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News | July 23, 2018

NSA Police K-9 Unit Celebrates 140 Dog Years!

A police K-9 sits in front of a grounded US Navy Blue Angels aircraft on display.
SLIDESHOW | 5 images | NSA Police K-9 Unit A police K-9 sits in front of a grounded US Navy Blue Angels aircraft on display.

This month marks the 20th anniversary of NSA's Police K-9 Unit. Founded in 1998, today NSA police dogs patrol and protect NSA's assets around the world. In fact, the NSA K-9 Unit is among the largest of any local, county, state or federal law enforcement agency in the United States.

The NSA K-9 Unit's primary mission is to conduct explosive detection screening of mail and vehicles and cargo entering NSA campuses. To date, NSA's K-9 Unit has inspected an estimated three million vehicles.

In the community, NSA's K-9 Unit receives requests to provide emergency explosive detection for local law enforcement, as well as support high-level security for many world events. NSA's K-9 Unit also organizes and attends joint training events with state and federal law enforcement agencies including U.S. Secret Service, Pentagon Force Protection Agency, the Maryland State Police, CIA, and FBI.

The unit has also been recognized for consistently receiving working dog competition awards including 1st place at the annual K-9 Olympics in Indiana and the grueling K-9 Iron Dog event, held at various locations throughout the year.

NSA thanks its four-legged heroes and their handlers for their dedicated service ensuring the safety of our workforce and visitors every day.