Johnson: Pets can serve, too

Great sniffers, sharp eyesight, acute hearing, the strength and stamina to carry heavy loads, the ability to easily go places mankind cannot and the companionship they offer — animals have attributes that make them quite an asset when it comes to certain challenges.

In an era of technology and motorized vehicles, it’s easy to forget animals were once crucial to accomplishing most any task and that in many respects, life revolved around the roles they played in human endeavors.

Particularly, before industrialization the significance of domestic animals to the average person was clear — cows for milk and meat, chickens for eggs, horses for transportation and farm work, dogs to guard the property and livestock, cats to control vermin — however warfare is another area where animals have been hugely instrumental in the history and progress of mankind.

Going back to ancient times, dogs easily found a place with soldiers, their desire to please, trainability, keen senses and aggressiveness obvious benefits on the battlefield.

Beasts of burden from horses to oxen and elephants were also naturally adapted to combat, not just to carry weapons, troops and supplies, but also to use their strength and size. Trained to fight, charge and trample the enemy, they often served as weapons themselves.

Sharna Johnson

Over time, countless animals have joined military men and women in service to the U.S. military, including horses, mules, dogs, cats, pigeons, rodents, aquatic creatures and even insects.

Dogs are perhaps one of the most well known animals to serve in the modern military, and the United States maintains a force of roughly 2,700 trained canines in its efforts around the world. Much more than mere guard dogs, these military working dogs also detect explosives, narcotics, perform search and rescue and scouting and patrol missions.

Lesser-known military animals, for more than 50 years, dolphins, and more recently, sea lions, have done similar duties for the US Navy. Dolphins use their speed and agility in the water, coupled with extremely powerful sonar capabilities to detect and mark mines and other objects and to perform covert missions.

Though lacking sonar, sea lions perform the same tasks, aided by their agility and strong vision in dark underwater areas and have even been trained to cuff divers in order to restrain them until humans can remove them from the water.

One of the oldest wartime animals, horses are maintained by the U.S. military for ceremonies and other details but no longer depended on for combat purposes. Special Forces troops however, did use horses in 2001 during the invasion of Afghanistan and horses are still kept to train for potential combat situations that require horseback riding. In recent years, the Marine Corps has also trained troops to use pack mules in remote locations.

It is difficult to quantify how many lives these animals have saved as they prevent explosives from killing and maiming, alert troops to dangers, defend military members in the field, and make it possible for troops to get themselves, their equipment, and supplies where they need to be.

For that matter, it’s impossible to know the extent of the positive impact their companionship and spirit-boosting affections have for troops during difficult times.

Though they may not volunteer like their human counterparts, military animals give everything they have to protect and fight for their military companions, sometimes even sacrificing their own lives to get the job done.

This Memorial Day while we reflect on and honor lives lost in service to the nation, we do well to also remember the animals that have worked, fought and sacrificed their lives alongside the men and women of the armed forces.

Sharna Johnson is a writer who is always searching for ponies. You can reach her at:

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