--- title: Why the Army Needs Foam Goat Heads description: Training is the key to winning battles, the U.S. military believes, and the more realistic, the better. canonical: https://time.com/4321010/why-the-army-needs-foam-goat-heads/ author: Mark Thompson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-06T16:08:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:53.945Z article:section: Politics og:title: Why the Army Needs Foam Goat Heads og:description: They need to be fire-resistant too. og:url: https://time.com/4321010/why-the-army-needs-foam-goat-heads/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3eb5d1d4cd8c9360/6988922b524fc0175edf7e09/gettyimages-148924647.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3729 og:image:height: 2098 og:image:alt: Goat on Great Orme. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why the Army Needs Foam Goat Heads twitter:description: They need to be fire-resistant too. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3eb5d1d4cd8c9360/6988922b524fc0175edf7e09/gettyimages-148924647.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why the Army Needs Foam Goat Heads > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: City Goats: Barnyard Animals in Backyards [Watch (HLS stream): City Goats: Barnyard Animals in Backyards](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/N7iIZit1.m3u8) (3:18)  _Published 2009-08-07. Novella Carpenter raises dwarf goats and chickens at her home in Oakland, Calif. She’s written a book on urban animal farming_ by [Mark Thompson](https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson May 6, 2016 4:08 PM UTC  Llandudno, Conwy, Wales, United Kingdom, Europe Llandudno, Conwy, Wales, United Kingdom, Europe Getty Images by [Mark Thompson](https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson May 6, 2016 4:08 PM UTC Training is the key to winning battles, the U.S. military believes, and the more realistic, the better. “The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat,” Richard Marcinko, the first commander of SEAL Team 6, famously said. That’s why the Army has a whole command dedicated to readying troops to fight, complete with huge faux battlefields in California, Germany and Louisiana. They’ve got Potemkin villages and pseudo city blocks to give soldiers the sense that they’re on real-world missions. But it all boils down to the details. That’s why the Army is [buying](https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=a2bbbe69dff550c4f3987d3e350523a3&tab=core&%5Fcview=1) flocks of foam animals and foam fruits and veggies. “Atmospherics props are designed to enhance the village concept training in Military Operations in Urban Terrain sites,” the Army’s Fort Knox says of its cadet summer training. “The purpose of this acquisition is to enhance training quality by adding a measure of realism to Mission Command Leadership Exercise operations.” It’s almost like Old Sergeant MacDonald went to Costco and loaded up the minivan:  Such victuals are common in Afghanistan and Iraq. And just like the ol’ Christmas manger, it’s nice to have some livestock standing around to give a war game that realistic sheen:  The entire herd and all the goods “shall be made of fire retardant foam and will be the size of actual item counterpart,” the Army says. “They will be colored to look like actual item counterpart.” But war, of course, is not all fun and games. “The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure delivery serviceable items,” the service warns. “The contractor shall be held liable for any unserviceable or defective items received.” That’s because, for want of a foam goat’s head, the battle could be lost. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4321010/why-the-army-needs-foam-goat-heads/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4321010/why-the-army-needs-foam-goat-heads/"},"headline":"Why the Army Needs Foam Goat Heads","datePublished":"2016-05-06T16:08:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:41:53.945Z","description":"They need to be fire-resistant too","url":"https://time.com/4321010/why-the-army-needs-foam-goat-heads/","keywords":["Military","animals","training"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3eb5d1d4cd8c9360/6988922b524fc0175edf7e09/gettyimages-148924647.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Thompson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3eb5d1d4cd8c9360/6988922b524fc0175edf7e09/gettyimages-148924647.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Goat on Great Orme.","caption":"Goat on Great Orme.","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/military/","name":"Military"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4321010/why-the-army-needs-foam-goat-heads/","name":"Why the Army Needs Foam Goat Heads"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"City Goats: Barnyard Animals in Backyards","description":"Novella Carpenter raises dwarf goats and chickens at her home in Oakland, Calif. 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