Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Nghia, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, attended the event.
The festival aims to evaluate the results of the management, care, and training of handlers and service dogs in a practical and comprehensive manner. Thereby, participating units will propose innovative measures to raise the quality of training and using service dogs in border management and protection, search and rescue operations, crime prevention and control, as well as unscheduled missions.
The seven-day festival sees the participation of 34 delegations with nearly 100 handlers and 100 service dogs. They will compete in two parts: theory and practice. In the first part, handlers will join a test on general knowledge related to service dog training, breeding, veterinary, and military regulations. The second part includes basic discipline, physical fitness, and service dog training for combat tasks and drug detection, among others.
Speaking at the ceremony, Sr. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Van Nghia required the border guard force to continue to study and find solutions to raise training quality, uphold the strength and overcome limitations, improve the quality of selection and training, carry out appropriate remuneration policies and effectively implement political and ideological education, and heighten responsibility for handlers.
Meanwhile, border troops should accelerate international cooperation to have good dog breeds and promote exchanges to learn methods of training and caring for service dogs; research and expand the service training sector; as well as stay ready to perform unexpected tasks at home and abroad, to name but a few.
Below are some photos of the event.
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Sr. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Van Nghia delivers a speech at the ceremony. |
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Lieutenant General Le Duc Thai, Commander of the Vietnam Border Guard Command, speaks at the opening ceremony. |
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Service dogs and their handlers in a parade |
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Listening to handlers’ orders |
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A service dog jumping through a fire ring |
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Dogs are trained to fight and handlers practice capturing a bad guy. |
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Practicing search and rescue operations at a building collapse |
Translated by Quynh Oanh