Visual Management... and Mule Tails

Lance Cpl. Tyler Langford, anti-tank missileman, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, leads his pack mule during a hike at Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center Bridgeport, Calif., Oct. 13, 2012. Langford used skills he learned in the Animal Packers Course, taught four times a year at MCMWTC. The 16-day course teaches Marines how to use animals in the region they find themselves in as a logistical tool to transport weapons, ammunition, food, supplies or wounded Marines through terrain that tactical vehicles cannot reach. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Ali Azimi

A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. The genetic mismatch of these species causes sterility, but the hybrid creates a pack animal that combines a horse’s strength and intelligence with a donkey’s sure-footedness and endurance. In addition, a mule’s hide and hooves are tougher than a horse’s, and along with their tolerance of poorer coarser foods and abilities to tolerate arid terrains, endure heat better. Mules can carry heavier loads for longer distances, and eat a third less than horses doing the same work. On the downside, mules are temperamental (e.g., the phrase “stubborn as a mule” and “kicks like a mule” reflect hard learned experiences).

Mules have been used as pack animals, plow animals, to pull wagons, and even for riding. In addition to civilian use, mules have long been a staple of almost every major army in the world. Their usefulness has continued into the 21st century as the United States Marine Corps has conducted an 11-day Animal Packers Course since the 1960s at its Mountain Warfare Training Center located in the Sierra Nevada near Bridgeport, California. During the Soviet–Afghan War, the United States used large numbers of mules to carry weapons and supplies over Afghanistan's rugged terrain to the mujahideen. Use of mules by U.S. forces has continued during the War in Afghanistan.

It should come as no surprise that with such widespread use, people needed a quick and easy way to visually identify the level of training that a mule had.

When looking at a corral full of mules, it was easy to identify which one to select for the job!