When 14 of the world’s navies began converging on the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean last fall in a bid to deter Somali pirates, there was some concern that, in the absence of unified command and control, all these warships would work at cross-purposes. But then, last week, the U.S. Navy stood up a new task force, CTF-151, to gather many of these ships into one organization. At the same time, the American sea service has begun tying together command and control for CTF-151, the new E.U. counter-piracy flotilla and the naval forces of India, Russia and China.
Vice Admiral William Gortney, Central Command naval boss, held a press conference at the Pentagon yesterday to explain:
We coordinate at the operational level in my headquarters at the Combined Maritime Forces with those nations that are there. The E.U. has liaison officers in my staff, embedded into my staff, and we coordinate at that level. And at the tactical level or on the waterfront, CTF-151 is now responsible to manage that tactical de-confliction. And we do that by publishing our intentions and our effectiveness and our schedules. It’s all unclassified. We share that through all unclassified means. With the Chinese, we’re exchanging e-mails with them on the unclassified net. With the Russians it’s a little different. We’re transmitting that over bridge-to-bridge radio. So it’s from the most basic form of radio transmission to — for the nations that are part of CENTRIX, that are part of our coalition — to a very networked operation.
Inasmuch as piracy represents a form of indirect, unintentional warfare — “Fifth-Generation War,” some would say — subtle U.S. leadership in a fluid, and growing, international coalition represents the best defense. What we’re witnessing off the coast of Somalia is a smart, new form of American leadership.
(Photo: me)
Related:
Pirates Not Just the Stuff of Legends
How Pirates Get Paid
Axe vs. Pirates: Convoy!
Axe vs. Pirates: “I Fear No One but God.”
Chinese Seafarers Kick Pirate Ass
Kenyan Navy Fires Rhetorical Broadside against Pirates
Axe vs. Pirates: Everyday Kenyans Suffering Effects of Somali Piracy
Axe vs. Pirates: The Kenya Connection
Piracy Threatens Somalia Aid Effort
Axe vs. Pirates: The Panic Button
Axe vs. Pirates: Scared onto Land by Pirate Close Call
Somali Piracy Puts Squeeze on Kenyans
Mombasa Looks Like This
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100% agree.
[...] On that model, the E.U.’s Operation Atalanta has developed. One ship conducts the weeklong, 1,000-mile-round-trip humanitarian escort while Atalanta’s other vessels, supported by maritime patrol planes flying from Djibouti, focus on deterrence. By mid January, the operation had a strength of four vessels: Northumberland and Psara plus the French Floreal and the German Karlsruhe. The E.U. ships, which are directed by a staff in Northwood, near London, coordinate their activities with the U.S.-led Combined Task Force 151, operating out of Djibouti. Psara carries the E.U. flotilla’s deployed command element. [...]
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[...] Related: Who Watches the (Pirate) Watchers? U.S. Navy Uses “Smart Power” to Fight Pirates Exclusive Video: MV Faina Released by Pirates Coast Guard: Prosecuting Pirates an “Excruciating Process” Skewz: On the Trail of Pirates C-SPAN: Somali Piracy Overview Kenyan navy sits out pirate fight Coasties and Marines join Navy pirate-fighters Inside the Navy’s prison ship Video: pirates hijack help World mobilizes to fight pirates Why robots can’t fight pirates Navy’s new “soft” pirate-fighters Pirate-fighting ship’s big problems Japan, South Korea team up to fight pirates Establishing a Somali coast guard? Coast Guard’s tips for beating pirates U.S. Navy Coordinates Counter-Piracy Fleets Pirates Not Just the Stuff of Legends How Pirates Get Paid Axe vs. Pirates: Convoy! Axe vs. Pirates: “I Fear No One but God.” Chinese Seafarers Kick Pirate Ass Kenyan Navy Fires Rhetorical Broadside against Pirates Axe vs. Pirates: Everyday Kenyans Suffering Effects of Somali Piracy Axe vs. Pirates: The Kenya Connection Piracy Threatens Somalia Aid Effort Axe vs. Pirates: The Panic Button Axe vs. Pirates: Scared onto Land by Pirate Close Call Somali Piracy Puts Squeeze on Kenyans Mombasa Looks Like This E.U. Deploying Vessel against Pirates Axe vs. Pirates: Welcome to Mombasa No Comments so far Leave a comment RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Leave a comment Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong> [...]
[...] Related: Exclusive Video: How the Littoral Combat Ship Will Fight Pirates Offiziere.ch: Pirate Attacks Decline, but for How Long? Proceedings: Defeating Somali Pirates on Land Video: Kennedy Mwale’s Big (Pirate) Adventure Who Watches the (Pirate) Watchers? U.S. Navy Uses “Smart Power” to Fight Pirates Exclusive Video: MV Faina Released by Pirates Coast Guard: Prosecuting Pirates an “Excruciating Process” Skewz: On the Trail of Pirates C-SPAN: Somali Piracy Overview Kenyan navy sits out pirate fight Coasties and Marines join Navy pirate-fighters Inside the Navy’s prison ship Video: pirates hijack help World mobilizes to fight pirates Why robots can’t fight pirates Navy’s new “soft” pirate-fighters Pirate-fighting ship’s big problems Japan, South Korea team up to fight pirates Establishing a Somali coast guard? Coast Guard’s tips for beating pirates U.S. Navy Coordinates Counter-Piracy Fleets Pirates Not Just the Stuff of Legends How Pirates Get Paid Axe vs. Pirates: Convoy! Axe vs. Pirates: “I Fear No One but God.” Chinese Seafarers Kick Pirate Ass Kenyan Navy Fires Rhetorical Broadside against Pirates Axe vs. Pirates: Everyday Kenyans Suffering Effects of Somali Piracy Axe vs. Pirates: The Kenya Connection Piracy Threatens Somalia Aid Effort Axe vs. Pirates: The Panic Button Axe vs. Pirates: Scared onto Land by Pirate Close Call Somali Piracy Puts Squeeze on Kenyans Mombasa Looks Like This E.U. Deploying Vessel against Pirates Axe vs. Pirates: Welcome to Mombasa No Comments so far Leave a comment RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Leave a comment Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong> [...]
[...] Related: Piracy War Escalates: Korean Seafarer Shot in Attack Video: How the Littoral Combat Ship Will Fight Pirates Offiziere.ch: Pirate Attacks Decline, but for How Long? Proceedings: Defeating Somali Pirates on Land Video: Kennedy Mwale’s Big (Pirate) Adventure Who Watches the (Pirate) Watchers? U.S. Navy Uses “Smart Power” to Fight Pirates Exclusive Video: MV Faina Released by Pirates Coast Guard: Prosecuting Pirates an “Excruciating Process” Skewz: On the Trail of Pirates C-SPAN: Somali Piracy Overview Kenyan navy sits out pirate fight Coasties and Marines join Navy pirate-fighters Inside the Navy’s prison ship Video: pirates hijack help World mobilizes to fight pirates Why robots can’t fight pirates Navy’s new “soft” pirate-fighters Pirate-fighting ship’s big problems Japan, South Korea team up to fight pirates Establishing a Somali coast guard? Coast Guard’s tips for beating pirates U.S. Navy Coordinates Counter-Piracy Fleets Pirates Not Just the Stuff of Legends How Pirates Get Paid Axe vs. Pirates: Convoy! Axe vs. Pirates: “I Fear No One but God.” Chinese Seafarers Kick Pirate Ass Kenyan Navy Fires Rhetorical Broadside against Pirates Axe vs. Pirates: Everyday Kenyans Suffering Effects of Somali Piracy Axe vs. Pirates: The Kenya Connection Piracy Threatens Somalia Aid Effort Axe vs. Pirates: The Panic Button Axe vs. Pirates: Scared onto Land by Pirate Close Call Somali Piracy Puts Squeeze on Kenyans Mombasa Looks Like This E.U. Deploying Vessel against Pirates Axe vs. Pirates: Welcome to Mombasa No Comments so far Leave a comment RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Leave a comment Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong> [...]
[...] The U.S. has at least three warships solely dedicated to fighting pirates in the region, and leads the counter-piracy Combined Task Force 151. The E.U. has deployed several ships to Mombasa, Kenya — Alabama’s destination — to protect food ships carrying aid to Somalia. Alabama was apparently hauling food to distribute to these convoys. The ship’s capture reveals a heretofore unexploited weakness in the E.U.’s strategy for protecting the Somalia aid effort from pirates. It’s not enough to guard the food ships on the final leg from Kenya to Mogadishu “One would hope, if American citizens are involved, the U.S. Navy would react in similar fashion [to the French],” analyst Martin Murphy said. “Historically, the U.S. Navy has been fairly aggressive in those waters. But everyone would conceed that, once pirates are on board, they’ve got the upper hand. There’s not much you can do without risking killing what you’re trying to protect.” [...]
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