Finally getting with the program, Big Deuce and Short Round stand at attention with their fellow Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Field Artillery for their unit's photograph. The two mascots ascended the noncommissioned officer ranks as each got prom...

Lt. Col. Adam Cobb, outgoing 2nd Battalion, 2nd Field Artillery commander, holds the staff sergeant stripes he will pin on the unit mascot Big Deuce VII the donkey in his promotion ceremony. Big Deuce, not yet 2 years old, was promoted to staff serge...

FORT SILL, Okla., June 16, 2016 -- Two four-legged Soldiers were honored June 8 for service to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Field Artillery with an extra stripe on their, er, blankets.

The battalion's mascots Big Deuce VII, a donkey, and Short Round IV, a Boer goat, were also promised extra pay, according to Sgt. Dustin Lawler, noncommissioned officer in charge of the mascots. It was uncertain, however, as to just what form that would take, other than an increase in carrots and oats.

While their stripes were being attached to a Velcro strip on their ceremonial blankets, the mascots enjoyed chewing cud or ripping mouthfuls of fresh grass from the Polo Field while the formation of artillerymen looked on. The outgoing 2-2nd FA commander Lt. Col. Adam Cobb, and former 2-2nd FA commander, retired Col. Samuel Coffman, did the honors.

Big Deuce is the seventh in a line of donkey mascots with the same name, which is also the nickname of the 2-2nd FA, and he was promoted from sergeant to staff sergeant.

Cpl. Short Round V has been with the unit for seven years, and though it took awhile, he finally made it to sergeant -- a first for the Short Round lineage.

In keeping with the tradition of promoting, or demoting, the battalion's mascots by the outgoing commander, the ceremony took place immediately after the unit's official portrait was taken by a contract photographer. Cobb handed over command to Lt. Col. James Dayhoff during a ceremony the following day.

To begin the promotion ceremony, "Attention to orders," was called out, and the commendation from the secretary of the Army was read, referencing the mascots' "leadership potential and dedicated service to the United States Army."

Big Deuce, who isn't yet 2 years old, is a smaller version of the mules that used to pull the pack howitzers and ammunition when the U. S. took control of the Philippines in the early 1900s. Lawler acknowledged that donkeys are easier to handle than the larger mules, which are a cross between a horse and a donkey.

Lawler, a Texan who handled livestock, said he enjoys working with the mascots, who make frequent public appearances locally.

"It's a privilege to be able to have mascots like these to symbolize our unit," he said.

Lawler added Staff Sgt. Deuce and Sgt. Round get along with each other quite well, and are considered battle buddies.

"Short Round is like a big, lovable dog," said Lawler. "But Big Deuce, he's a little more stubborn."

The donkey knows how to unlatch the gate to his stall and help himself to unauthorized hay. Lawler said that wasn't necessarily Article 15 behavior, however.

Lawler acknowledged the mascots outrank some of the unit's Soldiers.

"Guess we'll have to treat them (the mascots) with a little more respect now," he quipped.

In that Short Round outranks his handler, Pvt. Stephen Gran, a higher ranking Soldier may be needed for discipline if he engages in any goat-like misbehavior. At least two previous Big Deuces have been demoted for shirking their duties. However, neither of the current critters has yet earned a place of dishonor.

The 2-2nd FA is one of only two Army units with live mascots. Three mules are the official mascots of the United States Military Academy at West Point, N. Y. Big Deuce VI retired in August with the rank of master sergeant.

The original Big Deuce joined the battalion in 1950 and served until 1964. The mascots who have died are buried in the Big Deuce Cemetery at the former 214th Field Artillery Brigade's picnic area.