Fearless Navy Bloggers Take to the Air: Midrats Epsiode 13 "USMC and Forcible Entry"

Sunday, 5PM Eastern - Midrats on Blog Talk Radio:

What are the Marines, what do they do, and what do they bring to the table in 2010? Are they just and adjunct Army with a good PR department, or do they bring a skill set and expertise that a Maritime power needs in order to project power? What have we forgotten about the mission of the Marines in the last decade, and what do we need to remember? In the 28 years since San Carlos Water and 19 years since II MEF's feint - what do we need to be ready to do next? What do we need to do for hardware and training? Our guests will be Dakota Wood and Mark E. Stanovich. Dakota Wood, Lt. Col., USMC (Ret) is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He is currently involved in studying the operational challenges of irregular warfare, complex contingencies under high-technology conditions, and proliferated nuclear environments. Before his retirement, LtCol Wood served in a wide variety of operational and staff assignments, including the Corps’ Military Assistant to the Director of the Office of Net Assessment and, provided defense issues analysis support to the Commandant of the Marine Corps on assignment to the Strategic Initiatives Group. Following his retirement, he provided support to the DHS as Operations Officer for the National Biosurveillance Integration System. Mark Stanovich is a is a Lt. Col. in the USMCR, an Artillery officer with 22 years of service. He has served in all four Marine Divisions, and is a combat veteran of OIFII. In his civilian occupation, he is an emergency planner in New England, and is a qualified exercise developer who has participated in the planning and conduct of myriad federal and state exercises with scenarios ranging from natural disaster to terrorism to cyber attack. His current USMCR unit supports Title X war games for all services.

Listen to Midrats on Blog Talk Radio

Please join us.

Somali Pirates Going All Wimpy?

Somali pirates seemingly are going all wimpy because both NATO and the EU are stepping up their anti-pirate activity, a trend evidenced by this report Somali pirates release hijacked vessel after encountering Italian warship - Winnipeg Free Press:

Somali pirates abandoned a hijacked Iranian vessel and set its 19-man crew free Thursday after encountering an Italian warship just off the coast of Somalia, NATO said.

Shona Lowe, a NATO anti-piracy spokeswoman, said the SAAD1 transport was released near the port of Garacad on Somalia's Indian Ocean coast, where it was hijacked five months ago and had been anchored.

It was unclear why the pirates set sail on Sunday in their captured ship, but they encountered the Italian frigate Scirocco which was patrolling nearby. On Thursday, the hijackers abandoned the Iranian ship and returned to Garacad in a dinghy, Lowe said.

"Because our ships are there, the pirates no longer have the freedom they had in the past," she said. "There was no fire fight. It was the presence of the Italian ship that made them leave."

If it was just that easy - having a warship show up - Somali piracy could have be quashed a long time ago.

Bwahaha! Not so much surprise - U.S. ships bombs

A speculative article first reported in The Herald of Scotland here and picked up by the Times of India here, on Hot Air here and on forums at both the Democratic Underground here and the Free Republic here and in roughly a gazillion other places, all of which seem, once again to see this putative shipment to Diego Garcia as a sign Iran or somebody is soon to be targeted...

“They are gearing up totally for the destruction of Iran,” said Dan Plesch, director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at the University of London, co-author of a recent study on US preparations for an attack on Iran. “US bombers are ready today to destroy 10,000 targets in Iran in a few hours,” he added.

In the past these 1000 lb and 2000 lb bombs have been used for such nefarious purposes as . . . target practice. Here is a caption for the photos above:

DJIBOUTI, Africa (Dec. 4, 2007) 1,000 pound BLU-110 MK-83 and 500 pound BLU-111 MK-82 hard target penetrating bombs explode at the Gordia range off the coast of Djibouti. The weapons were delivered from U.S. Navy F/A-18 hornet aircraft from the Red Rippers of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11 embarked aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75). Combined Task Forcer – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) conducts operations in the region to prevent conflict, promote regional stability and protect coalition interests. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael R. McCormick (Released)

In fact, if you click on the following photo, you might see a bomb headed for the dirt (inside the red circle):

Now, think about this - those bombs being dropped by the Red Rippers had to get to Djibouti somehow. Maybe by shipping them? So why are there now so much fun and excitement about another shipment of bombs?

Next we''l learn that jet fuel is shipped to Diego Garcia for .... fueling jets.

And food is shipped for feeding .... troops.

Is there no end to this madness? Bwahaha!

Hat tip to Jim for his kind email.

Somali Pirates: Dutch Pirate Cleanser

From the EU MSC(HOA):

Early this morning, 17 March, two small skiffs made a fast approach on the EU NAVFOR Dutch HNLMS TROMP with, what appeared, to be a pirate attack.

The TROMP fired warning shots as they approached and it was this action that alerted the “would be” pirates to the fact that they were trying to attack a well armed Naval warship.

The warship, HNLMS TROMP of the Royal Netherlands Navy, was patrolling the region as part of the ongoing EU counter-piracy mission, when it was approached at high speed by two small vessels, known as skiffs, shortly after 0630 GMT. Warning shots were fired by the naval vessel, which also deployed its helicopter to intercept the suspects who attempted to flee. An EU NAVFOR Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) from Sweden was also on the scene, tracking a third boat, the suspected pirates’ mother ship, and monitoring the safety of any merchant shipping in the area.

A search of the skiffs by the EU NAVFOR ship uncovered ammunition and some rocket propelled grenades were also found. Ten suspects were held on board the warship before being released to one of their boats. Having completed the search, the warship destroyed the other two skiffs and reported the incident to the Seychelles Coast Guard, with whom the EU NAVFOR works closely. This is the 11^th Pirate Attack Group that EU NAVFOR has been involved in disrupting in the last 2 weeks.

Cleaning up the sea. Nice.

UPDATE: Post title was even more appropriate than I knew. From the Royal Netherlands Navy website here, more on the "sweeping up" of the pirates (Google translation):

Frigate Again Arrests Somali Pirates

The frigate Hr. Ms. Tromp again today discovered and disarmed a group of pirates. The air defense and command frigate Tromp is the Somali coast engaged in Operation Sweeping Broom "and grabbed 9 pirates earlier this week after a failed robbery attempt.
Almost immediately after the earlier arrest Tromp discovered 3 boats again, a mother and 2 small skiffs with pirates. The pirates were now found nearly 400 kilometer southwest of the Seychelles. After the boats were detected  by radar at about 30 kilometers, action was taken. With the Lynx helicopter on board and 2 RHIB (rigid-hulled inflatable boat) with special units of the Marines the 3 skiffs were forced to stop. Several warning shots fired from a helicopter and the RHIB.

On board the skiffs were found several indications of piracy, and weapons such as ladders. All 13 skiff crew were arrested and then placed in a boat with sufficient fuel, water and food in the mother skiff located so they can reach the Seychelles, according to EU directives. The Seychelles Coastguard was informed of the upcoming skiff. The 2 pirate skiffs were destroyed by Hr.Ms. Tromp and piracy attributes were seized.
The 9 pirates arrested earlier this week are still aboard. The Tromp will assist them in the course of this week off the coast of Somalia.

Operation 'Sweeping Broom "will continue to deter pirates. With the current "sweep" is a symbolic link to the namesake of the Tromp, Admiral Maarten Tromp. After his victory over the British in 1652 he had a broom to the mast as a sign that bind the sea was swept clean. Since then located in the cabin of the commander of all Dutch naval vessel named Hr. Ms. Tromp a broom. For special events, the broom hoisted a sign that the ocean Tromp rid of anyone who stands in the way of peace.

Lower photo caption: "The commander of Hr. Ms. Tromp,Captain Hans Lodder, next to the broom in the cabin." All photos inthe update from Netherlands Ministry of Defense.

His broom is more traditional than mine, but the meaning is the same.

UPDATE2: It occurs to me that some of you may be too young to know about Old Dutch Cleanser, a pumice based cleaning product popular in the early 20th Century.

Yemeni Coast Guard Arrests Iranian Ship

Reported as Yemen seizes Iranian vessel - UPI.com:

Yemeni officials with the help of international forces arrested the crew of an Iranian ship believed to be carrying illegal drugs, authorities said Monday.
***
Yemen blamed Iran for supporting the Houthi rebel movement that preoccupied military forces during the latter half of 2009. Tehran denied the charges.

Iran's Press TV, meanwhile, quotes Abdel Karim al-Ariani, a Yemeni presidential adviser, as saying Tehran "plays no role" in the violence plaguing Yemen.

Right.

Good on the Yemeni Coast Guard.

Somali Pirates: New EU Command Ship Heads for Waters Off Somalia

EU Forces off Somalia will be seeing a new flag ship as Sweden sends HMS Carlskrona a departure reported in a EU press release New Force Headquarter (FHQ) Sails For Somalia Anti Piracy Mission:

HMS CARLSKRONA will proceed to the Gulf of Aden, where RAdm (LH) Thörnqvist is to relieve the present Force Commander Rear Admiral Giovanni Gumiero onboard the EU NAVFOR Italian warship ITS ETNA who has been controlling operations in the area for the last four months. The ships will meet in the Gulf of Aden in the middle of April and formally hand over command of the EU NAVFOR Task Force.

Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP) and vessels of AMISOM, and to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy. EU NAVFOR also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.

More on Carlskrona here.

Top Photo caption: "HMSwS Carlskrona escorted by HMSwS Stockholm (Photo Peter Nilsson Kockums) "
Lower Photo caption: "HMSwS Carlskrona on her way (Photo Peter Nilsson Kockums)"

Fearless Navy Bloggers Took to the Air: Episode 12 China 3/14/2010 - Midrats on Blog Talk Radio

You can listen or download at Episode 12 China 3/14/2010 - Midrats on Blog Talk Radio.

Excellent guests:

Dr. Donald Henry and Dr. Dr. James Kraska:
Dr. Henry attended Harvard College earning a degree in economics. After working for a year in the National Security Division of the Congressional Budget Office, he attended Stanford University for two years earning a Ph.D. in economics. He worked for the Rand Corporation for 18 years with a three year and a half year break for active duty Navy Service. Most recently, he served in the Office of Net Assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for eight years as a political appointee. He is a Captain in the Navy Reserve and an intelligence officer. He has been studying China and Asian security affairs for more than twenty-five years. While working in the Pentagon, he was a key player in drafting the Pentagon's annual China Military Power Report. He now lives in Menlo Park, California.

Dr. Kraska is a Commander in the U.S. Navy, and serves as the Howard S. Levie Chair of Operational Law at the U.S. Naval War College, and holds appointments as a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and as a Guest Investigator at the Marine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He holds both a research doctorate and professional doctorate in law, having earned a doctor of juridical science from the University of Virginia and a doctor of jurisprudence from Indiana University, Bloomington. Commander Kraska also earned a master's of international law from the University of Virginia, master's of arts in defense and foreign policy from Claremont Colleges and a diploma from the College of Naval Command and Staff, U.S. Naval War College.

Lawfare, communications security, China's sea lines of communication and much, much more.

A Small Difference

Whale Boors: Sea Shepherd activist arrested

Japan may hold a de facto pirate trial as it begins with an arrest Sea Shepherd activist arrested:

The Japan Coast Guard on Friday arrested a member of U.S.-based antiwhaling group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for trespassing in connection with his boarding of a whaling fleet vessel in the Antarctic Ocean last month.
***
The Japan Coast Guard obtained an arrest warrant for Bethune on Thursday.

It is the first time the JCG has been involved in a case of ship trespassing in international waters, according to the agency.

Tatsuro Shinjo, deputy director general of the Third Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, said the coast guard decided to handle the arrest because Bethune does not reside in Japan and coast guard officials are to carry out the investigation.

Shinjo said that the captain of the Shonan Maru No. 2 did not make a citizens arrest of Bethune but held him under "protective custody." Earlier reports said Bethune ostensibly boarded the whaler to "arrest" its skipper after the ship hit his high-tech vessel the Ady Gil in the port bow, chopping it in two, in January. The boat sank shortly afterward.
***
Paul Watson, the head of Sea Shepherd, told Kyodo News he thought it was "very strange . . . the aggrieved captain is the one who is going to be arrested."

"Pete Bethune was prepared for this, and he said let's go back to Japan, let's throw everything out on the table and clear this up," he said, speaking from Hobart, Tasmania, where the group's boats are currently docked.

More fun will be had if Mr. Watson tries to enter Japan to testify on Mr. Bethune's behalf.

Let's see how strongly Watson believes in the cause...

Fearless Navy Bloggers Take to the Air: Episode 12 China 3/14/2010 - Midrats on Blog Talk Radio

Episode 12 China 3/14/2010 - Midrats on Blog Talk Radio:

She's big - she's growing - she's confident - and everyone wants to talk about her. This upcoming Sunday, 14 March join our panel of Sal from the blog CDR Salamander, Galrahn from Information Dissemination and Eagle One from Eagle Speak as they discuss China from a maritime and national security perspective. Joining them will be China expert Don Henry along with James Kraska. James Kraska serves as the Howard S. Levie Chair of Operational Law at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He also holds appointments as a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and as a Guest Investigator at the Marine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts."

It's just possible that China's critical sea lanes might get discussed. For a look at the 2009 Report of the U.S. DOD on China, "Annual Report to Congress: Military Power of the People’s Republic of China, 2009," go here and whack on the link. The map below comes from that report.

A Somali Pirate Attack Off India?

MSC(HOA) - Fairplay Daily News Story:

Maltese-flagged Melina 1 radioed for help after coming under attack by armed men in skiffs at the weekend, about 200 n-miles west of India's Lakshwadeep islands, said Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme.

India's navy dispatched a coastguard ship and helicopter to the area, and the attackers fled.

"The modus operandi of the attackers shows that they must be Somali gunmen,” Mwangura told Fairplay today.

Mwangura earlier told Reuters: "The location seems way outside Somali pirate territory, but the unsuccessful attack seems to bear all the hallmarks of Somali pirates: three mother ships, two skiffs."

As someone wise once noted, "Just because they haven't, doesn't mean they can't or won't."   (Note: the map shows a conjectural "attack" spot based on the report above).

And, in fact, they may have already - an extension of range by the pirates should not be surprising - last year they ranged out over 1000 miles to attack a ship ( see here and here) and as seen on the map below there was at least one attack near India in 2009:

More on a reported pirate attack off India in 2009 at Somali Pirates: Indian Merchant Ship Evades Attack - Off India? and Somali Pirates: Update on tanker attacked off India. Map below shows location of 2009 attack.

Again, currents and waves are good for pirates off India this time of year (and none of those nasty foreign warships are patrolling the area - as seen in the quote about the Indian government having to dispatch forces to a part of its territorial waters. Waves (from Oceanweather, Inc.):
 

Somali Pirates: Flying Swedes Join the Fun

A Swedish Coast Guard maritime patrol aircraft is starting to look for suspicious boats off Somalia as part of the EU anti-piracy task force all as reported in this MSC(HOA) Press Release

On Monday 8th March, the Swedish Coast guard Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) conducted its first formal mission for EU NAVFOR’s anti piracy operation – Atalanta.

During the next four months one of the Swedish Coast Guard aircraft, a DASH 8, will monitor the waters off the coast of Somalia providing the Force Commander with essential information on the movements of ships in the area.

The Swedish Project Manager of the MPA in Seychelles Lars Franzen stated “We have just completed our first flight within the EU NAVFOR and we were in the air for around 6 hours. The flight was diverted because of suspicious activity in a particular area and It turned out to be suspect pirates who were remaining close to a fishing vessel. We were able to alert the Force Commander and document the incident.”

This is the first time a MPA from the Swedish Coast Guard has participated in an international operation of this type. The MPA is a DASH-8 Q-300 equipped with several advanced surveillance systems that makes it one of the worlds’s most advanced sea surveillance aircraft. The MPA is manned by a civilian crew.

A whole lot more on the DHC-8-Q300 in pdf format here.

From the Swedish CG website:(Google translation)

Coast Guard to find pirates

 In the spring, one of the Coast Guard planes to get a completely new task.  During the four months the crew will monitor the waters off the Somali coast in the Indian Ocean. The mission is to find, document and report piracy.

In the Gulf of Aden and in the waters off the Somali coast in progress for some years now an ever more intense acts of piracy and armed robbery against many UN food shipments, and against other merchant.

***

A look at the sensor package (from the pdf): 

Haiti: Hospital Ship USNS Comfort Coming Home -Emergency Service Done

USNS Comfort, one of two  massive hospital ships of the U.S. Navy, is coming home:

Hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) completed its mission and will depart the Joint Task Force-Haiti area of operations March 10.

Over the course of seven weeks, the ship's U.S military and civilian medical personnel treated 871 patients, receiving at the height of the recovery effort one patient every six to nine minutes. But now, thanks to more field hospitals ashore and fewer patients in need of specialized care, the ship has not had patients on board for more than a week.

Comfort departed its homeport in Baltimore Jan. 16, and arrived three-and-a-half days later and immediately began supporting humanitarian relief efforts in Haiti. Prior to anchoring off the coast of Port-au-Prince Jan. 20, Comfort was already receiving patients in transit via airlift. During portions of the relief effort, nearly 1,300 medical personnel from the U.S. military and various non governmental organizations (NGOs) were embarked and treating earthquake survivors.

Medical personnel aboard Comfort performed 843 surgeries during their mission in Haiti. According to the ship's Director of Surgery, U.S. Navy Cmdr. Tim Donohue, Comfort had more than 540 critically injured patients on board within the first 10 days. During the initial phase of its mission, the ship ran 10 operating rooms at full capacity to care for severely injured earthquake survivors. The ships medical crew also delivered nine infants during the relief mission.

Patients treated aboard Comfort included injured Haitian and U.S. earthquake survivors, as well as U.S. and international military personnel transferred to the ship by physicians on the ground for surgical and non-surgical care.

Volunteer experts from the Orthopedic Trauma Association, Project Hope, Operation Smile, United Nations Nurses, John Hopkins Emergency Medicine and other NGOs provided the ship's medical team with orthopedic trauma, surgical, nursing and anesthesia support.
***
By early February, as relief efforts increased and medical treatment facilities ashore expanded in their ability to treat more patients and provide greater care, the amount of earthquake victims requiring transit to Comfort naturally declined. Comfort's last patient was transferred for follow-on care to a recovery facility in Haiti Feb. 27.

Apparently not everyone understands that Comfort was provided for "emergency service" - as set out in this article:

The need for Comfort's capabilities declined significantly during the final weeks of its mission, as medical facilities and field hospitals in Haiti assumed a greater role addressing the health care needs of Haitians," officials said in a statement released Tuesday by the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees American military operations in Haiti.

Yet doctors who have worked at some of those field hospitals are calling the ship's departure premature.

When it sails away today, they say, the Comfort will take with it the only modern, well-equipped treatment facility available to most of the island's struggling population.

Dr. Andrew N. Pollak, a University of Maryland orthopedic surgeon who returned from Haiti recently, described military and civilian doctors in Port-au-Prince scrambling last weekend to find treatment for a patient with a potentially life-threatening injury - while the Comfort sat empty in the harbor, preparing to depart.

"They're just completely punting," Pollak said of Pentagon officials who decided to pull the ship out of Haiti.

"Without the Comfort, the country is going to have no critical-care capability to speak of," he said.
***
Meanwhile, relief workers have encouraged the Navy to leave the Comfort in Haiti, even offering to staff it with civilian physicians, nurses and technicians. Pollak was among a group of key civilian doctors who appealed directly to top officials at the Pentagon.

"You can't expect the Comfort to bring the entire country up to the standards of the U.S. health care system, but there has to be some bailout capacity," Pollak said.

Military physicians say privately that the Haiti relief mission was complicated by the endless need for advanced care for patients whose conditions were unrelated to the Jan. 12 disaster.

In Haiti primarily to treat fractures and crush injuries from the earthquake, the crew was inundated with patients suffering from diseases, heart trouble, infections and other ailments that owed more to the country's lack of development than to the earthquake.

Navy officials declined to address questions about the continuing health care needs in Haiti, while praising the Comfort's accomplishments over the past seven weeks. (emphasis added)

The distinction between emergency service and becoming the "critical care" health service of Haiti on a permanent basis almost defines the difference between "disaster relief" and "nation building." Or, as they say in the disaster management business, the move is an indication that the shift has come from the "response" phase to the "recovery" phase.

Well done, Comfort! Welcome home.

Somali Pirates: Fishing Boat Taken

Fishing vessel hijacked in Indian Ocean:

The Kenyan flagged fishing vessel SAKOBA is reported hijacked 400 NM east of Dar Es Salam.

The ship is believed to be Spanish owned. At the moment EU NAVFOR has no information concerning the nationality or number of the crew. The SAKOBA is heading towards Haradere and EU NAVFOR is continuing to monitor the situation

Somali Pirates: Attacks and Counterattacks

Somali pirate attacks thus far in 2010 in a map from Piracy Maps 2010.

A summary of recent EU counter-piracy action from MSC(HOA):

Over the weekend of 5 – 7 March, EU NAVFOR units have been involved in concerted operations to interdict and disrupt pirate action groups before they had the opportunity to pirate vessels in the Indian Ocean.

Six pirate action groups have been intercepted, mother ships and skiffs have been destroyed and over 40 pirates have been taken into custody.

As reported by EU NAVFOR on 5 March, the Force Commander of Operation ATALANTA, RAdm Giovanni GUMIERO, onboard the ITS ETNA, tasked the French EU NAVFOR Warship FS NIVOSE to intercept and disrupt the pirate attack group, which had previously been repelled by the Vessel Protection Detachment embarked onboard a French vessel. The Nivose intercepted the group of 1 mother ship and 2 skiffs and found pirate paraphernalia in the skiffs including a rocket launcher, grappling hooks and several fuel barrels. The pirates were arrested and the mother ship destroyed.

This was the start of a weekend where the Command ship ITS ETNA, FS NIVOSE and their helicopters and the Maritime Patrol Aircraft from Luxemburg, Spain and Sweden were involved in the disruption of 5 pirate action groups, including the destruction of mother ships and skiffs, and the arrest of over 40 pirates.

During an attack on a French fishing vessel, TORRE GIULIA, two other fishing vessels, TREVIGNON and TALENDUIC came to her rescue. During close contact, the mother ship collided with one of the fishing vessels and sank, and the Fishing vessel immediately stopped to help those in the water to save their lives. Only four pirates were found initially but a search and rescue effort including, an EU NAVFOR Spanish Maritime Patrol Aircraft, ensured that the remaining two pirates were found and taken onboard the TORRE GIULIA.

The efforts of all units and aircraft in this operation show the determination of EU NAVFOR to fight piracy in the Indian Ocean as well as the Gulf of Aden. Attacks will still happen and hijackings may still take place but this recent success ensures that there were 6 less ships hijacked over the weekend.

EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP) and vessels of AMISOM, and to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy. EU NAVFOR also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.

Photos from here.

Haiti Sealift: Lummus and JLOTS

U.S. Military Sealift Command article: Sealift -- Lummus and JLOTS lift hearts in Haiti:

***
The situation in Haiti reinforced the importance of Lummus' amphibious capabilities, including Navy lighterage loaded on the ship's weather decks, which consisted of powered and non-powered causeway sections that were placed alongside the ship when it arrived in theater, and then used to ferry equipment from ship to shore. This multi-vessel process of off-loading cargo at sea is called Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS. Aerial photo Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Meranda Keller

Amphibious operations depend on Navy Support Element professionals - personnel with specialized training and experience in deploying, operating and repairing watercraft in the most austere conditions. Thanks to the dedication of sailors from Beach Group Two, Amphibious Construction Battalion Two, Assault Craft Units Two and Four and Cargo Handling Battalion One, all of Lummus' cargo was successfully discharged at sea aboard the lighterage and transported ashore via JLOTS.

"It was impressive to see Lummus working around the clock to get supplies ashore," said Stephan Jean-Bart, part of MSC's assessment team on assignment in Port-au-Prince. Jean-Bart normally works in the strategic planning office at MSC headquarters and has a personal stake in the relief efforts since his wife's family lives in Port-au-Prince. He added, "I am personally grateful for what MSC, and Lummus in particular, have done to help."
***

More here:

The port infrastructure in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was devastated. Because most humanitarian aid bound for Haiti goes by ship, relief supplies required another way to get ashore.

The solution was joint logistics over-the-shore, or JLOTS - offloading cargo from ships at sea and then transporting that cargo ashore via landing craft and specially designed motorized and non-motorized barges called lighterage.

Ten MSC-operated vessels supported JLOTS, including two Maritime Prepositioning Ships, both owned by MSC; two ships that were activated from the Maritime Administration's Ready Reserve Force and under MSC operational control; one MARAD high-speed ferry; and five chartered vessels.

By mid-February, more than 1,000 20-foot containers of vital cargo and more than 170 military vehicles, all of which had arrived aboard ships, had been ferried ashore on lighterage delivered by MSC. Supplies included baby formula, medical supplies, USAID relief supplies, fuel trucks and dump trucks.
***
"The crews provided outstanding support," said Tim Pickering, MSC cargo project officer. "As a result, lives are being saved, and pain is being eased. There's great satisfaction in knowing that."

Map is from here.

Lower photos from U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Justin E. Stumberg, except last photo from MSC.

Update: Should also note the role of the forces that keep the U.S. ships supplied with fuel and food, as well as delivering vital aid to Haitians, as set out in
Unrep ships critical platforms for Haitian disaster relief.

Hat tip to Lee.

Somali Pirates: More Pirates Nabbed

Reported here (Google translation):

On Sunday, March 7, 2010, the French frigate Nivôse acting within the framework of the European operation Atalanta stopped eleven pirates operating off the coast of Somalia. Those captured were added to the twenty-four suspected pirates already held aboard the frigate. L'Atalante transaction records and the most important decision made by pirates in the Somali Basin.

This capture is the result of a combined European military capabilities implemented by the operation Atalanta: the French frigate Nivose, the Italian oil tanker "Etna", flagship of the operation, and a Spanish aircraft maritime patrol.

Set alert the staff of the operation Atalante from information collected by the Spanish airline, the frigate Nivôse rallied the area, preceded by its Panther helicopter and helicopter Etna. The fast boats from the frigate intercepted a mother ship and two skiffs, "marked" by helicopters. The warning shots were necessary to deter the pirates to flee.

Since March 5, the frigate was already Nivôse intervened three times in succession to intercept pirates and eleven eleven March 5, and two additional March 6. She has contributed to the seizure of four mother ships and six skiffs and dismantled the activities of four groups of pirates.

The oil tanker "Etna" since December 2009 is the flagship operation of the Atalante and take on board the General Staff, commanded by Admiral Italian Giovanni Gumiero.

***

MM Etna (A 5325) is Italian.

See also the Turkish Navy capture of additional pirates as set out here.

Fearless Navy Bloggers Took to the Air: Episode 11: Full Panel Navy Review Melee and Guest Dr. Norman Friedman

Yes, a melee followed by a serious discussion of the Navy with Dr. Norman Friedman well-known naval writer and strategist.

Pirates, the alleged "Mullen Doctrine," the LCS and a whole lot more discussed in a jam packed hour.



You can buy Dr. Friedman's book British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War here.

American al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn captured in Pakistan

From Bill Roggio: American al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn captured in Pakistan: Report - The Long War Journal:

Reports from Paisitan indicate that the American-born al Qaeda spokesman who has been charged with treason in the US was captured in Pakistan's port city of Karachi.

Adam Gadahn and an associate are reported to have been captured during a raid by Pakistani special forces on a home at the Super Highway in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city.

US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal said they believed Gadahn has been detained but would not confirm the report.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/03/american_al_qaeda_sp.php#ixzz0hWExpL0a

FBI Most Wanted info on this treasonous future martyr here.

Somali Pirates: Turkish Frigate Captures 7 Pirates

Turkish Frigate Captures 7 Pirates:

The Turkish frigate "Gemlik" has encountered a small skiff in the Gulf of Aden, and captured seven alleged pirates.

The naval vessel, which is serving under an international mission to fight off piracy in the Gulf of Aden, encountered a suspicious boat in the security corridor used by commercial shipping, some 60 kms offshore.

Turkish SAT Commandos (the Underwater Assault Team) boarded the small boat and seized the seven men, along with an assault rifle and equipment used in pirate operations, according to the Turkish Military Headquarters web site on Saturday.

The group has been detained, suspected of preparing to launch attacks on commercial vessels in the area.

More at Bosphorus Naval News with pictures (sample nearby).