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Female SF dog handler is first in Afghanistan

A female Security Forces airman has been recognized for being a “first” — in this case, the first female dog handler attached to a Security Forces team in Afghanistan.

Tech. Sgt. Cynthia Brown of the 435th Security Forces Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, received a command-level Trailblazers Recognition Award, an honor bestowed on military women who pull unprecedented duty. She will go on to compete for the Air Force-level Trailblazer Recognition Award this summer.

While in Afghanistan, Brown completed 40 missions with her dog, Rico, resulting in three munitions finds, according to an Air Force press release. Her actions earned her the International Security Assistance Force NATO Medal and Army Accommodation Medal, and nominations for the Air Force Combat Action Medal and Afghanistan Campaign Medal.

“If I am able to save just one life, then I know that I have done my job,” Brown said. “Your actions downrange really determine who is going to be able to come home to their families.”