New Navy force will take the fight upriver in Iraq

The Virginian Pilot ^ | April 10 2006 | LOUIS HANSEN

[jmc1969]

At this time next year, about 200 sailors will fill up small boats, man .50-caliber machine guns and watch for trouble along the waterways of Baghdad.

There’s a catch, though: At the moment, these sailors have no boats, no manuals and no past missions to call their own. Riverine Group 1 of the Navy’s new river combat force based at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base is starting from scratch.

They still are recruiting men and writing a fresh chapter on how to prepare for river fighting. “We’ve got sailors lining up at the door,” Capt. Michael L. Jordan, commodore of the riverine force, said during an interview at his half-finished headquarters. “The problem is, we’ve got no experience to draw from.”

The Navy has not seen this type of action since the Vietnam War, so it is calling river veterans, the Marine Corps and the special warfare community for advice. The chosen sailors will undergo eight months of training, including combat first aid and grunt infantry at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

It’s a brave new world – and in one year, they’ll be in Iraq.

The riverine force is part of the Navy’s effort to become a bigger player in global efforts against terrorists and insurgents. Policing and protecting the shallow brown and green waters in hot spots now is the responsibility of the Marine Corps and special forces.

[quark]

You can't make it up, can you?

"No one works as hard for his money as the man who marries it."

[river rat]

I wonder if they're training the young Marines how to make the best trades with these Brown Water Sailors?

Some cheap Chinese AKs used to bring a few cases of beer, or a few bottles of Officer's Whisky...

Semper Fi