This is off topic, but let's hear it for our SEALS!! Good job!

Amen! I was just reading about that - should send a message, but let's pray that the "pirates" don't retaliate against anyone else they are holding hostage. I read that one of their "leaders" said that it should teach them to kill the hostages sooner.

It's time to go in and clean out those vermin anyway. Let the lace panty crowd at DoS worry about the diplomatic end later, but clean 'em out now.

Roger that!

I was tossing ideas around on how to rescue Capt. Phillips and kept thinking of doing it from below. These guys ingeniously got the Skinnies to let the Bainbridge take them in tow! Now you had control and predictability of motion for taking kill shots! With 1 Skinny on board Bainbridge(hostage negotiator), the other 3 were on the lifeboat being towed 25m behind the DDG. Soon as one of them pointed his AK at Phillip's back, that was all the excuse they needed to take them out! Contrary to press reports, Comrade President Obama had no direct involvement.

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2009/0...-happened.html

GO NAVY!!!

I e-mailed Bainbridge a Bravo Zulu too!

It was good to see the operation worked out in the end, dead bad guys and live hostage. I'd like to see Mersk and like companies change its policy on handling pirates, currently its policy is to run and hide on the ship and lock the door. Officers should wear side arms ( .45's ) , a quartermaster should control a weapons locker and a couple of .50 cal machine guns should be good enough for pirate defense.

There are lots of problems with keeping weapons aboard ships. First, your insurance rates will go UP. 2nd, many countries will not let you enter their ports with weapons, those that do require lots of paperwork with serial numbers, amount of shells and bullets on board before and after leaving port, etc. Not to mention the visual inspections. Basically, they don't want you to have them either. In my time as crewman on a commercial work boat, the US Coast Guard wouldn't let us carry them either with passengers on board. Makes no sense but that's the government for ya.

Swathy, were you a Shrimpin' Boat Captain?

Forrest Swathy.

Just heard from "sources" that the LPC, aka the Lace Panty Crowd, aka2 Dept of State, has their collective knickers in a knot over the Article 556/762 Hostage Negotiation outcome. Seems the LPC thinks all could have been resolved "without resorting to violence" and said resort has had a "negative impact on possible future hostage negotiations". Me, my thoughts is Article 556/762 Hostage Negotiation has worked well in the past, many times. If LPC had their way, we would still be apologizing to the (censored) for some of them getting hurt during their NY/Pentagon attacks a few years ago. Said non-US sources, by the way, are in the ROF/LTCAO mode at LPC.

Negotiating encourages kidnapping. If the Tangos know that taking hostages will meet with a violent death at the hands of "men with green faces" (SEALs) they'll think of something else to do.

I was first mate on a dive boat. When not diving with passengers and working as divemaster we fished for lobster commercially.

This is a point where I will completely suppurt US if you get pirates acquainted with napalm, cassete bombs or anything of the kind.

So what happens when the pirates manage to take over a ship with that kind of armament? Adding more guns is a bad idea - that was the US police force's response to the US constitutional right to carry arms and the result was inevitable; everyone became more dangerous and every situation became 100x worse. You do not want civilian ships sailing around with guns on board; self-defense weapons like tazors maybe.

Piracy is the result of economic imbalance - you've got shipping from 1st world nations sailing past one of the poorest countries on Earth. Sort out the problems in Somalia, get a functioning government in place and this problem will go away.

Eugene, our local boys here feel the same way. Economic imbalace be d////d, criminal activity is criminal activity. You want to dance with us, then be prepared to pay the price.

I can see it now, Pirate climbing a caving ladder with AK47 and some bloke runs up to him with a stun gun, wonder what the outcome of that encounter would be? For one, I cannot imagine anyone with a tazor approaching bad guys with AKs and RPGs anyway!

The weapons act as a deterrent, If the tangos know such and such line has an active defensive capability they'll move on to easier prey. As a kid once we were motoring through a yacht club and one yacht stood out from all the others. It had 2 Browning .30 caliber machine guns above the bridge wings! I'll never forget that!

If I had a big yacht I'd put one of these on it to act as a deterrant:

After being paid millions of dollars in ransom over the last few years, availability and diversity of weapons is NOT a problem for these pirates. Their boats have gotten better and faster. They have sat phones and GPS. You just would not just 'add guns'. If the guns were on board you'd a) give the crew the proper training in their use, storage, and maintenance, or b) supply trained personnel to operate the weapons (most likely).

A majority of states now allow their citizens to carry concealed weapons, and they have NOT become more dangerous. Most of the problems we have are with crazies that pick places were they know the other people will not have guns, such as schools and universities.

I remember the US and UN a few years back tired to help them set up a functional government. They didn't seem to want the help. There were some opportunistic countries who tried to poach Somalia's territorial fishing grounds, and the Somali's had every right to drive them off, or even capture and hold them. Once they made the jump to outright piracy, they lost any sympathy they may have hoped for.

James, I was thinking that the weapons would be broken out only when they entered international waters or hostiles waters. I am not familiar with maritime law so i am just spit balling
As for the comment on the US Constitutional right to carry arms being a bad idea, I disagree. Until we can trust all people to be good citizens and not look at other people as sheep to be sheared or slaughtered for thrills or property I will rely on my own wits and weapons first, then the police, because when seconds count, the police are just minutes away. Crooks have never had a problem getting guns in countries like Canada and the U. K but honest people are disarmed by the government and are already behind the eight ball tactically in not knowing they are a target till the moment is upon them.

Paul