Bill Text: NY K00843 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Recognizing May 17-23, 2020, as Military Animal Appreciation Week, and to honor these animals for their service

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 29-15)

Status: (Passed) 2020-03-10 - adopted [K00843 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-K00843-Introduced.html

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Assembly Resolution No. 843

BY: M. of A. Manktelow

        RECOGNIZING  May  17-23,  2020, as Military Animal
        Appreciation Week, and to honor  these  animals  for
        their service

  WHEREAS,  A  generally  overlooked  part of our armed forces are the
military animals which stand with and alongside our brave, enlisted  men
and women; and

  WHEREAS,  Some  of  these  courageous military animals include dogs,
dolphins, rats, mules, donkeys, and pigeons; and

  WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is  justly  proud  to  recognize  May
17-23,  2020,  as  Military Animal Appreciation Week, and to honor these
animals for their service; and

  WHEREAS, Military canines are the most widely used military  animal;
dogs have served in combat alongside United States soldiers during every
major  conflict  since the birth of our Nation; dogs were mostly used as
message carriers and sentries during the first few  conflicts,  however,
these   days,   they   are   trained   to   perform   a   wide-range  of
highly-specialized tasks; and

  WHEREAS, Modern military dogs are trained to  sniff  out  bombs  and
drugs,  track  people,  and  even attack when necessary; there are about
2,500 war dogs in service today, with about 700  serving  at  any  given
time overseas; and

  WHEREAS, The United States military branches use marine mammals in a
variety  of  ways;  overseen by the Navy Marine Mammal Program, dolphins
use their evolved sonar to detect underwater mines; and

  WHEREAS, Due to their exceptional underwater vision, the Navy Marine
Mammal Program also uses sea lions to find potential enemy swimmers near
piers and ships and draw attention to them; and

  WHEREAS, The United States has their own specialized military animal
programs;  in  2012,  Army  officials  developed  the  Rugged  Automated
Training System (RATS) to see how well the rodents could find bombs; the
use  of  rats  could have several advantages, including their small size
which would allow them to sneak into tiny spaces  where  larger  animals
and people cannot; and

  WHEREAS,  United  States service members have used a variety of pack
animals in remote areas, including mules and donkeys;  the  practice  is
especially  common  with elite Special Operations troops, who frequently
operate in small groups away  from  larger  units  which  would  provide
logistical support; and

  WHEREAS,  In  2001,  the  United  States  Marine  Corps  revived the
horsemanship skills which were once a key part  of  the  nation's  armed
forces,  but  were  cast  aside when tanks and armored vehicles replaced
them; Special Forces soldiers rode horses to fight  alongside  tribesmen
in rugged terrain without roads in Afghanistan; and


  WHEREAS,  During World War I and World War II, the Army trained tens
of thousands of birds at the Pigeon Breeding and Training Center at Fort
Monmouth,  New  Jersey,  to  deliver  messages  and   conduct   overhead
reconnaissance of battlefields; and

  WHEREAS,  It  is  appropriate  for  this Legislative Body to commend
these animals and to recognize their contributions  by  Military  Animal
Appreciation  Week,  honoring  the  past  and  present animals for their
valuable service and protection; they truly deserve to be remembered  by
all the citizens of this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED,  That  this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
recognize May 17-23, 2020, as Military Animal Appreciation Week, and  to
honor these animals for their service.