Former military working dog honored at The U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum

A former military working dog was honored at The U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum on Saturday morning.

Figo, a Czech shephard and Belgian Malinois, died in 2023, and was commemorated at the K9 Memorial located on the grounds of the museum.

Dozens were in attendance, including soldiers who worked with Figo during his deployments and students from Whiteville High School in Columbus County.

“Figo was our informal mascot at Whiteville High School,” Jonathon Long, kennel master for the 5th Special Forces Group said during the service. “We’d always bring Figo out on the field to motivate the team.”

Long, who now works in the JROTC department at Whiteville High School after retiring from the military, said the students enjoyed the limited time they had with him.

It took time for Long to get used to his role as a canine handler, he said.

“When you first become a dog handler it’s chaos because you’re managing an animal and yourself,” Long said.

He added that after spending years of their lives together, their bond couldn't be described through words.

"Learning to train a dog is simply learning to communicate with an animal and once you learn that you just have a bond that never goes away," Long said,

Their first deployment was to Afghanistan in 2014. Figo found more than 1,000 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during the deployment, Long said.

“Figo was our buffer," he said. "He gave us one extra option between that enemy and ourselves.”

Jim Bartlinski, director of Fort Liberty Museums, said including military dogs in the museum is important.

"They just personify the selfless service of our military,” Bartlinski said.

Long said he believes everyone can learn something from the happy and simple life that Figo led.

“Figo served our government for a decade. All he got paid was two cups of kibble a day and he got some water and that was about it,” he said. “He did it with a smile on his face and he lived a great life, and he was happy every day of his life.

"That’s a lesson we can probably all learn from Figo.”

Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville museum held former military working dog memorial Saturday