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U.S. Army Marines in Iraq
June 17, 2005: In a major change from past practice, the U.S. Army is now taking care of "brown water" (riverine) operations. During the Vietnam war, the riverine operations were run by the navy and coast guard (although the army supplied the infantry and heavy other support ashore.) In Iraq, the army bought small boats (for example, 26 foot fiberglass models, with twin, 115 HP outboard engines), and put its troops on the water. The army does have boats for river operations, but these are used by army engineers to quickly build bridges across rivers, or to move small number of infantry across rivers to clear enemy forces from the other side. But in Iraq, the rivers and marshes are major highways for Iraqis, plus the source of fish and other materials. The waterways are used by terrorists and anti-government forces as well. The bad guys have boats, and move people and weapons on the water. The many islands in the rivers and swamps also provide good hiding places for weapons. But now that U.S. Army troops are patrolling the river, the enemy has to be more cautious, and less effective. American troops also use helicopters, and vehicles along the shore, to move troops around. And then there are the UAVs, which terrorists have come to hate. The UAVs often pick up signs of recently buried weapons, ammo or explosives. Troops in boats soon arrive with shovels, and another terrorist attack plan is torpedoed.The U.S. Navy still does some riverine operations, but only with their SEAL commandoes. The SEALs have their own boats for this work. But, otherwise, the navy has gotten out of the riverine business. Posted by: Steve 2005-06-17 |
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