Warrior of the Week: Senior Airman Brett Silmon

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Derek VanHorn
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  He didn't do it for the Secret Service missions and the opportunity to provide direct security to the president of the U.S., and he definitely didn't do it for the 14-hour days of barking commands until his voice abandons him.

Senior Airman Brett Silmon became a military dog handler to foster a relationship and bond that defines friendship.

Assigned to the 319th Security Forces Squadron, Silmon is the handler to German Shepherd "Atti," and the two have spent countless hours side by side for the past six months.
 
"There's more to being a handler than anyone can ever see," said Silmon. "He's my best friend. We're a team; it's not just me or just him."

Silmon usually arrives to the kennel a few hours early, starting the shift off with a head-to-toe scope of Atti, before brushing his dog's teeth, clipping his nails, cleaning his ears out, brushing him down and taking care of any other canine necessities.

"I want my dog to be the best," said Silmon, a Louisiana native whose dog is both explosive and patrol certified - a fancy way of saying he finds bombs and he bites.

Silmon and Atti train around 40 hours a week, with shifts that involve both duties as a regular patrolman and upholding the standards of having a working dog by his side.

"You're only as good as your dog is," said Silmon, a recipient of three Air Force Achievement Medals. "He'll save my life one day.

"No matter how much you've smoked your dog and no matter how much you yelled and screamed at him, at the end of the day he's always there as if to say 'It's okay, I know you've had a bad day, I love you,'" he said.

Silmon grew up wanting to be a cop because he "wanted to help people that can't help themselves."

"As a cop, you can deal with the worst of people at their worst times," said Silmon, who is seven credits shy of a bachelor's degree in forensics psychology. "I wanted to go into something where I could give something back."

Silmon spends much of his free time doing volunteer work with the Humane Society, going on recruiting trips to share knowledge on dog handling, and mentoring children in schools around the area.

"I love helping people and making them aware how we can help," he said.

Silmon is part of a shop where they "go about things a different way."

"We're like a family at the kennel," he said. "We kind of leave our rank at the door with the exception of the kennel master and the trainer. Someone may have been in the Air Force longer, but maybe one of us has a technique that we can share to make everyone better.

"Everyone is an equal with us. We stay calm and positive with each other and at the same time know how to take care of business," said Silmon.

Silmon will be assigned a new dog as he and Atti will have to part ways soon as part of training protocol to prevent complacency. But Silmon doesn't see it as just acquiring a new dog, but a new best friend as well.