http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/til/jsp/modules/Article/print.jsp?itemId=3994516
This is
LONDON
25/03/03 - War on Iraq section
K-DOG the minehunter
By Harriet Arkell, Evening Standard
This is K-Dog, the coalition forces' most surprising weapon against
Iraq.
With a camera strapped to his fin, the bottle-nose dolphin is one
of about 100 dolphins and sea lions helping to clear shipping lanes
in the Gulf to ensure a safe passage for vessels, including those
which will provide humanitarian relief.
K-Dog and his handler Sgt Andrew Garrett are part of a
multinational team, CTU-55.4.3, consisting of Naval Special
Clearance Team One, Britain's Fleet Diving Unit Three, Australia's
Clearance Dive Team, and two Explosive Ordnance Disposal
units.
A Pentagon spokesman said: "The team works in both deep and shallow
waters, looking for mines and marking them. Dolphins have been used
like this by the US Navy for more than 30 years, and have proved
themselves more reliable than robots."
He said that unlike robots, the dolphins did not run out of power,
nor did they go missing or have problems communicating from the sea
bed.
