MIA

The battle of Khas Oruzgan, Afghanistan, took place on the 2nd September 2008. It lasted 9 hours, and the combatants were between 100 and 200 Taliban and a joint patrol consisting of 37 special forces soldiers comprising Australian, Afghan, and US military personnel, plus Sarbi, an Australian Explosive Detection Dog.

Sarbi was a Labrador Retriever crossed with a Newfoundland; reports regarding her age at the time have been a matter of dispute; however, research shows that at the time of this incident she was just 9 days short of her 6th birthday. This was her second tour of duty in Afghanistan, having previously been deployed in 2007. During the battle, a vehicle convoy was ambushed by a large number of Taliban, and it was during this initial contact that Sarbi went missing mainly due to the fact that a rocket exploded near the vehicle in which she was travelling. There appears to be some dispute regarding whether Sarbi was connected to her handler who was wounded during the incident and if she became detached as a result of the incoming fire or that she was free at the beginning of the hostilities. The Special Operations Task Group made repeated attempts to discover the whereabouts of Sarbi without success, and she was therefore reported as missing in action. (MIA) For her handler, this was the worst possible news.

A chance encounter

In 2009, 14 months later, an American soldier often referred to in reports as “John” came across a local man accompanied by a large black dog. The dog appeared to be in excellent condition, but its appearance with an Afghan gentleman seemed to be rather incongruous, although some reports indicate he was a village elder. Fortunately, the soldier was aware that an Australian Explosive Detection Dog had gone missing and obviously had been around dogs and handlers because he had a degree of understanding of how such dogs were trained. With the use of a few commands in English and the dog’s instant response to retrieving, he identified the large canine as the missing special forces dog. She was immediately flown to the Australian base at Tarinkot, where she was identified as Sarbi.

Regretfully, there appears to be no definitive information regarding how the Afghan civilian was rewarded for adopting Sarbi, keeping her in such excellent health and then being required to hand her over. One would like to think that the man was compensated for the loss of his canine companion on whom he had lavished so much care. After all, not only was she well looked after, she had even put on weight!!

Retired Lieutenant Colonel George Hulse, President of the Australian Defence Force Tracker and War Dog Association, freely admitted that he, along with others, had given up all hope of ever seeing Sarbi again.

An interesting but little-known issue attached to this story is that there appears to be evidence that Sarbi, who had been injured in the attack, attempted to enter an ISAF forward operating base but was chased away by Afghan soldiers. Whilst we in the West may be horrified that this could happen, we have to be aware that in Afghanistan rabies is a daily risk, and even children are warned against petting stray dogs.

The long way home

Under Australia’s strict entry laws, all dogs, unless coming from designated countries, are required to spend a mandatory six months in quarantine, and Sarbi was no exception. When she was finally repatriated, she was reunited with her handler, Corporal David Simpson, who had been injured during the battle of Khas Orazgan and was able to confirm that the dog was definitely Sarbi.

Shortly after returning to Australia, Sarbi was retired and given to her handler, Corporal David Simpson, who had been promoted to Warrant Officer.

She was awarded the RSPCA Australia Purple Cross Award.

This award is given to animals that have risked their lives to protect or save the lives of humans. As far as I can establish, only 10 have been awarded, 9 to dogs and 1 to a donkey called Murphy representing all donkeys who served with ANZAC forces in World War I.

Sarbi passed away on 27 March 2015, aged 12, as a result of a brain tumour. Her preserved remains were donated to the Australian War Memorial in October 2016.

Historical note

During the Battle of Khas Oruzgan, Trooper Mark Donaldson, Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), became the first recipient of the Victoria Cross for Australia for his actions during the battle that included drawing enemy fire on himself so that wounded comrades could be evacuated and for rescuing a wounded Afghan interpreter under heavy fire.