Shanks and Praise

During their deployment to Helmand Province, Marines of B Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment had few options for killing time between pulling guard shifts or walking patrol. They worked out on a ramshackle bench press; jumped rope in the dust; or played spades.

But the main focus of social life -- if you could call it that -- was a small pack of stray dogs (and a kitten or two) that shared the mud-brick compound.

Marines adopted the dogs after they started following them on foot patrols. According to several of the Marines, some of the mutts even took to walking point, sniffing out ahead for any signs of danger. The Marines rewarded the animals for loyalty by sharing their MREs and water. The thin, rangy dogs quickly fattened up on a diet of packaged spaghetti and meatballs or Szechuan chicken.

Everyone had their favorites. Kilo (pictured here), a, pampered, overfed puppy. Gross, who looked like a skinny lab or retriever. And there was my personal favorite, Shins. "You'll recognize him," said one Marine. "He's the ugliest dog in the world."

The good-natured Shins looked like he had been raised to be a fighting dog; his ears were brutally cropped. And sure enough, he was ugly: his fur was a mottled brown and his forelegs seemed to be bowed from rickets. Shins lolled happily in the dirt, enjoying his three squares a day.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not really much of a dog person. And this is DANGER ROOM, not Modern Dog Magazine. But the adopted animals were one of the things that made life bearable in an otherwise tedious -- and often dangerous -- place. And hell, one of the puppies even has a MySpace page.

Shanks and Praise: Danger Room