U.S. Navy Ships Return Fire on Suspected Pirates

www.news.navy.mil ^ | 3/18/2006 12:18:00 PM | U.S. Naval Forces Central Command

[King Prout]

out of curiosity: would the Congress be willing to issue a Letter of Marque to a private shipowner, with the express license to hunt down and slaughter pirates?

[jonascord]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but does a Phalanx have optical sights? I suspect the only shooten' irons on board that can be optically aimed are a couple of rifles and the cook's paintball gun...

[fso301]

What where they thinking??

Virgins.

[Doogle]

the Gonzalez

[Larry Lucido]

Suicide by Navy?

[hosepipe]

Whats not shown is the Submarine monitoring the whole event..
Gilligans Island must be being shown on Somali TV again..
for this much illogical disrespect for the U.S. Navy..
or maybe Beverly Hillbillies..

The muzzies have no sense of comedy at all and think these shows were documentarys..

[1rudeboy]

Maybe the U.S. ships were cloaked.

[MEG33]

USS Cape St. George in the Persian Gulf May God Keep Safe All Who Serve Our Country

[WKUHilltopper]

Arrggg...she would be a fine looking vessel under the skull and cross bones. Avast! Rally around and take her for ye lord and master, Blackbeard!



On second thought, what idiots would attack a missle cruiser and destroyer? Arggg! Pirate idiots would!

[Spruce]

Cape St. George and Gonzalez returned fire with small arms in self-defense.

Oh, man! I bet the crews had a helluva good time getting some target practice! A cooler of beer and a scow full of dead-enders begging for some lead poisoning. It don't get any better.

Don't they have even a single 5-inch on the deck?

[1rudeboy]

Cut these guys some slack. No risk, no reward. [hoot]

[twstearman]

Having spent time on a Tico (CG-49), I think this is most definitely "Suicide by Navy".

A few less scumbags the world won't miss, that's for sure.

[jonascord]

Could anyone tell me whether Navy ships still have a telescopic gun director?

[Malsua]

I think this engagement is a direct result of the MSM.

They continuously show how the Military is broken, worn out, damaged, etc. These folks, emboldened by how poor the US Military is, figure with some guns and an RPG, they can take a destroyer.

Of course, the professionalism, the competance and the bravery of our military force is not reflected in our media. It must be a suprise to these uneducted thugs how quickly they are subdued once our forces engage them.

Definately, don't bring an AK47 to a 5" gun fight.

[spetznaz]

Since this was off the coast of Somalia it can be safely assumed that the pirates were Somali, and thus they were probably as high as kites of 'miraa' (I believe it is also called Khat). Miraa is a mild stimulant, but it does cause some euphoric effects. Effects that may make someone feel like they can take on an destroyer with an RPG. The pirates were probably stoked like hot coals when they 'attacked' the navy ship.

[Echo Talon]

sounds like it, wonder what they were thinking... :)

[ozzymandus]

What sort of light armament do US Navy ships carry?

[Servant of the 9]

People on a 30 ft fishing boat open fire on a guided missle cruiser and it's escort...How stupid can these people be?

Last year two of these boats lost a fight with two small sailboats about their own size. They were shot up, rammed, cut in half, and left with no survivors.

Terminally stupid.

So9

[Dan Middleton]

Don't they have even a single 5-inch on the deck?

A Ticonderoga like Cape St. George has two 5" guns, one forward and one aft. The Gonzalez is an Arleigh Burke class, with one 5" gun.

However, that would have been overkill. One hit from those on that tub, there probably wouldn't have been anybody left to capture.

Gonzalez website

Cape St. George website

[Doogle]

.."dingbat,yer critter, now look whacha gone and done"