OCR Text |
Show HILLTOP TIMES And one in Afghanistan . TIMES August 14, 2008 11 Motorcycle driver licensing rules change T Courtesy photo Staff Sgt. Patrick Meade and his military working dog, Liska, pose while on deployment in Afghanistan. BY LEE ANNE HENSLEY "When Liska and I got there, we searched it in five minutes and we found all the tools that made the lEDs. We could have cut their time in just a fraction if they would have used us initially." Hilltop Times Staff S he's saved my life many times," Staff Sgt. Patrick Meade, a military working dog handler with the 75th Security Forces Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, said about his military working dog, Liska. The 55-pound canine earned three awards from the Army and Air Force for her work in the Afghanistan theater this year, and so did Meade. "She's the one who earned them, though," Meade added. Liska successfully located four caches of ordnance while deployed in Afghanistan with the Easy Company, 101st Airborne Division, from February through June, which earned her and her handler the Air Force Commendation Medal with Valor device, the Army Commendation Medal and an Army Achievement Medal. The four confirmed caches included two weapons caches, a group of eight Chinese rockets which would have been used for an attack on a U.S. military combat outpost, and one improvised explosive devicemaking cell in a barn. Meade's assigned Army Company had searched a barn that was reported to contain a hidden room which was a suspected IED-making cell. After two and a half hours of searching, the soldiers still had not found the hidden room. us military working dog's im^" Jl pbrtant discovery ^ ll "So that's when they requested a search dog," said Meade. "When Liska and I got there, we searched it in five minutes and we found all the tools that made the IEDs. We could have cut their time in just a fraction if they would have used us initially." "Dogs are an amazing fifteento-one multiplier," Meade added. "One dog can do the job of 15 patrol members, and a dog can find a person about 15 meters away. So having a dog in front of a patrol only makes sense." The enemies know this fact as well, and military working dogs are a valued target in gunfire. "They'd actually get $10,000 for taking us out. So we had a whole squad assigned to protect me and Liska," Meade said. Yet the enemy did not know that they were equally a target for Liska as well. As a dual-trained patrol/explosive detecting canine, Liska was trained to both attack and find explosives. "Whenever we did a dismounted patrol, or walking patrol, if the squad wanted her to search a certain area for explosives, then she'd search for explosives," Meade said. "But for the main leg of the patrol, she'd search for anti-Afghani forces." During the interview, a lonely howl pierced through the air in between Meade's sentences. "That's probably Liska," Meade explained. "She can hear me talking in here." Meade now has to separate himself from Liska while she bonds with her new handler. Meade has been upgraded to become a trainer for other dog handlers at Hi,ll AFB, and the promotion comes with the bitter irony that he cannot have a canine assigned to him. With the techniques and experiences he gleaned from this past deployment, Meade will produce a stronger and more relevant training program for Hill's military working dog handlers. Meade and Liska completed their pre-deployment training with the Marine Corp at the Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona, and Meade was impressed with its accuracy and relevancy in battle. With their combined knowledge and experience, Meade and Liska will train Hill's future fighters, both bipedal and quadruped, to be stronger and better prepared. A CHANCE TO BE INVOLVED PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY, Dale Hibbert, Pediatrics Jennifer Brown, Family Leland Pack, Orthodontist Accepts Military Insurance .Latest technology in painless dentistry Free exam for children under 2 yrs Arcade games & more Some are content to watch "~e news. You can make it. From page 9 eryone he suspects. Meanwhile, Pacino is working his tail off. He's running, climbing, reading, interrogating, shooting, hugging, consoling, cajoling every potential suspect with absolute reckless abandon, while a bevy of young beauties are professing their love/hate for their rock-star professor. Everything's riding on the ending, but when the dust settles, the big reveal is even more ridiculous than the buildup. Poor Pacino, longing for the days of "The Godfather" and forced to settle for "the god-awful." It's a crying shame — whoo-ah! Steve Salles con be reached atfil}-ns@stcuidarcLnet. Don't play anymore? Sell it. Call Classifieds at 625-4300. Get DIRECTV'S best offer of the year! ASKHOWYOUCANGET , 4 MONTHS FREE OF DIRECTV'S BEST TV PACKAGE • Over 265 All-Digital Channels • Over 30 premium movie channels • Local channels included RECEIVER PROFESSIONAL - ... INSTALLATION ofuptoai-roomDIRECTV System. ••i>\L TOD :Vi These offers won't Last. Open DIRECTVIEW OF NORTHERN UT Mon through Sat 2112 N. HILLFIELD RD. #1 • LAYTON REVIEW HDDVR right now. 774-0770 he state administrator of motorcycle safety in Utah has issued a mandate reorganizing the way motorcycle licenses are issued in Utah. As of July 8, Utah began using a tiered licensing system for motorcycle endorsements. • If a rider tests on-a 90cc or lower-powered motorcycle or scooter, the license will be restricted to a 90cc or less motorcycle or scooter. • If a rider tests on a 249cc or less motorcycle or scooter, the license will be restricted to a 249cc or less motorcycle or scooter. • If a rider tests on a 649cc or less motorcycle or scooter, the license will be restricted to a 649cc or less motorcycle or scooter. •^ If a rider tests on a motorcycle or scooter larger than 650cc, the rider will be allowed to use any size motorcycle or scooter. i Those who attend a Utah Rider • Education Motorcycle Safety Founda'• tion course, will receive a MSF card i annotated with the size of the motor; cycle they used in the course. When a ; rider takes a course completion card to the Division of Motor Vehicles, the department will issue a license with an endorsement for that size of bike.' , Also, as of July 2008, the Utah law be\ came stricter for riders younger than • 19 years old. If riders ares younger ; than 19 years of age and want to '* drive a scooter or motorcycle, they'll j have to get a two-month learners' permit before they get an endorsement *V on their license. 801-820-5708 835 N Main St. Suite #2 Sunset, UT 84015 Authorized DIRECTV Dwlor 800-AFR-8279 • AFReserue.com/prior Ire BfSOV si tie CiCb* Brag* bgo at K DIRECTV. |