[NormsRevenge]

U.S. Marines lead the donkeys that they use to transport supplies to drink water from a river in Kandagal village, Kunar province, eastern Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2005. Hundreds of American Marines and Afghan special forces Sat. Aug. 13, 2005 trekked from the base in Kandagal far into remote Afghan mountains to retake a valley controlled by militants suspected of ambushing a team of U.S. commandos and shooting down a special forces helicopter. (AP Photo/Tomas Munita)

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A Marine watches as jackasses First Class Hillary, Jamie and Madeline have a drink.

[Parley Baer]

Him the cavalry is resurrected. Hehehehe.

[Fiddlstix]

Works for me.

[vetvetdoug]

Merrill's Marauders used donkeys and mules. I have a client that was one of the Marauders and said he left home to get away from mules and ended up in the Army using one for months. Wainwright said 50 years ago the military needed to retain the knowledge of horses, donkeys, and mules that had been learned by the cavalry over the past 150 years. He said one of these days we'll be in a war where mechanization is useless and we'll need the pack animals.

[elbucko]

A Marine watches as jackasses First Class Hillary, Jamie and Madeline have a drink.

That was an insult to all donkey's everywhere.

FWIW I like "Donks", they make great pets and are better for young children to ride than most ponys. At our municipal stables we used to have two donks for the kids to ride, a male (a "jack") and a female (a "jenny") named "Don" and "Kay", respectively. These Marines and Special Forces are getting a taste of an America that used to be when it was more rural and more conservative. I hope they bring it home with them, become educated in the ways of politics and run for office. For they will have learned more about being trusted public servants from these reliable donkeys than they ever will from the Democrat Party.

[tutstar]

ping

[Shannon]

That tan animal needs food and needs it now. Shouldn't be able to count the ribs. This is disturbing to see. If they're using these animals they need to feed them also.

[silverleaf]

well, they learned a thing or two about ass-riding while they were in basic.....

[mtbopfuyn]

Fuel costs are lower too.

[Beaker]

*ping*

[A.A. Cunningham]

Puller et al used pack mules in Nicaragua during the Banana Wars.

Good reading material never goes out of fashion.

Small Wars Manual

[skinkinthegrass]

Somehow, First class Hillary, Jamie and Madeline, have never looked better...

[ASOC]

heh

Reminds me of that old "Willie and Joe" toon, there the Sargent yells at a wrangler to "get your ass off the ridge'
(Military crest vs natural crest for the folks in Rio Loma)

No love lost even then.....

[ccmay]

We used donkeys and mules in Central America during the 80s. I once knew an old muleskinner who had made a pretty penny instructing the Green Berets on mule packing.

-ccm

[Smokin' Joe]

The Army used mules in Korea, and in WWII, according to my father and a blacksmith I knew.

They would go places a 6X would not (when the obstinate critters cooperated).