Army Sgt. 1st Class Gregory A. Rodriguez, 35, died September 2, 2008, of wounds suffered in Ana Kalay, Afghanistan, when his mounted patrol came under small-arms fire. His dog Jacko survived the ambush. Sgt. Rodriguez was a military police dog handler and he and his dog were a military special search dog team assigned to the K-9 unit of the 527th Military Police Company, 709th Military Police Battalion, 18th MP Brigade, based in Germany. He was a native of Weidman, Michigan. Rodriguez joined the Army Reserve in 1994. In 1996 he became an active duty soldier. Survivors include his wife Laura and their three young children, 8-year-old Gregory Jr., 7-year old Zachary and 3-year-old Malory who were living in San Antonio,Texas, site of Lackland Air Force Base, which houses the military’s working dog programs. Rodriguez had been stationed in Hawaii, Missouri, Alaska, Texas, and Germany. Rodriguez told his wife if anything happened to him during the war he wanted to be buried at Arlington, ” I want to be among the best and the brave.” His wife hopes the Pentagon will release the dog to the family. On September 15 his funeral was held at Arlington National Cemetery, with a memorial service later in Mount Pleasant. More than 100 mourners stood before a backdrop of floral arrangements and wreaths to pay tribute to Rodriguez. They joined members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment from Fort Myer who waited at the gravesite along with four dogs from the same regiment. Rodriguez was buried in Section 60 of the cemetery.
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