Posted on 04/13/2009 8:55:29 AM PDT by Delacon
The operation to rescue Capt. Richard Phillips involved dozens of Navy SEALs, who parachuted from an aircraft into the scene near dark Saturday, landing in the ocean. The SEALs were part of a group of Special Operations forces involved in the effort, according to military officials.
The SEALs set up operations on the USS Bainbridge, which had been communicating with the four pirates via radio and had used smaller boats to make deliveries of food and water to their lifeboat. Yet the pirates were growing increasingly agitated, the officials said. At one point Saturday, the pirates opened fire on one of the smaller U.S. Navy craft that approached.
As the seas grew rougher, the Bainbridge offered to tow the lifeboat to calmer waters, and the pirates agreed, linking up the lifeboat to the destroyer with a towing cable that left 75 to 80 feet between the two vessels. Phillips at the time was tied up in the lifeboat, having been bound -- and occasionally beaten -- by the pirates ever since he had attempted to escape by jumping into the water on Friday, the officials said.
Meanwhile, one of the pirates, estimated to be between 16 and 20 years old, asked to come aboard the Bainbridge to make a phone call. He had been stabbed in the hand during an altercation with the crew of the Maersk Alabama and needed medical care. "He effectively gave himself up," a senior military official said. The Navy then allowed that pirate to speak with the others in hopes that he could persuade them to give up.
The three other pirates, however, showed signs of growing irritation, as the Bainbridge, 18 miles from shore, towed the lifeboat further out to sea, the senior military official said. "They had no promise of
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Folks, actually, you will never know exactly how this operation went down..the actual details...
The reported story makes for some great reading though...
Most SEAL operations are never known to the public.
A SEAL Plattoon (16-Men) will usually have several members with sniper training. Beside sending their personnel to other sniper courses the SEALs run their own courses which emphasize naval-specific operations.
Special Operations Forces (SOF) [the generic US term for all spec ops forces] usually have a high percentage of sniper-trained pesonnel. Just like LEO SWAT teams, they are also used for scouting and overwatch.
Modern SOF snipers have a range of weapons and sights. THey fit the weapon to the job.
You do have the MSM trying to spin it about how wonderful he is but the real lefties won't be buying it.
Look I know these guys are incredible but the whole space available, distance, light and luck that 3 heads are visible and all 3 snipers go at the same time...
It is just a lot to believe. 1 guy shot by one sniper, sure. But three bobbing heads just happen to present themselves, on a bobbing boat, shot by three different minds(snipers). The timeing is just incredible.
What the heck I wasn’t there.
Those guys are amazing.
Even if I think the whole thing is cover for what really happened.
They could see the one pirate through a window, the other two had their heads out, it was dark, they thought they were safe(why I don’t know). The head shot on the one holding the rifle on the Captain would not have endangered him, the pirate’s head was probably higher than the Captain’s.
Ok, tell us your version of what really happened. I truly want to know.
I don’t know nor have any conjecture. I have been around gus my entire life and I have been in life boats like the one on that ship.
they use the same life boat as a skiff to ferry people back and forth from shore. It is pretty bouncy and must have been worse with waves in open water, wash from behind a ship and yaw from a two rope on the front of the life boat.
The timing of the shots would be so incredible. If you have every shot guns you know what I mean.
I will stick with the cover story as it makes other water born pathogens consider what might happen to them and that we can do it.
“The real, died in the wool, hardcore lefties are going to be pi**ed at him for actually taking military action and causing the death of 3 wonderful muslim pirates who were only trying to earn a decent living./SAR”
Why the “/SAR”? There really are lefties who are going to be pissed the US didn’t resolve this “peacefully”.
Never had a need to....
....."snipers" (especially SOF) are a rare and quite talented bunch.....
.....if you've seen the latest "best sniper 2009" on the military channel.....
.....then you saw one actually hit 3+ targets from a moving chopper.....
.....(btw that guy was actually LEO!).....
My recollection was they could fire from any position, with any assist and as many rounds as they wanted.
The only score that mattered was not a ration but a hit.
I think I still have that on DVR so I can review but, a good example of the problems associated with shooting from a moving platform to a target that is stable.
The problems and math are gigantic compared against the challenge for Sniper 2009 and these guys were best of best from Services and LEO.
Some the guys were using 2-3 round bursts to attempt to hit a target. I don't know how they reasoned that one out. I mean all the other factors against shooting accurately and you think that muzzle effect after round #1 is not going to make the next shot more ineffective?
Really.
So alot of rounds and 3 hits. Not that I could do that.
Most of the guys admitted the difficulty of what they were trying to do and most said they would only walk away with learning experience, even if they did not hit a thing.
.....wish I'd thought to record it when all the episodes where back to back, oh well.....
.....btw, did you catch the disclaimer before it started?.....
Makes you wonder why the pirates didn't put up something to block the window. Maybe they were not that bright?
I'm not an expert, but I thought that the military also has infrared vision (and who knows what else) devices that can see through some walls. Also, they had the 4th pirate on board, possibly telling them information about where the hostage was.
BTTT!
The calming effect of Lead is infinitely more effective than Lithium.
BARF alert. This is the height of political spin. Obama's so humble [my aching butt] that he "simply released a statement....yada yada yada".
I read last night on several Military blog sites that such a standing order has been in place for a long time - predating Obama's reign. I post this earlier...
Several of the Military blogs I read last night said that there is a standing order (since before Obama's time) that, in a hostage situation, where the hostage is an American citizen, the military commander on the scene has authority to use deadly force if the hostage is in lifethreatening danger.
Obama may have been involved, but the point is he didn't have to be.
I believe, from all we know about Obama, his abundance of caution, his slow decision making and his upbringing which made him sympathetic [at the very least] to Muslim causes, his involvement, if any, would have been a negative toward the outcome that eventually occurred.
And God Bless my dad who was a member of UDT Team #6 and was on Utah beach in Normandy. Those men like my dad were the ones who formed the basis for the training that the modern day SEALS go through. I remember well dad telling me what he had to do during what was called "Hell Week" even back then. Only about 30% of the men who came in finished. It was brutal even then. They were expected to be able to swim three miles in ocean waters or they "washed out". That simple. Had to be able then to hold their breath under water carrying a loaded pack for at least 1 and 1 half minutes. Just try doing that without anything on your back a having to dive 20 feet sometime. That is what my dad had to do back then. I can just imagine what they put those guys through now. God Bless them.
We had pirate-seeking scopes then.
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