WITH his specially-trained dog by his side, an RAF corporal will head out to Afghanistan next year to hunt for roadside bombs.

Corporal Karl Hicks, from RAF Brize Norton, and his black Labrador Bailey will help to protect Army patrols in the Helmand province.

It will be their first tour of duty in the Central Asian country.

He said: “It’s not the safest or the easiest job in the world, but, and I know this sounds strange, I’m genuinely looking forward to it.”

Cpl Hicks has spent 10 years in the RAF and has seen service on the Falkland Islands.

Bailey is trained to sniff out explosives, weapons and ammunition.

Cpl Hicks said: “We tend to work in front of patrol groups.

“We will be out there to offer an added level of security, to hopefully find these things and prevent the guys getting injured. The dogs are not used in every patrol, it depends what the patrol needs, but they’re getting used a lot more recently, because they are proving their worth.

“They are literally saving lives, but they’re not the ultimate answer. We can’t just fill Afghanistan with hundreds of dogs.”

He said 100 per cent trust had to be put in the dogs, but, asked if putting such trust in an animal was hard, he said: “I have been doing it for a while now.”

Cpl Hicks said the dogs also provided companionship for the service personnel, who often spend weeks on end at isolated patrol bases.

He said: “It’s a comfort blanket as well. The guys love having the dogs out there.”

He said there were about 20 military sniffer dogs working in Afghanistan at present.

Cpl Hicks and dog Bailey visited the Cotswold Wildlife Park, near Burford, yesterday to mark RAF Brize Norton teaming up with the zoo.

RAF dog trainers and their charges will be at the park today to help mark Armed Forces Day.

Wing Commander John Curnow said: “It’s an opportunity for communities, both military and civilian, to come together.”

RAF Brize Norton has also adopted a Gambian giant pouched rat, named Clementine, for a year. The rats are used in Africa to find land mines.

* Armed Forces Day picture special - in Monday's Oxford Mail