U.S. Marines find donkeys fitting allies in Afghan hills

Toronto Star ^ | ASSOCIATED PRESS

[F14 Pilot]

Animals go where Humvees don't dare

KANDAGAL, Afghanistan—Four-wheel-drive Humvees are so limiting in rugged mountains with few roads that a battalion of U.S. marines has recruited a centuries-old Afghan village transport alternative — donkeys.

About 30 have been rented from local farmers to haul food and bottled water to hundreds of Afghan and American troops on a two-week operation to battle militants deep in remote mountains in eastern Kunar province.

"This is the best way for us to resupply our troops there," said Lt.-Col. Jim Donnellan, commander of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, based in Hawaii. "It's also much cheaper for the U.S. taxpayer for us to rent the donkeys than for everything to be air-dropped."

Using aircraft to resupply forces is also dangerous.

In late June, militants in the area shot down a special forces Chinook helicopter, killing all 16 aboard, as it tried to land in one of the steep-sided, wooded valleys that snake their way through the mountains bordering Pakistan. The aerial attempt to rescue four Navy Seals on reconnaissance who had clashed with fighters became a wake for the 16. Only one missing Seal was found alive.

The new operation that began Friday is aimed at flushing those fighters out of the valley, so U.S. commanders are understandably nervous about risking other choppers in the process.

From a temporary resupply base in a cornfield at one end of Korengal Valley, where the militants are suspected of hiding, squads of marines with heavy packs on their backs led out lines of donkeys, each carrying two boxes of water, a box of food rations and a sack of grain.

Marines carried enough food and water for themselves for two days but the donkeys gave each squad supplies for an extra 48 hours. Unloaded and led back to the resupply base, they will be reloaded to return to the mountains.

Some troops were taught to handle donkeys at the U.S. Marines' Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Nev., said Capt. John Moshane.

"Marines have used donkeys since the American revolution," he noted, as each animal received a spray-painted number for identification.

Still, the donkeys' periodic orneriness and determination to try to mate when untied frustrated the marines. One who slapped a donkey on the rump in exasperation got a sharp kick from a hind leg.

[ryan71]

"U.S. Marines find donkeys fitting allies in Afghan hills"

The animal kind, not the political kind.

[F14 Pilot]

lol

[bad company]

Hi Ho silver....... away!

[Pajamajan]

ROFL!

[F14 Pilot]

lol

[Travis McGee]

Didn't Merrill's Maruaders and the Chindits use mules in WW2?

[martin_fierro]

lol

[martin_fierro]

Still, the donkeys' periodic orneriness and determination to try to mate when untied frustrated the marines.

Marines can be periodically ornery and horny on leave.

[Reform4Bush]

Why are we outsourcing this job to cheap donkey labor?

I can't help but chuckle at the irony of it all.

[purpleland]

God Bless the Donkeys. Wasn't the humble Donkey the Utility Vehicle used by Jesus and his family back in the days?

[EQAndyBuzz]

"Why are we outsourcing this job to cheap donkey labor? "

This is all part of AFTA.

Afghanistan Free Trade Agreement.

Kennedy and the International Brotherhood of Donkees union must be peeing their pants over this. I mean, more jobs being outsourced.

[mewzilla]

[WideGlide]

MUD HUT HAS A SATELLITE DISH??

[WakeUpAndVote]

This is not a joking matter. The mule and donkey were vital parts of our supply chain. When there was no other way to get food and ammo to the front, they were used. Time for a history lesion: Evey hear of 40 and 8? No the answer is not 48. 40 and 8 are 40 men and 8 mules to a box car. This is how our troops got to the front during WW1. From fourtyandeight.org: "The Forty & Eight’s titles and symbols reflect its First World War origins. American servicemen in France were transported to the battle front on narrow gauge French railroads (Chemin de Fer) inside boxcars (Voitures) that were half the size of American boxcars. Each French boxcar was stenciled with a “40/8”, denoting its capacity to hold either forty men or eight horses. This ignominious and uncomfortable mode of transportation was familiar to all who traveled from the coast to the trenches; a common small misery among American soldiers who thereafter found “40/8” a lighthearted symbol of the deeper service, sacrifice and unspoken horrors of war that truly bind those who have borne the battle." The 40 and 8 is now an organization within the American Legion. Membership in the 40 and 8 is by invitation only for recognition of service to the American Legion and/or its programs. Skyraider is a member of 40 & 8.

[choclabguy]

I have seen Tents over there with a dish. just a bunch of goats and a dish on a tent pole.

[Rebelbase]

It's a jackass way of doing things, IMO.

[WakeUpAndVote]

Note to self:

Drink coffee, wake up, post, then SPELLCHECK.

[AmericanChef]

Oh! Har-har-har!!

[WakeUpAndVote]

Not really,

From www.news.navy.mil:

"According to Marine Master Sgt. Anthony Parkhurst, former MWTC pack master and current MWTC operations chief, mules make great candidates for these medical missions because they can carry up to 250 pounds all day for several days in a row, up to 20 miles a day. Mules are also combat-trainable, able to get in a “low crawl” position in response to gunfire and return to a rally point if ambushed. Mule trainers claim the animals even help troops ferret out ambushes, protecting the team from further injury."

“Just watch their ears,” said Marine Sgt. Earl Roberts, MWTC pack master. “When they flare out, you need to have your guard up. There have been several instances where the mules were able to sense an ambush well before the troops do.”