Army mine clearing canine and handler adjudged Best Team by Marshall Legacy Institute
November 01, 2019Sri Lanka Army’s Mine Detection Dog (MDD) ‘Sammy’ and its handler, Lance Corporal P. G Nishantha Bandara of 5 Field Engineer Regiment have been selected by the Washington-based Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI), as the MLI’s ‘Team of the Year - 2019’. According to Army media, ‘Sammy’ and her handler received the award at the ‘Clearing the Path Gala’ held at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington DC on Wednesday (23 October).
MDD teams from 12 countries took part in this annual competition. The teams were assessed by a panel of eminent professionals.
This is the 3rd time where the Army Humanitarian De-Mining Unit (HDU) has received accolades. In the 2016, the Army’s ‘Alvin’, received the same Award in Washington while the MDD ‘Ciro’ won the MDD Award in 2012.
The Belgian Malinois, ‘Sammy’ and Lance Corporal Bandara had worked on mine clearing from October, 2012. Over the past 7 years the ’duo’ of man and dog, working under the MLI and the Sri Lanka Army’s Humanitarian De-Mining Unit (HDU) partnership project had managed to clear 113, 424 sq m of area in the North, recovering 28 Anti-Personnel Mines (APMs), one land mine (Rangan 99), 403 T-56 ammos, 4 hand grenades, 4 Unexploded Ordnance (UXO), 6 mortar bombs, 6 RPG bombs, 200g of C4 high explosives and 2 electric detonators enabling the return and resettling of 1650 people of 435 families.
