The Army Mules are a group of

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey, and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two ...

s which serve as the mascots for the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

. The tradition of mules as mascots for Army dates back to 1899, when an officer at the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot decided that the team needed a mascot to counter the Navy goat. Mules were an obvious choice, as they were used as haulers for Army gear for generations. Not much is known about the "official" mules until 1936, when Mr. Jackson (named for Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson), a former Army pack mule, arrived from

Front Royal, Virginia Front Royal is the only incorporated town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was estimated at 15,400 as of 2023. It is the county seat of Warren County. History The entire Shenandoah Valley including the area to beco ...

. He served for twelve years, presiding over two national championship teams. Starting with Mr. Jackson, there have been seventeen "official" Army mules, only one, Buckshot, being female. The current Mule Corps are: *Ranger III (formerly known as Jack): Ranger III, one of the Army Mules, has been on campus since 2011. He was trained by MAJ Anne Hessinger, an Army veterinarian who served at West Point in 2003–2006. Named, like his predecessor, for the 75th Ranger Regiment and all Rangers past and present, Ranger III came to the academy in 2011 as a gift of Steve Townes, class of 1975. He stands at and is the son of a Percheron mare. *Stryker (formerly known as Abe): Stryker is the half-brother of Ranger III. He was also trained by MAJ Anne Hessinger and gifted by Steve Townes. Stryker stands at a height slightly shorter than his brother. *Paladin (formerly known as Apache and Rocky): The newest member of the group, joined in February 2016, and is also a gift of Steve Townes. Paladin stands about two hands shorter than the half-brothers, and is half

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

rather than Percheron. The Army Mules are trained by cadet Mule Riders, a part of the Spirit Support Activity of the U.S. Corps of Cadets. The current Army Mule Riders are: Cadet Garrett Dolan, 2021, Cadet Sarah Traynor, 2022, Cadet Kyle Kass, 2023, and Cadet Benjamin Bennett, 2024. Together they are present at many of West Point's athletic events, parades, and other ceremonial activities. The Mules serve not only as West Point's mascot, but also as the mascot for the entire United States Army.

References

Army Mules – GoArmySports.com
{{Live animal mascots college Patriot League mascots United States Military Academy Donkey mascots Army mascots Individual mules Real-life animal mascots Anthropomorphic donkeys Fictional mules Mascots introduced in 1899