美国海军动物特种兵

We all know that animals can be very clever. But it seems incredible that you could train them to perform useful inde pendent tasks for a modern military. Nonetheless, that's exactly what the U.S. Navy has done.

The U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program (NMMP) is a project administered by the U.S. Navy which studies the military use of marine mammals, mostly dolphins and sea lions, and trains the animals to perform tasks such as ship and harbour protection, mine detection and clearance, and equipment recovery. The program is based in San Diego, California, where the animals are housed and trained on an ongoing basis. NMMP animal teams have been deployed for use in combat zones, such as during the Vietnam War and the Iraq War.

History

The origins of the program date back to 1960, when a Pacific White-sided Dolphin was acquired for hydrodynamic studies seeking to improve torpedo performance.

In 1963, the animals' intelligence, exceptional diving ability, and trainability led to the foundation of a new research program at Point Mugu, California, where a research facility was built on a sand spit between Mugu Lagoon and the ocean. The intention was to study the dolphins' senses and capabilities, such as their natural sonar and deep-diving physiology, and to determine how dolphins and sea lions might be used to perform useful tasks, such as searching for and marking objects in the water. A major accomplishment was the discovery that trained dolphins and sea lions could be reliably used untethered in the open sea.

In 1965, a Navy dolphin named Tuffy participated in the SEALABⅡproject off La Jolla, California, carrying tools and messages between the surface and the habitat 200 feet below. Tuffy was also trained to locate and guide lost divers to safety.

In 1967, the Point Mugu facility and its personnel were relocated to Point Loma in San Diego, and placed under the control of the newly formed Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center San Diego.

There are five marine mammal teams, each trained for a specific type of mission. Each human-animal team is known by a "mark" number (MK for short); the five teams are called "MK 4", "MK 5", "MK 6", "MK 7", and "MK 8". The MK 4, 7 and 8 teams use dolphins; MK 5 uses sea lions, and MK 6 uses both. These teams can be deployed at 72 hours' notice by ship, aircraft, helicopter and land vehicle to locations around the world.

我们都知道，动物可以是非常聪明的。不过，你要是可以训练它们为现代军队独立完成实用任务，似乎就显得不可思议了。然而，那正是美国海军已经办到的事情。

美国的“海军海洋哺乳动物计划”（简称“NMMP”）是美国海军实施的一个项目，以海豚和海狮为主，对海洋哺乳动物进行研究，并训练这些动物完成一些任务，如船只和港口的保护、水雷的探测和清除以及设备的回收。这一计划以加利福尼亚州的圣地亚哥为基地，在那里这些动物不断被圈养起来，进行训练。“海军海洋哺乳动物计划”中的这些动物小组曾被部署到战区使用，如在越南战争和伊拉克战争期间。

历史寻踪

这一计划的根源可追溯至1960年，当时曾找到了一只太平洋短吻海豚进行流体动力学的研究，以期提高鱼雷的性能。

1963年，这类动物的智力、非凡的潜水能力和可训性，使得一个新的研究计划得以在加利福尼亚州的穆古岬展开，在那里，一座研究设施在位于穆古泻湖和大海之间的一个沙洲上建立了起来。其目的是研究海豚的官能和能力，如它们的天然声纳和深潜生理系统，并确定海豚和海狮如何能够被用来完成实用任务，如对水中物体进行搜索和标识。而一个主要的成果就是发现了经过训练的海豚和海狮可以在外海中不加拴系而放心使用。

1965年，海军一只名为“塔菲”的海豚在加利福尼亚州拉约勒的沿海地区参加了“海洋实验室2号”项目，在水面和水下200英尺处的居住舱之间传送工具和信息。“塔菲”也曾接受训练来锁定和引导迷路潜水员前往安全地带。

1967年，穆古岬的设施和人员被重新安置到圣地亚哥的洛马岬，接受新成立的圣地亚哥“空间与海洋作战系统中心”的管理。

海洋哺乳动物小组共有5组，每组受训完成一种特定的任务类型。而每个“人畜小组”以“标号”数字（简称“MK”）进行识别；这5个小组被称为“MK 4”、“MK 5”、“MK 6”、“MK 7”和“MK 8”。“MK 4”、“MK 7”和“MK 8”小组使用海豚，“MK 5”使用海狮，而“MK6”则两种都用。这些小组在接到通知后可以在72小时内用船只、飞机、直升机和陆路车辆部署到世界各地的地点上去。

Various Tasks五花八门的任务

Mine Hunting

Three of the marine mammal teams are trained to clear enemy sea mines, which constitute a major hazard to U.S. Navy ships. MK 4 uses dolphins to detect and mark the location of tethered sea mines floating off the bottom, while MK 7 dolphins are trained to detect and mark the location of mines on the sea floor or buried in sediment. The MK 8 team is trained to swiftly identify safe corridors for the initial landing of troops ashore.

In operation, a dolphin awaits a cue from its handler before starting to search a specific area using its natural echolocation. The dolphin reports back to its handler, giving particular responses to communicate whether a target object is detected. If a mine-like target is detected, the handler sends the dolphin to mark the location of the object, so it can be avoided by Navy vessels or neutralized by Navy divers.

Mine-clearance dolphins were deployed to the Persian Gulf during the Iraq War in 2003. The Navy claims that these dolphins were effective in helping to clear more than 100 anti-ship mines and underwater booby traps from the port of Umm Qasr.

水雷搜索

在海洋哺乳动物小组中，有3组是受训清除对美国海军船只构成主要威胁的敌军海洋水雷。“MK4”使用海豚来探测并标识在洋底上方浮动的系线水雷的位置，“MK7”的海豚受训探测和标识位于海床或埋藏在淤积物中的水雷的位置。而“MK8”小组则受训为部队的最初登岸划定安全通道。

在行动中，海豚先是等待其训练者的提示，然后利用天生的回声定位能力开始搜索一个特定区域。这只海豚会返回到其训练者处复命，做出某种反应来告知是否探测到了一个目标物。如果探测到了一个类似水雷的目标，训练者就派遣这只海豚去标识那一物体的位置，因此海军舰船就可以进行躲避或是由海军潜水员将其排除。

在2003年伊拉克战争期间，用于清除水雷的海豚曾被部署到波斯湾。海军称，这些海豚曾有效地协助从乌姆盖斯尔港中清除100多颗反舰水雷和水下饵雷。

Force Protection

MK 6 uses dolphins and sea lions as sentries to protect harbor installations and ships against unauthorized human swimmers. MK 6 was first operationally deployed with dolphins during the Vietnam War from 1971 to 1972 and in Bahrain from 1986 to 1987.

部队保障

“MK6”将海豚和海狮用作哨兵来防止人类游泳者擅自接近港口设施和船只。在1971到1972年的越南战争期间以及1986到1987年的巴林，“MK6”的海豚被首次部署于实战。

Object Recovery

MK 5 is dedicated to the recovery of test equipment that is fired from ships or dropped from planes into the ocean; the team uses Californian sea lions to locate and attach recovery hardware to underwater objects such as practice mines. In this role they can out-perform human divers, who are restricted to short working times and limited repeat diving.

This team first demonstrated its capabilities when it recovered an anti-submarine rocket from a depth of 180 feet in November 1970. The team has also trained in the recovery of dummy victims in a simulated airplane crash.

物品回收

“MK5”专门用来回收由船只发射或由飞机投掷到海洋中的测试设备；这个小组使用加利福尼亚州的海狮来将回收部件进行锁定并贴附到教练水雷之类的水下物体上。在这个角色上，与限于短时间工作和反复潜水次数有限的人类潜水员相比，它们做得更出色。

1970年11月，当这个小组从180英尺深的地方回收了一枚反潜火箭弹之时，它首次展示了其能力所在。该小组还曾受训在模拟的飞机坠毁事件中找寻遇难模型人。

Attack Missions

There has been significant speculation that Navy dolphins are trained in attack missions, such as direct attacks against swimmers in the water or attaching limpet mines to enemy ships in harbor. This is also a popular theme in fiction.

The Navy claims that it has never trained its marine mammals for attack missions against people or ships. Since dolphins cannot discern the difference between enemy and friendly vessels, or divers and swimmers, this would be a haphazard means of warfare; instead, the animals are trained to detect all mines and swimmers in an area of concern, and to report back to their handlers, who then decide upon an appropriate response.

攻击任务

曾有大量猜测称，海军的这些海豚是受训来完成攻击任务的，如对水下游泳者的直接攻击或是将吸附式水雷贴附到港口中的敌军船只上。而这也是小说中的一个流行主题。

海军称从未将其海洋哺乳动物用于针对人或船只的攻击任务训练。由于海豚无法分清敌我舰船或潜水员与游泳者的区别，所以这会是一个不可靠的战争手段；相对地，这些动物是受训在相关区域探测所有的水雷和游泳者，并返回到其训练者处复命，由训练者在随后决定做出恰当反应。

marine /m9`r1n/ adj.海的；海产的

mammal /`m2m9l/ n.哺乳动物

mine /main/ n.水雷；地雷

detection /di`tekH9n/ n.探测；侦查

recovery /ri`k7v9ri/ n.回收；取回

house /haus/ vt.给……房子住

ongoing /`4nG9uiM/ adj.正在进行的

deploy /di`pl4i/ v.部署

date back to回溯到

hydrodynamic /`haidr9udai`n2mik/

adj.流体动力学的；水力的

torpedo /t5`p1d9u/ n.鱼雷

sand spit(地)沙洲

sonar /`s9un3/ n.声纳

physiology /,fizi`4l9_/ n.生理系统；生理学

untethered /7n`teN9d/ adj.(牲口)没有拴系的

open sea 外海；远海

habitat /`h2bit2t/ n.(考察或实验用的)居住舱

helicopter /`helik4pt9/ n.直升机

sea floor 海床；海底

sediment /`sedim9nt/ n.沉淀物；沉积

swiftly /swiftli/ adv.迅速地；敏捷地

ashore /9`H5/ adv.向岸地

cue /kju:/ n.提示；暗示

handler /`h2ndl9/ n.(犬马等的)训练者

echolocation /ek9ul9u`keiH(9)n/ n.回声定位能力

communicate /k9`m(nikeit/ v.告知；传达

neutralize /`n(tr9laiz/ v.使无效

booby trap (军)饵雷；诡雷

sentry /`sentri/ n.岗哨

installation /,inst9`leiH9n/ n.(军事)设施

operationally /,4p9`reiH9nli/ adv.作战地

practice mine (军)教练水雷

submarine /`s7bm9r1n/ n.潜水艇

dummy /`d7mi/ n.假人

simulate /`simjuleit/ vt.模拟

speculation /,spekju`leiH9n/ n.推测

discern /di`s8n/ v.辨明

haphazard /`h2p`h2z9d/ adj.随意的；任意的