Albeit it may sound absurd, the navy history of the United States of America involves navy dolphins. This is not a name of a special squad of specially trained soldiers like the US Navy SEALS. By navy dolphins, these are the mammals that inhabit the seas. This is not a conspiracy theory nor is it a figment of the imagination. The United States navy does employ navy dolphins. It is not a secret kept away from the public. As a matter of fact, this information is disclosed to everyone who may wish to access it. It is true; US navy history includes the history of its navy dolphins.
The navy history of navy dolphins in the United States of American began with the Navy’s Marine Mammal Program, which began in the 1960s. This navy program had two specific goals. First, its aim was to study the underwater sonar capabilities of dolphins and beluga whales so the navy can study how to make more efficient methods of detecting underwater objects as well as to improve the speed of the navy’s boats and submarines by researching how dolphins are capable of swimming so fast and diving so deep. In addition to the research, the navy also trained navy dolphins and other marine mammals to perform tasks such as delivering tools and utensils to divers, searching and repossessing lost objects, safeguarding ships and submarines, as well as using underwater surveillance cameras. As a matter of fact, navy dolphins precisely performed these sorts of tasks during the Vietnam War and in the Persian Gulf.
Let us have a brief timeline of the United States of America’s navy history and the involvement of navy dolphins.
In the 1960s, the navy began the use of marine mammals. Then in the year 1965, the Navy Marine Mammal Program launched its pioneering military projected—the Sea Lab II. Somewhere in the waters of La Jolla, California, the dolphin Tuffy completed the first successful navy dolphin open ocean military exercise. He repetitively dove 200 feet underwater to the Sea Lab II installation carrying with him mail and tools to the navy personnel.
From 1965 to 1975, navy dolphins were sent to Cam Ranh Bay in order to perform underwater surveillance and to secure military boats from adversary swimmers. This was the time when navy dolphins were indispensable in the Vietnam War. There were rumors spreading that the US Navy trained their navy dolphins to perform a swimmer nullification program wherein the dolphins were trained to kill enemy swimmers. The US Navy denied the existence of such program.
In the 1980’s, this period of navy history of the United States of America is known to be the expansion of the Marine Mammal Program. They increased the number of navy dolphins. From 1986 to 1988, navy dolphins were deployed in the Persian Gulf. These dolphins patrolled the waters near the harbor of Bahrain where they often served as attendants to tankers and other ships.
In the late 1980’s the US Navy made use of navy dolphins to protect a particular US military station. Then in 1994, a new policy was enacted wherein their navy dolphins will only be moved between environments with only a 20 degree difference in temperature except for emergency situations
By the 1990s, there was a downsizing and declassification of the entire use of navy dolphins. In fact, during this decade, the budget for the Marine Mammal Program significantly decreased. Of the several training centers for navy dolphins, only one was retained. In addition to that, at the start of the decade, there were about 103 navy dolphins in the US navy. But only 70 were kept because of the downsizing plan. Through the 1992 Defense Appropriations Act, US Congress prearranged half million dollars to the navy to train marine mammals which they are discarding to be able to adapt to their natural habitats.
Some of the surplus navy dolphins were given to marine parks. The rest were kept by the navy until their deaths. Today, there are still navy dolphins employed by the US navy.
As shown here, the navy history of the United States of America has made use of navy dolphins. They served important functions not just for research but for practical navy operations. It is not a conspiracy theory, a figment of imagination, or a videogame presentation. There are real navy dolphins.
This Article is written by James Kara Murat
