COB Q-WEST — The ceremony, normally for newly-promoted NCOs, inducted 32 human Soldiers and Airmen along with Rex, who was the highest ranking NCO to be inducted, welcoming them to the "time honored corps."
Military working dogs are given a rank one higher than their handlers, so it's normal to have canine NCOs, but very rare to have one officially inducted into the corps, said Staff Sgt. Cully Parr, Rex's MP dog handler with the 178th MP Det. "It's probably the first time they've ever done this for dogs," he said.
The duo paired up in July after Rex, a 2-year-old, finished the military's dog version of basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Parr said. "He doesn't work without me – I don't work without him. He's like any other Soldier," Parr explained. Rex's primary job, explosives detection, is only awarded to dogs that meet very strict special requirements determined by thorough testing, Parr said.
Parr said that having Rex inducted was good for the other Soldiers' morale and showed that military working dogs are Soldiers, too. "People just light up when they see him," Parr said.
After the ceremony, dozens of Soldiers went to Rex to pet him and have their pictures taken together. Parr cautioned that not all military working dogs are as well socialized as Rex though, and that one should ask the handler before petting one.
All of the NCOs inducted into the corps were presented with a certificate and introduced by name to the audience as they stood, one by one, under crossed sabers. "Being an NCO is more than acquiring skills, passing boards or completing courses ... ," Sgt. Elizabeth Whitehead, 15th STB personnel NCO, said during the ceremony. “ … It's a change in the mentality of how we conduct our day-to-day business."
Although Rex could not take the oath, he barked excitedly after the ceremony. "He's also a Soldier," Parr said.
