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MSSG 'Mule T' moves gear into impassible voids ( Marines enlist Mules)
MarineLink ^ | 2005-4-29 | Sgt. Charles Moore

Posted on 05/01/2005 1:46:15 PM PDT by Ramonan

Yet, there are some places that even a high mobility, multi-purpose wheeled vehicle, better known as a Humvee, simply can’t go.

Current operations in Afghanistan have presented terrain impassable for conventional military vehicles. However, supplies and ammunition still must get to the front lines. To that end, several MSSG-13 Marines recently rehearsed an alternate means for transporting combat supplies, as they trained here during Revised Combined Arms Exercise (RCAX) working with mules.

The Marines learned to provide proper care for the animals and the appropriate ways to pack military gear. For some, the most important thing they learned was just how to “deal" with the stubborn animals.

“I’ve never really worked with animals,” said Cpl. Mack T. Jones, . “I learned what a mule is.”

Many of the Marines who worked with the donkey/horse crossbreed come from a variety of backgrounds. Most, like Jones, were raised nowhere near a farm, That said, the Marines interested shared a common goal - familiarization.

“The only people who came through this course are those who are interested,” said Sgt. Robert L. Scott, instructor, Animal Packing Course.

Lance Cpl. Matthew Furlow, driver, MSSG-13 Motor Transport Detachment, said he was happy to be around animals again. He grew up on a farm and felt that his experience with horses helped him to work with the mules.

“They’re easy to control, unless they get spooked,” he said. “They just get real nosey with anything they think they can eat.”

Jones had a different opinion.

“They are really stubborn. You’ve got to push them and let them know you are in control,” he said. “They’re pretty good animals though.”

(Excerpt) Read more at marines.mil ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: adapt; improvise; iraq; marines; military; overcome; supplylines; workingdogs
Last paragraph sounds like dealing with some Marines
1 posted on 05/01/2005 1:46:18 PM PDT by Ramonan
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To: Ramonan

The Army put mules to good use in the mountainous regions of Italy during WW II.


2 posted on 05/01/2005 1:53:31 PM PDT by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: Ramonan
Mules were last used in WWII I believe in the Italian and Burma campaigns. Before that my grandfather used them in Mexico with Black Jack Pershing and in France during WWI. We got drones and satellites and smart bombs and now we revisit the older military campaigns. Amazing. But smart in that terrain.
3 posted on 05/01/2005 1:54:22 PM PDT by Americanexpat (A strong democracy through citizen oversight.)
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To: Ramonan; ecurbh; CindyDawg; PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain; Duchess47; FrogInABlender; Beaker; ...
I love a good mule.

Ping!


4 posted on 05/01/2005 1:55:08 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog (I'd rather be happy than right...)
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To: Ramonan

A colleague who goy basic infantry training on an officer candidate school at Quantico in 1957 got regular training on how to pack mules.


5 posted on 05/01/2005 2:06:28 PM PDT by Tacis ( SEAL THE FRIGGEN BORDER!!!)
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To: Ramonan

Maybe Democrats could be useful after all.


6 posted on 05/01/2005 2:20:44 PM PDT by biggerten (Love you, Mom.)
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To: Americanexpat

General Wingate and his Chindits did use mules in the Burma theater.


7 posted on 05/01/2005 2:23:07 PM PDT by ol' hoghead (islam, the cult of Mohammad)
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To: Ramonan
I'm going to be picky and take exception to the use of the term "crossbreed". The mule is a hybrid--a cross between closely related species. It is not a cross between two man-made breeds of animals.

There. I feel better now.

8 posted on 05/01/2005 3:29:22 PM PDT by Americanchild
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To: Ramonan

Goats and Mules make perfect pack animals; strong, sturdy, healthy, easily cared for. Mules are used consistently in the hilly terrain regions to lay cable such as fibre obtic where regular ditch witch stuff can't go.


9 posted on 05/01/2005 3:52:14 PM PDT by Mrs. Shawnlaw (Rock beats scissors. Don't run with rocks. NRA)
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To: Ramonan

How can the author ignore the history of mules in warfare? Mules have been used for HUNDREDS of years, particularly by the Army in mountain campaigns.


10 posted on 05/01/2005 4:15:06 PM PDT by SJSAMPLE
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To: biggerten

A democrat is an a$$, a mule is a much better sort of animal. With a sure foot a mule willingly carries the load, I don't know many democrats I can say the same about.


11 posted on 05/01/2005 6:46:18 PM PDT by CarryaBigStick
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To: Ramonan
Sergeant, get that mule some enlistment papers!

Lo, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil because I'm the baddest mother in the valley.

12 posted on 05/01/2005 6:57:56 PM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (Deadcheck the embeds first.)
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To: SJSAMPLE

Don't fret. The Army still has courses teaching the use of Mules. More specific, both 7th Special Forces Group and 10th Special Forces Group has schools in the proper use of a packing mule.


13 posted on 05/01/2005 6:59:01 PM PDT by Skeeve14 (De Opresso Liber)
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To: Ramonan

http://www.militaryhorse.org

A good place to look at some history.


14 posted on 05/01/2005 7:03:39 PM PDT by wildehunt (follow those hounds..)
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To: tet68

"The Army put mules to good use in the mountainous regions of Italy during WW II"

With Gen. Stillwell in Burma also.


15 posted on 05/01/2005 7:11:25 PM PDT by dljordan
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