​The CMPA’s co-Director of History and Heritage, LCol (Ret’d) Paul Thobo-Carlsen, is researching the history of CAF Military Police working dog programs from 1972 to present (after the RCAF Police Sentry Dog Program ended*) and is seeking relevant information and photos from anyone with knowledge of any of these locally-run K9 programs.

​To date, twelve MP handlers and eleven working dogs are known to have operated in support of MP operations from 1987 to present. These include:

​A significant amount of information is known about the three most recent MP K9 teams operating from 2006 onward.  However, much less is know about the earlier MP teams and the security dog programs in Germany.  

​Former supervisors or co-workers of dog handlers, or anyone with knowledge of one or more of these earlier programs, is requested to contact the CMPA.  Of particular interest are details on how these teams came into being, trained, operated and were supported at the MP unit and base levels.  Other historically relevant information includes photos of handlers and dogs, unit-level documentation (e.g. K9 SOPs, commendation letters, etc), newspaper articles related to MP K9 programs, stories about cases that K9 teams worked on, and amusing anecdotes.

​Any and all assistance is greatly appreciated to help shed light on an area of MP Branch history that has not been yet be well covered.

NOTE:  ​The recently published book by LCol (Ret’d’) A.J. Murtagh and Maj (Ret’d) A.W. Kendall (The History of the RCAF Police Sentry Dog Program: 1963-1972. Burnstown ON: Burnstown Publishing House, 2017) does an excellent job of telling the story of Canada’s only formal and sustained military working dog program.  If you're interested in purchasing a copy of this book, you can do so by visiting www.rcaf-sentrydogs.ca/order.html (website is not associated with the CMPA).

​The CMPA is working with the National Air Force Museum of Canada, at 8 Wing/CFB Trenton ON, to create a new exhibit showcasing the role of RCAF Air Force Police and CAF Military Police in securing the nuclear weapons used by Canada’s air force during the Cold War.

​The exhibit project lead is Lieutenant-Colonel (Ret’d) Paul Thobo-Carlsen, CMPA Co-Director of History & Heritage.  The project technical advisors are Major (Ret’d) Wayne Kendall, CMPA Director of Membership (Veterans) and a former AFP sentry dog handler, and Lieutenant-Colonel (Ret’d) Andy Murtagh, who organized and implemented the Sentry Dog Program while serving as a staff officer at RCAF 1 Air Division Headquarters, Metz, France.

​The exhibit will be implemented in two phases:

​The National Air Force Museum of Canada has established a specific trust fund to collect the money necessary to create a professional looking exhibit.  The money collected in this trust fund will be used only to build and maintain the AFP/MP exhibit, and donors will be provided charitable donation receipts for tax purposes.

Donations to the trust fund may be made by cheque to the “National Air Force Museum of Canada.” Please ensure all cheques are clearly annotated with “Attn: Air Force Police Exhibit Trust Fund” to ensure they are appropriately directed.  Donation cheques should be mailed to:

  Executive Director
  National Air Force Museum of Canada
  220 RCAF Road
  Astra, ON
  K0K 3W0

Any former AFP or MP sentry dog handlers who wish to donate related artifacts in support of this exhibit should contact the CMPA (cmpa.apmc@gmail.com) with the details of all items for consideration.  Any artifacts subsequently accepted into the NAFMC collection will also be eligible for income tax receipts.

The Military Police Branch celebrates its 75th Anniversary.  While celebratory events are held at locations throughout Canada, the centre of gravity was in Ottawa, where numerous events, including a Casino Night, Golf Day, the return of Thunderbird Challenge, and a Gala Dinner at the Canadian War Museum were held throughout the week to celebrate this auspicious anniversary. 

The Security Branch flag was formally approved by the Chief of Defence Staff.