Austria's top brass catch that pigeon (HOLD MEIN BIER, REALLY!)

Scotland on Sunday ^ | March 16, 2003 | CLARE CHAPMAN

[MadIvan]

THE Austrian army - fed up with enemy troops being able to listen in on its radio communications - has decided to reactivate its corps of carrier pigeons.

Years after armies across the world sent their faithful pigeon brigades into a well-deserved retirement, the Austrians have decided a more traditional way of getting messages back from the frontline has a place in modern warfare.

They are expected to be used when satellite communications go down, computer links are broken or the enemy is thought to be intercepting radio conversations.

"Pigeons never stop working when there’s a power cut, can’t be bugged or tapped, and are not dependent on complicated software," said Austrian army colonel Walter Buchmayer.

Several European armies are said to be considering reintroducing them, but Austria has become the first to go all the way. It is building up a new squad of highly-trained birds able to handle confidential military dispatches.

Buchmayer said: "Although nowadays we have access to e-mail and mobile phone text messaging, there are so many things that can go wrong. With the pigeon you open the cage and let them go."

Pigeon expert Martin Schletterer, author of a book called The Use of Carrier Pigeons in the Police Force and Army, has been signed up to teach army officers the forgotten skills of dealing with carrier pigeons.

"The Austrian minister of defence himself, Herbert Scheibner, has backed the move and believes like me that pigeons are an ideal back-up for emergency situations," he said.

Using Schletterer’s connections with the pigeon breeder network, some 40 experts are now keeping and training about 1,500 carrier pigeons for military use.

[MadIvan]

Please forgive me, I'm laughing heartily at this.

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[AnAmericanMother]

Cher Ami, the famous carrier pigeon of the "Lost Battalion". Displayed (stuffed) in the Smithsonian for years.

(of course, you realize they used to train falcons to nab the carrier pigeons . . . ? )

[LibKill]

Austria still has horses in their army (I got all this from two real live austrians). There are strict rules about how long the horses may be ridden, worked, etc.

One of my informant's friends bought an ex-army horse. It would only work for the alotted span of time (20 min, 40 min? I can't remember) and then would lie down for the allotted rest period.

[seams2me]

What is the air speed velocity of the laden pigeon?

[way-right-of-center]

Is that an African pidgeon or a European pidgeon?

[gaucho]

Is that an African pidgeon or a European pidgeon?

It's a Roman pidgeon!

[fini]

I guess if your not willing to invest in crypto technology, then pigeons will "kind of" work. However, it is indicative of Europe's investment in their military.

[way-right-of-center]

Well, a Roman pidgeon sure!

[Notforprophet]

Good point. The EUrinals have had too long a dance being shielded by the USA. Let's pull our troops out of Western Europe, and see how long they entertain such silly defense ideas.

[Jabba the Nutt]

Is that an African pidgeon or a European pidgeon?

That would be Walter Pidgeon.

[CommandoFrank]

I guess they haven't heard of the shotgun.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Or the rousing "success" of carrier pigeon's at Normandy.

[wimpycat]

Actually, it's not a bad idea in and of itself. I mean, you never know when a carrier pigeon would come in handy. It's so "low-tech", that no one would think to suspect the birds of carrying messages.

Heck, that may be how Osama keeps in touch with his guys for all we know.

I'm generally in favor of low-tech and obsolete skills being taught in our military. I mean, who would have thought muleskinning would be useful anymore? But muleskinning and horseback riding were very useful in Afghanistan. Personally, I think it wouldn't hurt for the infantry to brush up on archery. I'm not kidding. You just never know when it will come in handy. Never be overly dependent on modern technology in the military, I say.

[20yearvet]

I guess if your not willing to invest in crypto technology, then pigeons will "kind of" work. However, it is indicative of Europe's investment in their military.

The Idea of being able to send a message with no fear of being detected has great military value.

[capitan_refugio]

" ...you never know when a carrier pigeon would come in handy."

Dinner

[zeugma]

The first thing that came to my mind when I read this was the following RFC:
A Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on Avian Carriers

Status of this Memo

This memo describes an experimental method for the encapsulation of IP datagrams in avian carriers. This specification is primarily useful in Metropolitan Area Networks. This is an experimental, not recommended standard. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Overview and Rational

Avian carriers can provide high delay, low throughput, and low altitude service. The connection topology is limited to a single point-to-point path for each carrier, used with standard carriers, but many carriers can be used without significant interference with each other, outside of early spring. This is because of the 3D ether space available to the carriers, in contrast to the 1D ether used by IEEE802.3. The carriers have an intrinsic collision avoidance system, which increases availability. Unlike some network technologies, such as packet radio, communication is not limited to line-of-sight distance. Connection oriented service is available in some cities, usually based upon a central hub topology.

---

It's one of my favorite RFCs. According to a post on SlashDot, this RFC was actually tested...

Some people apparently have too much time on their hands.

[way-right-of-center]

HA! :-)