Special Forces Use of Pack Animals
Posted at Secrecy News (FAS Blog) - Special Forces Use of Pack Animals.
Quote:
U.S. special operations forces typically make use of some of the most sophisticated military and intelligence gear available. But sometimes a "no tech" solution is the right one.
So, for example, Special Forces "may find themselves involved in operations in rural or remote environments... using pack animals," including horses, donkeys and mules.
"Pack animal operations are ideally suited for, but not limited to, conducting various missions in high mountain terrain, deserts, and dense jungle terrain."
An Army Special Forces manual (large pdf) provides instruction and doctrinal guidance for using pack animals in training and combat missions.
"This manual provides the techniques of animal pack transport and for organizing and operating pack animal units. It captures some of the expertise and techniques that have been lost in the United States Army over the last 50 years."...
The 225 page manual provides a basic introduction to the characteristics of each of the various pack animals, some rudiments of veterinary care, and miscellaneous lore....
The Special Forces manual has not been approved for public release, but a copy was obtained by Secrecy News.
Also see Chapter VII - Mounted Detachments of the Small Wars Manual.
Marines Plan on More Horsing Around
Quote:
Originally Posted by
El Machetazo
The Marine Corps still runs an animal packing course at Bridgeport.
Thanks for the post...Indeed interesting !
Quote:
Marines practice their horse packing skills at the base stables. Using animals to carry gear has been used since the beginning of warfare, but fell out of military use with the advent of all-terrain vehicles.
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- With plans for a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan in the near future, the Marines of 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, are honing their mountaineering skills in order to be ready for combat in any clime or place.
Reverting to a less technological means of maneuver warfare, these Marines are preparing for service with horses and mules to ensure success on the battlefield.
North American Goat Packing Association
The Manual makes mention of the daily food and water requirements for pack goats, but offers no more information on these beasts of burden.
The following link has a lot of information. I do not know if it is the best source of information on pack goats; I read the manual mostly because it was titled for Special Forces and not regular Army, which made me curious. The resourcefulness of using old "technologies" was interesting as well.
<http://www.napga.org/>
What piques my interest the most is that for CENTCOM and SOUTHCOM, goats could be procured in country and disposed of locally and beneficially at end of mission. While pack goats may not have "taken off" as the next yuppie pursuit in suburban Kabul or Bogota, I'm sure there is a lot of local expertise. Basically, I think the option of using pack animals is much more feasible when the using US unit is not shipping livestock half way around the world, but sourcing the muscle locally (not necessarily the supplies and nutrition). Also, it seems a string of goats is a lot less conspicuos than mammoth stock jack mules.
I thought it was a wind-up but apparently not...
Canada Now Looking at the Idea, Too
Canadian military looking to donkeys to help carry the load during summer
Canadian Press, 12 Dec 08
Article link
Quote:
The Canadian Forces already have tanks, armoured vehicles and helicopters at their command in their battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan. They are about to add one more item to their arsenal - the donkey, perhaps the humblest of the beasts of burden.
Yes the donkey corps, for lack of a better name, is in the plans for next summer.
Even those involved in the project see the humour of going back to basics in an era of high-tech weaponry.
"You can't have a project like this that you don't laugh at a bit, but it has the potential to be very successful and, like a lot of things we do, we're adding another arrow to the quiver," said Capt. Chris Quinlan.
The terrain is one of the major challenges facing Canadian and coalition troops in Afghanistan. There are mountains, irrigation canals, grape fields, mud walls around compounds, and wadis - a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain.
Roadways can be limited and narrow, meaning the Taliban can easily place improvised explosive devices that can prove deadly to vehicles carrying Canadian and Afghan soldiers.
The other problem is the heat during the summer months. The temperature can hit the 50s, even 60s.
"Last summer we were up to 55 degrees Celsius, so you're looking well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit," said Maj. Charles Jansen, the self-proclaimed "Ass-Master" spearheading the donkey brigade idea.... More on link
Also, a tongue-in-cheek draft of a shoulder patch for the soon-to-be-formed Canadian Forces Pack Animal Command (CFPANCOM) :D
http://tonyprudori.pbwiki.com/f/Pack...%20Command.gif
Khyber Pass to Italy: WW2 mule OB
Maybe should be in the Obituary thread, but seems best here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obit...or-Warren.html
davidbfpo
I resemble that remark...
This is a plug for some real experts
Uboat, RFD TV has a number of programs devoted to equine training. One of them even deals with mules and donkeys. Horses, donkeys, and mules are smart animals with lots of quirks but they all respond to repetition, intelligently applied pressure, and release. One of my favorite trainers, Aussie born Clinton Anderson has a training motto, "As gentle as possible, as firm as necessary TO GET THE JOB DONE."
Pretty good for all stubborn, high maintenance old mules...:eek:
Cheers
JohnT
Brings us back to Dave Maxwell's blog post
Whose war is it anyway?:rolleyes: If it is their war, then some of the "modern" stuff may not be either available or appropriate. If I may refer to the El Salvador experience here, one of the problems faced by the ESAF was an effective means of pursuit of fleeing FMLN bands. Helicopters would have been the best solution but ESAF didn't have enough and the USA wasn't going to supply them with sufficient numbers. I proposed to my boss a concept of mounted infantry (as distinct from cavalry) using lots of cheap ($150 each) horses with the point rider wearing blast chaps and blast booties as a defense against mines. If a horse took a mine he would be destroyed on the spot and the point rider would mount a new horse and keep going. The pursuit column wouldn't be slowed at all. Couldn't sell it because my boss only saw helos as the solution (oh, and he was a personal friend:confused:).
Cheers
JohnT
Not to mention that if this sort of thing gets more effort
and Teams applied (LINK) the skills may come in handy.
Now if we can just cease with the CIF stuff and get other less extensively trained Fords dedicated to that so the SF trained Cadillacs can do what they should do... :wry: