Pirates eat lead. U.S. Captain freed!

M. R. Bober · Post by **M. R. Bober** » Apr 12th, '09, 16:34

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/04 ... index.html

Big thanks to the Navy!

Neil Gordon · Post by **Neil Gordon** » Apr 12th, '09, 16:48

I'm always a bit jealous when they put to sea for a mission and don't take me with them.

BZ to the sailors involved.

Jim Walsh · Post by **Jim Walsh** » Apr 12th, '09, 17:04

I back our Navy's response fully. Piracy has been dealt with in such a manner throughout history. The remaining pirate should be on his way to Cuba by now.

Oswego John · Post by **Oswego John** » Apr 12th, '09, 17:31

Outstanding job.

O J

Warren Kaplan · Post by **Warren Kaplan** » Apr 12th, '09, 18:36

This is a proud day for us all. From Obama authorizing the use of force way back on Friday April 10th and then stepping back, keeping his mouth shut, and leaving it up to the military commanders on site to decide if deadly force was necessary and if so when to use it.

I suspect the military gathered the REAL facts first, briefed the President as to what the situation was and what their recommendations were. Obama quickly decided to listen to them and let them, literally, call the shots after that. The SEALS came through like the class act they are.

Nice to see things work smoothly and as planned!!!

Sea Hunt · Post by **Sea Hunt** » Apr 12th, '09, 18:41

Captain Phillips and his crew are to be commended for their efforts and heroism. This day may not have ended as well for them and their families had they not taken the initial actions they took to fight back.

Assuming the initial reports and press briefing are accurate, there were three simultaneous head shots at 25-30 meters from the fantail of a bouncing ship (USS Bainbridge) to what was basically an 18' long cork bouncing in the water being dragged by the bouncing ship. A TV cable news reporter stated this would not be a difficult shot for trained snipers. This is probably one of the dumbest statements made by anyone concerning this incident in the past five to six days.

I know this is Easter Sunday and we should be thinking of other more peaceful matters. However, the only way to stop these pirates is to kill them, whether it is individually, as happened today, or by aggressively eliminating their base(s) of operation in Somali. Life may not mean as much to them as it does to most civilized people but it has some value. If they know with certainty they will be hunted down and killed and no ransom will ever be paid again, they will quickly learn their â€œbusiness modelâ€

Ron Churgin · Post by **Ron Churgin** » Apr 12th, '09, 19:31

Unbelievably accurate shooting.....head shots from 80 yards in rough seas....I have all I can do to hold binoculars steady.

Amazing job.

Steve Laume · Post by **Steve Laume** » Apr 12th, '09, 19:39

I have a feeling there were far more than three shots fired. I would think there would have been at least three per target. Not that this diminishes the skill and accuracy of the shooters. This just doesn't seem like a situation that you would leave to the fate of a single shot.

This is a use of our military force and expertise that would be very hard to argue with. We should all be grateful and proud of this outcome.

Pirates suck, the Navy rocks, Steve.

Troy Scott · Post by **Troy Scott** » Apr 12th, '09, 21:44

I'm relieved that no ransom was paid. This sends the right message.

John Vigor · Post by **John Vigor** » Apr 13th, '09, 01:19

Steve Laume wrote:I have a feeling there were far more than three shots fired. I would think there would have been at least three per target. Not that this diminishes the skill and accuracy of the shooters. This just doesn't seem like a situation that you would leave to the fate of a single shot.

Nothing I've heard or read yet makes any sense about how the pirates were killed or the captain rescued. If the graphics I've seen of the lifeboat are correct, it doesn't seem possible to see three people at once, yet alone shoot them simultaneously from a moving ship. And would you dare take a shot at a pirate who was pointing a gun at the back of the skipper, as has been extensively reported? And how did the lifeboat get taken in tow behind the naval vessel? There's obviously a lot we don't know yet, and may never know about.

John V.

Neil Gordon · Post by **Neil Gordon** » Apr 13th, '09, 05:47

Ron Churgin wrote:Unbelievably accurate shooting.....head shots from 80 yards in rough seas....I have all I can do to hold binoculars steady.

Amazing job.

There was a former SEAL on the news yesterday, hinting at, but saying he couldn't talk further, about secret stabilizing technology.

Andy Denmark · Post by **Andy Denmark** » Apr 13th, '09, 08:48

How well I remember practicing again and again the various scenarios that might confront a mission. The SEALS were not new to this situation and I'm sure had their IAD (Instant Action Drill) down pat. Give special credit to superior equipment and the finely-honed skills to use it.

While Obama is to be credited for making the correct decision (Warren is right), I question why it took 50 hours and 17 special meetings for him to reach it. IMO the decision to unleash the full brunt of our SpecOps operatives against piracy should have been (and hopefully will be in the future) instantaneous. I'm sure there are WH meetings going on to try and give more credit for this success to top politicos.

Giving operational authority to the guys looking through the sights and not to some political hack was key to the success of this operation. Viet Nam was the antithesis of this simple truism.

I can envision a 106 mm recoilless rifle on a stabilized mount and manned by a Marine weapons team on our commercial ships. Bring your boat within 500 meters and you get to meet Davy Jones. "To the shores of Tripoli" was not written into the Marine Corps hymn because we sat around wringing our hands about piracy on the high seas.

Semper Fi !
________
Bubbler Pipe

RIKanaka · Post by **RIKanaka** » Apr 13th, '09, 11:27

Neil Gordon wrote:There was a former SEAL on the news yesterday, hinting at, but saying he couldn't talk further, about secret stabilizing technology.

Like a rifle steady cam?

Cathy Monaghan · Post by **Cathy Monaghan** » Apr 13th, '09, 11:40

Yes, we're all glad that the American captain of Maersk Alabama has been rescued alive and well. But on a sadder note, the French navy's attempt to rescue a French family from their sailboat which was attacked by pirates off the Somali coast ended on Friday in the death of the captain, the owner of the sailboat, as well as a few of the pirates. Fortunately, the captain's wife and child survived the ordeal.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30154714/

Amgine · Post by **Amgine** » Apr 13th, '09, 18:38

Kudos to the troops involved in all these exercises.

One thing to keep in mind about the French mission: the troops acted after the negotiations seemed to be falling apart/getting deadly. This was the *third* such action by the French; they now have 15 pirates they've captured and are prosecuting. (Normally the French refuse to negotiate ransoms at all, but this time they decided to try it. And it went bad.)

The Cape Dory Board

Pirates eat lead. U.S. Captain freed!

Pirates eat lead. U.S. Captain freed!

Job well done

Piracy

no ransom

We're in the dark

Practice makes perfect