By PAULINE JELINEK and CALVIN WOODWARD
Ordered to shoot to kill, snipers on the swaying stern of the U.S. destroyer had one improbable chance to get it right.
Anything less than direct hits killing three pirates with three bullets would have placed the American hostage, merchant Capt. Richard Phillips, in mortal danger, if not sealed his fate.
Navy SEALs are trained for an improbable variety of tasks — to dive deep, fight in the desert, parachute into the ocean, conduct urban warfare, operate in bitter cold, crawl through the jungle. They're trained to wait, too.
This night, they had to find their moment, shrug off the pressure and shoot straight.
"It was a day at the office for the SEALs, much like it's a day at the office for a heart surgeon or a concert violinist," said Dick Couch, a Vietnam-era SEAL and author of "The Warrior Elite," an inside look at the commandos' rigorous training program.
The scene was set as darkness fell Sunday evening off the African coast: The last three pirates, holding Phillips in an enclosed powerless lifeboat, appeared to be running out of patience with their predicament.
Bobbing for days after their brazen attempt to seize Phillips' ship failed, their mood was "going up and down" like the ocean swells, according to U.S. accounts of the negotiations.
They were described as increasingly agitated, and it's easy to see why. Life aboard the lifeboat was plainly miserable. It's a sweltering, elongated fiberglass bubble with no setup for sleeping or going to the bathroom on board.
A fourth pirate had surrendered, boarding the destroyer for treatment of a wound to his hand.
The remaining three pirates and the U.S. Navy, like barroom brawlers agreeing to take it outside, had decided to move their standoff to calmer waters.
As night fell, the Bainbridge had the lifeboat under tow when two developments told the Navy the pirates might be getting desperate, U.S. officials said in their reconstruction of events.
First, a tracer bullet arced from the lifeboat toward the Bainbridge.
Then, through one of the few openings on the lifeboat, Phillips could be seen with a gun pointed at him, almost touching him.
The risk seemed obvious, but what about opportunity? Clean lines of fire that would leave the pirates' captive safe were hard to come by when taking aim at the bubble.
Three Navy SEALs aboard the Bainbridge waited quietly in the darkness.
The Navy, a force of more than 330,000, has just 2,000 SEALs, highly trained as stealthy rescuers — and killers. They are called SEALs because they can fight by SEa, Air and Land.
SEAL snipers are counted on for precision fire from concealed positions. They practice stalking, helicopter insertion, intelligence gathering and more.
Their training manual instructs them on camouflage, navigation, evading dogs and a skill of special value when taking aim from a large ship at a small boat riding the waves: "Correcting for Environmental Factors."
Officials declined to discuss the equipment used by the SEALs on the destroyer.
But U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, Fla., has purchased several thousand small, battery-operated night sights that magnify available moonlight and starlight to illuminate targets. The sights weigh a few pounds and clip onto rifles.
"From 1,000 meters, you can tell if someone is raising their left or right hand," said C. Reed Knight Jr., president of Knight's Armament in Titusville, Fla., one of the few companies that sells sights to the command.
The SEALs in the Gulf of Aden standoff had parachuted into the ocean to join the destroyer.
Now, Sunday night, they were 25 or so yards from their targets, waiting.
Their mission, fraught with risk for the hostage, was one that SEAL snipers are trained to do, Couch said.
The opportunity arrived.
The three hostage-takers were observed with their heads and shoulders all exposed at once, said Vice Adm. William Gortney, commander of U.S. naval forces in the region.
Three shots rang out from the SEALs.
Three pirates were dead or rapidly dying.
Phillips was found safe, his hands bound. Back home in Burlington, Vt., Andrea Phillips sent the message to her husband that "your family is saving a chocolate Easter egg for you, unless your son eats it first."
Associated Press writer Richard Lardner contributed to this report.
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Xe ship already on site
The ship at least is already there or was in October of last year. They were/are apparently intending on working for "ship owners"
http://lloydslist.com/ll/news/blackwater-sends-warship-to-gulf-of-aden/20017581692.htm
Just another...
way of using tax payer money to bail out private business.
Blackwater/Xe..
There was an article in the paper some time ago where Blackwater, now Xe, was going to offer protection against pirates. They even had a small vessel procured and outfitted for the task. My guess is they'll offer a good service. I'm sure that with Obama calling the shots, any company, Blackwater/Xe included, will thus get better media coverage than in the recent past.
Pirates vs privateers?
All jokes aside, I'm not sure employing Xe in anti-piracy activities is the sort of change we're looking for and I expect the pirates are going to get their due soon enough. The Defense Department has already said they are looking at focused strikes on land conducted by special forces as a more effective way to combat the problem vs. "spotty" protection at sea. The area is apparently quite large. It can be difficult to tell fishermen from pirates. As far as arming the civilian seamen goes I've recently read that there are two issues with that prevent that (neither of which I'm sure will be very convincing to flag-wrapped cross-clutching 'mercans among us)
1. Many countries won't let armed foreign sailors into their ports 2. The calculation is that there is more danger to ship and crew (due to escalated violence) if both parties are armed. It is cheaper and safer to pay the ransoms
The second point might well be moot, at least to French and American sailors, if the media's "pirate spokesman" is to be believed.
Cowardly Pirates
The only reason, & way, these "pirates" have gotten away with this for so long & so well (up until our SEALS came onto the scene!), is because they're hijacking UNARMED people on UNARMED ships. That's like the thugs that rob & beat up elderly people, or the bullies that pick on kids in school, because they're too scared to take on someone their own size, or someone equal in power. They've also gotten away with it for so long because we, as well as other countries involved, have let them. It's time each ship had armed guards, & I mean heavily armed guards, to protect these innocent people. Personally, I think this would be an excellent new job for Blackwater/XE. So come on XE, start contacting these shipping lines, & start bidding on some contracts to do what you do best, & what needs to be done! They will never be successful in pulling this crap again when faced with people with equal, actually superior skills than them, instead of a bunch of civillians with no way to defend themselves. It's time to protect the innocents & show the "pirates" what it means to "fight fair".
Is she proud?
I'll bet that even Michell Obama is, for the second time in her life, proud of her country! Well, I HOPE so anyways!
3 shots, 3 dead bad guys! If Wall Street had that kind of efficiency, we'd be in a boom period, not a recession!
Somali Government?
"The Somali government needs to get off their tired lazy do nothing butts and start shooting them or throwing them in jail."
Except.....there ISN'T one!
Well done, US Navy! Good decision making by Obama in authorizing them to handle the situation as they did.
SEALS To The Rescue............
Thank you & God bless for another job well done. Not only are the SEALS our heroes in this case, but the Captain who sacrificed his freedom for his men, & his crew for their actions that prevented these lawless thugs from doing any more harm. This was a high profile case for our SEALS, in which they received the appropriate recognition & praise, but unfortunately too many times, because of national security, their actions & heroism goes unrecoginized. We would not have the freedom & safety we have today, nor would many other countries, without their contribution - they are the unsung heroes. There are missions they've completed that should receive the highest medals given, but unfortunately they'll never receive them. Most Americans have no idea of the sacrifices these men make for us. I've had the pleasure & blessing of knowing a few of these men, & they are some of the most humble men you'd ever meet, to them it was just "their job", but a job they love & are proud to do. These pirates have been allowed to get out of control, and it's about time they realize they cannot continue to terrorize innocent people on these waters. Don't think they knew what they were getting in
Yeah
Congrats again to our Service men and women who took part in this operation. The praise goes to you. The President gets credit for making the decision. Because he listened to his military advisors and not George Soros, Bill Ayers, Reverend Wright, The Dailykos kids, Keith Olberman, Moveon.org and Jon Stewart.
pirates to terrorists?
so, with all the ransom cashflow these "pirates" have recieved, how long do you think it will be before they pay-off Al-Qaeda or another extreme terrorist group to handle their work for them? You know there is more of them floating around somewhere off the coast of Africa, so how long will it be before Somalian pirates enter the war on terrorism?
Rescue of Captain Phillips
I have a renewed appreciation for the Seals and the arduous training they endure. I also am enormously proud of my Country.
Rather Fight with Each Other...
What is shocking to me is that so many posters want to fight with each other over a "win for the good guys." We won one! Enjoy it.
Seems you all would rather attack each other over who gets "political credit" than enjoy the rescue of an American by our Navy. Nice...
Go Navy!!
re: TR & OLDTYMEBUS
C'mon now, your regurgitation of Al Sharpton's tired old "talking points" is really getting BORING.
Once more, s l o w l y: the vast majority of genuine "conservatives" could care less what Mr. (or Madam!) President looks like; they merely want them to have ALL Americans' best interests at heart (even taxpayers.)
Obama gave us all (additional) reason to shudder & question his leadership/resolve when the North Koreans recently shot that missile after repeatedly advising they'd do so & he didn't do squat. (Yes, we know it was a dud, but only AFTER the launch was that evident. S'pose it had worked as advertised & had a nuke attached - San Francisco might be a smoking, gaping hole right now.)
So it's perfectly reasonable that all but rabid Obamapologists would expect a similar Milquetoast response to those Somalian sea lice. (I admit, I was expecting him to propose some kind of financial bailout for the poor buccaneers.)
But good on BHO this time! It appears he did the right thing (or at least got outta the way and let the real experts have at it.)
Ya'll should really try getting over your prejudices.
Bravo Zulu
As they say in the Navy; Bravo Zulu to the Seals, the Bainbridge and to the President. This was just the action that needed to be done in this situation. I can remember being in the Navy in 1979 and seeing Jimmy Carter wait forever to do anything about the embassy hostages. He felt that negociations were the answer to such problems. I am grateful that Obama didn't learn his foreign policy from Jimmy Carter. I have to admit it that I didn't think he had it in him. I don't agree with the President on a lot of things but I do say that we should give credit where credit is due. This is the Navy that I am proud to have served in.
Tally-Ho
There should already have been an all out Prowler jamming of their sat-phones and GPS devices and ASM sorties lanching a full assault upon every pirate mothership, skiff, and cigarette boat.
Congrats!
Obama's stock just went up a notch.
Obama had to have the SEALS do it
Obamas a wimp , Sarah Palin would have flown in there and shot them personaly from a helicopter.All of them even the capt.I mean why wait so long, they only had 1 American, so what if your guy dies as long as you get it done fast;right?
my bad
I didn't recognize the truncated comment out of context. I was being sarcastic, referring to his tour of Europe and Turkey where he felt a need to apologize to anyone who would listen. I don't think it was the right approach and in the end did not prove effective - he didn't get anything from the Europeans he was seeking.
I am glad I was wrong in this matter. His initial policy stances on such matters suggested he didn't have the stomach to use force in a risky operation that could very well have lead to American casualties.
I also never blamed President Obama for the situation. I do believe an element of the ship selection was to test President Obama, but I'm sure the same would have happened had Senator McCaine won the election. Ditto the North Korean missile test and Iran's announcement of its increased nuclear material production. Comes with the territory of being a new president - actors abroad want to test the waters.
CS - there's never a need to "fudge" examples of shrillness...
... on this site.
Submitted by cs on Wed, 04/08/2009 at 10:40 am.
In the spirit of Obama's latest foreign tour, I think he should promptly apologize for the American arrogance which lead to the Somalis' need to resort to piracy in the first place. He should then ask the Somalis for a fair price for which the US might buy the ship back from them.
I thinks its big of you to admit you were wrong. Albeit forgetful.
"I didn't believe he had the stomach to do what needed to be done."
Besides being constantly informed of the situation & letting the military do its thing, BO did not do much. Whats comical of the posters here is that up until this happy ending, he was to blame for the situation. Those blamers switched to "he didnt do anything!" or "what took so long!" when the situation turned for the better. Its a dizzying display of wingery.
Jkbrent
please don't go all crazy on me again, but could you point me to your source for the statement below, preferably as a link? I've just spent a few minutes on Google and didn't see anything other than reworded wire accounts.
I too have been seeing in foreign media, how they all seem to feel Obama and the USA exercised 'cowboy tactics'