I like the still from "The Thirteenth Warrior". Good job adding in information about bicycles.
Although Fort Huachuca doesn't have any cavalry per se, equines are widely used in a couple of roles. The Arizona Rangers operating inside SAMAD use horses for patrolling in a manner not entirely dissimilar to COIN operations in southern Africa. They very seldom fight from horseback, although they train to fire rifles at long ranges from horseback and break out of ambushes on horseback (switching to shotguns or sidearms in these instances). Fort Huachuca had a ceremonial cavalry unit prior to the Exchange. These guys go over to the Arizona Rangers to help build the equestrian skills of the new Rangers.
By 2001, horses and mules are also widely used for moving loads away from decent roads. Task force-level anti-marauder operations throughout Arizona typically require the infantry to go to where the enemy has holed up. The terrain surrounding marauder lairs often is selected for its restrictive nature. Sometimes the tanks can't even get there. Horses and mules hauling HE and HESH rockets for the locally-manufactured version of the RPG (as well as other munitions) literally have made the difference between success and failure during many operations in rough terrain. It's not glamorous, but then the logistical jobs seldom are glamorous--just indispensible.
Other government forces in the Southwest make use of horses in a semi-cavalry role. Arizona State Guard 1st Brigade, which is the military arm of the surviving Arizona state government at Flagstaff, uses horses on long-range patrols. The New Mexico state government, which is still hanging on in Santa Fe, uses horses in a similar role. During the ill-fated 1999 offensive by Third Mexican Army, New Mexican forces acted as dragoons. On more than one occasion, when the Mexican column was halted by a roadblock mounted Americans used the off-road mobility of their horses to move to flanking positions. MilGov forces at Cannon AFB in eastern New Mexico also make use of horses for patrolling. USAF SF combine light AFV with horse-mounted troops acting in a dragoon role to respond to security crises.
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“We’re not innovating. We’re selectively imitating.” June Bernstein, Acting President of the University of Arizona in Tucson, November 15, 1998.
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07-07-2011, 07:19 AM
Hybrid Mode
