The world’s largest military division made up of sea mammals, is the US Navy’s Marine Mammal Program, of San Diego, California, USA, established in 1960. In April 2003 the program had 75 Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and 20 Californian sea lions (Zalophus californianus californianus) all trained for deployment.

The program also had two beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas), although as of April 2003 they were on a breeding program. The marine mammals are trained to safely locate and/or mark the position of enemy mines or divers, rather than as an attacking ‘weapon’. They have such an advantage over other ocean creatures because of their diving, sonar and responsive training capabilities. The animals were recently seen in action, clearing a safe passage for ships in the port of Umm Qasr, during the war in Iraq in early 2003. Between March 24-18 April 2003 alone, the team of dolphins cleared 913 nautical miles (1,690 km), recovering 90 sea mines and destroying 11 more.