On the rocky, uneven path, Annie never stumbled. A good donkey, Marines say, knows three steps ahead where it wants to walk.
For Lance Cpl. Chad Campbell, of Pleasant Hill, Mo., and Lance Cpl. Cameron Cross, of Altus, Okla., the day with Annie could be a preview of days to come. Soon, the two might deploy to Afghanistan where donkeys and mules have been the preferred mode of military transport for centuries - and remain so.
With the U.S. shifting its focus from the deserts of Iraq to the mountains of Central Asia, this class on pack animals at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center has become important to the new mission.
Opened in 1951 to train troops for Korea, the center is set on 47,000 acres of the Toiyabe National Forest, where the Sierra Nevada’s peaks soar above 10,000 feet, perfect terrain to teach high-altitude combat skills.
Five donkeys, 24 mules and five sergeant-trainers are stationed at the center for the animal-packing course, which is given eight times a year to Marines, Army soldiers, Navy SEALs and some foreign troops.
Humvees and helicopters are of limited use in Afghanistan’s mountains. There are few roads, and the air is thin. But a 1,000-pound mule or 400-pound donkey can easily carry a load one-third its weight, or more, if necessary.
The weapons of war have changed, but the basics of handling donkeys and mules are not much different than in the time of Genghis Khan.
“It’s a very primitive way to carry very modern weapons,” said Sgt. Joe Neal, one of the instructors. “But it works.”
On the first day of the 12-day course, Campbell, Cross and 40 other junior Marines, all from Camp Pendleton, listened intently at the corral in Pickel Meadows as instructors talked of battles won with the help of four-footed allies.
The students learned to pack machine guns, mortars, grenades, Javelin missiles and M-16 ammunition, as well as food, water and medical supplies - all needed to carry the fight to the enemy.
“The Taliban are born mountain men; they can move faster in that terrain than we can,” said Staff Sgt. Tyler McDaniel, an Iraq War veteran who is lead instructor for the course. “The pack animals are a force-multiplier. They make sure we can get enough gear and men to the fight.”
After several days spent learning to handle rope, tie knots and hitches, and pack and balance loads, the students were graded on the basic knots and hitches, and their demeanor around the animals.
“It’s a dying skill that we need to revive,” said Sgt. Jerry Meece, 35, of Lufkin, who was a bull rider on the rodeo circuit before enlisting.
The animal-packing course dates to the 1980s when the CIA sent operatives here before they were dispatched to help the Afghans fight the Soviet occupation force. The agency bought several thousand mules for the Afghans to maintain supply lines.
When they reach Afghanistan, the Marines probably will work with donkeys, which are cheaper and more common. A good donkey can be had there for $5.
The trek up the mountain to a grassy meadow the Marines call “LZ (Landing Zone) Penguin” came on the fourth day. The Marines and animals trudged for more than three hours and three miles up narrow rock-strewn trails, a climb of about 1,000 feet.
The mules - bigger, sleeker and more cooperative - led the single-file procession.
On those half-dozen occasions when Annie refused to budge, Campbell and Cross stuck to the dictum drilled into them: Donkeys do not respond well to rough treatment or harsh language.
Sgt. Chad Giles, 25, sat on his horse and watched the two Marines coax and cajole Annie. He urged persistence but admonished against rude language, saying they should talk to her as they would a woman they loved.
For the donkeys and mules - bred for strength and stamina - the size of their loads and the steepness of the terrain was no problem. For the Marines, each with a 30-pound pack, it was. Many were winded and flushed.
“We wanted a challenge and we got what we asked for,” Cross said.
