Trinity: Military War Dog
O
THER BOOKS BY
R
ONIE
K
ENDIG
Nightshade
(Discarded Heroes #1)
Digitalis
(Discarded Heroes #2)
Wolfsbane
(Discarded Heroes #3)
Firethorn
(Discarded Heroes #4)
© 2012 by Ronie Kendig
Print ISBN 978-1-61626-594-6
eBook Editions:
Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-62029-110-8
Kindle and MobiPocket Edition (.prc) 978-1-62029-111-5
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Scripture quotations are taken from the H
OLY
B
IBLE
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EW
I
NTERNATIONAL
V
ERSION
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.
NIV
®
. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations are taken from the
Holy Bible
. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.
For more information about Ronie Kendig, please access the author’s website at the following Internet address:
www.roniekendig.com
Cover design: Müllerhaus Publishing Arts, Inc.,
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Published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, OH 44683,
www.barbourbooks.com
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Table of Contents
DEDICATION
To a special breed of heroes—military working dogs
and their two-legged handlers.
Thank you for your grueling work and heroism,
which often goes unnoticed or unthanked!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Brian, you will forever be my hero! Ciara, Keighley, Ryan, and Reagan—thank you for enduring fast food, on-your-own nights, and even forgotten meals as I vanished into foreign countries and other people’s lives. Thanks to my amazing in-laws, whose support is unending! I love you, Mom and Dad!
To Al Speegle—Thank you for sending me that e-mail that launched the idea for this series. You are a gentleman with razor-sharp wit. It is an honor to count you as a friend!
Various MWD handlers and military “experts” who have replied via e-mail or in person to my plethora of questions, including John Burnam, Richard Deggans, Elgin Shaw.
My agent, Steve Laube, who believed in this series from the first bone I threw his way. Without your encouragement, things would’ve been—are you ready for it?—
ruff
!
Jaime Wright Sundsmo—Thanks for your help and expertise regarding climbing. Hopefully I didn’t inadvertently kill a character with a climbing mistake (which would be my fault, not yours, LOL).
Julee Schwarzburg, editor extraordinaire. I am so humbled by you, sweet lady. THANK YOU for your sacrifice of time/wisdom, your calming and encouraging guidance, and your genius!
My dear writing friends, without whom I could not survive this journey: Dineen Miller, Robin Miller, Shannon McNear, Rel Mollet, Jim Rubart, Kellie Gilbert, Lynn Dean, MaryLu Tyndall, Kimberley Woodhouse, Becky Yauger.
The amazing Burnett Sisters—I hope General Burnett does you proud. I hear he has amazing daughters. Thank you for such incredible encouragement!
Thanks to my Audience of One, who has gifted me with this writing dream, enabling me to follow in His Son’s steps by telling stories to impact His kingdom. What a joy and treasure!
LITERARY LICENSE
In writing about unique settings, specific locations, and invariably the people residing there, a certain level of risk is involved, including the possibility of dishonoring the very people an author intends to honor. With that in mind, I have taken some literary license in
Trinity: Military War Dog
, including renaming some bases within the U.S. military establishment and creating a new order of warriors within the Chinese Army. I have done this so the book and/or my writing will not negatively reflect on any soldier or officer. With the quickly changing landscape of a combat theater, this seemed imperative and prudent.
ACUs—Army Combat Uniforms
AFB—Air Force Base
AHOD—All Hands On Deck
BAMC—Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio
CJSOTF-A—Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan
DD214—Official Discharge from Active Duty
DEFCON—Defense readiness Condition
DIA—Defense Intelligence Agency
FOB—Forward Operating Base
Glock—a semiautomatic handgun
HK 9mm, HK USP—Heckler & Koch semiautomatic handgun
HPT—High-Priority Target
HUMINT—Human Intelligence
IED—Improvised Explosive Device
klicks—military jargon for kilometers
lat-long—latitude and longitude
M4, M4A1, M16—military assault rifles
MRAP—Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle
MWD—Military War Dog
ODA—Operational Detachment Alpha (Special Forces A-Team)
PLA—People’s Liberation Army of the People’s Republic of China
PTSD—Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
RPG—Rocket-Propelled Grenade
RTB—Return To Base
SIS—United Kingdom’s Secret Intelligence Service, otherwise known as MI6
SOCOM—Special Operations Command
SureFire—a tactical flashlight
tango—military slang for target or enemy
TBI—Traumatic Brain Injury
UAV—Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Prologue