What’s the use?
You probably read Uncle Jimbo’s post at Blackfive (by way of Mrs. Greyhawk and DVIDS) about a US Navy helicopter taking fire from some Somali pirates the other day. Uncle Jimbo rightly asks why they didn’t return fire.
Today’s Star and Stripes reports that a ground-based UAV unit is moving to the area.
About 75 U.S. military personnel and civilians will be headed to the Seychelles islands in the coming weeks to set up the Reaper operations, which could start in October or November. U.S. Africa Command is calling the Navy-led mission Ocean Look.
The U.S. will base the Reapers — to be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance — at Seychelles’ Mahé regional airport, Vince Crawley, AFRICOM spokesman, said.
Two or three months seems like a long time to set up combat operations in a region that is plagued by pirates in little motor boats. The most disturbing part of the article is this line;
The UAVs would not be armed.
Then what’s the point? As Jimbo points out, we’re already not willing to let live people shoot at the thugs, so why bother launching more aircarft from which we won’t kill them? We already know that the Left has complained that this type of weaponry that doesn’t get our own troops killed on the grounds that it’s inhumane. Is this more of the Obama Administration pretending to do something about the threats to peace in that region without actually doing what needs to be done?
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Foreign Policy, Military issues
You have to read the DVIDS article down about half way to find out that the ship that fired on the chopper was the mother ship used in the Maersk piracy attack.
I’d love to see what the ROE for the area is.
The reason behind our actions is simple: LawFare. We don’t use WarFare anymore. Our politicians and Jag officers have seen to that. WarFare is too violent, too prone to enrage our enemies and upset the fragile balance our socialist-wannabe politicians are striving to install.
It’s come to the point that the on-scene commander has ti run his options by the Jag officer first. That’s no different than having a Zampolit aboard to ensure that only the “right” decisions are made.
This is no way to fight a war, but then fighting isn’t what the current folks in power are interested in.
They say that torte-reform is the key to resolving the HealthCare problems we face. I’d say Jag-reform is also the key to resolving the neutering of our military.
I’ve said it about Iraq and about Afghanistan: Put a JAG officer on point on the patrols and watch how soon the ROE gets straighened out then. JAG should never be about combat operations, if only because they don’t know diddly squat about combat. They can prosecute or defend the Jesse McFakes and do the services a good service. Keep ’em out of the combat decision making, or take their PDA’s and issue them front line weapons so they can handle it properly.
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JAG on point. I love that idea.
I saw this on Fox news yesterday (Friday), supposedly the the Navy chopper crew didn’t realize that they had been fired on until they got back to the ship and reviewed the film. That being said, you point a weapon at me and you die. I also liked the idea of putting a JAG on point also maybe a politician also would help. You know so they could negotiate a cease fire. Yeah right!
ssg Dirty Al said: “….maybe a politician also would help”.
I wouldn’t go that far. The whining and crying of the Politician would set the patrol up for an ambush. And besides, where in hell would we find a politician in office today with the gonads to even try that. JAG don’t need no gonads, just tell them it will be in their portfolios and help them after their tour, and they’ll jump right on it.
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