Show Navys Navy's marine mammals are doing a whale of a job Tony Perry Los Angeles Times Ten a dolphin jumped out jumped out of the water and was greeted by her naval colleague with a apat apat apat pat on the snout I love this animal Petty Officer class 3rd-class Shawn McDonald said The brass likes her too She was part of ofa a contingent of dolphins and sea lions that deployed to the Persian Gulf from 2003 to 2005 to detect mines and underwater saboteurs On Thursday Navy officials allowed a rare glimpse into the training of Ten and the other 74 dolphins and 25 California B sea lions The Navys Navy's whale is kept at Sea Adventure Park For decades the Navys Navy's marine mammal program was one of the most secretive programs in the US U.S. military Now the Navy has a explaining it Still rumors persist that tha the Navy is training the dolphins and sea lions as killers I dont don't know how we prove that were we're not doing what were we're not doing said Mike Rothe head of the marine mammal program Routinely the Navy issues such denials and just as routinely the minors Dolphins Continued on page 3 H 1 4 k f J w N Nt z I t 1 r n Dolphins h help lp Navy Continued from page I 1 circulate that the mammals are taught how to put explosives beneath enemy ships or drag underwater terrorists to their deaths The officials warn reporters not to believe what they may have read And for goodness sakes officials say dont don't buy into 1974 fi thriller The Day of the Dolphin starring George C. C Scott The movie posits a nefarious group of big- big business types hijacking two talking dolphins to blow up the president of the United States aboard his y yacht cht The Navys Navy's says flatly The Navy does not now train nor has it ever trained its marine mammals to harm or injure humans in any fashion or to carry weapons to destroy ships A light slap is taken at Hollywood Fantasy is more interesting than reality commission j in jn in 1990 reported that the dolphins and sea lions are definitely non But when the Hurricane Katrina hit the Louisiana coast a British newspaper reported that Navy killer dolphins had gotten loose and were on the prowl in inthe inthe inthe the gulf The Navy insisted it had no dolphins in Louisiana but to no avail The marine mammal program received its biggest boost during the Cold War The Soviet Navy had its own dolphin program Neither side wanted to tobe tobe tobe be on the wrong side of a dolphin Dolphins were used as guards in Cam Rahn Bay during the Vietnam War Var and andin andin andin in the Persian Gulf during the Iraq Iran-Iraq war Dolphins guarded the bay behind the San Diego convention center during the 1996 Republican convention In 2003 dolphins and sea lions went to the Persian Gulf in advance of the US U.S. invasion of Iraq The latest flurry of interest in the marine mammal program came in February when it was announced that dolphins and sea lions were being considered for use as guards at the Kitsap-Bangor Kitsap Naval Base in Washington home to the largest US U.S. nuclear arsenal At Thursdays Thursday's news conference reporters were shown a video given a chance to ask questions of normally shy media-shy officials and then watched dolphins and sea lions in their individual holdin holding g pens The dolphins dolphin's s physiological al sonar i is s considered better than tha n anything built by a defense defens c contractor In fact severa several 1 years ago the Navy mistakenly figured that tha t technology would make th the e dolphins obsolete The sea lion has great vision in low light great hearing capability and can maneuver in tight spots trainers said Both dolphins and sea lions are trained to find a swimmer and then place a clamp on his or her leg and take an attached line to the sailors awaiting above They also I can cap mark ark unde underwater vater I objects Its their natural I environment they own the water said Navy Jon Wood For Bangor one plan would have 30 dolphins and sea lions working in shifts to guard the Bangor base Conservationists oppose the plan for Bangor They allege the animals could be harmed by the cold water UJ an assertion that Navy veterinarians dispute Some details remain secret including how far the mammals can hear and see and how many sailors go with them when they deploy to provide force protection for a task force But on the issue of their duties officials are unequivocal Its It's mine- mine detection and swimmer deterrence and theres there's not a Rambo or in the bunch h |