Dodd went with the 1st Aero to Galveston during the Vera Cruz incident in 1914, then to Fort Sill. Following a promotion to captain, Dodd and his observer, Lieutenant S. W. Fitzgerald, won the third annual contest for the Mackay aviation trophy when he descended at North Island after a trip of three hours and three minutes. The contest for the Mackay Trophy involved serial reconnaissance of troops maneuvering in the vicinity of San Diego and reports of their numbers and disposition. Accidents eliminated all machines but theirs and the trophy would not have been awarded that year if Fitzgerald had not provided a comprehensive and accurate report of the composition and location of the troops.