Flying low over central Afghanistan's Uruzgan province, Black Hawks carried a Special Air Services Regiment (SASR) patrol to locate a high-value Taliban target in 2011.
Aboard were combat assault dog Kuga and his handler Sergeant J.
The Taliban waited quietly below in ambush.
When the Aussies touched down, Kuga was let off-lead to scout ahead.
Sensing something across the other side of a creek, the Belgian Malinois was paddling through the water when the first burst of automatic fire splashed around him.
Dripping wet, Kuga charged at the shooter, locking his bite on the insurgent's arm.
Another burst of gunfire from the enemy and Kuga was hit.
He released his bite and the Taliban fighter retreated, but not before targeting the dog again, hitting him five times: twice in the ear, once in the toe, once in the cheek, which exited through his neck, and once in the chest, which exited the shoulder and broke his upper-left leg.
There was also shrapnel in his lower spine.
Kuga now lay injured on the riverbank.
Fearless in the face of the enemy, he still managed to alert his patrol to the insurgent's ambush.
When Sergeant J called his name, Kuga's ears pricked up and he crawled back into the water towards his mate.
'He's the one who took the bullets for me and my mates; ultimately that enabled me to come home to my family.'
The rest of the patrol laid down fire while Sergeant J started first aid and called for a casualty evacuation.
Kuga was evacuated and underwent many procedures before returning to SASR kennels in Perth.
However, Kuga didn't make it, succumbing to his wounds less than a year after that contact in Uruzgan.
Born on April 23, 2007, Kuga began training with the SASR in 2008 at eight months old.
He was assigned to his handler Sergeant J in April 2009, and in 2010 they deployed to Afghanistan.
Kuga was a war fighter, but still a dog who loved to chew empty water bottles and terrorise any soldier who dared try to steal his current favourite.
He was a creature of comfort and would never accept no when it came to bed time, and he knew there was always a warm place in a sleeping bag, regardless of the occupant.
"I am pretty proud of what he did; that ultimately it was up to him, he's the one that chose to go forward," Sergeant J said.
"He's the one who took the bullets for me and my mates; ultimately that enabled me to come home to my family.
"It highlights the sacrifice these dogs make in today's battlefield, and not just Kuga, but all other dogs who've served with us and other coalition forces."
'Kuga's Dickin Medal is for all the military working dogs who worked alongside us in Afghanistan and every day since.'
Kuga was nominated for the Dickin Medal for preventing his patrol from entering into an enemy ambush.
Corporal Mark Donaldson, VC, a former SASR military working dog handler, accepted the Dickin Medal on behalf of Kuga and SASR in 2018.
"Kuga's actions that day in Afghanistan were heroic," Corporal Donaldson said.
"There's no doubt in anybody's mind that he saved lives and he showed so much loyalty and courage. He wouldn't give up on his mates or on doing his job.
"Kuga and the other military working dogs we all served with in Afghanistan saved countless lives, whether they were finding IEDs or tipping us off to an enemy presence before we'd seen them.
"Kuga's Dickin Medal is for all the military working dogs who worked alongside us in Afghanistan and every day since."
According to former SASR member Sergeant Andrew White, a dog handler who completed multiple rotations of Afghanistan with his dog Stone, their dogs wouldn't have it any other way.
"They loved being in the troop - it was their pack," Sergeant White said.
After Kuga died, the squadron came together for a service where his ashes were placed in a memorial, and a plaque was unveiled.
He will forever be remembered as a hero and exemplifies what it means to protect your mates.
