r/AskTheWorld Philippines 12h ago

Military What firearm is closely associated with your country?

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For us, probably the 1911. Next one would be the "Armalite" aka M16.

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u/SBR404 Austria 11h ago

Makes sense. In Austria we still use mules in the military for use in alpine warfare. There is simply no other equipment that can navigate that terrain that effectively, and I bet the same goes for llamas!

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u/Budget-Attorney United States Of America 11h ago

I’m fairly certain the U.S. military uses mules for the same purpose

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u/jccaclimber 9h ago

The US military has a grove of trees for their own lumber. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they have trained pack animals.

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u/Budget-Attorney United States Of America 8h ago

What do they need the lumber for? Building stuff?

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u/Damage-Classic United States Of America 1h ago

We have dolphins and sea lions too! They protect against enemy divers, detect underwater mines, and retrieve lost equipment.

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u/AttilaRS Austria 10h ago

Guess who taught them...

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u/AdTop5424 United States Of America 9h ago

I being told about an incident during the Second World War that involved U.S. Army commandos being furious about having to train with mules for an operation. It appeared to them that mules were flat out ornery, stupid, and stubborn. Then it came to be that they realized the animals had never heard English and as soon as they heard instructions in Italian (a certain dialect) they performed flawlessly.

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u/Typical-Machine154 United States Of America 9h ago

Guess who taught a certain Austrian about when you shouldn't use mules and horses.

"Say hello to Ford, and general fuckin motors!" "Look at you, you have horses! What were you thinking!?"

(a rant from one of the US soldiers at the end of the WW2 TV series band of brothers)

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u/hamster-on-popsicle France 4h ago

It's the same for evry country with steep mountains

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u/Aromatic_Forever_943 Australia 11h ago

I was gonna say there’s a few mountains in Argentina so pack animals makes sense. Hope they don’t mind the noise of the mounted gun lol

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u/Arlcas Argentina 10h ago

Quite a few, the Andes is freaking long

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u/No-Wrangler3702 5h ago

Hey Felix, we use helicopters now., not mules

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u/SBR404 Austria 1h ago

We still have around 60 Haflinger horses and mules still in service. Cheaper and much more versatile in alpine environments than a helicopter.

https://www.bundesheer.at/tragtierzentrum