GETTYSBURG, Pa., Jan. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Time is the primary constraint in getting K-9 bomb-detection dogs trained and on the job.
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To shorten the time required to train K-9 bomb-sniffing dogs, and improving the effectiveness of dog and handler, Tripwire Operations Group, an explosives training company based in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is joining forces with ScentLogix, an Annapolis, Maryland-based company that specializes in the "cross-science area of biological olfaction and scent detection," said Ryan Morris, CEO of Tripwire and a civilian explosives expert. ScentLogix is a division of Polymath Interscience.
David Adebimpe, founder and CEO of Polymath and ScentLogix, has developed inert explosive formulations used to train K-9 bomb-detection dogs to recognize a broad range of commercial and homemade explosive devices. The company's K-9 Explosives Scent Training Imprint Aids and Kits and other training tools are based on a "convergent science approach" that "uses the olfactory prowess of canines as the underpinnings of foundational R&D (research and development) investigations in biological olfaction and olfaction-based detection."
ScentLogix provides olfactory profile products, which are used by military, law enforcement and federal security agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security, Adebimpe said. K-9 scent training aids are designed for use in training of first responders in the war against terrorism and drug trafficking.
"We have kept a small profile all this time, focusing on our science and on getting it right," Adebimpe said. "We are proud to say that the foundation of our science is strong and proven many times over, even though our theories contradict what is being taught in science class and goes against the doctrines in olfaction that won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2000."
Morris said the collaborative work of Tripwire and ScentLogix, along with new canine training techniques developed by the Belgium federal police K-9 support division, are being combined to create comprehensive and time-optimized bomb-detection training for dogs, handlers and other first responders. To that end, Belgian federal police canine expert, Joris Kerckhof is joining the Tripwire explosives expert team in February.
"Canine bomb-detection training is an ever-evolving specialty," Morris said. "We stay up-to-date with what the bad guys are doing to keep us proactive as possible and to react to new bomb terrorist threats as they develop globally."
During the last six years, the Department of Homeland Security, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the federal interagency program known as the Technical Support Working Group have expended more than $8 million to develop technology-based, non-hazardous explosives training aids for bomb-sniffing dogs, Adebimpe said. ScentLogix and Tripwire is responding to fulfill their shared missions to provide the latest explosives training programs and training aids to law enforcement, the military and other first responders.
"We know what the nose is, we know how the nose works, and we are using the knowledge, and proof of it, to produce scent training aids for first responders in the war against explosives terrorism and drug trafficking—occupations, where failure is not an option. We have been doing our patriotic part, and we get phone calls from military and police officers everyday, saying how we have saved lives, and thanking us for what we do."
In response to the December 2, San Bernardino terrorist attacks, Tripwire is offering low cost, expedited IED and explosive training to military units, law enforcement personnel, firefighters and paramedics anywhere in the U.S., Morris said. Both the dog and its handler need to be trained as extensively and quickly as possible to get the team ready for incident response and threat assessment.
"Terrorist attacks conducted by foreign and domestic perpetrators, are just one part of a mosaic of violence, which are becoming a routine part of everyday life in the United States and around the globe. The one consistent element is the violence is unanticipated and occurs with little or no warning," Morris said.
"We know that pipe bombs and other explosive devices were used by the suspects in both San Bernardino and Paris," Morris said. Police discovered multiple pipe bombs and other explosive devices left by Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, at various places associated with the attacks.
In the Paris attacks, terrorists used explosives similar to Triacetone Triperoxide, TATP, Morris said. The suicide bombers wore vests containing TATP. IEDs, which can be made from chemicals purchased in hardware and cleaning supply stores, The destructive power of IEDs varies, depending on the type of explosive used.
Tripwire offers TATP/HMTD, peroxide-based explosives formulations as part of its explosive training courses. Others explosives used for training, include plastique, such as C-4, Semtex, and others.
"Our mainstay is selling explosives, making and selling firearms, and training," Morris said. "We provide explosive-related training, K-9 training—we have bomb squads, SWAT teams and military personnel who train with us."
During a typical month, Tripwire provides training for up to 50 individuals, Morris said. They are under contract to provide training to a Washington, D.C., metropolitan police department. K-9 handlers and police dogs participate in weekly training programs.
For more information on Tripwire, visit www.tripwireops.org.
Jeffrey B. Roth
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SOURCE Tripwire Operations Group
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