Posted on 03/18/2006 11:21:12 AM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
ABOARD USS CAPE ST. GEORGE, At sea (NNS) -- USS Cape St. George (CG 71) and USS Gonzalez (DDG 66) returned fire on a group of suspected pirates in the Indian Ocean, killing one and wounding five, approximately 25 nautical miles off the central eastern coast of Somalia in international waters at 5:40 a.m. local time, March 18.
Cape St. George, a guided-missile cruiser, and Gonzalez, a guided-missile destroyer, were conducting maritime security operations in the area as part of Combined Task Force 150, a maritime coalition task force currently led by Royal Netherlands Navy Commodore Hank Ort, when they spotted a suspect vessel towing two smaller skiffs heading west toward the coast. As Gonzalez’s boarding teams prepared to conduct a routine boarding of the suspect vessel, the two Norfolk, Va.-based Navy ships noticed the group of suspected pirates were brandishing what appeared to be rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers.
The suspected pirates then opened fire on the Navy ships. Cape St. George and Gonzalez returned fire with small arms in self-defense.
One suspected pirate was killed and a fire ignited aboard the main suspect vessel. Boarding teams from Cape St. George and Gonzalez took twelve other suspects into custody, including the five injured. The Navy boarding teams also confiscated an RPG launcher and automatic weapons. No U.S. Sailors were injured in the engagement.
The Navy ships are providing medical treatment to the wounded suspects, continuing search and rescue efforts for any additional suspects and collecting further evidence from the vessel and skiffs. Royal Netherlands Navy medical personnel, including a medical doctor, are en route to assist from HNLMS Amsterdam.
Coalition forces conduct maritime security operations under international maritime conventions to ensure security and safety in international waters so that all commercial shipping can operate freely while transiting the region.
On March 15, the United Nations Security Council encouraged naval forces operating off the coast of Somalia to be vigilant and take action against piracy. Pirate attacks against aid ships have hindered UN efforts to provide relief to the victims of a severe drought in the area.
For more news from around the fleet, visit www.navy.mil.
Remember those 3"50 cal. autoloading twin mounts from the 1950's? One of those would really eat into them.
So a somali chicken is NOT the fastest thing in the world ?
Cape St. George, a guided-missile cruiser, and Gonzalez, a guided-missile destroyer,
LOL...how dumb was that!...
Pirates ping! It was a Nor'Easter blowin' outta the Sou'West, the worst kind. ARRRGGGGHHHHHH!
Have I told you laddie about me new peg leg? Whittled it meself with a broken HRD bottle and a piece of Port Orford Cedar, ARRRGGGGHHHH! No small feat considering that bottle was bloody plastic!
It's CIWS, pronounced sea-whiz. The addition of a FLIR in the Block 1B upgrade allows the weapon to engage surface targets.
Back when Bubba had us in Somalia it was pointed out that Khat doesn't grow in the country, but rather was flown in daily, mainly from Kenya. It is only good a few days after being harvested. I've often wondered that if we wanted tackle Somalia we shouldn't start by a surprise interdiction of the Khat supplies. Declare the whole country a no fly zone, loiter some A10s over the main overland routes and blockade the coast. Their borders are long so we'd never get all the stuff, but we should be able to engineer a significant short term shortage. The sheer volume of the stuff consumed daily ensures that an improvised under fire replacement supply system will be less effective. The price would skyrocket and a lot of low level AK47 toting flunkies aren't going to be able to afford or even find their daily fix. Attacking gunmen undergoing acute drug withdrawal symptoms should be easier than those that are high on the stuff.
I wonder if they get to stencil a little skull and crossbones on the bridge?
Although I think Khat makes attacking them much easier. When they are high off the stuff they tend to shoot quite wildly (i.e hitting everything but the target). Which is a good thing for our guys.
I sort of wondered about that same thing. How much damage could a few RPGs do to a destroyer. I am sure they could not sink it but I recall on the History Channel they said the metal on these ships is really thin. Not really armored at all.
Maybe they were trying to buy a ticket to 72 virgins.
There shouldn't have been enough left of the whole damned bunch, to stuff into a small condom.
The "virgins" would remain virgins....
Semper Fi
Too easy to do........ I could see some of em falling overboard with all their ammo tied to em but question a few of em at the very least..............:o)
That sound true, but when high they don't rout and run away when obviously over matched, but instead keep on fighting. That increases their casualties a lot, but can lead to unexpected US casualties. Which I don't want. Besides nobody has done the study to see if they can shoot straight while undergoing Khat withdrawal! That's one drug study I'd like the Pentagon to consider. Also many of the Somali wardrug lords control the loyalty of their forces by keeping them in Khat. Interrupt the supply and they'll have some command and control problems. It wouldn't solve all the myriad problems of attacking Somalia, but it could provide a significant edge.
"You have to admire the brass on those boys; attacking a US Navy vessel with just a couple of AK's and a RPG. What where they thinking??"
Jihadis aren't the smartest children on the block. They like to be like the Profit Muhammed - ignorant and illiterate.
Now just how stupid would you have to be to fire on two US warships?
Oh I agree with ya on a personal level. I'd have loved to just open up on em with a Mk-19 and or Ma Duce, maybe even a old 5 inch 38 deck gun just for giggles and grins and let the sharks dine ........yet I can see the intel value also in sweating a few of em.....taking the rest off to one of those dark side places we have all heard about and let the ones with big mouths go back to jail in their own country where we know they will be released at some point.
.... When we fished for bluegills we'd catch one and tie a ballon through it's gills.......let it go. Always went back to the school where we got the rest and had a fish fry.
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