Post by Larry Koschkee on Aug 1, 2004 21:57:48 GMT -5
In 2002, 170 years after the Black Hawk War, United States Special Forces entered Afghanistan to seek and destroy al Qaeda and Taliban combatants. There we witnessed the first U. S. cavalry charges of the 21st century. Once again there were mounted Rangers charging into battle. Geeesh!
Old Charge em Boys Henry Dodge the first commander of the United States Mounted Rangers would have been proud.
There are accounts that the mounted special forces charged fortified positions in the face of mortar, artillery and small arms fire.
For centuries the horse has been the best ATV (all-terrain-vehicle) available in warfare and in this age of high tech warfare they were pressed into service once again with excellent results. In addition, mules answered the call of duty, packing food, ammunition and gear through Afghanistan's mountains and deserts.
From the moment I learned horses were being used by the special forces, I wanted to know what type of saddles were used.... local Afghan saddles, a new U.S. Military saddle or did they find some old McClellan army saddles in moth balls. When I started asking around, the Quartermasters gave me the impression, the type of saddle was top secret or classified information. (As my teen-age daughter would say "What ever." ) Finally, persistence paid off and it was determined "western" style saddles made in the United States were used.
There just has to be a movie made about this cavalry action in Afghanistan... What say you?
"De oppresso liber" "Liberate the oppressed"
Old Charge em Boys Henry Dodge the first commander of the United States Mounted Rangers would have been proud.
There are accounts that the mounted special forces charged fortified positions in the face of mortar, artillery and small arms fire.
For centuries the horse has been the best ATV (all-terrain-vehicle) available in warfare and in this age of high tech warfare they were pressed into service once again with excellent results. In addition, mules answered the call of duty, packing food, ammunition and gear through Afghanistan's mountains and deserts.
From the moment I learned horses were being used by the special forces, I wanted to know what type of saddles were used.... local Afghan saddles, a new U.S. Military saddle or did they find some old McClellan army saddles in moth balls. When I started asking around, the Quartermasters gave me the impression, the type of saddle was top secret or classified information. (As my teen-age daughter would say "What ever." ) Finally, persistence paid off and it was determined "western" style saddles made in the United States were used.
There just has to be a movie made about this cavalry action in Afghanistan... What say you?
"De oppresso liber" "Liberate the oppressed"
