Posted on 01/17/2016 1:57:49 PM PST by Taxman
CENTRAL VIEW for Monday, January 18, 2016
Iranian coup: A tale of two U.S. Navy vessels
Last week, the U.S. Navy dispatched two of its fearsomely armed Riverine Command Boats (RCBs) to patrol between Kuwait and Bahrain. Somehow, the RCBs were seized by the Iranian Navy; the crewmembers arrested, and -- even though the U.S. and Iran are not technically at war -- treated as Prisoners of War (POWs). How could this happen?
The Swedish-designed, U.S.- manufactured RCBs cost $2.8 million per copy. Each RCB carries six machine guns, to include a .50 caliber Gatling gun, plus grenade launchers. Covered with armor plating able to deflect AK-47 fire, the RCB’s 49.4 mile-per-hour top speed means RCBs can outrun every known surface warship.
To guard against surprise attack, RCBs carry the Sea FLIR III infrared sensor system, thermal imaging, a laser rangefinder, and long-range radar. Navigation is by a top-of-the line GPS and chart plotter system, along with traditional chart and compass back-up. The RCB’s world-wide communications gear nets with ships, aircraft, and ground forces.
Operating in pairs, the RCBs provide each other with mutual fire support. If one RCB is disabled, the other RCB can tow it to safety. Thus, the question arises: How could two RCBs lose their ability to navigate at the same time and stray into Iranian waters? And how could two world-class weapons platforms be seized by the, arguably, inferior Iranian Navy?
Apparently, one of the RCBs had a propulsion problem and radioed U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain for assistance. Congressman Louis Gohmert (R) of Texas claims the Obama White House intervened, asked the Iranian Navy to provide assistance, and ordered the U.S. 5th Fleet to stand down.
By long-standing naval custom, disabled boats found in territorial waters are rendered assistance, and simply escorted back into international waters. Their crews are not subjected to POW treatment or put on world-wide video display, looking like criminals.
But, instead of being treated as distressed vessels exercising the mariners’ right of innocent passage, the Iranians arrested the crew members, treated them as POWs, and, somehow, got the officer-in-charge to make filmed statements praising the Iranians and saying the treatment the crew received was: "Fantastic."
Absent Congressman Gohmert’s explanation -- citing White House intervention -- it appears Articles II and V of the U.S. military’s Code of Conduct were violated. Article II states: "I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist." Article V reads: "When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the best of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause."
Alternatively, could it be that the White House-imposed Rules of Engagement (ROE) robbed the RCBs of their "means to resist"? Were the RCB’s awesome weapons even permitted to be loaded? Congress should demand to see the Operations Order under which the two RCBs left Kuwait for Bahrain and demand copies of all the communications between the RCBs, U.S. 5th Fleet, and the White House. Meanwhile, the RCB crews are left twisting in the wind.
Nationally syndicated columnist, William Hamilton, is a laureate of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma University Army ROTC Wall of Fame, and is a recipient of the University of Nebraska 2015 Alumni Achievement Award. He was educated at the University of Oklahoma, the George Washington University, the Infantry School, the U.S Naval War College, the University of Nebraska, and Harvard University.
©2016. William Hamilton.
WTF, Over?
Fantasy, Jason Bourne stuff. Sorry, I apply Occam’s Razor. Obama is so risk-averse that he wouldn’t send outside rescue to an Alamo in progress in Benghazi, lest it turn bad like Black Hawk Down. He preferred to leave 30 Americans to their chances than take a risk.
But he is sending the SEALs on secret missions, using RS boats with the standard 5-man (skeleton) crew? Sorry, I don’t buy it.
When the SEALs are being inserted/extracted, they will ALWAYS have extra SEALs on board the boats for comms and for manning up the guns, (five can’t drive the boat and do that effectively.)
These five RS sailors per boat, including a female, even had their PASSPORTS. Yeah, some “secret mission!”
They had their passports because they were being redeployed between nations in the theater.
Something screwy is causing FR comments to sometimes partially blank out. This should have been my first paragraph.
Fantasy, Jason Bourne stuff. Sorry, I apply Occam’s Razor. Obama is so risk-averse that he wouldn’t send outside rescue to an Alamo in progress in Benghazi, lest it turn bad like Black Hawk Down. He preferred to leave 30 Americans to their chances than take a risk.
Yes, great video.
We bought the boats in a hurry from Sweden because the USCG un-assed the PG after taking some casualties years ago.
These boats are used for port guard duty, covering the mouths of rivers and harbors.
The same job the USCG did before.
My blood is boiling.
Mine, too!
LTC Peters got it right in his characterization of Ophonybama as a “pussy.”
HST, LTC Peters is speaking as an American; Obama is NOT an American, so his allegiance is not with America.
Ergo, his behavior is easily explained — he is a Quisling!
FRom http://www.thefreedictionary.com/quisling: “A traitor who serves as the puppet of the enemy occupying his or her country.”
I am certainly no expert on this matter, but I’d like to think that the military GPS signals are specially encrypted and cannot be jammed.
The article you referred to had the NORK spoofing civilian GPS signals. Our military uses the civilian GPS signal plus a,IIRC, fourth signal that causes military GPS to be more accurate; i.e., to within one meter vice 10 meters for civilians.
It stands to reason that if GPS is so vitally important to our military, it is “hardened” so it can be used in time of war.
But, I have been wrong before!
Yes!
Stuned my beeber, it did!
Did you read the article? Difficult for them to be outgunned, given the capabilities of those boats.
I’m working on the theory now, in the light of hindsight, of course, that the mission of these nine men and one woman was TO GET CAPTURED BY THE IRANIANS!
Ophonybama and John Effing Kerry may have cooked up this scheme to provide some “Iranians are not all bad” publicity in advance of all the USA give-aways to Iran and the other shenanigans going on over there and in the hallways and offices of our LIEberal thug anti-American administration.
So, while we were focused on the drama of these two boats and 10 crewmembers, other, more damaging to the USA stuff was going on behind the scene.
Just a gut-level hunch.
Reminiscent of the theory developed during the Benghazi fiasco that the original opplan was for the Libyan “rebels” to capture Ambassador Stevens and then trade him for the “Blind Sheik.”
How did that work out for us?
Your info is not up to date. Many commercial GPSs are accurate in inches. As far as encryption goes it can only work if it can receive the signal from the satellites which is very weak at the close to earth antenna. Flood the antenna with a stronger signal and the GPS is useless. That takes power and frequency range. A F-18 Growler has enough power to jam radar(s) for miles around it. Military radar signals are orders of magnitude stronger than the GPS signal here on Earth. During the Iraq war the Iraqi’s tried to use Russian built jammers against GPS guided bombs. worked intermittently because the bombs antenna moved faster than the jammer could follow. Boats? Easy to isolate and track with a jammer of sufficient power.
Thanks for the ping, Matt.
We need to keep the drums sounding off until the truth comes out on this “event.”
What do you think of the theory I developed in post #192?
Given the propensity of the Ophonybama administration foul the American nest time after time in order to make our enemies look good and America look bad, could they REALLY cook up a scenario like “Go get captured by the Iranians?”
And I recall folks telling us that little bathhouse whoreboy couldn't do that much damage for four or eight years ... treacherous, treasonous scum like obamao is why ONLY a Natural Born Citizen is eligible for the presidency. Canadian born little steven barnard dunham is proving just how devastating having a treacherous degenerate in power is. Clinton is a degenerate, but he was greedy not the enemy of The Republic. Barry is a clear enemy of what America was ...
Obama is no phoney! He’s a real genuine Iranian agent under the total control of one Valarie Jarrett and has been from day one!
Congress should demand the Terrorist in Chief to stand trial for treason on many counts throughout the 7 years of dictatorship. But they will continue to do nothing.
He was elected by a majority vote. Thus affirming that a majority of people living here felt the same way he does. And they approve the things he is doing to destroy America. Both Houses of Congress approve of what he is doing. It is expected of the Democrats. But the Republicans to approve? The very actions, or better yet, inactions of the Congressional Republicans ring out loud and clear that they support his actions.
His [Obama's] Executive Orders and Executive Actions? Congress could tell him to go fly a kite concerning those. They only apply to and are enforceable to and on members of his administration and not the General Public at large. Why? Because the Constitution of the United States of America, as original written and ratified, authorizes Congress and only Congress to enact laws at the Federal level.
Anyone with the intelligence to get in out of the rain, can thus deduct that the Republican Party, by not fighting toot and toenail the actions taken by Obama, approves of what he is doing.
He and his handlers have been elevating their push for 7 years. They now know they can take down the military at any time. Just imagine what this coming year will bring. Snort, and we are getting all excited about the election as if there really will be one.
You have a firm grasp of the obvious, Bigun!
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