Posted on 04/02/2003 12:03:04 PM PST by Sub-Driver
Pigeons, Chickens, Dolphins, Dogs Get Marching Orders in Iraq War By Siobhan McDonough Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. troops are getting an assist from a military menagerie in the Iraq war. Chickens, sea lions and a few good dolphins - Makai and Tacoma - have been in the fight. Dogs, good at alerting troops and relaying messages, are also sniffing out bombs in Iraq.
Warfare has long depended on the fowl and the four-legged, whether they were elephants bearing javelin throwers on the battlefields of the ancient world, camels spooking Byzantine cavalry horses with their pungent smell, or Spanish Conquistadors' mastiffs hunting down Peruvian Indians.
"Without animals, historically, war as we know it would have been flat-out impossible," says Dennis Showalter, history professor at Colorado College. "If human beings had to carry the weight of food they ate, munitions they use, on their own backs and feet, we might have stayed closer to our homes."
Animals are still showing their might on the front lines and in the crucial waters of a war zone.
Chickens have bypassed Kuwaiti dinner plates and landed in cages atop U.S. military Humvees. Their death-defying assignment: detect a possible Iraqi chemical attack.
As it turned out, they didn't defy death. Most expired after a short stint in the Iraqi desert - flu is suspected - and pigeons have taken their place.
Coalition forces brought in the two bottle-nosed Atlantic dolphins to detect sea mines in the British-controlled Iraqi port of Umm Qasr - something they are trained to do without setting off the explosives.
"Now we have humans, machines and animals working together to clear the mines in Iraqi waters," said Tom LaPuzza, spokesman for the Navy's marine mammal program in San Diego.
LaPuzza calls dolphins' ability to detect things at a long distance, "the best show in town."
Sea lions have also been sent to the Persian Gulf and now are being tested to see how capable they are at capturing an enemy diver poised to attack a ship or pier. They also can be used to recover military hardware or weaponry in the ocean.
Bearing a clamp inside its mouth, a sea lion is supposed to approach a swimmer from behind and attach the clamp, which is connected to a rope that sailors aboard a ship can use to fish the swimmer out of the water.
Recently, Marines of the 7th Regiment brought in pigeons to take over from the 42 chickens that died. The birds will ride with a caretaker in vehicles and be used much like canaries in a coal mine. If they get sick, it could signal a chemical attack, giving Marines some time to don gas masks.
"When the air gets bad and the bird falls off its perch, it's time to leave," Showalter said.
Animal rights activists say creatures don't belong on the battlefield.
"Making these birds participate in our wars is not only cruel and unjust, it is a betrayal of the men and women who are serving under you," United Poultry Concerns said in a letter to President Bush.
The group said many more birds will die while being driven across the desert and there are better ways to do the job - with sophisticated chemical detection systems.
Showalter says while animals have been vital in past wars, in modern warfare, they should be retired.
Still, he says, "You can make a good case that the chickens are a kind of placebo - they help people feel better because a chicken is alive and we will trust a living thing's reaction to gas before something mechanical."
"Chickens act as a talisman, good luck charms."
Dogs have served in the U.S. military during every major conflict, as trackers, scouts, sentries, messengers, attackers, mine detectors and rescuers.
Their service over the years is not being overlooked. The Vietnam Dog Handlers Association has proposed a National War Dog Memorial for Washington. About 4,000 war dogs served U.S. armed forces during the Vietnam War, according to the group.
Horses were considered the supreme war animal from the end of the Bronze Age through the 19th century, and they still have a place in battle.
In the Afghan war, U.S.-backed rebels galloped against the Taliban, sometimes joined on steeds by American soldiers, half a century after the United States dissolved its last mounted fighting unit.
Horses have proved a handy way to move fighters and supplies in Afghanistan's rugged terrain.
One of these dolphins should be named after one of America's greatest swimmers....Teddy K.
Pigs, however, are exempt from participating due to the risks involved. After all, some animals are more equal than others.
This is fascinating stuff.
And our government left all those dogs over in Vietnam. It was a national disgrace.
and the captive goats rejoice,await liberation
yes,but dolphins save people on the water,kennedy kill people on the water!
"Dogs look up to us, cats look down on us and pigs treat us as equals".
-Winston Churchill
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.