[cva66snipe]

Instead of servicing Navy ships in the UAE, maybe they can have the work done in Guam. Hey, what's a month of travel downtime... it's not like we're fighting a war or anything. This ex-Navy guy is pissed at the port-blockers.

So you think mooring a carrier pier side there is wise huh? Use the PI's for the yard work as has been the long standing tradition. As ex-Navy myself maybe you can answer this question. Where did the COLE bombers learn exactly where to hit the ship or any ship to do the most damage possible? Nah couldn't have been in a shipyard../sarcasm It seems our leaders learned nothing about port security from that attack. The arrogance in the belief that no one would dare attack a U.S. Navy ship continues. Why leave them vunerable? A ship is most vunerable in tow places. One being at a per but especially so in a shipyard as all hatches etc are opened up and D.C. capabilities & water tight integrity is Nil.

BTW have you ever seen just how fast a ship even an aircraft carrier can get underway anchored rather than moored to a pier in an emergency? Do you realize the logistics of even getting a carrier away from a pier and underway and the time and coordination with the locals that is needed? A carrier anchored can be underway in the time it takes to hoist the anchor. As a matter of fact the screws can be turning gettting it uderway while the anchor is coming up. I've seen it happen myself. That means underway and out of port in a very few minutes and not hours. IOW in the time incoming attack is picked up on radar the carrier can be getting underway and ready to launch planes. The one moored will be still waiting on tugs.

[thinkthenpost]

You know it seems to me the Cole was hit, pretty much amidships, maybe just forward of amidships at pretty much the widest point on the ship. Personally if I wanted to disable her I'd have gone after the screws, or if trying to kill folks farther forward closer to berthing. Where they hit looks like it was near the forward engine room. You still engine room number 2 and one screw so still in service. I bet any of that information you are referring to is probably available from Janes's. Finally even anchored you're not going to have an Air Search radar on and with the proximity to Iran anchored or moored that carrier or ship will mostly sit out the initial attack from Iran if one were to happen. I remember the day the Cole was hit, I was awfully pissed off, having been the watchstander in similar refueling ops, I could understand how it happened though.