13) CLOSE SHOT – HUNGARIAN EOD DOG SEARCHING STADIUM
(00:16) MEDIUM SHOT – HUNGARIAN EOD DOG FINDING TRAINING ORDNANCE
(00:20) CLOSE UP ON TRAINING ORDNANCE
(00:23) MEDIUM SHOT – HUNGARIAN EOD DOG AND HANDLER
(00:39) VARIOUS SLOW MOTION SHOTS - HUNGARIAN EOD DOG AND HANDLER PLAYING
(01:22) VARIOUS SHOTS – LITHUANIAN EOD DOG AND HANDLER SEARCHING STADIUM
(01:51) CLOSE UP - LITHUANIAN EOD DOG AND HANDLER
(02:14) VARIOUS SLOW MOTION SHOTS - LITHUANIAN EOD DOG AND HANDLER
(02:31) VARIOUS SLOW MOTION SHOTS – BELGIAN EOD DOG AND HANDLER
(02:57) VARIOUS SHOTS – MULTIPLE EOD DOGS AND HANDLERS POSE TOGETHER FOR A PHOTOSHOOT AT KAUNUS STADIUM
(03:35) GO PRO SHOT – LITHUANIAN EOD DOG SEARCHING KAUNAS STADIUM
(03:55) SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH: 1st Private Zovile, Lithuanian Army
‘At the moment, we're in Darius and Girėnas Stadium and we are training for the explosive search. So, we have the dogs and they do most of the work. Of course we need to give them directions, but they use their noses, their senses, and they are supposed to show us where the explosives are.’
‘It's always good to see how other countries communicate with dogs, how other countries are working, how other handlers are working with their dogs. So it's not only that we can do different exercises, come with different ideas, but also get a lot of experience from other handlers who may be working longer or who had some other issues with the dogs and how they solve them.’
(04:40) SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH: Captain Pazstor, Hungarian Army
‘It's very, very important for me. We are a support to the other nations and all nations’ soldiers.
We want to protect life. We want to protect the territory, buildings and so on.
‘This is playing together with the dog and it's very, very important to play together, the handler and the dogs. And after that when he finds the different types of explosives, every dog is very, very happy because after that, he has a chance to play together with the handlers.’
(05:25) SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH: 1st Corporal Francis, Belgian Army
‘The work from a dog is with this nose, and that can’t be achieved in my point of view with the machine. And that's for me the biggest difference between a machine and a dog. And also, like I said before, you have a connection with your dog. And I like more this type of job because you can play with them. With the machine, you can’t play, you do your job, you put it in a box and it's finished but here, you're never finished. You're always busy with your dog. And that's what I like about it.’
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