Dolphins of war earn their keep

The dolphins deployed by the US Navy in the Persian Gulf last year as underwater sentinels have been “valuable” in protecting coalition ships and piers against terrorist attacks.

“The mission is going well, the dolphins have provided a very valuable layer of defence here,” said Lieutenant Josh Frey, a spokesman for the 5th Fleet, which is based in Bahrain. ”We judge their success by the fact that no terrorism has occurred here.”

The dolphins, brought to the region in the spring of 2003, are trained to detect, locate and mark a threat swimmer or diver and alert their human handlers.

Citing security reasons, Frey would not say how many dolphins have been deployed or how long they will be in their region.

“We have used them operationally and they have performed very well,” said Frey.

Lt. Kary Olson, who is in charge of this particular mammal system, said this has been the longest combat theatre deployment for the Mark 6 dolphins.

“We have established an excellent location here and we have the capability if their presence is required for the long term here,” said Olson, as a 400 pound dolphin named Luke made a splashing appearance inside a floating pen.

The nine-foot-long dolphin stood on its tail to receive a fish that a Navy handler on the patrol boat threw in his direction.

“They need some time for fun,” Olson said.

The dolphins can be used for both day and night missions, he said.

The Navy started using marine mammals in the early 1960s, when scientists studied if dolphins’ sleek shape had hydrodynamic qualities that could help improve underwater missiles.