SENIOR MASTER SERGEANT ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ, USAF (RETIRED)

Antonio “Arod” Rodriguez is the founder and lead trainer at Olive Branch K9, LLC. and co-owner of Old Republic of Canine Apparel Company, and ORO-K9 Services.    

Antonio is a 20-year retired Combat Veteran of the United States Air Force.  He completed his career in the Air Force as a Military Working Dog (MWD) Program Manager for twelve military units. Some of his highlights while on active duty include being a Department of Defense MWD trainer, kennel master, unit trainer, pre-deployment senior instructor, and special tactics member/instructor. 

After retiring in 2013, Antonio was employed by various private security firms supporting U.S. Treasury Department and U.S. State Department domestic and international security contracts.  During this period, he was assigned to the following positions: High-Threat Protection Security Specialist, Emergency Response Team member, Canine Handler, Kennel Master, and Training Director. 

Following his time in the private contracting world, Antonio was employed by the Department of Homeland Security’s National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program (NEDCTP).  During this time, he served as unit Canine Trainer and Supervisor of Canine Operations for eleven TSA Passenger Screening Canine (PSC) teams at Colorado’s Denver International Airport. 

In 2018, Antonio left federal service to train high-performance canine teams for the US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). For the past 20-plus years, he has been instructing Law Enforcement, Special Operations, and military professionals in the application of canine assets within the global security arena.