Cairo the Military Dog

Cairo is a Belgian Malinois that was bred to be a military dog. Malinois were a very unfamiliar shepherd breed outside of Belgian until Cairo’s story became news. 

Navy SEAL Will Chesney first met his military working dog named Cairo in 2008. They went on a seven-week training camp in California. Cairo learned how to attack a target, to bite and release on command, to skydive, to sniff out weapons and improvised explosive devices, and to move quickly and quietly through unforgiving terrain. Cairo proved to be obedient and intelligent and ready for action.

In June 2009 they were deployed to Afghanistan. During a mission that involved heavy firefight with insurgents, Cairo was shot in the chest and front leg. The call went over the radio. “FWIA!” — friendly wounded in action. There was no distinction between human and canine. Cairo was a SEAL. 

He survived, and in May 2011 Cairo was the only dog to accompany a Navy SEAL team to Pakistan in search of Osama bin Laden. He sat in the Black Hawk helicopter - wearing a vest and night vision goggles - with another 11 Navy SEALS as they descended upon Osama bin Laden’s compound in what would come to be known as Operation Neptune Spear.

The raid on Bin Laden’s compounds was supposed to have taken 15 minutes but the helicopter malfunctioned and instead of landing gently it landed heavily, spoiling the element of surprise. The noise woke everyone up in the compound and they rushed outside. Cairo helped to secure the perimeter, barking furiously and forcing people to retreat while the SEALS stormed the compound. Thirty-eight minutes later, Bin Laden was dead, and Cairo and the SEALs were on their way back home. The members of the SEAL team and Cairo became national heroes.