There was a dog called “Tike Maungg” in the regiment I was positioned in after graduation from my officer training school. Don’t underestimate him just because he was a dog. He has its serial number from military training. He had to go to the front line to help find mines. He was a rather large dog. Now, I want to talk a little bit about “Tike Maungg”.
In the military, there are other dogs which are trained to find mines like Tike Maungg. To attend that training, you need a dog and a soldier for the dog. But you can’t choose any dog. They have their specifications. Because the success rate and capability depend on the dog’s breed and age.
Different breeds have different intelligence, or so I have heard.
Whenever there is such training, regiments received instructions from above. They ordered to send their desired dog breed and age along with a dog and dog handler. Regiments that can afford will find the ordered dog and send it with an appropriate soldier. Those who can’t find an appropriate one will send any available dogs and personnel.
In my case, we sent the recently born dog with the soldier who loved dogs. Our dog’s name was Tike Maungg. He was a cute dog with black and white spots. We didn’t know his breed. Just a regular military dog. At the training camp, they train the handlers to be familiar with their dogs.
They feed the dog well for body development. They prepare meat, eggs, and fish in appropriate proportions according to standards. Though, the dog handlers sometimes take the fried eggs for the dog as a cocktail snack. As the dog and handler become familiar, they train the dogs to follow orders. Only after that do they go to the next step. They train the dogs to do exercises such as running obstacle courses in the mornings and evenings. They have to train for other behaviours and habits such as saluting, sitting, and standing.
They had training fields for obstacle course races. They train well for sniffing, concentration and other necessary activities which are mainly for sniffing out drugs and mines.
Dogs at that training have to get rid of unnecessary habits and learn necessary ones. The ones they have to get rid of are scratching and biting. That’s because those behaviours can set off mines and bombs. There are many habits to learn also. They have to learn to differentiate gunpowder or drug smell from many other smells. They need to learn to follow orders and train for stamina and robustness.
After six months of training, they have to start their duty at related regiments. They have their own serial numbers just like us. They also get rations like us. You could call it dog ration. They also get money for meat. But, it is just on paper. People like the regiment commander and adjutant. Well, they also take money from fellow soldiers. It is easier to take from a dog. Because the dog can’t speak to report it. These are what I know about military dogs.
Well, long story short, our dog Tike Maungg returned after training. He had grown quite well. He had to follow the frontlines to find mines. He was a smart one. We could depend on him. He grew larger returning from training. He could jump over our main fence. He lined up with the others in the morning. He joined the soldiers in swearing oaths. He salutes if ordered. Roll if we told him to.
He carried buckets or lunch boxes for his owner. The whole regiment loved him very much. There were people always surrounding him whenever he came. Once, he was on an operation. That day was ill-fated for him. During the battle, an artillery shell exploded near him.
He was lucky to survive but became deaf. At first, he ran as he was frightened. We couldn’t follow him. But on his way, one of the other battalions recognized him and took care of him. We could only take him after going back.
He wasn’t like before after that. He couldn’t hear us. I feel sad for him. He could only hear sometimes. If you get close to him and tell him to roll, he would roll till you go after him and tell him to stop. He didn’t know if someone was calling him. He couldn’t hear us swearing oath. As he couldn’t hear, he couldn’t do anything. So, people didn’t want to play with him anymore. They forgot about him. As people didn’t feed him anymore, he became weak. As he was deaf, he went outside and got scratched and hit by motorcycles and cars. He was always with injures and limping.
His life ended just like that. This was the life of a minesweeping dog. Many soldiers in the military are just like Tike Maungg right now. If they are useful, the military will say that they are indispensable. But if they get injured, they will be treated just like Tike Maungg, forgotten and shelved. Everything these people had done for the military will be forgotten. People who they thought cared about them will try to get rid of them. They will hear heartless words from their leaders. Their leaders won’t acknowledge their sacrifices.
Our lives are short, just like a splash in the water. We need to spend that time responsibly and effectively. Our values lie in the heart of those who cherish us. Even after sacrificing lives, have you got anything more than empty words like,” Your husband died a hero. You should be proud of him.” Those who didn’t die but become disabled didn’t get any support either. Everybody knows about the discrimination among ranks even after pensioning. Officers who get medical leave can get privileges and opportunities if they are close to high-ranking officers. What do normal soldiers get? Nothing. They didn’t care if you are disabled and useless to them. I am surprised to see those who even after knowing all these, still won’t leave the military. I just wish for them that after being abandoned by the military, they won’t have to end their lives as Tike Maungg.
Yours respectfully,
Htet Myat.