The sailors on the deck of the USS Cole were unarmed.
Houston, we have a problem.
I understand, but realistically... how would the small arms of the soldiers/sailors in Lebanon/Cole have changed the outcome? They were blown up by surprise. In the case of the Cole... in a bay full of small boats floating all around... how were they to know that this one boat was loaded with explosives and was about to blow? Until the very last second there wasn't anything to shoot at.