USASOC acquired Atos in 2007, he was then trained at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
After his training Military Working Dogs (MWD) Atos was sent to Iraq. His handler had just lost his previous dog during a firefight, and Atos was to be the replacement.
MWD Atos quickly became a huge part of the team and an incredible asset.
On Christmas Eve, 2007, the team was searching for an enemy combatant who was hiding in extremely rough terrain covered in thick brush. The enemy knew they were coming. Atos was released, as he was able to cut through the brush much faster than his two-legged teammates. He was in pursuit.
In no time, Atos had the enemy combatant locked in his jaws. The team was moving to Atos as fast as they could.
Then, an explosion, the enemy combatant detonated a suicide vest.
The explosion killed Atos and severely wounded four members of the team.
If Atos hadn’t forced the enemy to detonate the vest early, the loss of human life would have been devastating.
"There are hundreds of dogs out there who have made the ultimate sacrifice. There are many of us within the military that are here today because of what they did."