From: "Mark" 

Seriously though, even in view of this somewhat Monty Pythonish header:
"Does the Navy *ask* the dolphins and sea lions to do dangerous
things?"

I think that the dolphins would say, nope we ain't doing that dangerous
stuff, not until that Davis-Bacon Act is unsuspended  

http://www.spawar.navy.mil/sandiego/technology/mammals/NMMP_FAQ.html


"Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
news:43375bff{at}w3.nls.net...
> Ah yes - I understand now. We get to invade Cuba if one of Castro's attack
> dolphins is spotted swimming up the Potomac.
>
>
>
> "Mark"  wrote in message
news:43374d54{at}w3.nls.net...
>> Way too complicated and far off Rich, it'll be Castro's fault 
>>
>> "Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
>> news:43374912$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>>> Ands if they train free dolphins we could have an armed ( flippered? )
>>> rebellion in the Gulf.  Although Bush will proclain that US dolphins
>>> aren't responsible - It's those outsider dolphins from the Indian Ocean
>>> that are the culprits 
>>>
>>>
>>> "Mark"  wrote in message
news:4337448e{at}w3.nls.net...
>>>> Finally, I know what the big deal is on the dolphins in the news all
>>>> the time! I had been thinking, so what?, they're out in
their natural
>>>> environment again...
>>>>
>>>> Now I know, hapless snorkeling fools off the coast of Sanibel Island
>>>> may just get taken out, instead of taking out shells. 
>>>>
>>>> "Rich Gauszka"  wrote
in message
>>>> news:43373bbf{at}w3.nls.net...
>>>>> Think Flipper will have a wanted poster hung in the Post Office?
>>>>>
>>>>>
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1577753,00.html
>>>>>
>>>>> Armed and dangerous - Flipper the firing dolphin let
loose by Katrina
>>>>>
>>>>> by Mark Townsend Houston
>>>>> Sunday September 25, 2005
>>>>> The Observer
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> It may be the oddest tale to emerge from the aftermath
of Hurricane
>>>>> Katrina. Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot
>>>>> terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be
missing in the Gulf
>>>>> of Mexico.
>>>>> Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean
training exercises
>>>>> claim the 36 mammals could be carrying 'toxic dart'
guns. Divers and
>>>>> surfers risk attack, they claim, from a species
considered to be among
>>>>> the planet's smartest. The US navy admits it has been training
>>>>> dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to
confirm that any
>>>>> are missing.
>>>>>
>>>>> Dolphins have been trained in attack-and-kill missions
since the Cold
>>>>> War. The US Atlantic bottlenose dolphins have
apparently been taught
>>>>> to shoot terrorists attacking military vessels. Their
coastal compound
>>>>> was breached during the storm, sweeping them out to
sea. But those who
>>>>> have studied the controversial use of dolphins in the US defence
>>>>> programme claim it is vital they are caught quickly.
>>>>>
>>>>> Leo Sheridan, 72, a respected accident investigator
who has worked for
>>>>> government and industry, said he had received intelligence from
>>>>> sources close to the US government's marine fisheries service
>>>>> confirming dolphins had escaped.
>>>>>
>>>>> 'My concern is that they have learnt to shoot at
divers in wetsuits
>>>>> who have simulated terrorists in exercises. If divers
or windsurfers
>>>>> are mistaken for a spy or suicide bomber and if
equipped with special
>>>>> harnesses carrying toxic darts, they could fire,' he
said. 'The darts
>>>>> are designed to put the target to sleep so they can be
interrogated
>>>>> later, but what happens if the victim is not found for hours?'
>>>>>
>>>>> Usually dolphins were controlled via signals
transmitted through a
>>>>> neck harness. 'The question is, were these dolphins
made secure before
>>>>> Katrina struck?' said Sheridan.
>>>>>
>>>>> The mystery surfaced when a separate group of dolphins
was washed from
>>>>> a commercial oceanarium on the Mississippi coast
during Katrina. Eight
>>>>> were found with the navy's help, but the dolphins were
not returned
>>>>> until US navy scientists had examined them.
>>>>>
>>>>> Sheridan is convinced the scientists were keen to
ensure the dolphins
>>>>> were not the navy's, understood to be kept in training
ponds in a
>>>>> sound in Louisiana, close to Lake Pontchartrain, whose waters
>>>>> devastated New Orleans.
>>>>>
>>>>> The navy launched the classified Cetacean Intelligence
Mission in San
>>>>> Diego in 1989, where dolphins, fitted with harnesses and small
>>>>> electrodes planted under their skin, were taught to
patrol and protect
>>>>> Trident submarines in harbour and stationary warships at sea.
>>>>>
>>>>> Criticism from animal rights groups ensured the use of
dolphins became
>>>>> more secretive. But the project gained impetus after
the Yemen terror
>>>>> attack on the USS Cole in 2000. Dolphins have also
been used to detect
>>>>> mines near an Iraqi port.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

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