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Me#1You#10
Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
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 Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2006 6:10 pm Post subject: "Vets advise Navy's Swift boat program" |
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Interesting item I stumbled upon from UPI...
| Quote: | Vets advise Navy's Swift boat program
LITTLE CREEK, Va., July 10 (UPI) -- The United States has employed a group of Vietnam War veterans as informal advisers for the Navy's new Swift boat program in Iraq.
The Navy did away with its river patrol program at the end of the Vietnam War but has now hired the advisers as part of a plan to deploy three 12-boat squadrons in Iraq by spring 2007, USA Today reported Monday. The boats, designed to travel at speeds exceeding 40 knots, will each carry a crew of five men.
"It is dangerous," Thomas Cutler, an author and former naval officer advising the program, told the newspaper. "But you don't go into the military to knit socks."
Cutler said he told the Navy to consider the dangers posted by snakes, leeches and malaria.
Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, chief of naval operations, said the force's mission will be pursuit of insurgents attempting to escape after an attack, USA Today said.
The Navy said it plans to eventually deploy river patrols as part of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, which was established in 2005 to fight piracy, narcotics trafficking and the transportation of illegal weapons.
UPI |
A quick Google presented the following NPR interview of Mr. Cutler (not an SVPT signer btw) conducted at the height of the Kerry controversy on Aug. 24, 2004. I get the impression that the interviewer did not receive the kind of assurance on the nature of the medal process that, perhaps, he had been hoping for...
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3868862 |
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rbshirley
Founder
Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 394
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| Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2006 9:21 pm Post subject: Re: "Vets advise Navy's Swift boat program" |
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| Me#1You#10 wrote: | | Interesting item I stumbled upon from UPI... |
The Navy's re-establishment of a Brown Water capability has been in progress
since the first of the year. As indicated in the UPI article, the effort has the support
of the Chief of Naval Operations and will replace existing functions being currently
filled by the Marine Corps. The new capability is comprised of both Coastal Warfare
Squadrons and a special Riverine Group initially focused on the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers in Iraq.
The two Naval Coastal Warfare Squadrons (NCWS5 in San Diego, NCWS4 in Norfolk)
have been commisioned and are completeing training prior to deployment to several
areas of the world. Not just Iraq. Vietnam Swift Boat sailors were present in support
of the commissioning of NCWS4 in Portsmouth, Virginia this past May 20:
 ..  .. 
| The LA Times wrote: |
Navy Shifts to Shallower Waters
By Julian E. Barnes, Times Staff Writer
July 6, 2006
...
"We do not have control of that area between the blue water and the
beach, where all our ships have to go to at some point," says Cmdr.
James Campbell, who leads a new small-boat squadron training at the
Expeditionary Combat Command headquarters in Virginia. "Any surface
warfare officer knows the Cole story very well. And we exist to ensure
that does not happen again."
Campbell's unit, Navy Coastal Warfare Squadron 4, was formed in May
and has not been told where it will deploy. Crews train on 34-foot SeaArk
boats, which resemble police vessels — complete with a bank of blue
lights over the cabin.
But unlike police boats, the Navy's SeaArks have .50-caliber guns
mounted in the bow and stern.
While setting up his new squadron, Campbell spoke with Vietnam War
veterans about their experiences. And when it came time to design the
squadron's seal, Campbell added a silhouette of the Cole as well as an
outline of a Vietnam War-era river boat. Campbell soon was flooded with
e-mails from sailors excited about the return of the coastal and river
forces.
.................  .................
"These guys were proud of what they did," Campbell says. "It kind of
went 'sinker' for a long time, it went quiet. And now the Navy is interested
in bringing riverine back. It was a badge of courage for them…. They are
truly being recognized."
Read the complete article: Navy Shifts to Shallower Waters
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The situation with the Riverine Group One is in a more formative stage:
| The Virginian-Pilot wrote: |
New Navy force will take the fight upriver in Iraq
By LOUIS HANSEN
© April 10, 2006
At this time next year, about 200 sailors will fill up small boats, man .50-caliber
machine guns and watch for trouble along the waterways of Baghdad. There’s a
catch, though: At the moment, these sailors have no boats, no manuals and no past
missions to call their own. Riverine Group 1 of the Navy’s new river combat force
based at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base is starting from scratch.
They still are recruiting men and writing a fresh chapter on how to prepare for river
fighting. “We’ve got sailors lining up at the door,” Capt. Michael L. Jordan, commodore
of the riverine force, said during an interview at his half-finished headquarters.
“The problem is, we’ve got no experience to draw from.”
The Navy has not seen this type of action since the Vietnam War, so it is calling river
veterans, the Marine Corps and the special warfare community for advice. The chosen
sailors will undergo eight months of training, including combat first aid and grunt infantry
at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
It’s a brave new world – and in one year, they’ll be in Iraq.
The riverine force is part of the Navy’s effort to become a bigger player in global efforts
against terrorists and insurgents. Policing and protecting the shallow brown and green
waters in hot spots now is the responsibility of the Marine Corps and special forces.
....
Read the complete article: New Navy force will take the fight upriver in Iraq
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The non-profit veteran's group Mobile Riverine Force Association sent a delegation to the
"Riverine Force; Back to the Future?" conference at the Naval Academy this past April. Their
advice to the new River Group One sailors was well received. A number of members of the
new command also attended an informal MRFA reunion in Indianapolis.
From these two examples, it can be seen that very close bonds between the old and the new
Brown Water warriors are being firmly established. The lessons learned are being passed on.
Here is a list of other web based articles concerning the re-establishment of new Naval
commands to address the challenges in the shallower waters of the Global War on Terror.
Eaglespeak: NCWS5 Joins the Fleet
Industry Daily: Return of the Gators
Global Secuity.org: Navy commissions first active-duty anti-terror squadron
And by the way, Tom Cutler is the author of what is considered the definitive book of the
Navy's Brown Water activities during the Vietnam conflict: Brown Water, Black Berets
.
Last edited by rbshirley on Tue Jul 11, 2006 2:43 am; edited 2 times in total |
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dusty
Admiral
Joined: 27 Aug 2004
Posts: 1264
Location: East Texas
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| Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 12:32 am Post subject: |
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Gee, maybe they should get John F(you know what) Kerry to go talk to em. He could bring em up to speed on how to game the system and get underserved Purple Hearts to get an early out.
He could also give instructions on how to use movie cameras to record your adventures for future use in political campaigns.
Hell, he could even advise them on the ways to commit treason and get away with it.
Dusty
_________________
Left and Wrong are the opposite of Right! |
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Me#1You#10
Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
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| Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 2:52 am Post subject: |
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| dusty wrote: |
Hell, he could even advise them on the ways to commit treason and get away with it. |
You mean PTSD? (Post Traumatic Sedition Disorder) |
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dusty
Admiral
Joined: 27 Aug 2004
Posts: 1264
Location: East Texas
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| Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 4:06 am Post subject: |
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| Me#1You#10 wrote: | | dusty wrote: |
Hell, he could even advise them on the ways to commit treason and get away with it. |
You mean PTSD? (Post Traumatic Sedition Disorder) |
Yea, that too.
_________________
Left and Wrong are the opposite of Right! |
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