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In France, a Mission to Return the Military's Carrier Pigeons to Active Duty
Lots of history about these birds in this article. Enjoy -- even the Syrian rebels are using them...The French military boasts a powerful army with nuclear submarines, ballistic missiles and spy satellites. For lawmaker Jean-Pierre Decool, however, the country is neglecting one of its mightiest weapons: its flock of carrier pigeons. Glorified for their roles in World War I, pigeon squadrons have long been removed from active duty because of the introduction of more reliable, all-weather communication systems. And yet the French Defense Ministry still operates a military dovecote--Europe's last--with 150 birds drafted into the 8th regiment for communication and transmission. The birds reside at the Mont-Valérien fortress in Suresnes, to the west of Paris. While a corporal sees to their upkeep and training, they are not ranked as a strategic asset. "That's a big mistake," says Mr. Decool, who visits the birds at their home near a pigeon-post museum dedicated to the history of the winged servants. The center-right lawmaker draws hawkish scenarios--a nuclear catastrophe, a hurricane, a war--where racing homers would be the last-resort messaging network. In the Syrian city of Homs, insurgents defying the regime of President Bashar al-Assad are relying on carrier pigeons to communicate because their walkie-talkies are out of reach, he says. "Where modernity stops, pigeons can still go through," Mr. Decool says. In July, the 60-year-old sent French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian a letter asking him to clarify France's carrier-pigeon strategy. Two weeks later, the response arrived in the mail. The minister said that French forces were equipped with self-sufficient communications systems that could resist power failure, cyber or electromagnetic attacks. Should France face a real need for carrier pigeons, the minister said, it could rely on "the precious support" of the country's pigeon fanciers--a flock of folks he estimates to number about 20,000. Last year, Mr. Decool became concerned that France could be outdone in carrier-pigeon expertise by China, which maintains a platoon of 50,000 birds with 1,100 trainers for communication in border and coastal areas, according to the Chinese Ministry of National Defense. But a plan to hatch ideas with the Chinese landed on deaf ears. Then-French Defense Minister Gérard Longuet said the country couldn't stoop to such tactics. In response, he said there was a risk Chinese pigeons would "carry French messages back to China!" Posted by: Sherry 2012-11-10 |
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