2 Navy Boats in Iranian Custody

[parabelum]

I hope and pray this situation de-escalates quickly, and that these 10 Sailors being held by the Iranian apocalyptic regime are released unharmed.


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/ ... 2-16-04-56

[RJGold]

Shep Smith reported just before the SOTU address began that they were scheduled to be released tomorrow...

[mojo84]

I hope both of you are right on this. We do not need to escalate tensions any more than they are already.

[powerboatr]

they were to be released shortly after sun rise persian gulf time, which would have been a little over 2 hrs ago
potus didnt even mention them tonight...


as a persian excursion sailor of many trips....we have to stop playing with iran.
they light us up everytime we transit the area, with missil defense radars.
happens everytime since 1980....
its way past time to sink a few patrol boats

prayers to the sailors and may they be released unharmed.

[mojo84]

Powerboatr, Are you saying it is common we enter into their waters or come close regularly and have been doing it for a while? Is it that we are testing or taunting them? I am very interested in learning more about this and what is actually going on. The idea of mechanical failure and both boats drifting near the island like that just seems a little fishy to me. Would be interested in what you can share.

[The Wall]

First get the men back and then the boats. We will have to wait until the Republicans take over the White House before Iran is put into their place. Obama has emboldened our enemies. ISIS,Iran,Russians, and Syria just to name a few.

[Beiruty]

the incident is serious and it is not a joke.

[Pawpaw]

They have been returned.

http://www.fox4news.com/news/u-s-world/73939326-story

[parabelum]

Thank goodness they are being released.

I am puzzled why in a time like this our Navy is so close to the hostile waters with two small vessels, without a formidable backup.

Iran says this was a "lesson for the troublemakers in Congress".

"
"This incident in the Persian Gulf, which probably will not be the American forces' last mistake in the region, should be a lesson to troublemakers in the U.S. Congress," Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, head of Iran's armed forces, was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency."

http://news.yahoo.com/iran-says-seizure ... 06767.html

[philip964]

Very glad to have them back without incident.

So whose idea was it to send US military in two small boats anywhere near the territory of Iran?

Almost as bad an idea as the US hikers who decided to vacation near the frontier border of Iran a few years back.

It's almost such a bad idea, it could have been on purpose, to provoke an incident.

[powerboatr]

Powerboatr, Are you saying it is common we enter into their waters or come close regularly and have been doing it for a while? Is it that we are testing or taunting them? I am very interested in learning more about this and what is actually going on. The idea of mechanical failure and both boats drifting near the island like that just seems a little fishy to me. Would be interested in what you can share.

yes
https://www.google.com/maps/@27.5603593 ... a=!3m1!1e3

the persian gulf layout is so small, it is very easy to cross into a countries "claimed" waters. Iran routinely paints ships with firecontrol radar for ships in the western side of the gulf. lets not forget the straits of Hormuz is skinnier than 3 miles...so yes, we and everyone one else crosses into irans "claimed" waters, and we sail through at maximum readiness for attack. the farsi island adds in another level of "claimed" territory becasue they routinely claim the area between the island and iran mainland as sovereign iran territory, which is outside normal sea lane protocols
its normal day at sea for that region.
what is horrible, these two boats were tracked by over watch, plus the carrier battlegroup and its cadre of ships, (crusiers, and the like)

not to mention the helicopter assets flying and on ready alert, and fixed wing assets on alert in the air.

to many questions the navy needs to answer.
if these two boats went dark unscheduled....and we add in the recent escalation of games played by the Iranians, WHY were assets not dispatched immediately to check the safety of the boats and crew.
unless doctrine has changed...there is at least two cruisers in the northern persian gulf right near kuwait and iraq. these ships are fast and could dispatched, and they have two helicopters on each one, not to mention fast RIB boats.
this whole mess stinks to high heaven.
i salute the calm these sailors showed in the videos, i bet they thought it was all over for them. So relieved to see them released and safe and sound

we as do other countries routinely help ships and boats at sea if the have troubles and then send them on their way, or secure them until their country arrives to help. i cant even remember how many times we did this in the Persian gulf for iranian boats and dows
its a very touchy area, rules of engagement are very tight, our boats could have sank they little iran boats in a second. good to see it didnt escalate

it would have or could have gone very bad very fast.
iranians like to point and shoot vice point and advise

[The Wall]

Just saw and heard John Kerry patting himself on the back for them being released after they were humiliated. Making it political as usual. He basically said they wouldn't have been released two years ago before he and Obama made friends with them. He even thanked them for letting them go.

[Pawpaw]

Powerboatr, Are you saying it is common we enter into their waters or come close regularly and have been doing it for a while? Is it that we are testing or taunting them? I am very interested in learning more about this and what is actually going on. The idea of mechanical failure and both boats drifting near the island like that just seems a little fishy to me. Would be interested in what you can share.

yes
https://www.google.com/maps/@27.5603593 ... a=!3m1!1e3

the persian gulf layout is so small, it is very easy to cross into a countries "claimed" waters. Iran routinely paints ships with firecontrol radar for ships in the western side of the gulf. lets not forget the straits of Hormuz is skinnier than 3 miles...so yes, we and everyone one else crosses into irans "claimed" waters, and we sail through at maximum readiness for attack. the farsi island adds in another level of "claimed" territory becasue they routinely claim the area between the island and iran mainland as sovereign iran territory, which is outside normal sea lane protocols
its normal day at sea for that region.
what is horrible, these two boats were tracked by over watch, plus the carrier battlegroup and its cadre of ships, (crusiers, and the like)

not to mention the helicopter assets flying and on ready alert, and fixed wing assets on alert in the air.

to many questions the navy needs to answer.
if these two boats went dark unscheduled....and we add in the recent escalation of games played by the Iranians, WHY were assets not dispatched immediately to check the safety of the boats and crew.
unless doctrine has changed...there is at least two cruisers in the northern persian gulf right near kuwait and iraq. these ships are fast and could dispatched, and they have two helicopters on each one, not to mention fast RIB boats.
this whole mess stinks to high heaven.
i salute the calm these sailors showed in the videos, i bet they thought it was all over for them. So relieved to see them released and safe and sound

we as do other countries routinely help ships and boats at sea if the have troubles and then send them on their way, or secure them until their country arrives to help. i cant even remember how many times we did this in the Persian gulf for iranian boats and dows
its a very touchy area, rules of engagement are very tight, our boats could have sank they little iran boats in a second. good to see it didnt escalate

it would have or could have gone very bad very fast.
iranians like to point and shoot vice point and advise

What I don't understand is that if one boat had a mechanical problem, why didn't they just tow it with the other boat? Yes it would have been slow, but they would at least have been able to stay on course instead of straying to the island. I agree - something stinks.

[powerboatr]

Powerboatr, Are you saying it is common we enter into their waters or come close regularly and have been doing it for a while? Is it that we are testing or taunting them? I am very interested in learning more about this and what is actually going on. The idea of mechanical failure and both boats drifting near the island like that just seems a little fishy to me. Would be interested in what you can share.

yes
https://www.google.com/maps/@27.5603593 ... a=!3m1!1e3

the persian gulf layout is so small, it is very easy to cross into a countries "claimed" waters. Iran routinely paints ships with firecontrol radar for ships in the western side of the gulf. lets not forget the straits of Hormuz is skinnier than 35 miles...so yes, we and everyone one else crosses into irans "claimed" waters, and we sail through at maximum readiness for attack. the farsi island adds in another level of "claimed" territory becasue they routinely claim the area between the island and iran mainland as sovereign iran territory, which is outside normal sea lane protocols
its normal day at sea for that region.
what is horrible, these two boats were tracked by over watch, plus the carrier battlegroup and its cadre of ships, (crusiers, and the like)

not to mention the helicopter assets flying and on ready alert, and fixed wing assets on alert in the air.

to many questions the navy needs to answer.
if these two boats went dark unscheduled....and we add in the recent escalation of games played by the Iranians, WHY were assets not dispatched immediately to check the safety of the boats and crew.
unless doctrine has changed...there is at least two cruisers in the northern persian gulf right near kuwait and iraq. these ships are fast and could dispatched, and they have two helicopters on each one, not to mention fast RIB boats.
this whole mess stinks to high heaven.
i salute the calm these sailors showed in the videos, i bet they thought it was all over for them. So relieved to see them released and safe and sound

we as do other countries routinely help ships and boats at sea if the have troubles and then send them on their way, or secure them until their country arrives to help. i cant even remember how many times we did this in the Persian gulf for iranian boats and dows
its a very touchy area, rules of engagement are very tight, our boats could have sank they little iran boats in a second. good to see it didnt escalate

it would have or could have gone very bad very fast.
iranians like to point and shoot vice point and advise

What I don't understand is that if one boat had a mechanical problem, why didn't they just tow it with the other boat? Yes it would have been slow, but they would at least have been able to stay on course instead of straying to the island. I agree - something stinks.

i think its a total setup between the US and Iran, just before the nuke deal is supposed to go LIVE and the release of 105B to iran.
barry gets to tote the iraininas are "nice " people. But the revolutionary guard may have upped the ante and made a bigger display then agreed on, if you cant trust the Iranians who can you trust???????
the riverine patrol boats have a range of 880 nm to 600 nm depending on speed, and they can carry extra fuel on deck.
the base at baharian to kuwait is just short of 500nm.
these guys would never pull a PT109 and leave port without a full bag of fuel.
if one boat has mechanical issues, the other would have placed them in tow and radioed out.
the persian gulf is shallow and both boats have anchors, and if they happened to be in an area of deeper water, they also have sea anchors on board to drift with the current vice wind "The Persian Gulf is about 56 km (35 mi) wide at its narrowest, in the Strait of Hormuz. The waters are overall very shallow, with a maximum depth of 90 metres (295 feet) and an average depth of 50 metres (164 feet)"
the harry s truman battle group has at least ten ships in its cadre, and 10-18 military sealift command vessels in the area near kuwait and baharian
not to mention helicopters on the support ships, most of which have two, and the 6 to 7 helicopters on the truman, and all the f18s
add in the c130's in baharian,
yes these two boats should have had tons of help.
and the video of the sailors, appears that in the room, one was laying down and using what appears to be a smart phone..
ask yourself
how many young people these days dont leave home ever without the smart phone.
even if the nav systems...took a powder...i bet at least three had a smart phone and could use google to navigate .
i had a typo to on the straits stating only 3 miles, i left out a 5. sorry
to many questions that dont add up

[mojo84]

I probably shouldn't be so cynical but the timing of this just raises some questions in my mind. Add to it that one boat didn't tow the other. The big hoopla about how the Iranians captured them where they weren't supposed to be and then turned them over with a warning that we are pushing our luck (my words not a quote). To me it just fits Obama's narrative of us being the bad guys and everyone else are the good guys that the US owes and apology to.

It just doesn't pass the smell test to me.