I'd be interested in the opinions of our mil boat guys here regarding a few of the comments at the hognose site. Specifically about the untrained / undisciplined crews for the current missions on these boats. The couple of comments about it there sounded like they were reasonable and from guys in the know, but it's the Internet, so I'd be interested in the opinions of trusted experts here.
There's not a whole lot I am going to say about the specific's on that blog. There's definitely some open pondering about issues of OPSEC, and current Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures used by our forces in the gulf. That's reasonably important to me, as I go there frequently. Here's what I will say, based on what I've personally seen and done in that AO, and near Farsi Island.
1. A breakdown is plausible. Stuff happens even to well maintained equipment. Why they were't towing is a question, but not automatically stupid.
2. Those are Riverine Patrol Boats. They regularly patrol and transit that area.
3. I keep seeing that the boats "dropped off the scopes". That is a media mistake, like automatic assault weapon. We (the US Navy) knows exactly where those boats were.
4. The Iranians are touchy and weird about their "Territorial waters", and do sometimes change them with no notice.
5. The US does not just put small craft out in the Persian Gulf willy nilly. The only thing that smells funny to me about this situation is lack of US support. I can get (if I need it) armed air support anywhere in the Persian Gulf, just for the asking, in minutes. I almost wonder if those boats had done something stupid (like run out of fuel) and were trying to keep it from the command, so that they didn't ask for help until it was too late. I also wonder if they, not thinking, said some stupid *expletive deleted*it in the clear, on VHF, that would have made them seem like easy targets.
6. It's not suspicious that the Iranians had a film crew. We routinly film them, and they us, at every opportunity.
