• US Navy fires on ship in Persian Gulf
    55 replies, posted
[QUOTE]Washington (CNN) -- A U.S. military supply ship fired Monday at a small boat in the Persian Gulf after it came too close, apparently killing one person on board, two U.S. officials said. The USNS Rappahannock, a fuel resupply ship, fired on what the officials called a "small, white pleasure craft" 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Dubai port of Jebel Ali. The small boat appeared to be headed for that port, the officials said, adding that their information was preliminary. The U.S. ship verbally warned the smaller boat when it was 1,200 yards (1,100 meters) away and fired at least one warning shot before the decision was made to fire shots to disable the boat, the officials said. "In accordance with Navy force protection procedures, the sailors on the USNS Rappahannock ... used a series of non-lethal, preplanned responses to warn the vessel before resorting to lethal force," the Navy said in a statement. "The U.S. crew repeatedly attempted to warn the vessel's operators to turn away from their deliberate approach. When those efforts failed to deter the approaching vessel, the security team on the Rappahannock fired rounds from a .50-caliber machine gun." Officials described the course of events as standard procedures when a small boat gets too close to a U.S. Navy ship. The officials, who would not be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation, also described the small boat as having made a series of maneuvers, but emphasized they were waiting for more details about what exactly happened. A United Arab Emirates source said the UAE would follow up after a review. Jebel Ali is 22 miles (35 kilometers) southwest of Dubai and 37 miles (60 kilometers) north of Abu Dhabi. With 67 berths and extensive dry-dock facilities, it is the largest man-made port in the world and the largest port in the Gulf region and in the Middle East.[/QUOTE] [URL="http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/16/world/meast/persian-gulf-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t2"]Source[/URL] Also you can read up on this to gain some insight into USN protocol: [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cole_bombing"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cole_bombing[/URL]
OH SHIT GUYS LOOKS LIKE ITS WORLD WAR THREE
a Small white pleasure craft is not a ship.
The USS Cole incident has changed the ROE of the US navy, unless if they were in the tightest spot of the straight of Hormuz the small boat should not try and approach a Navy ship.
I feel like they were justified in their actions. Another Cole is not what we need.
[QUOTE=OvB;36796301]a Small white pleasure craft is not a ship.[/QUOTE] ship, boat, whatever. Doesn't matter because people should read the article before they post.
[QUOTE=Disotrtion;36796331]ship, boat, whatever. Doesn't matter because people should read the article before they post.[/QUOTE] What a sensational topic title, ship makes me think that the US just sunk an Iranian vessel, not a pleasure craft.
[QUOTE=Pig;36796354]What a sensational topic title, ship makes me think that the US just sunk an Iranian vessel, not a pleasure craft.[/QUOTE] Welcome to SH EDIT: The CNN article's title made me think the same, considering Iran's navy is almost entirely small boats.
[QUOTE=Disotrtion;36796331]ship, boat, whatever. Doesn't matter because people should read the article before they post.[/QUOTE] I did read it and I've been hearing about it for an hour now on TV.
I shat bricks, change the title
[QUOTE=Pig;36796354]What a sensational topic title, ship makes me think that the US just sunk an Iranian vessel, not a pleasure craft.[/QUOTE] I was a little worried when I saw the thread title too
In the military we have something called "escalation of force". There are 4 S's. Shout, shove, show, shoot. It looks like they followed this protocol perfectly. Shout: They warned the boat away when it got too close. Shove/signal: Part of the verbal warning. Show: The warning shot. Shoot: Shoot to eliminate the threat.
Does anyone else wonder what the people on board were doing that they ignored all that?
[QUOTE=Clementine;36796671]Does anyone else wonder what the people on board were doing that they ignored all that?[/QUOTE] I'd like to think that they had made fresh bread for them and then they were sunk.
I about shit myself until i read that it was a little boat. The navy is fully in the right to utterly destroy anything not permitted to get close, after 2 warnings.
Makes me think that it was probably some rich punk trying to be a show off. They said 1 person died but they didn't give age/sex so that's my guess.
And i was half expecting the US to have started the next war, and pleasure craft? More a boat.
I thought it might have been an Iranian ship, then I remembered this is Sensationalist Headlines so it's a 50/50 chance of being super over-emphasized.
[QUOTE=Clementine;36796671]Does anyone else wonder what the people on board were doing that they ignored all that?[/QUOTE] I sincerely hope that the warnings were in Arabic, or a language that would be understood over there. Otherwise this could all be shit.
[QUOTE=Elecbullet;36797016]I sincerely hope that the warnings were in Arabic, or a language that would be understood over there. Otherwise this could all be shit.[/QUOTE] I'm sure they were. They have translators and whatnot for that.
[QUOTE=Elecbullet;36797016]I sincerely hope that the warnings were in Arabic, or a language that would be understood over there. Otherwise this could all be shit.[/QUOTE] They give 2 warnings: verbal and a warning shot. If you don't understand the verbal, then you sure as hell better know what the gunshot means.
Would the Iranians use small suicide boats are part of their naval defense?
[QUOTE=King Tiger;36797911]Would the Iranians use small suicide boats are part of their naval defense?[/QUOTE] It didn't have to be Iranians. It could have been any sort of religious extremists or whatnot.
[QUOTE=Elecbullet;36797016]I sincerely hope that the warnings were in Arabic, or a language that would be understood over there. Otherwise this could all be shit.[/QUOTE] Shots being fired in your direction should be a good hint that you should stop approaching them.
[QUOTE=Apache249;36797947]It didn't have to be Iranians. It could have been any sort of religious extremists or whatnot.[/QUOTE] I know, and I don't think this boat had anything to do with Iran. I'm just wondering if that would be in their repertoire.
[QUOTE=King Tiger;36798330]I know, and I don't think this boat had anything to do with Iran. I'm just wondering if that would be in their repertoire.[/QUOTE] You mean would an Islamic pariah state in the Middle East employ suicide attacks? Pretty safe bet that it's a yes.
[QUOTE=Elecbullet;36797016]I sincerely hope that the warnings were in Arabic, or a language that would be understood over there. Otherwise this could all be shit.[/QUOTE] standard procedure in iraq afaik though those were army checkpoints (for the most part) and this is the navy.
[QUOTE=OvB;36796321]I feel like they were justified in their actions. Another Cole is not what we need.[/QUOTE] There's no justification for randomly firing on a ship and killing an innocent person.
[QUOTE=Governor Goblin;36801429]There's no justification for randomly firing on a ship and killing an innocent person.[/QUOTE] OK then what should of the USS Cole done?
[QUOTE=SKEEA;36796421]In the military we have something called "escalation of force". There are 4 S's. Shout, shove, show, shoot. It looks like they followed this protocol perfectly. Shout: They warned the boat away when it got too close. Shove/signal: Part of the verbal warning. Show: The warning shot. Shoot: Shoot to eliminate the threat.[/QUOTE] Yeah but a pleasure craft off the coast of Jebel Ali, where lots of them are, isn't a "threat". The ship had no excuse to fire on it. If the US military gives free reign to start firing on ships because they're paranoid, then maybe they should rethink policy.
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