Sailors and Marines under stress sometimes need a loving look and a helping hand to feel better. Enter Ike, a three-year-old yellow Labrador Retriever therapy dog. Honorary U.S. Navy Lieutenant Cmdr. Ike deployed on May 24, 2023 to USS Wasp as part of an experiment to improve the well-being of U.S. Navy crews while deployed.
Ike is in the US Navy Expanded operational stress control canine pilot program, which collects quantitative and qualitative data on how a therapy dog on board a ship can positively impact the emotional and mental challenges crews may face on a daily basis.
Ike joins Wise, a three-year-old female Yellow Lab, who was the first therapy dog aboard a Navy ship as part of the pilot program. It was deployed with the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier on May 2, 2023 and works with chaplains, resiliency providers and mental health professionals in formal and daily activities onboard. Chaplain Geneviève Clark is Sage’s primary manager.
Sage, the therapy support of the USS Gerald R. Ford, takes a nap before a flight back to the first aircraft carrier of his class, following his tour of the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60), June 20, 2023 Normandy is part of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and is on a planned deployment to the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations in the Mediterranean Sea, deployed by the U.S. 6th Fleet in defense of U.S. interests , allies and partners. (US Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Malachi Lakey)Ike’s appointment memo describes his assignment aboard the amphibious assault ship: “Lt. Cmdr. Ike will be present for daily operations and provide trained support and comfort services…as a trained and certified establishment dog, he will provide therapy and stress relief to all USS Wasp Sailors and Marines with the greatest commitment. Additionally, it will contribute to maintaining and increasing the morale and well-being of all units on the USS Wasp.
“A dog’s greatest superpower is its ability to engage and establish an immediate relationship without judgment with an unfamiliar human,” said Lt. Col. Todd French, U.S. Army. Army Veterinary Corps Advisor to the Ministry of Defense on the human-animal bond and deputy commander of the Fort Cavazos Hood Public Health Activity at Fort Hood, Texas. “This is especially true for dogs like Sage and Ike, who have been specially trained to recognize, approach and comfort humans showing signs of stress. That’s what makes them so special.
“The only difference between Ike and Sage and service dogs for military and veterans” is that these dogs are trained to provide psychological and emotional benefits to an entire group rather than a single individual,” said French.
“This opens the door for psychiatrists/psychologists, chaplains, licensed social workers, or professionals working in behavioral or occupational health fields to consider implementing a program.” »
“In short, therapy service dogs are just facility dogs who go on adventures.”
Sailors’ reactions to Ike
Ike’s approachability clearly makes him a “stress reducer for the crew” and a “common denominator,” said Melanie Hennis, deployed resilience advisor and Ike’s chief caretaker.
His log of interactions with Ike from June 2023 includes these observations: “A sailor was having a rough day and said he had been very frustrated with his workstation. He said he needed Ike’s comfort because Ike didn’t need him to do anything or be a certain way. Ike didn’t judge him, and that helped the sailor have a better day.
As Ike makes his rounds, leads the queue, visits work parties or plays fetch, “you can see the Sailors’ stress levels diminish through their body language and…words of affection for Ike . They leave the interaction in a more positive state of mind,” Hennis recounted.
Preparing for a dog installation at sea
US Navy Captain. Chris Purcell, executive director of USS Wasp, has begun working with the service dog nonprofit Mutts with a Mission to establish a facility dog program in fall 2022.
The ship was coming out of two years in dry dock, “which is arguably the most mentally challenging time for Navy sailors,” Purcell said.
In November 2022, the association was invited on board for a “fun activity” for the crew; Purcell recounted. “However, it was during their first visit that I realized the impact that dogs, especially these trained establishment dogs, could have on the morale and mental health of our sailors. I was surprised to see the effect that just petting and playing with the dogs in the hangar had on our Sailors,” Purcell said.
“Some even had tears streaming down their faces,” says Purcell. “In talking to these sailors, they told me how much less stressed they felt after spending a short time with the dogs and how ready they were to return to work. They were like, “This is just what I needed today.” »
After that experience, Purcell and Hennis worked quickly to get a dedicated therapy support dog on board. Purcell worked on “the logistics, legalities, and approvals needed to bring an installation dog on board so we can work with our Sailors, whether we are docked in Norfolk (Wasp’s home port) or deployed in the whole world “.
In January 2023, the nonprofit selected Ike for Wasp’s proposed program. In February 2023, Wasp identified volunteers to act as the facility’s handlers, who received training “focused on caring for Ike’s physical and emotional well-being, as well as how to continue its specific training in assistance tasks to maintain the dog’s Assistance Dogs International certification. Purcell explained.
In March and April 2023, Ike’s handlers introduced him to navigating ladder pits and getting used to the noise and activity of the vessel. He has a full set of protective equipment to ensure his safety, including goggles, hearing protection, life jacket and booties.
By late April, Ike was on board daily, interacting with Sailors in one-on-one counseling sessions and on the Wasp’s common area deck plates. Wasp obtained permission to have Ike on board full-time in May before embarking on New York Fleet Week, and the dog flew to New York to meet the ship at the dock.
Therapy dogs and the Navy’s overall focus on mental health
Having therapy dogs assigned full-time to these ships is part of a larger Navy effort detailed in its Mental Health Handbook from February 28, 2023.
The playbook states: “To prepare our teams for combat, we must ensure that each team member, mind, body, and spirit, is ready to fight and support those who advance. It is for this reason that it is essential to ensure the health, particularly the mental health, of our military personnel… At the Navy level, we must familiarize ourselves with the idea of preventative maintenance for our military personnel . Most of us understand that preventive maintenance is necessary for our equipment and machines. Today, it is just as important, if not more, to apply this term to our people. »
“We hope that what we learned with Ike and what the USS Gerald R. Ford is learning with Sage will inform (Department of Defense) and Navy policy to establish shipboard installation dog programs of all the major ships in the fleet,” Purcell said. .
“Ultimately, we want to enable our Sailors and Marines to be ‘fully ready warfighters,’ and part of that is giving them every tool and resource possible to improve their morale and overall well-being .
