One Returned, One Risen

The good news this Easter. beside the obvious good news we are reminded of every Easter, is the rescue of Captain Phillips. I do have to commend the President for giving the order. Most of all my gratitude is for the United States Navy.

I have seen no details yet but I would assume that is was either the Navy SEALs or Marine scout-snipers or Force Recon. I would assume that the SEAL Team men would be the first choice. It's been a long time since I was at the Amphib Base At Coranado and even then I hardly saw those guys but they did a lot of shooting, including a lot of shooting from small boats at sea. If I were important and needed someone in an out of gas lifeboat to become room temperature suddenly I'd call on those guys.

The only drawback I can see is that one of these pirates survived. I am assuming that this is on purpose so they can quiz him. Unfortunately we have a whole bunch of people these days that are so much smarter than the ones that ended piracy and the slave trade back a couple-three hundred years ago.

Back then they would have questioned the survivor and then hung him from the yardarm. Of course back then we'd have already have sent several Frigates and a couple of Ships O' The Lines into these pirate ports and shelled every building into rubble, then landed shore parties of armed sailors, plus the Marine contingents ashore to hang the survivors.

We don't do things like that anymore, now our mainstream media types write about the good business model of the Somali pirates. It's only a good business model if they survive and there is no good reason for that to happen. We must have thousands of surplus machine guns and antiaircraft guns around that could be put aboard merchant ships for almost nothing. Nor would it cost much to put gun crews on board these merchants. Considering that the current administration is wanting to cut the number of Carrier Battle Groups from fifteen to ten, we have plenty of Sailors and Officers to this job. Say a fifty caliber on the waist, a twin twenty mm on the bow and a double 40 mm Bofors on the stern. Piracy problem solved. At least until the pirates trade in the small boats for ships. Then we can upgrade the guns and crews. I wonder how many five inch guns we have in the mothball fleet.

Oh well, a good day. One returned, one risen. Can't beat that.