Special Advisory

MADISON, Wis. – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering National Odor Recognition Testing (NORT) and certification to nearly 40 explosive-detection canine teams throughout Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

• WHO: ATF’s National Canine Division and law enforcement partners
  ATF Lead NORT Instructor, Cody D. Monday, who will provide a short event overview, and explosive-detection K-9 teams from around the Midwest. See next page for a list of participating agencies.

• WHAT: National Odor Recognition Testing and certification
  NORT is a voluntary test to evaluate a canine team’s ability to detect 10 fundamental explosive odors. Congress recognizes the test as the benchmark proficiency standard for effective canine explosives detection.

• WHERE:  University of Wisconsin
  The Kohl Center, 601 West Dayton Street, Madison, WI 53715

• WHEN:  Wednesday, June 12 at 10:30
  A short briefing about the NORT will kick off the media event. Then, journalists are welcome to capture b-roll, secondary interviews and meet the canine teams.

RSVPs are greatly appreciated. Please send a notification of attendance to PIO Ashlee Sherrill at ashlee.sherrill@atf.gov.

About National Odor Recognition Testing

During a three-day training and evaluation session, explosive-detection canine teams at all levels of government use NORT to identify gaps in training aids, learn about inadvertent training aid contamination, and practice odor detection in a professional training environment. NORT training also allows handlers to exchange information on trends and best practices with colleagues and ask questions of ATF canine and explosives subject matter experts. At the end of the training and practice session, teams can elect to perform the official NORT single-blind test administered by ATF.