--- 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: 2026-05-11T05:00:01.899Z 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=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 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=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why the Army Needs Foam Goat Heads ## 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](/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson May 6, 2016 4:08 PM CUT  Llandudno, Conwy, Wales, United Kingdom, Europe Llandudno, Conwy, Wales, United Kingdom, EuropeGetty Images by [Mark Thompson](/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson May 6, 2016 4:08 PM CUT 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 "undefined") 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":"2026-05-11T05:00:01.899Z","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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