U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jamie Himes Dana would rather give up
her beloved dog, Rex, than see a fellow soldier die.
Dana and Rex have been through a lot together.
The Hazel Hurst native became a dog handler in the Air Force and
was paired with Rex, a German shepherd military working dog. The
duo trained for three years and were deployed to Iraq as a
team.
Then, this past June, a roadside bomb shattered the Humvee they
were in, as well as their lives. After both recovered, Dana wanted
to keep Rex. That was not easy – it took an act of Congress.
“I offered to return Rex to the Air Force,” Dana said after she
received e-mails and saw online forums that she was selfish and
causing soldiers to die in Iraq.
“It was an awful decision to make, but there is no way I would
let any soldier die because of me.”
At first, she contacted the kennel master at Peterson Air Force
Base in Colorado where she is stationed. She then asked Brigadier
Gen. Robert Holmes at the Pentagon what she should do. Holmes is
the Air Force director of security forces and force protection.
“I was told by both of them that no soldier was dying as a
result of Rex not being there,” she said.
Both Dana and Rex were replaced when they were hurt.
“There are hundreds of other dogs in the country and soldiers
are still dying,” Dana was told.
In the end, Dana got a call – with Rex by her side – that the
dog was hers.
“I just kind of looked at him and smiled -ðand then told him he
never had to go back. He was home – with me.”
Dana has had to battle back from her injuries, as well as a
firestorm of criticism from people calling her selfish and a drama
queen – all because she wanted her and Rex to stay together.
“Whether people think I am being a ‘drama queen’ as some have
said, I wish I could go back,” she said of returning to war.
“I would take a bullet for any soldier if it meant they could
come back home to their families,” she said, pointing in particular
to those who have children they’ve never seen.
The “drama queen” statement comes from an e-mail Will Rambeau of
Georgia sent The Era which stated Dana e-mailed him first.
“I find drama queens boring. I realize that she’s a hometown
favorite and all … it’s primarily civilians and women that take an
emotional viewpoint on this serious subject without looking at the
fallout that will affect the very people that are in disagreement
with her.”
While Dana has received backlash, it would seem the number of
those who support her far outweigh those who don’t. She has
received backing from people she has never met.
“The support I have received has been amazing,” she said. “Many
offer to find replacement dogs for Rex, some want to raise money to
pay for him, others want to know who they should write to.”
“The amount of good people in this country is thousands of times
more in number than the bad,” she said. “It’s just sad that there
are always people who want to turn a good situation into something
bad.”
At the beginning, Air Force officials did balk at handing over
Rex, citing the expense of training a MWD as a reason to keep Rex
in active duty.
MWDs are worth about $18,000 out of training. Rex, at 5 years of
age, is far from retirement which, for dogs, is generally 10 to
14.
But, as Dana has said, Rex’s bomb detection was “OK,” his attack
work never was.
“I find it rather amusing when I see people writing things like
Rex was bred and raised to work and will never be happy in a
civilian life.”
There’s all evidence to the contrary.
“He’s a big puppy,” she said. “A really sweet dog … puts on a
good show.
“All Rex ever wants to do is play – and he will play with
anyone,” she said. His playful spirit extends to children, cats,
other dogs, horses and goats. “He jumps in bed with Mike (her
husband) and I all the time and races us to the door when it’s time
to go outside.
“He is always happy-go-lucky. Rex likes people, he only bites in
training situations when he is agitated into it. “
Even so, Dana would rather give Rex back to the military than
risk someone being hurt. That’s why she offered to give Rex
back.
“I would not want to take a chance with someone’s life.”
But now, Dana and Rex are together as she still recovers from
her physical injuries. The woman who used to run to keep fit, gets
weary after walking a short distance.
“I do tire very easy and if I try to do too much, which is just
about every day, I end up in pain and have to take my pain
medication.”
Dana’s injuries included a broken pelvis and collapsed
lungs.
“Normally, my legs and my pelvis are where the pain comes from.
My left foot always has a burning sensation that will probably
never go away from what I am told. My left leg is weaker then my
right, and that is also expected to stay the same.”
Even though her road to recovery is expected to be a long one,
she doesn’t mind.
“There are so many out there who are so much worse off then I am
– they have given so much more then I will ever be able to. I just
hope and pray that they have the same support system as I do.
Friends and family are what makes the recovery process
possible.”
She returned to work on Jan. 3 – sitting at a desk and answering
the phone.
“That is about all I am allowed to do.”
