Special Forces Use of Pack Animals

[Tom Odom]

Historically this was of course more the norm than the exception. That the former Sec Def chose to seize on such ops in Afghanistan just shows a lack of historical understanding.

Despite its fearsome reputation for mechanized warfare, the Wehrmacht was largely horse drawn, especially in the Infantry and Armored Infantry.

The Burma theater was a donkey's paradise: look at the 5307th Composite Unit "Merrills Marauders".

6th Ranger Battalion was originally a mule/donkey unit. They converted to Rangers because they had been handpicked as strapping farm boys.

Same thing in the ETO--especially Italy.

Besides I felt like a pack mule in Ranger school. Does that count?

Tom

[Bill Moore]

Tom,

On the lighter side thanks for the historical reference to the Rangers legacy tied to a much of asses. I'm going to use that one for a few of my buddies down the road. Bill

[El Machetazo]

The Marine Corps still runs an animal packing course at Bridgeport.

[Stan]

The Marine Corps still runs an animal packing course at Bridgeport.

Thanks for the post...Indeed interesting !

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.

[carl]

If I remember correctly, when Crook was chasing the Apaches around in the 1880's, his mules were hauling loads of up to 400 pounds. Indian Army elephants, at the time, were only able to carry 500 pounds.

[Rifleman]

If I remember correctly, when Crook was chasing the Apaches around in the 1880's, his mules were hauling loads of up to 400 pounds. Indian Army elephants, at the time, were only able to carry 500 pounds.

That doesn't sound right to me. Could you find a source for that?

The cavalry used 25% as a rule of thumb for the amount a saddle horse should carry for sustained operations. That means 1000lbs of horse carries 250lbs of trooper and gear. Some Arabs can sustain 1/3 bodyweight.

So, using that rule of thumb, a 1000 - 1200lbs mule should have a 250 - 300lbs load, maximum. If anything, pack stock should carry less proportionately, not more; dead weight is actually harder on an animal than a good rider.

Having said that, both animals and men were pushed past exaustion on campaigns when the tactical situation required it.

[Jedburgh]

....So, using that rule of thumb, a 1000 - 1200lbs mule should have a 250 - 300lbs load, maximum. If anything, pack stock should carry less proportionately, not more; dead weight is actually harder on an animal than a good rider.

It appears that you're pretty much on target. The '44 Pack Transportation FM states that, Over terrain which is not mountainous, the pack mule may be expected to travel 20 miles or more per day carrying 250 pounds of pay load. (Pay load does not include weight of the saddle and its accessories.) As long as the mule receives proper care and feed, this expectancy of his capability continues indefinitely. In mountainous terrain, the mule is capable of carrying 250 pounds, but the distance should be reduced to 10 or 15 miles per day. Loaded pack mules usually are able to travel anywhere a man can walk without the use of his hands for support.


BBC, 4 Aug 07: Venezuela's four-legged mobile libraries

....As the project grows, it is using the latest technology.

Somehow there is already a limited mobile phone signal here, so the organisers are taking advantage of that and equipping the mules with laptops and projectors.

The book mules are becoming cyber mules and cine mules.

"We want to install wireless modems under the banana plants so the villagers can use the internet," says Robert Ramirez, the co-ordinator of the university's Network of Enterprising Rural Schools.

"Imagine if people in the poor towns in the valley can e-mail saying how many tomatoes they'll need next week, or how much celery.

"The farmers can reply telling them how much they can produce. It's blending localisation and globalisation."....

[Steve Blair]

That doesn't sound right to me. Could you find a source for that?

The cavalry used 25% as a rule of thumb for the amount a saddle horse should carry for sustained operations. That means 1000lbs of horse carries 250lbs of trooper and gear. Some Arabs can sustain 1/3 bodyweight.

So, using that rule of thumb, a 1000 - 1200lbs mule should have a 250 - 300lbs load, maximum. If anything, pack stock should carry less proportionately, not more; dead weight is actually harder on an animal than a good rider.

Having said that, both animals and men were pushed past exaustion on campaigns when the tactical situation required it.

I missed this one earlier....

There was much talk about mules being able to carry 250-400 pounds, but it was just that...talk. Thomas Devin discovered in 1868 that mules were really only capable of handling about 200 pounds; anything more than that and mobility was reduced to an unacceptable level. Crook's packers might have squeezed a few more pounds on them, and had better stock, but you're still looking at 250 pounds as a maximum (and the 1944 packers' manual was based on articles and manuals that were a direct result of Indian Wars experience with mules).

Crook was notorious for his expenditure of men and horses on campaign, and had been since before the Civil War. He was much more careful of his mule train (too much so in the opinion of many who campaigned with him in 1876). Other commands had reasonable success with them (Mackenzie used mules during his Remolino raid in 1873 and later during the Red River War...and if I recall he also complained about Crook's logistics during the 1876 campaign).

Mules, on the whole, tended to work best with small scouting operations or columns that had under, say, 150 men. Once you cleared that point, it became something of a toss-up, IMO.

[Mike Spight]

When I was still teaching in the SOF Element, CGSOC, one of the DJMO instructors (an ADA LTC who was a real, no BS cowboy--grew up on a Montana ranch) would run a weekend class for SOF Advanced Track students out of the stables on Ft. Leavenworth. Subject: packing and riding horses.

I believe it was offered 2 or 3 times in the two years I was there.

[MattM]

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.

[J Wolfsberger]

The Burma theater was a donkey's paradise: look at the 5307th Composite Unit "Merrills Marauders".

My first wife's father was one of the mule skinners with Merril's Marauders. I may be misremembering, but he claimed that they were able to provide almost all the logistic support for the unit. (He still had his McClellan saddle. I admired the fortitude it took to spend hours on the d--- thing. )

[Tom Odom]

My first wife's father was one of the mule skinners with Merril's Marauders. I may be misremembering, but he claimed that they were able to provide almost all the logistic support for the unit. (He still had his McClellan saddle. I admired the fortitude it took to spend hours on the d--- thing. )

good paper here on the Marauders from a good friend Dr, Gary Bjorge

Merrill's Marauders:Combined Operations in Northern Burma in 1944

Also a Chapter in Research Survey #6 on Light Infantry on the Marauders and the Chndits Gary wrote this one as well.

Tom