sdsubzero4
Spring Valley, CA
Its a bit long, but well worth the time......
This was received from a very high-placed source. His name is
> redacted at
> his request.
>
> Subject: The real story from active duty contacts
>
> First though, let me orient you to familiarize you with the "terrain."
>
> In Africa from Djibouti at the southern end of the Red Sea
> eastward through
> the Gulf of Aden to around Cape Guardafui at the easternmost tip
> of Africa
> (also known as "The Horn of Africa") is about a 600 nm transit
> before you
> stand out into the Indian Ocean. That transit is comparable in
> distance to
> that from the mouth of the Mississippi at New Orleans to the tip
> of Florida
> at Key West-- except that 600 nm over there is infested with Somalia
> pirates.
>
> Ships turning southward at the Horn of Africa transit the SLOC
> (Sea Lane of
> Commerce) along the east coast of Somalia because of the prevailing
> southerly currents there. It's about 1,500 nm on to Mombassa,
> which is
> just south of the equator in Kenya. Comparably, that's about the
> transitdistance from Portland Maine down the east coast of the US
> to Miami
> Florida. In other words, the ocean area being patrolled by our naval
> forces off the coast of Somalia is comparable to that in the Gulf
> of Mexico
> from the Mississippi River east to Miami then up the eastern
> seaboard to
> Maine.
>
> Second, let me globally orient you from our Naval Operating Base in
> Norfolk, VA, east across the Atlantic to North Africa, thence
> across the
> Med to Suez in Egypt, thence southward down the Red Sea to
> Djibouti at the
> Gulf of Aden, thence eastward to round Cape Guardafui at the
> easternmosttip of Africa, and thence southerly some 300 miles down
> the east cost of
> Somali out into the high seas of the Indian Ocean to the position
> of MV
> ALABAMA is a little more than 7,000 nm, and plus-nine time-zones
> ahead of
> EST.
>
> Hold that thought, in that, a C-17 transport averaging a little
> better than
> 400 kts (SOG) takes the best part of 18 hours to make that trip.
> In the
> evening darkness late Thursday night, a team of Navy SEALs from
> Norfolkparachuted from such a C-17 into the black waters (no
> refraction of light)
> of the Indian Ocean-- close-aboard to our 40,000 ton amphibious
> assaultship, USS BOXER (LHD 4), the flagship of our ESG
> (Expeditionary Strike
> Group) in the AOR (Area Of Responsibility, the Gulf of Aden).
> They not
> only parachuted in with all of their "equipment," they had their own
> inflatable boats, RHIB's (Rigid Hull, Inflatable Boats) with them for
> over-water transport. They went into BOXER's landing dock,
> debarked, and
> staged for the rescue-- Thursday night.
>
> And, let me comment on time-late: In that the SEAL's quick
> response--
> departing ready-alert in less than 4 hours from Norfolk-- supposedly
> surprised POTUS's (President of the United States) staff, whereas
> PresidentObama was miffed not to get his "cops" there before the
> Navy. He
> reportedly questioned his staff, "Will 'my' FBI people get there
> before the
> Navy does?" It took the FBI almost 12 hours to put together a
> team and get
> them packed-up-- for an "at sea" rescue. The FBI was trying to
> tell him
> that they are not practiced to do this-- Navy SEALs are. But, BHO
> wantedthe FBI there "to help," that is, carry out the Attorney
> General's (his)
> orders to negotiate the release of Captain Phillips peacefully--
> becauseapparently he doesn't trust the military to carry out his
> "politicalguidance."
>
> The flight of the FBI's passenger jet took a little less than 14
> hours at
> 500-some knots to get to Djibouti. BOXER'S helos picked them up and
> transported them out to the ship. The Navy SEALs were already there,
> staged, and ready to act by the time the FBI arrived on board
> later that
> evening. Notably, the first request by the OSC (On Scene
> Commander) that
> early Friday morning to take them out and save Captain Phillips
> was denied,
> to wit: "No, wait until 'my' FBI people get there."
>
> Third, please consider a candid assessment of ability that finds
> that the
> FBI snipers had never practiced shooting from a rolling, pitching,
> yawing,surging, swaying, heaving platform-- and, target-- such as
> a ship and a
> lifeboat on the high seas. Navies have been doing since Admiral
> Nelson who
> had trained "Marines" to shoot muskets from the ship's rigging--
> ironically, he was killed at sea in HMS VICTORY at the Battle of
> Trafalgarby a French Marine rifleman that shot him from the
> rigging of the French
> ship that they were grappling alongside.
>
> Notably, when I was first training at USNA many years ago, the
> Navy was
> doing it with a SATU, Small Arms Training Unit, based at our
> Little Creek
> amphib base. Now, Navy SEALs, in particular SEAL Team SIX, do that
> training now, and hone their skills professionally-- daily.
> Shooting small
> arms from a ship is more of an accomplished "Art Form" than it is a
> practiced skill. When you are "in the bubble" and "in tune" with the
> harmonic motion you find, through practice, that you are "able to
> put three
> .308 slugs inside the head of a quarter at 100 meters, in day or
> night--
> or, behind a camouflaged net or a thin enclosure, such as a
> superstructurebulkhead. Yes, we have the monocular scopes that
> can "see" heat-- and,
> draw a bead on it. SEALs are absolutely expert at it-- with the movie
> clips to prove it.
>
> Okay, now try to imagine patrolling among the boats fishing
> everyday out on
> the Grand Banks off our New England coast, and then responding to a
> distress call from down around the waters between Florida and the
> Bahamas.Three points for you to consider here: (1) Time-Distance-
> Speedrelationships for ships on the high seas, for instance, at a
> 25-knot SOA
> (Speed Of Advance) it takes 24 hours to make good 600 nm--
> BAINBRIDGE did.
> (2) Fishermen work on the high seas, and (3) The best place to
> hide as a
> "fisherman" pirate is among other fishermen
>
> Early Wednesday morning, 4/8/2009, MV ALABAMA is at sea in the IO
> about 300
> miles off the (east) coast of Somalia en route to Mombassa Kenya.
> Pirates in small boat start harassing her, and threatening her with
> weapons. MV ALABAMA's captain sent out the distress call by
> radio, and
> ordered his Engineer to shut down the engines as well as the ship-
> serviceelectrical generators-- in our lingo, "Go dark and cold."
> He informed his
> crew by radio what was happening, and ordered them to go to an
> out-of-the-way compartment and lock themselves in it-- from the
> inside. He
> would stay in the pilot house to "negotiate" with the pirates.
>
> The pirates boarded, captured the Captain, and ordered him to
> start the
> engines. He said he would order his Engineer to do so, and he
> called down
> to Engine Control on the internal communication system, but got no
> answer.The lead pirate ordered two of his four men to go down and
> find him and get
> the engines started.
>
> Inside a ship without any lights is like the definition of dark. The
> advantage goes to the people who work and live there. They jumped
> the two
> pirates in a dark passageway. Both pirates lost their weapons,
> but one
> managed to scramble and get away. The other they tied up, put
> tape over
> his mouth and a knife at his throat.
>
> Other members of the crew opened the drain cocks on the pirates
> boat and
> cast it adrift. It foundered and sunk. The scrambling pirate
> made it back
> to the pilot house and told of his demise. The pirates took the
> Captain at
> gun point, and told him to launch one of his rescue boats (not a
> life boat,
> per se). As he was lowering the boat for them, the crew appeared
> with the
> other pirate to negotiate a trade. The crew let their hostage go
> to soon,
> and the pirates kept the captain. But, he purposefully had
> lowered the
> boat so it would jam.
>
> With the rescue boat jammed, the pirates jumped over to a lifeboat and
> released it as the captain jumped in the water. They fired at
> him, made
> him stop, and grabbed him out of the water. Now, as night falls
> in the
> vastness of the Indian Ocean, we have the classic "Mexican"
> standoff, to
> wit: A life-boat that is just that, a life-boat adrift without
> any means
> of propulsion except oars and paddles; and, a huge (by comparison)
> MotorVessel Container Ship adrift with a crew that is not going to
> leave their
> captain behind. The pirates are enclosed under its shelter-covering,
> holding the captain as their hostage. The crew is hunkered down
> in their
> ship waiting for the "posse" to arrive.
>
> After receiving MV ALABAMA'S distress call, USS BAINBRIDGE (DDG
> 96) was
> dispatched by the ESG commander to respond to ALABAMA's distress call.
> At best sustainable speed, she arrived on scene the day after--
> that is, in
> the dark of that early Thursday morning. As BAINBRIDGE quietly
> and slowly,
> at darkened-ship without any lights to give her away, arrived on
> scene,please consider a recorded interview with the Chief Engineer
> of MV ALABAMA
> describing BAINBRIDGE's arrival. He said it was something else
> "... to see
> the Navy slide in there like a greyhound!" He then said as she
> slipped in
> closer he could see the "Stars and Stripes" flying from her
> masthead. He
> got choked up saying it was the "...proudest moment of my life."
>
> Phew! Let that sink in.
>
> Earlier in the day, one of the U.S. Navy's Maritime Patrol
> Aircraft, a
> fixed wing P3C, flew over to recon the scene. It dropped a buoy
> with a
> radio to the pirates so that the Navy's interpreter could talk
> with the
> pirates. When BAINBRIDGE arrived, the pirates thought the radio
> to be a
> beaconing device, and threw it overboard. They wanted a satellite
> telephone so that they could call home for help. Remember now,
> they are
> fishermen, not "Rocket Scientists," in that, they don't know that
> we can
> intercept the phone transmission also.
>
> MV ALABAMA provided them with a satellite phone. They called
> home back to
> "somebody" in Eyl Somalia (so that we now know where you live) to
> come out
> and get them. The "somebody" in Eyl said they would be out right
> away with
> other hostages, like 54 of them from other countries, and that
> they would
> be coming out in two of their pirated ships. Right-- and, the
> tooth fairy
> will let you have sex with her. Yea, in paradise. The "somebody"
> in Eyl
> just chalked up four more expendables as overhead for "the cost of
> operation." Next page.
>
> Anyway, ESG will continue to "watch" Eyl for any ships standing out.
>
> The Navy SEAL team briefed the OSC (Commander Castellano, CO
> BAINBRIDGE) on
> how they could rescue the captain from the life boat with swimmers-
> -
> "Combat Swimmers," per se. That plan was denied by POTUS because
> it put
> the captain in danger-- and, involved killing the pirates.
>
> The FBI negotiators arrived on scene, and talked the pirates into
> sendingtheir wounded man over for treatment Saturday morning.
> Later that
> afternoon, the SEALs sent over their RHIB with food and water to
> recon the
> life boat but the pirates shot at it. They could have taken them
> out then
> (from being fired upon) but were denied again being told that the
> captainwas not in "imminent danger." The FBI negotiators calmed
> the situation by
> informing the pirates of threatening weather as they could see
> storm clouds
> closing from the horizon, and offered to tow the life boat. The
> piratesagreed, and BAINBRIDGE took them under tow in their wake at
> 30 meters--
> exactly 30 meters, which is exactly the distance the SEALs
> practice their
> shooting skills.
>
> With the lifeboat under tow, riding comfortably bow-down on
> BAINBRIDGE'swake-wave ("rooster tail"), had a 17-second period of
> harmonic motion, and
> at the end of every half-period (8.5 seconds) was steady on. The
> light-enhanced (infra-red heat) monocular scopes on the SEAL's
> .308 caliber
> Mark 11 Mod 0 H&K suppressor-fitted sniper rifles easily imaged their
> target very clearly. Pirates in a life boat at 30-meters could be
> comparedto fish in a barrel. All that was necessary was to take
> out the plexiglass
> window so that it would not deflect the trajectory of the high
> velocity.308 round. So, a sniper (one of four) with a wad-cutter
> round (a flaxen
> sabot) would take out the window a split second before the kill-
> shot-- no
> change in sight-picture, just the window blowing out, clean.
>
> Now, here's the part BHO's "whiz kids" knew as well as the Navy
> hierarchy,including CO BAINBRIDGE and CO SEAL TEAM SIX. It's the
> law in Article 19
> of Appendix L in the "Convention of the High Seas" that the Commanding
> Officer of a US Ship on the high seas is obligated to respond to
> distresssignals from any flagged ship (US or otherwise), and
> protect the life and
> property thereof when deemed to be in IMMINENT DANGER. So, in the
> finalanalysis, it would be Captain Castellano call as to "Imminent
> Danger," and
> that he alone was obligated (duty bound) to act accordingly. Got the
> picture?
>
> After medically attending to the wounded pirated, and feeding him,
> comefirst light (from the east) on Easter Sunday morning and the
> pirates saw
> they were being towed further out to sea (instead of westward
> toward land),
> the wounded pirate demanded to be returned to the lifeboat. There
> would BE
> NO more negotiations-- and, the four Navy SEAL snipers "in the
> bubble" went
> "Unlock." The pirate holding Captain Philips raised the gun to
> his head,
> and IMMINENT DANGER was so observed and noted in the Log as CO
> BAINBRIDGEgave the classic order: WEAPONS RELEASED! I can hear
> the echo in my
> earpiece now, "On my count (from 8.5 seconds), 3, 2, 1, !" POP,
> BANG! Out
> went the window, followed by three simultaneous shots. The scoreboard
> flashed: "GAME OVER, GAME OVER-- NAVY 3, PIRATES 0!"
>
This was received from a very high-placed source. His name is
> redacted at
> his request.
>
> Subject: The real story from active duty contacts
>
> First though, let me orient you to familiarize you with the "terrain."
>
> In Africa from Djibouti at the southern end of the Red Sea
> eastward through
> the Gulf of Aden to around Cape Guardafui at the easternmost tip
> of Africa
> (also known as "The Horn of Africa") is about a 600 nm transit
> before you
> stand out into the Indian Ocean. That transit is comparable in
> distance to
> that from the mouth of the Mississippi at New Orleans to the tip
> of Florida
> at Key West-- except that 600 nm over there is infested with Somalia
> pirates.
>
> Ships turning southward at the Horn of Africa transit the SLOC
> (Sea Lane of
> Commerce) along the east coast of Somalia because of the prevailing
> southerly currents there. It's about 1,500 nm on to Mombassa,
> which is
> just south of the equator in Kenya. Comparably, that's about the
> transitdistance from Portland Maine down the east coast of the US
> to Miami
> Florida. In other words, the ocean area being patrolled by our naval
> forces off the coast of Somalia is comparable to that in the Gulf
> of Mexico
> from the Mississippi River east to Miami then up the eastern
> seaboard to
> Maine.
>
> Second, let me globally orient you from our Naval Operating Base in
> Norfolk, VA, east across the Atlantic to North Africa, thence
> across the
> Med to Suez in Egypt, thence southward down the Red Sea to
> Djibouti at the
> Gulf of Aden, thence eastward to round Cape Guardafui at the
> easternmosttip of Africa, and thence southerly some 300 miles down
> the east cost of
> Somali out into the high seas of the Indian Ocean to the position
> of MV
> ALABAMA is a little more than 7,000 nm, and plus-nine time-zones
> ahead of
> EST.
>
> Hold that thought, in that, a C-17 transport averaging a little
> better than
> 400 kts (SOG) takes the best part of 18 hours to make that trip.
> In the
> evening darkness late Thursday night, a team of Navy SEALs from
> Norfolkparachuted from such a C-17 into the black waters (no
> refraction of light)
> of the Indian Ocean-- close-aboard to our 40,000 ton amphibious
> assaultship, USS BOXER (LHD 4), the flagship of our ESG
> (Expeditionary Strike
> Group) in the AOR (Area Of Responsibility, the Gulf of Aden).
> They not
> only parachuted in with all of their "equipment," they had their own
> inflatable boats, RHIB's (Rigid Hull, Inflatable Boats) with them for
> over-water transport. They went into BOXER's landing dock,
> debarked, and
> staged for the rescue-- Thursday night.
>
> And, let me comment on time-late: In that the SEAL's quick
> response--
> departing ready-alert in less than 4 hours from Norfolk-- supposedly
> surprised POTUS's (President of the United States) staff, whereas
> PresidentObama was miffed not to get his "cops" there before the
> Navy. He
> reportedly questioned his staff, "Will 'my' FBI people get there
> before the
> Navy does?" It took the FBI almost 12 hours to put together a
> team and get
> them packed-up-- for an "at sea" rescue. The FBI was trying to
> tell him
> that they are not practiced to do this-- Navy SEALs are. But, BHO
> wantedthe FBI there "to help," that is, carry out the Attorney
> General's (his)
> orders to negotiate the release of Captain Phillips peacefully--
> becauseapparently he doesn't trust the military to carry out his
> "politicalguidance."
>
> The flight of the FBI's passenger jet took a little less than 14
> hours at
> 500-some knots to get to Djibouti. BOXER'S helos picked them up and
> transported them out to the ship. The Navy SEALs were already there,
> staged, and ready to act by the time the FBI arrived on board
> later that
> evening. Notably, the first request by the OSC (On Scene
> Commander) that
> early Friday morning to take them out and save Captain Phillips
> was denied,
> to wit: "No, wait until 'my' FBI people get there."
>
> Third, please consider a candid assessment of ability that finds
> that the
> FBI snipers had never practiced shooting from a rolling, pitching,
> yawing,surging, swaying, heaving platform-- and, target-- such as
> a ship and a
> lifeboat on the high seas. Navies have been doing since Admiral
> Nelson who
> had trained "Marines" to shoot muskets from the ship's rigging--
> ironically, he was killed at sea in HMS VICTORY at the Battle of
> Trafalgarby a French Marine rifleman that shot him from the
> rigging of the French
> ship that they were grappling alongside.
>
> Notably, when I was first training at USNA many years ago, the
> Navy was
> doing it with a SATU, Small Arms Training Unit, based at our
> Little Creek
> amphib base. Now, Navy SEALs, in particular SEAL Team SIX, do that
> training now, and hone their skills professionally-- daily.
> Shooting small
> arms from a ship is more of an accomplished "Art Form" than it is a
> practiced skill. When you are "in the bubble" and "in tune" with the
> harmonic motion you find, through practice, that you are "able to
> put three
> .308 slugs inside the head of a quarter at 100 meters, in day or
> night--
> or, behind a camouflaged net or a thin enclosure, such as a
> superstructurebulkhead. Yes, we have the monocular scopes that
> can "see" heat-- and,
> draw a bead on it. SEALs are absolutely expert at it-- with the movie
> clips to prove it.
>
> Okay, now try to imagine patrolling among the boats fishing
> everyday out on
> the Grand Banks off our New England coast, and then responding to a
> distress call from down around the waters between Florida and the
> Bahamas.Three points for you to consider here: (1) Time-Distance-
> Speedrelationships for ships on the high seas, for instance, at a
> 25-knot SOA
> (Speed Of Advance) it takes 24 hours to make good 600 nm--
> BAINBRIDGE did.
> (2) Fishermen work on the high seas, and (3) The best place to
> hide as a
> "fisherman" pirate is among other fishermen
>
> Early Wednesday morning, 4/8/2009, MV ALABAMA is at sea in the IO
> about 300
> miles off the (east) coast of Somalia en route to Mombassa Kenya.
> Pirates in small boat start harassing her, and threatening her with
> weapons. MV ALABAMA's captain sent out the distress call by
> radio, and
> ordered his Engineer to shut down the engines as well as the ship-
> serviceelectrical generators-- in our lingo, "Go dark and cold."
> He informed his
> crew by radio what was happening, and ordered them to go to an
> out-of-the-way compartment and lock themselves in it-- from the
> inside. He
> would stay in the pilot house to "negotiate" with the pirates.
>
> The pirates boarded, captured the Captain, and ordered him to
> start the
> engines. He said he would order his Engineer to do so, and he
> called down
> to Engine Control on the internal communication system, but got no
> answer.The lead pirate ordered two of his four men to go down and
> find him and get
> the engines started.
>
> Inside a ship without any lights is like the definition of dark. The
> advantage goes to the people who work and live there. They jumped
> the two
> pirates in a dark passageway. Both pirates lost their weapons,
> but one
> managed to scramble and get away. The other they tied up, put
> tape over
> his mouth and a knife at his throat.
>
> Other members of the crew opened the drain cocks on the pirates
> boat and
> cast it adrift. It foundered and sunk. The scrambling pirate
> made it back
> to the pilot house and told of his demise. The pirates took the
> Captain at
> gun point, and told him to launch one of his rescue boats (not a
> life boat,
> per se). As he was lowering the boat for them, the crew appeared
> with the
> other pirate to negotiate a trade. The crew let their hostage go
> to soon,
> and the pirates kept the captain. But, he purposefully had
> lowered the
> boat so it would jam.
>
> With the rescue boat jammed, the pirates jumped over to a lifeboat and
> released it as the captain jumped in the water. They fired at
> him, made
> him stop, and grabbed him out of the water. Now, as night falls
> in the
> vastness of the Indian Ocean, we have the classic "Mexican"
> standoff, to
> wit: A life-boat that is just that, a life-boat adrift without
> any means
> of propulsion except oars and paddles; and, a huge (by comparison)
> MotorVessel Container Ship adrift with a crew that is not going to
> leave their
> captain behind. The pirates are enclosed under its shelter-covering,
> holding the captain as their hostage. The crew is hunkered down
> in their
> ship waiting for the "posse" to arrive.
>
> After receiving MV ALABAMA'S distress call, USS BAINBRIDGE (DDG
> 96) was
> dispatched by the ESG commander to respond to ALABAMA's distress call.
> At best sustainable speed, she arrived on scene the day after--
> that is, in
> the dark of that early Thursday morning. As BAINBRIDGE quietly
> and slowly,
> at darkened-ship without any lights to give her away, arrived on
> scene,please consider a recorded interview with the Chief Engineer
> of MV ALABAMA
> describing BAINBRIDGE's arrival. He said it was something else
> "... to see
> the Navy slide in there like a greyhound!" He then said as she
> slipped in
> closer he could see the "Stars and Stripes" flying from her
> masthead. He
> got choked up saying it was the "...proudest moment of my life."
>
> Phew! Let that sink in.
>
> Earlier in the day, one of the U.S. Navy's Maritime Patrol
> Aircraft, a
> fixed wing P3C, flew over to recon the scene. It dropped a buoy
> with a
> radio to the pirates so that the Navy's interpreter could talk
> with the
> pirates. When BAINBRIDGE arrived, the pirates thought the radio
> to be a
> beaconing device, and threw it overboard. They wanted a satellite
> telephone so that they could call home for help. Remember now,
> they are
> fishermen, not "Rocket Scientists," in that, they don't know that
> we can
> intercept the phone transmission also.
>
> MV ALABAMA provided them with a satellite phone. They called
> home back to
> "somebody" in Eyl Somalia (so that we now know where you live) to
> come out
> and get them. The "somebody" in Eyl said they would be out right
> away with
> other hostages, like 54 of them from other countries, and that
> they would
> be coming out in two of their pirated ships. Right-- and, the
> tooth fairy
> will let you have sex with her. Yea, in paradise. The "somebody"
> in Eyl
> just chalked up four more expendables as overhead for "the cost of
> operation." Next page.
>
> Anyway, ESG will continue to "watch" Eyl for any ships standing out.
>
> The Navy SEAL team briefed the OSC (Commander Castellano, CO
> BAINBRIDGE) on
> how they could rescue the captain from the life boat with swimmers-
> -
> "Combat Swimmers," per se. That plan was denied by POTUS because
> it put
> the captain in danger-- and, involved killing the pirates.
>
> The FBI negotiators arrived on scene, and talked the pirates into
> sendingtheir wounded man over for treatment Saturday morning.
> Later that
> afternoon, the SEALs sent over their RHIB with food and water to
> recon the
> life boat but the pirates shot at it. They could have taken them
> out then
> (from being fired upon) but were denied again being told that the
> captainwas not in "imminent danger." The FBI negotiators calmed
> the situation by
> informing the pirates of threatening weather as they could see
> storm clouds
> closing from the horizon, and offered to tow the life boat. The
> piratesagreed, and BAINBRIDGE took them under tow in their wake at
> 30 meters--
> exactly 30 meters, which is exactly the distance the SEALs
> practice their
> shooting skills.
>
> With the lifeboat under tow, riding comfortably bow-down on
> BAINBRIDGE'swake-wave ("rooster tail"), had a 17-second period of
> harmonic motion, and
> at the end of every half-period (8.5 seconds) was steady on. The
> light-enhanced (infra-red heat) monocular scopes on the SEAL's
> .308 caliber
> Mark 11 Mod 0 H&K suppressor-fitted sniper rifles easily imaged their
> target very clearly. Pirates in a life boat at 30-meters could be
> comparedto fish in a barrel. All that was necessary was to take
> out the plexiglass
> window so that it would not deflect the trajectory of the high
> velocity.308 round. So, a sniper (one of four) with a wad-cutter
> round (a flaxen
> sabot) would take out the window a split second before the kill-
> shot-- no
> change in sight-picture, just the window blowing out, clean.
>
> Now, here's the part BHO's "whiz kids" knew as well as the Navy
> hierarchy,including CO BAINBRIDGE and CO SEAL TEAM SIX. It's the
> law in Article 19
> of Appendix L in the "Convention of the High Seas" that the Commanding
> Officer of a US Ship on the high seas is obligated to respond to
> distresssignals from any flagged ship (US or otherwise), and
> protect the life and
> property thereof when deemed to be in IMMINENT DANGER. So, in the
> finalanalysis, it would be Captain Castellano call as to "Imminent
> Danger," and
> that he alone was obligated (duty bound) to act accordingly. Got the
> picture?
>
> After medically attending to the wounded pirated, and feeding him,
> comefirst light (from the east) on Easter Sunday morning and the
> pirates saw
> they were being towed further out to sea (instead of westward
> toward land),
> the wounded pirate demanded to be returned to the lifeboat. There
> would BE
> NO more negotiations-- and, the four Navy SEAL snipers "in the
> bubble" went
> "Unlock." The pirate holding Captain Philips raised the gun to
> his head,
> and IMMINENT DANGER was so observed and noted in the Log as CO
> BAINBRIDGEgave the classic order: WEAPONS RELEASED! I can hear
> the echo in my
> earpiece now, "On my count (from 8.5 seconds), 3, 2, 1, !" POP,
> BANG! Out
> went the window, followed by three simultaneous shots. The scoreboard
> flashed: "GAME OVER, GAME OVER-- NAVY 3, PIRATES 0!"
>
