Royal Marines from RFA Victoria board a pirate vessel in November 2010. Click on the pic for the NATO story on the op.

Eleven men were detained by British Royal Marines as suspected pirates today, October 11, 2011, after the Marines boarded the MV Montecristo about 1,000 kilometers off the coast of Somalia. Montecristo, with a crew of 23, had been hijacked yesterday. Two ships from NATO’s Operation Ocean Shield were able to immediately respond. RFA Fort Victoria, and the USS De Wert, closed on the ship and forced the pirates’ surrender.

Royal Marines from RFA Fort Victoria boarded the Montecristo without resistance. Eleven suspected pirates were detained. The twenty-three members of the crew were then able to leave their strong room and resume control of the ship. The ship is loaded with scrap metal and bound for a port in Vietnam.

MV Montecristo is owned by the Italian firm The D’Alessio Group. It was delivered new in June. A bulk carrier, it can carry up to 70,700 cubic meters of cargo. Calling the operation “brilliant”, the ship’s owners expressed their appreciation to the Italian military and those of the United Kingdom and the United States.

NATO’s SNMG1, which dispatched the two Naval vessels, is currently under the command of Rear Admiral Gualtiero Mattesi (Italian Navy). The unit consists of an Italian Navy ship, two American ships and one from Portugal. NATO’s SNMG2 is also engaged in anti-piracy operations in the region with four ships under the command of a Dutch officer.

The Italian government and the Italian Confederation of Ship Owners have signed an agreement that will allow the Italian military to station armed troops aboard Italian merchant ships traveling through areas where there is a threat of piracy. Six person teams will be provided to those ships. The owners will pay the costs of this military operation.

German Navy Bremen Class frigate Koln

EUNAVFOR warship FGS KÖLN has today, 28 September, stopped and boarded a suspicious group of two small boats, a whaler and skiff.

The suspicious boats were located by FGS KÖLN 70 nautical miles South West off Mogadishu, Somalia, 30 miles off the coast. A helicopter was sent to inspect the group of boats and 12 people with equipment usually associated with piracy were seen on board. The boats refused to stop when hailed. KÖLN’s helicopter fired warning shots ahead of the skiff which caused the boat to stop.

German Navy chases suspicious skiff off Somalia

Supicious Somali Skiff with RPG and Ladders and Fuel

Suspected Somali pirates throw weapons overboard

Before the boats could be boarded by teams from FGS KÖLN, the crew of the boats started to throw weapons and other items overboard. The skiff, whaler and their engines were destroyed to prevent any potential future use for piracy and the men released close to the shore.

This disruption has undoubtedly hampered potential pirate action on merchant shipping and vulnerable vessels in the area.

EU NAVFOR Somalia is a counter-piracy taskforce operating in the area of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean responsible for deterring, preventing and repressing acts of piracy, for the safe escort of ships carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Program and vessels of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and to protect other vulnerable vessels. Additionally, EU NAVFOR monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia./blockquote>
EU NAVFOR Somalia

Previous in series Next in series

Table of contents for Pirates

1. Peleliu Stops Pirate Attack
2. Navy Tanker fights Off Pirates
3. Navy Continues to Eye Pirates
4. US Navy Aids Ship Released By Pirates
5. US Navy Jugs Somali Pirates
6. Navy Detains Somali Pirates
7. Maersk Alabama Taken By Somali Pirates
8. Navy Rescues Pirate Captive
9. Pics From the Pirate Rescue Off Somalia
10. This Is a Pirate Ship?
11. USS McFaul nabs pirates off Oman
12. Marine Hymn still echoes: Pirates taken down off Somalia
13. German Navy Intercepts Somali Pirates
14. Royal Marines Free Pirated Ship Off Somalia
15. Pirate Mother Ship Taken Down, Sailors Freed
16. Pirates Attack Spanish Warship
17. Somali Piracy Update

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp poses for a photo with the newly sworn-in Coast Guard Investigative Service agents after they completed the Special Agent Basic Training Program in Glynco Sept. 28, 2010. Photo by PA3 Michael Hulme

Thanks to hit television shows like NCIS, military investigative services have gained fame and public recognition in recent years. But, investigations aren’t new for the Coast Guard.

Originating in 1915 under the Chief Intelligence Officer, Coast Guard Investigations remained relatively unknown to the general public until the enactment of prohibition. From then on it grew in personnel and responsibility becoming Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) in 1996.

Under the authority of Title 14 of the United States Code, CGIS is a federal investigative and protective program established to carry out the Coast Guard’s internal and external criminal investigations; to assist in providing personal security services; to protect the welfare of Coast Guard people; to aid in preserving the internal integrity of the Coast Guard; and to support Coast Guard missions worldwide.

Yesterday (September 28, 2010), 18 of the Coast Guard’s newest CGIS special agents graduated from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco, Georgia. This graduating class is the largest and one of the last comprised of all Coast Guard agents. Typically, FLETC classes are made up of trainees from the Coast Guard and other agencies, but this one was entirely CGIS.

Depending on their previous level of experience and training, CGIS agents attend a three month basic criminal investigations course before they attend two months of Coast Guard specific training. After receiving their Coast Guard Special Agent Credentials at the ceremony today, the group of about half active duty and half civilian will depart FLETC and report to various duty stations all over the nation.

Today, CGIS has a total of about 90 active duty military and civilian special agents and 150 reserve special agents. Military agents come from any of Coast Guard specialties and ratings and must apply based on an annual solicitation. Civilian agents typically apply to join CGIS from other federal, state or local law enforcement agencies. CGIS reserve agents serve in the Coast Guard Reserve Investigator rating.

“The U.S. Coast Guard’s demand for outstanding investigative services, coupled with the world-class training our new agents received at FLETC and the tremendous diversity of experience and capabilities they bring, will continue to raise the importance and visibility of CGIS within the Coast Guard as they go to their assignments around the country,” said Mr. Bill Tarry, Deputy to the Assistant Commandant for Intelligence and Criminal Investigations.

Congratulations to the newest agents of CGIS!

If you are interested in applying for CGIS or finding out more information, click here.

United States Coast Guard
Written by: LT Connie Braesch

Major Hilario Pascua

An Army medical detachment hit hard by the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, last November, is now in Iraq providing mental health support to deployed soldiers.

The 1908 Medical Detachment (Combat Stress Control), a U.S. Army Reserve unit from Topeka, Kan., was at Fort Hood preparing for deployment when Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 soldiers and wounded 30 others inside the Soldier Readiness Center. Two of the CSC soldiers were killed, and five were injured.

Having dealt with that traumatic experience, the unit is now deployed to Camp Taji, Iraq, assisting other soldiers who need help handling stressful situations.

The CSC is working in the Taji Warrior Resiliency Campus, a facility that addresses the five dimensions of a soldier’s health: physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and family. The campus was built by the Enhanced Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division with the goal of emphasizing Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, the Army’s program that provides tools to help soldiers cope with stress and deployment, as well as develop the ability to bounce back from adversity.

The CSC is comprised of a psychologist, nurse practitioners and mental health technicians headed by Maj. Hilario Pascua. The unit provides treatment to maintain the mental and behavioral health of Soldiers, and helps prevent future problems. Mental health falls under the “emotional” pillar of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness.

Pascua said that soldiers mostly visit the CSC for help with problems related to home, like marital and child issues, work related issues involving leadership, and difficulty adjusting to life in a deployed environment. The CSC also treats Soldiers with problems stemming from their experiences in combat on previous deployments.

Some leaders are reluctant about Soldiers going to the CSC believing that after visiting the center, their soldiers will not finish the deployment, said Pascua.

“Our role is not to take soldiers away,” said Pascua. “Our role is to strengthen soldiers to keep them here.”

Many Soldiers are also worried about going to the CSC, fearing there will be no confidentiality. Anyone who voluntarily visits the CSC and are not diagnosed as being a danger to themselves or others, have complete confidentiality.

While everyone is encouraged to visit the CSC if they need to, Pascua said soldiers can also turn to Family, friends, and their chain of command for help with stress.

“Our strategy is to strengthen their social support,” said Pascua.

DVIDS
Story by Capt. Efrem Gibson

Marine assault force moves to board Magellan Star. Click for a larger image.

Just after dawn on September 9, 24 Marines in two boats approached the Merchant Vessel (M/V) Magellan Star. She had been dead in the water since being boarded by an unknown number of pirates the day before. The ship’s captain had been in contact with the Marines by cell phone until early that morning when the phone died on him.

The events of this raid were described to reporters by LtCol. Joseph R. Clearfield, unit commander. The pirated ship had been traveling in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC), patrolled by CTF-151.

First on scene had been the flagship of CTF-151, TCG Gökçeada, the anti-piracy taskforce supported by the United States. The Turkish frigate arrived about an hour after the distress call went out from the Magellan Star. The U.S. cruiser Princeton and amphibious landing ship Dubuque arrived by mid-afternoon on the 8th.

The ship’s captain told the military that he and his crew were safe, in a “citadel”. They were barricaded in an auxiliary control space and had food and water.

The pirates were contacted by both radio and loudspeaker. They brandished weapons and made threats. At one point they told the surrounding ships “Go away or we will burn you!”

Pirates seen on board MV Magellan Star before Marine assault. Click for a larger image.

Overnight, the commander of the Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, received the “go” order to attempt an assault. It was a mission that the Recon Marines had practiced over a dozen times in the last few months.

With helicopter circling overhead, and snipers in overwatch, the first wave of Marines took off for the captured vessel. There were no pirate boats tied to the ship, and one skiff had been found adrift by the Turks earlier.

1st Battalion 4th Marines Snipers in overwatch as fellow Marines assautl pirated vessel. Click for a larger image.

The first move was to the bridge. One pirate surrendered immediately upon seeing the Marines and called two other out to surrender.

The Marines then smashed in the bridge windows and the four pirates that remained surrendered.

As the Marines cleared the ship, they surprised another pirate and tackled him to the ground. The ninth and final pirate barricaded himself in a room. Breeching tools and a “flashbang” grenade were used to effect his capture.

The stairways and passageways of the superstructure were fouled with equipment and furniture by the pirates in an effort to delay the Marines. Below decks, the Marines found a more complex and thorough set of blockages, created by the ship’s crew. The pirates were all in custody in about an hour but it would take Marines nearly another two hours to reach the crew.

In the end, a hole was cut in a bulkhead and the ship’s captain was shown an American flag. At that point the crew left their safe haven. Marines discovered that the crew had prepared a series of three fallback positions, in the event the pirates had reached them.

Other than minor cuts and scrapes, neither the crew nor the pirates sustained any injuries. No Marines or Navy personnel were injured. No shots were fired and only a “flashbang” grenade was expended.

Naval personnel from the USS Dubuque assisted the ship’s crew with repairs. From the time the assault began until the Magellan Star was underway to her destination, only seven hours had passed.

Marines and freed crew of MV Magellan Star. Click for a larger image.

Nearly 80 Marines participated in successive waves of the assault. Once the pirates were captured, an agent of the NCIS and a criminal investigator worked with other American personnel to process the crime scene. The Marines involved have all given statements.

Five operable AK-47′s, automatic weapons, and nine magazines were seized. Bladed weapons and breeching equipment were also taken from the pirates. Several spent cartridges were discovers that indicated that the pirates had fired some shots while on board.

When asked to comment about the restraint shown by his Marines, raid commander Captain Alexander Martin pointed to their high level of training, discipline and their previous experience with multiple deployments in Iraq or Afghanistan. He told reporters “This is not their first rodeo”.

Marine unit that freed captive ship