Conley participates in DOD competition with his K-9 partner, Fax Published May 9, 2012 VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Staff Sgt. Heath Conley and his military working dog, Fax, competed in the 2012 Department of Defense Military Working Dog K-9 Trials held May 3-5 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. "While we didn't place, we learned tons during the competition," said Conley, a member of the 71st Security Forces Squadron Military Working Dog section here. Conley and Fax were among the six teams Air Education and Training Command entered in the competition. Forty-three teams participated from throughout DOD. The competition was designed to showcase each branch of service's best military working dog teams from around the globe. "Fax did an awesome job despite the heat," said Conley. The temperatures were in the mid to upper 90s throughout the three-day competition. "He is a real trooper." The trials included a variety of home-station and deployment-type scenarios. For Conley and Fax, the toughest event was the Iron-Dog competition designed to push competitors to the max. In addition to standard equipment, Conley had to carry a 60-pound sand bag. The Iron-Dog was a six-mile course that required a low crawl, a 200-pound dummy drag and the handlers had to carry their dogs 50 meters uphill and then back down. This year was the first time in 10 years the competition was held. After 9/11, Air Force military working dog teams deployed at a rate that placed real-world requirements ahead of competition. Today, the competition is back on, said Senior Master Sgt. Antonio Rodriguez, Air Education and Training Command military working dog program manager at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. "The training the Airmen complete during the competition prepares them for future real-world scenarios and builds camaraderie amongst the Airmen," Rodriguez said.