Two Patrol Dogs and handlers were received by the 720th MP Battalion for an evaluation of their capabilities in the Republic of Vietnam. One Noncommissioned Officer (NCO), a graduate of the Sentry Dog School was detailed to evaluate the Patrol Dog and handlers during their four phases of employment. The following is a summary of each evaluation phase:

Phase-1 (7 to 28 November) Phase 1 of the Patrol Dog evaluation consisted of in-country acclimation of both dog and handler in unsuitable conditions. Both the acclimation period and the most unsuitable perimeter post evaluations were conducted at Long Binh Post (Bien How Province, Military Region III) and the Vinh Long Army Air Field (Vinh Long Province, Military Region IV). It was determined that the Patrol Dog could be as effective on perimeter post as the Sentry Dog. In addition to being equal to the Sentry Dog on perimeter posts, the Patrol Dog posses the following capabilities:

Phase-II (30 November - 28 December) Phase-II of the Patrol Dog evaluation consisted of area post and building searches which were conducted on Long Binh Post at the Class I yard in the parking lot of Long Binh Post. During the latter part of phase-I and during phase-II, the Patrol Dog worked without a leash during the majority of the evaluation. The Patrol Dogs were tested on their ability to run building searches and were found to be extremely effective.

Phase-III (30 December 1970 to 19 January 1971) Phase-III of the Patrol Dog evaluation consisted mainly of vehicle patrol, point control and gate guard. It was found that the presence of a Patrol Dog within an MP vehicle added a psychological advantage in that personnel under apprehension and riding in the MP vehicle presented no problems to the driver. The presence of a Patrol Dog in a tense situation increased the confidence of the MP. The presence of a Patrol of at the scene of a disturbance with a lot of on-lookers resulted in the on-lookers dispersing rather quickly when they saw the dog.

Phase-IV (21 January to 5 February 1971) Phase-IV consisted of an overall evaluation of Phases I, II and III. During the final evaluation, the following conclusions were drawn:

        During the period 11 February to 8 March 1971, one Patrol Dog was utilized on MP roving patrol. The Patrol Dog readily adjusted to riding in a motor vehicle.

        Two Patrol Dog Teams were employed at Fire Support Base Vandergrifth (Quang Tri Province, Military Region I) during the period 12 March to 1 April. The mission of the Patrol Dogs was related to physical security. Although the overall performance of both Patrol Dog Teams was rated as gratifying, the outgoing artillery, mortar rounds and incoming indirect fire rounds appeared to make one of the Patrol Dogs nervous, which indicated that more gun fire training is necessary.

        Both Patrol Dog Teams were utilized on motorized patrols at Long Binh Post under operational control of the Provost Marshal.

        This evaluation report was submitted by the 720th MP Battalion through the chain of command by way of the 28 February to 30 April 1971 Battalion Operations Reports and Lessons Learned.