Humanitarian Relief/050110-N-3970R-112.jpg
Notice the guys in the green camo have guns, I'm assuming thery're local military, and our guy are unarmed.
Posted on 01/12/2005 4:55:46 AM PST by 1 spark
ABOARD THE USS BONHOMME RICHARD -- Cpl. Sean Foley looks around the ship's main armory and takes a quick inventory. The room is overflowing with guns. Pistols, sniper rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers.
But for the time being, it's all staying right here.
In an effort to ease the fears of local officials, Marines participating in the humanitarian mission to help Indonesia recover from the earthquake and tsunami that have killed more than 100,000 people on the island of Sumatra have agreed to leave their weapons behind whenever they go ashore.
For many Marines, that's tantamount to traveling naked.
"They didn't even want us to have protection like helmets and body armor, let alone weapons, because it might look threatening," said Foley, of Erie, Pa. "That's crazy."
His concern isn't unfounded.
Though the nearly 2,000 Marines on this ship and another nearby have only just begun to trickle ashore, and are generally returning to the ship each night, the area in which they are operating presents some significant security threats.
Rebels have long been active in this region, so much so that the Indonesian government had largely restricted it from foreigners. Though a lull followed the Dec. 26 disaster, firefights near the provincial capital of Banda Aceh have been reported recently.
"We are concerned," said Col. Tom Greenwood, commanding officer of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which was diverted from duty in Iraq to join in the humanitarian operation. "The Indonesian government is taking it very seriously."
But Indonesian officials have also been reluctant to let the Marines come ashore with their weapons because of the image that might project.
"We are very concerned about force protection," Greenwood said. "But if you go in there and look like an invading force instead of a humanitarian force, that could be just as detrimental as having no security whatsoever. So you have to balance it."
In the devastated city of Meulaboh, where the Marines are expected to do much of their work and unload the bulk of their relief supplies, heavily armed Indonesian soldiers provide security.
In an exception to the no-weapons orders, Marine helicopter pilots have been allowed to carry their standard protection. Marines have also been careful to maintain close communications with their ship.
Officials stressed, however, that security was in the Indonesians' hands.
"We have full confidence in their ability to provide adequate force protection," said Gunnery Sgt. Robert Knoll, a spokesman for the Marines.
"We won't be using any of these," Cpl. Jeff Austin, of Salt Lake City, Utah, said as he set up a .50 caliber sniper rifle in the armory. "I guess the no weapons rule is understandable, since this is a humanitarian thing. But it's quite a switch for us. Usually, we never leave home without them."
This is wrong. Didn't we learn this lesson already with the USS Cole??
If they want the aid, they do not set the conditions.
I feel sorry for those Marines. They are not the Peace Corps and they aren't at Disneyland. There are bad guys there who would love an easy unarmed target.
And now since it's being reported on the AP the enemy know this too.
No weapons carried by Marines, no aid.
They are already kidnapping aid workers. We need to recognize that Banda Aceh was a terrorist base. While we are there, we should eliminate as many terrorists as we can.
A few more deaths will hardly be noticed.
I agree, absolute lunacy! It looks as though they are willing to sacrifice Marines in order to look compassionate on the world stage.
When I first heard this on the radio, I could not believe it! First thought was-the terrorists are hearing this too! You don't want our Marines to be armed, FORGET IT! I can see those crazy terrorists headed for this area now. I am so sick of always having to cowtow to other countries demands. You dont' like it, get your aid elsewhere.
Insert swearing here.
This was one of the worst ideas I've heard of in a looong time.
I think we have done about all we can do. Maybe it's time to go elsewhere.
This is absolute PC BULLSH*T!!!That part of the world is an Al Quaeda hotbed!!!!I want our guys"locked and cocked"!!!!!!!!!!
Is there a difference?
You got that right. Someone in Al-Queda will read this or learn the news and think .. "Hey, perfect opportunity to take a sqaud of Marines and behead them"
Click the link on the right for pics of the Relief effort.
Get the Marines OUT and send Code Pink.
Humanitarian Relief/050110-N-3970R-112.jpg
Notice the guys in the green camo have guns, I'm assuming thery're local military, and our guy are unarmed.
Grrrrrr! I wish you hadn't shown me that.
I think it's time to call Isakson and Chamblis' offices. I'm not going to bother calling McKinney.
The only thing we can learn from history is that we don't learn from history.
This is pure BS. The last time we tried this “social experiment” (United States Marine Corps Barracks, Beirut, October 23, 1983) it cost 242 of my Brothers their lives. Requiring a Marine to part from his weapon is the same as asking him to saw off his own arm. Leadership on the ground (Officer and Enlisted) should be raising pure HELL about this to whomever it takes to get this reversed! I am totally disgusted at the thought of placing these Marines in harms way without the tools necessary to defend themselves. Well if the crap hits the fan I’m sure some latte sucking Washington bureaucrat will expect the Marines to simply throw cans of condensed milk at the enemy.
No Weapons. No Marines. No Aid. No Compromise!
Isn't that wonderful...Now the the Mooslims will "love" us.
This is not a good idea! They couldn't even take a side-arm? Snakes you know.....
Dollars to donuts the decision was made by POTUS. It's a political issue, not one likely to be made by anyone in the military chain.
I was a member of an SF company that marched into the mountains of southern Turkey/north Iraq in 1991 in response to the Kurdish Refugee Crisis, post Gulf War 1. We carried 60 rounds per man. The camp itself had an estimated population of 125,000 UNARMED, HUNGRY, refugees. Needless to say, we determined that we would NOT use deadly force against an unarmed refugee populace and turned our weapons in to the arms room! Instead, we armed ourselves with 5ft long sticks for crowd control.
Even though we were constantly surrounded by hostile Turkish military forces, and the Peshmerga (considered a terrorist force by the Turks), we never once needed to fire a weapon in self defense, nor did we feel threatened by the refugees!
I would strongly advise all of you armchair commanders who have never been on a humanitarian mission to crawl back into your holes. You listen to the propoganda spewed by the government and you haven't a flaming idea of what you are talking about!!!
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