Rule, Britannia
Sailors from the Royal Navy frigate Portland on Tuesday brought the pain to a gang of suspected pirates off the lawless coast of Somalia — sort of. After interdicting a group of men on a small boat,...
View ArticleNavy, LockMart mum on LCS early deployment blog post
Spokespeople for the Navy and defense giant Lockheed Martin are not confirming a blog post that reported Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead has called privately for the Navy’s first littoral...
View ArticleThe return of the ‘Mystery Ships’
By way of New Wars comes a captivating item about a Malaysian container ship that has been converted into a naval auxiliary for escort work off the lawless coast of Somalia — just like the famous...
View ArticleDating tip, ladies: He can’t resist a cheese aircraft carrier
From Wisconsin today comes the kind of zany story for which newspaper feature writers live: A pirate-themed wedding between a professional cheese sculptor — that’s right… go ahead and take a moment to...
View ArticlePetraeus and the ‘Pirate Brigade’ (updated)
Nothing too extraordinary about this Navy image of Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, making a few remarks for crew members of the destroyer Bainbridge. Or is there? Take a close...
View ArticleHomecoming for a pirate brig
This is a week of high-profile homecomings at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., with the hospital ship Comfort and the carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower both scheduled to return this week from big-deal...
View ArticleThe hunt for Arctic Sea
It’s hard not to be captivated by the story of the timber carrier Arctic Sea, a Russian-crewed cargo ship that vanished in one of the world’s busiest sea lanes, after it was reportedly boarded in...
View ArticleLife on an oil tanker: Pirates and hecklers
ABOARD AL BASRA OIL TERMINAL IN THE PERSIAN GULF — If there is one thing that really scares mariners these days, it’s the risk of hijackers off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden. For Capt....
View ArticleMake it Pop-Tarts and khat for Somali pirates
ABOARD THE CRUISER ANZIO OFF SOMALIA — It’s always a good idea to know some of the local language and culture, no matter what or where. In recent years U.S. forces have had to rely on native speakers...
View ArticleJapan’s new warship — just don’t call it a carrier
The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force launched its latest Hyuga-class “helicopter destroyer,” — ahem — this month, which has revived attention to Japan’s gray, flat-decked, aviation-optimized...
View ArticleThe first of many videos from 5th Fleet
Scoop Deck recently returned from a month in the 5th Fleet area. We were lucky enough to ride the Norfolk-based cruiser Anzio from the pier in Bahrain to the counterpiracy patrol area off the coast of...
View ArticleLCAC assault links
Air cushion inflatin’, M1A1 Abrams main battle tank loadin’, stern ramp lowerin’, high speed wave-skimmin’ links, flying straight off the water and onto the beach to bring you these updates from across...
View ArticleHigh-seas rescue
The Navy’s new slogan may have gotten a mixed reception internally, but there are three Yemeni fishermen, at least, who would probably agree it really is a global force for good. The cruiser Chosin...
View ArticlePolar icebreaker links
Ice-crushin’, channel clearin’, back-and-forth rockin’, long voyage takin’, high visibility links, breaking a path to you for the latest stories and updates on the Web: Pirate attack: Somali hijackers...
View ArticleBack in action
You can almost hear the metaphorical gas turbines starting back up here at the Center of Excellence, where people are eager to get back to work after the holiday. First, though, a quick run-through of...
View ArticleConsolidated cutthroat up 3.25: The pirate stock exchange
If, like so many other people in this dire economy, you’re looking for new places to park your money, Reuters reporter Mohamed Ahmed brings you an exotic new investment opportunity: The pirate stock...
View ArticleFor sale: Custom pirate-fightin’ vessel. Never used.
Tired of driving a desk? Want to be your own boss? Do you yearn for dangerous, high-seas adventure in a legal gray zone? With not one, but two developments reported around the Internet, today is your...
View ArticleThe perils of being a pirate
Sometimes it’s dangerous to get what you want. In piracy the maritime risk-adjustment industry, for example, the goal is to get as much money as possible for the crews, vessels and cargo you seize....
View ArticleWhen finite funds meet infinite needs
It’s no secret the naval fleet has more gaps than O.J.’s alibi. The Navy is lacking surface vessels, especially amphibs. Submarine and aviation gaps are on the horizon. Even the carrier fleet will drop...
View ArticleSeahawk sortie links
Sonar dippin’, Mk 54 torpedo droppin’, VERTREP cargo haulin’, Hellfire missile shootin’, humanitarian aid deliverin’ links, standing by to fly you to the carrier for your lunch with the admiral, where...
View ArticleBook deal, casting call: Pirates, SEALs and a DDG
This week the Center of Excellence got a truckload of “advance uncorrected proofs” of “A Captain’s Duty,” a forthcoming memoir by Richard Phillips, the merchant captain saved by the Navy last year...
View ArticleNaval Expeditionary Forces Symposium underway
True to the nature of the sailors and officers who comprise the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, the fourth annual Naval Expeditionary Forces Symposium and Expo opened Tuesday morning in Virginia...
View ArticleChina’s anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden
Top Photo: A helicopter of the Chinese naval fleet patrols above the Gulf of Aden on Feb. 25 to ensure ships’ safety from pirates. Bottom Photo: About 50 suspected pirate vessels approach a ship...
View ArticleThe pirate fightin’ manual
Americans who grew up at a certain time may remember the cartoon characters Goofus and Gallant, of Highlights magazine fame, who represented the worst and best ways, respectively, to do anything....
View ArticleThe persistant pirate problem
Most Americans will start hearing about pirates again in a few weeks when the publicity tour kicks up for the release of “A Captain’s Duty,” the memoir of former pirate captive Richard Phillips, but as...
View ArticleMarch Madness — Navy style
March was a busy month for the Global Force for Good. You’ve likely heard about the commissionings, the pummeling of pirates and all the other good tidbits. Here are a few highlights that may have...
View ArticleSeven in Seven
The Navy kicked off the month by kicking pirate butt in three foiled attacks. The stories that nabbed most other headlines this week included the Nuclear Posture Review, which was all the talk in the...
View ArticleWhy, admiral, so nice of you to drop by
How can you tell the crew of the destroyer Farragut is on a roll these days? Not only are they fightin’ pirates left and right, the ship’s namesake, Adm. David G. Farragut, traveled forward in time...
View ArticleSee for yourself: Capt. Richard Phillips
A couple of months ago we told you about the forthcoming book — and media blitz — from Capt. Richard Phillips of the pirate-victim container ship Maersk Alabama. Now it’s here, and Phillips appeared...
View ArticleSeven in Seven
The Navy nabbed a lot of headlines again this week. Leading the way is news that subs are now officially open to women. In other career news, the active duty master chiefs list was released. The Coast...
View ArticleThe T-AO with flags as black as the oil it carries
We take great pleasure in sharing the latest spoils from the Inbox of Excellence — live, no-foolin’ photos of Military Sealift Command’s renegade oiler, the Leroy Grumman, flying not one — but two! —...
View ArticleThe old ship-renaming trick
There’s a scene in 2005′s underrated Nicholas Cage vehicle “Lord of War” in which Cage’s bad-guy arms dealer trips up the federal agents on his trail by repainting the name of the ship he’s using for...
View ArticleAH-1W Super Cobra links
Whip-whip whip-whip whip-whip whip-whip whip-whip whip-whip — twin-rotor spinnin’, Hellfire missile slingin’, big-deck gator launchin’ links, coming in low out of the haze, straight at you, with no...
View ArticlePirate movie poster
Hollywood’s inevitable big-budget pirate-Navy action flick hasn’t yet been made — although don’t think there aren’t projects in the works — but a recent set of photos by MC2 Ja’lon Rhinehart would...
View ArticleAre Somali pirates shifting their AOR?
Eagle1, the Web’s top pirate maven, has an interesting post today that includes a report that the pirates off the lawless coast of Somalia could be moving north into the Bab-al-Mandab, the “Gate of...
View ArticleRed Sea pirates make their debut
Just as feared — and expected — the pirates of the Horn of Africa have broadened their area of operations into the Red Sea, according to reports, and added yet another patch of the ocean where merchant...
View ArticleThe pirates who might not be pirates
There was a time, back before the oil spill and McChrystal’s firing and Ellen’s announcement that she’s leaving “Idol,” when we Americans almost had a national debate about maritime security. The...
View ArticleWelcome home links
The destroyer Farragut pulled in to Naval Station Mayport, Fla. this week after a high-profile deployment that included fighting pirates, awesome high-speed runs, and even a time-traveling visit from...
View ArticleSo how good is the pirate lobby?
Hate to say it, but the warning signs were there — as feared, a federal judge in Norfolk has thrown out piracy charges against the Somali Six, taking the teeth out of the case against the men who...
View ArticleUnpleasantness merchants
Put yourself inside the head of a pirate hijacker in the Gulf of Aden. Would you want to encounter this boarding team from the cruiser Princeton, which includes Coast Guardsmen from Coast Guard...
View Article‘He sh** his pants’
Sometimes, even when you encounter certain phrases for the first time, you can already hear them echoing down the corridors of history: “Axis of Evil;” “shock and awe;” and “quadrennial defense...
View ArticleGot pirates?
The latest hijacking an American couple aboard their yacht Quest by Somali pirates is capturing more of the public’s attention than have dozens of other acts of piracy on the high seas, notably off...
View ArticleThe direct approach to piracy
In the Washington Post two years ago, a Washington, D.C.-based scholar argued in favor of a solution to the vexing issue of modern-day piracy that was decidedly at odds with the long-standing...
View ArticleSleepless in Somalia
“Joe Versus the Volcano” star Tom Hanks is rumored to have been cast as Capt. Richard Phillips — who achieved 15 minutes of fame when his merchant ship, the Maersk Alabama, was hijacked by pirates in...
View ArticleSEALs take on Somali pirates in latest flick
As if “Act of Valor” and “Zero Dark Thirty” weren’t enough, SEALs are getting more time on the big screen. Millennium Films just purchased the script for “High Value Target,” an action-adventure flick...
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