Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The US Navy: Channeling Andre Norton

Recently there have been revelations of how the US military, and the Navy in particular, are using trained animals as part of their portfolio of weapons and "personnel."
The US Navy Marine Mammal Program has trained dolphins and sea lions to aid in mine detection as well as perimeter defense against enemy swimmers. These animals can be deployed by air to spots around the world in short order, and can also serve while being based on a ship.In fact, they've served from Alaska to Hawaii to Iraq, and are now serving in home ports, protecting nuclear submarines.

Reading the reports of these animal seamen, I was taken back to some of the first science fiction I ever read. My 7th grade science teacher got me to read The Beast Master, by Andre Norton (not to be confused with the similarly-named movie, The Beastmaster, which is shown on the Turner networks on a weekly basis)

Clearly the Navy has not been forthcoming regarding the special psionic devices they're using in the training and control of these animals. It may be a generation before non-military personnel are allowed access to this technology, as it typical of DARPA projects.  Still, it's quite gratifying to know that the US military is finally catching up to the science fiction of 1959.

Posted by Procrustes 17

Related Posts:

No comments:

Post a Comment