And just how did they know that they were surrendering to representatives of the Iranian government instead of say, ISIS terrorists or some adventuresome pirates?
I can't imagine a US Navy boat operating in the Middle East would even allow the approach of another boat let alone surrender without some specific authorization from way above them in the chain of command.
The US boats had enough armaments to mount a significant defense against the Iranian boats, and probably could have easily defeated the Iranians even without calling for air support.
The headquarters of the US Fifth fleet was only about 120 miles away, and apparently US air resources are located about 20 miles further away. Presumably an F/A-18 or similar aircraft could have been circling over the boats in less than an hour. Except for the island, many miles of water separate the location from Iranian territory. It is hard to imagine that a few guys in a fiberglass boat armed with rifles and a light machine gun would have wanted to tangle with any US combat aircraft.
So I think we all know the most likely reason why the crews surrendered - a high level administration official told them to.
Nobody's going to tell me the Truman didn't know what and where Iran had in the water.
Airborne F-18's could have been on site in 10 minutes.
[[I can’t imagine a US Navy boat operating in the Middle East would even allow the approach of another boat let alone surrender without some specific authorization from way above them in the chain of command. ]]
Exactly, something just doesn’t smell right here- IF this is what our military has been forced into becoming, a unit that surrenders just to avoid conflict- then God help us-
[[The US boats had enough armaments to mount a significant defense against the Iranian boats, and probably could have easily defeated the Iranians even without calling for air support.]]
Again- exactly- why didn’t they make it absolutely clear that an aggressive approach would have been construed as a hostile act and would be met with force IF the Iranian boat came any closer?
[[The headquarters of the US Fifth fleet was only about 120 miles away, and apparently US air resources are located about 20 miles further away.]]
What we SHOULD have been seeing on the news stations was reports that jets had been scrambled to their location, and that there was a tense standoff between the Americans and the Iranians, NOT reports showing them with their hands on their heads bowing in submission and apologizing