“Cry ‘Havoc!’ and Let Slip the (Chemically Enhanced) Dogs of War.”
The Department of Defense’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) organization has announced that the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is in the market for performance enhancing drugs…for their dogs.
According to a SITIS on the organization’s website, the objective is to “develop novel nutraceuticals and/or pharmaceuticals to enhance important USSOCOM Multi-Purpose Canine (MPC) performance, improve recovery time when wounded, and increase their survivability.”
When you dive below the bureaucratic language contained in the government contracting world, the request reads like Captain America’s “Super Soldier Serum” origin story. The desired compound would not only increase their endurance, but would improve the canine’s ability to perform in a diverse range of operational environments.
The drugs would have to allow the dogs to acclimate to a wide range of extremes in temperatures and altitude while remaining hydrated. These dogs would perform better and faster, with enhanced senses to include hearing, vision, and scent. When each mission is completed, the dogs would recover faster, and if injured in the line of duty, they would also have a higher rate of survival from trauma-induced blood loss. To top it all off, these hypothetical drugs have to be safe, affordable, and easy to administer.
As this request is coming from the command organization for Special Operations Forces in all branches of service, the performance-enhanced dogs would be operating alongside Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, Green Berets, and other top-tier operators. These canines would be working in the most demanding environments for organizations with the highest operational tempos of the entire Department of Defense.
This is evident in the SITIS, (SBIR/STTR Interactive Topic Information System) which emphasizes the need to optimize a multi-purpose canine’s ability to “perform at very high levels for long durations and to process the operational environment under high levels of stress and distractions,” which will result in an end state where the MPCs “significantly improve their operational effectiveness and recovery.”
The multi-purpose canines that operate alongside the Special Operations troops are already expected to outperform the standard working dog. They go on patrol, conduct tracking, operate as an “attack dog,” clear buildings, sniff out explosives, fast-rope from helicopters, and even take part in airborne operations.
Given that the acquisition and training of each individual multi-purpose canine to be ready for their first deployment costs more than $50k, it only makes sense to ensure that each dog is enhanced to have the greatest chance of survival in the combat environment. The dogs currently attached to Special Operations units are already outfitted with the latest in cutting-edge technology, to include ballistic protection and tracking devices.
In addition to the request for performance-enhancing substances, the SBIR also has another request for a hearing protection and communications system for military working dogs. It goes without saying that other governmental organizations with canine units would also benefit from any successful development of these chemical compounds.
The request itself also acknowledges that this technology would have widespread applications outside of military use, with commercial potential in the hunting, sporting, and agility sectors.
