SitNews - Stories in the News - Ketchikan, Alaska

Viewpoints: Letters / Opinions

Navy Boats In Peril

By Donald Moskowitz

 

January 22, 2016
Friday AM


Letter to the Editor:

As a former Navy enlisted and Navy officer, I am disappointed with the capture of our two riverine boats and crews by the Iranians in the Persian Gulf.

I understand one of the boats had a navigation problem, either mechanical or human error, and it wandered into Iranian waters. But why couldn’t the other boat tow it away from Iranian waters?

Furthermore, why wasn’t a warship accompanying the two small boats as they traversed waters in close proximity to an unfriendly country?

Why didn’t the riverine boats communicate their problems to their commanding officer, who should have been monitoring their transit from Kuwait to Bahrain? If they did communicate their situation, what were the instructions they received from higher command?

It appears to me the personnel on the riverine boats and the command hierarchy viewed the movement of the boats as a routine operation, and they were caught off guard by the problems encountered, and they were not prepared to conduct contingency operations. It reminds me of the capture of the USS Pueblo off of North Korea many years ago.

This incident could embolden the Iranians and other unfriendly countries to test our military prowess.

Donald Moskowitz
Londonderry, NH

 

Received January 20, 2016 - Published January 22, 2015

 

 

Viewpoints - Opinion Letters:

letter Webmail Your Opinion Letter to the Editor

 

Representations of fact and opinions in letters are solely those of the author.
The opinions of the author do not represent the opinions of Sitnews.

E-mail your letters & opinions to editor@sitnews.us
Your full name, city and state are required for letter publication.

Published letters become the property of SitNews.

SitNews ©2016
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska

Articles & photographs that appear in SitNews may be protected by copyright and may not be reprinted without written permission from and payment of any required fees to the proper sources.

E-mail your news & photos to editor@sitnews.us

Photographers choosing to submit photographs for publication to SitNews are in doing so granting their permission for publication and for archiving. SitNews does not sell photographs. All requests for purchasing a photograph will be emailed to the photographer.