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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran sez: "What's the fuss about?"
2008-01-08
The Iranian Foreign Ministry played down Monday evening the muscles flexing incident at the Strait of Hormuz where Iranian boats made aggressive maneuvers against three U.S. Navy ships. "What has happened on Saturday was an ordinary incident," the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters here. "It is similar to previous cases. It is an ordinary and normal issue that takes place from time to time between the two naval forces," he asserted. "As usual the incident was resolved after both sides recognized each other, "the spokesman explained while grabbing at his lips as they fell to the floor.
"Herman...is it really you?"
"Yes, yes, of course, Mavis! Put your glasses on! You could hurt someone, swinging like that!"
Meanwhile, a senior officer of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) refuted, in statments to Iran's Al-Alam satellite channel, the U.S. claims on the incident.

The Pentagon deemed the incident as "serious, careless, reckless and potentially hostile." The U.S. side asked Tehran to provide an explanation to the interception by 50 Iranian naval ships of three U.S. warships.
Posted by:Seafarious

#28  OK. See ya there.
Posted by: Abdominal Snowman   2008-01-08 17:20  

#27  AS, I'll talk to you at the usual venue... suffice it to say that a lot of this wouldn't be 'field mods'.
Posted by: Pappy   2008-01-08 16:46  

#26  The Captain just mentioned he's pining for a nice roast snipe.
Posted by: Seafarious   2008-01-08 16:09  

#25  And a quart of turn signal fluid
Posted by: eLarson   2008-01-08 16:04  

#24  Box of LOBs - make sure they are metric, and a couple yards of flight line.
Posted by: OldSpook   2008-01-08 15:53  

#23  Stabilizied cannons like the Phalanx and Mk 38 mod 2. Also the Javelin antitank missile could be ideal to lock onto and destroy small craft before they can get within firing range.
Posted by: ed   2008-01-08 15:03  

#22  Pappy, how hard would it be to use the sorts of remote cannons they're setting up as some sort of dual-use CIWS system?

Can they get targeting information from the phalanx system and compensate for whatever offset there is in the location of the gun?
Posted by: Abdominal Snowman   2008-01-08 14:22  

#21  LAWs? That would be cool.

a good squeegee sharpener is hard to find these days.

Just run them between your teeth.
Posted by: Pappy   2008-01-08 13:53  

#20  #14: What about issuing a LAW to each Bosun Mate in Repair 2 and Repair 3 and have them run topside for a simultaneous broadside?
Posted by: Super Hose|| 2008-01-08 10:44 ||Comments Top||


I would LOVE to see that on tape!

Have them sing something appropriately Gilbert and Sullivanish prior to lock-on.
Posted by: Ptah   2008-01-08 12:20  

#19  #8: When ashore I'd send the FNG for a jackhammer sparkplug.

Mmmm, you haven't seen those gasoline powered jackhammers, have you?
They DO exist, I see them used pounding dirt for foundations all the time.
Also Pile Drivers now are a big single cylinder Diesel. (No BS, they make a double thump each stroke)
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2008-01-08 12:13  

#18  Hey, can an old Brown Shoe Sailor join in? I have a spare can of PropWash and a few extra padeye wrenches.
Posted by: Tyranysaurus Chomoth7114   2008-01-08 12:12  

#17  Wow, all this navy talk is exciting.
Posted by: village idiot   2008-01-08 11:53  

#16  I don't think they're embarrassed, they think it's some kind of macho thing that they've done. They probably think they have made us look like powerless idiots on an international shipping lane, and that was my first feeling about it as well.
Posted by: bigjim-ky   2008-01-08 11:04  

#15  Iranians are embarrassed and now lying. I love it!
Posted by: Bugs Hupusose2306   2008-01-08 10:51  

#14  What about issuing a LAW to each Bosun Mate in Repair 2 and Repair 3 and have them run topside for a simultaneous broadside?
Posted by: Super Hose   2008-01-08 10:44  

#13  Nice to hear from you again too. How's life in the squeegee business?

Mine are kind of dull, a good squeegee sharpener is hard to find these days.
Posted by: Slats Chains8089   2008-01-08 10:36  

#12  Toss me the shoreline.
Posted by: eLarson   2008-01-08 09:55  

#11  An interesting comment from Mr. CBDR himself.

Nice to hear from you again too. How's life in the squeegee business?

SH, you could use CIWS. The chain-gun's probably more appropriate for surface targets.

Better still would be armed SH-60s.
Posted by: Pappy   2008-01-08 09:42  

#10  On the cruisers and destroyers I expect that the response to the SAM's would be the standard missile. You could actually use a standard missile against a surface target, but I think that the Captain would balk at wasting a standard missile for the reason that you described.

If I were planning an attack on three USN ships transitting the Straits of Hormuz, I would use a fishing fleet of dhows as cover for small fast-movers loaded with explosives.
Posted by: Super Hose   2008-01-08 07:53  

#9  You can use CWIS against a small boat can't you?

Maybe, but I wouldn't. That seems like massive overkill, especially since Iran has SSM's that might be a better use for the CWIS.

ISTR that 200 yards is well within 50-cal range. If it's not, well, maybe the Marines could use some of their air assets to escort naval assets.
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2008-01-08 07:38  

#8  When ashore I'd send the FNG for a jackhammer sparkplug.
Posted by: GORT   2008-01-08 07:37  

#7  It's sad but I was once explaining the steam blanket scam to someone and a sailor offered to get me one.
Posted by: Super Hose   2008-01-08 07:34  

#6  Could you get me a Boilerman's punch while you're at it? #-)
Posted by: gorb   2008-01-08 05:50  

#5  Do me a favor, Besoeker. Stick to talking sh*t about things you know, 'kay?

An interesting comment from Mr. CBDR himself. Been down to see the Golden Rivet lately Pap's? Hey, I need some relative bearing grease, why don't you pop on down the bo'sun shack pick me up a can?
Posted by: Slats Chains8089   2008-01-08 05:21  

#4  Pappy,
You can use CWIS against a small boat can't you? I would think it would just leave an oil slick with a reddish tinge.
Posted by: Super Hose   2008-01-08 01:53  

#3  BS flag down! The "explanation" should come from the ship's Captains and the Commander, US Central Command for not immediately ordering the Iranian vessels dispatched to the bottom, with stronger message to follow!

Do me a favor, Besoeker. Stick to talking sh*t about things you know, 'kay?
Posted by: Pappy   2008-01-08 01:31  

#2  We do this all the time. Just like we did with the soviets. This is a common thing actually. Ohh, the stories.

Iran, If you EVER do this again, we should pound you hard. If you come within a KM of a vessel, or drop suspicious packages, you are going to drown. Period. Thats ROE.
Posted by: newc   2008-01-08 01:14  

#1  The U.S. side asked Tehran to provide an explanation to the interception by 50 Iranian naval ships of three U.S. warships

BS flag down! The "explanation" should come from the ship's Captains and the Commander, US Central Command for not immediately ordering the Iranian vessels dispatched to the bottom, with stronger message to follow! Roll the footage please.
Posted by: Besoeker   2008-01-08 00:45  

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