"Lt. Todd Warren, who ordered the search, told the audience that the boarding was part of a five-day exercise. The Coast Guard also boarded fishing and recreational vessels in Monterey Bay and boats in Monterey and Santa Cruz harbors."
What part of exercise don't you understand.
The public knew, before hand.
Why did the "media" "forget" to mention this part of the story???
The media in WA ran this story.
COAST GUARD, STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES CONDUCT MARINE TERRORISM RESPONSE EXERCISE IN PUGET SOUND
SEATTLE - Smoke billows from the Evergreen State ferry in Elliot Bay as a Coast Guard HH-65 Dolpin helicopter from Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles, Wash., hovers during a drill to test the Puget Sound's Marine Terrorism Response plan that's designed to help emergency agencies work together in a multi-attack terrorist disaster.
I don't believe these boaters were aware of the exercise.
And I know they didn't know they would be rousted in the middle of the night.
Besides, we need to be able to perform exercises without this kind of harassment of innocent civilian boaters who are docked and asleep.
Lt Warren said he wouldn't do it again.
For now, I will take his word for it. But I doubt this will be the end of the story for him. Apparently it was his call to roust these innocent and unsuspecting docked and sleeping boaters in the middle of the night.
Not a good call by any measure.