First time I've seen a small boat launched from the stern gate of the 'Freedom'...but the question must be asked...why are these Coast Guardsmen instead of Sailors performing this mission???? The Navy must be losing its mind. This was a valuable training exercise that was given away to the ghost of jointness...a ship that has a limited crew must become proficient in these types of operations. To waste such an opportunity and not to take advantage of having foreign vessels in the area to conduct dis-similar training is a crime. Whoever is in charge of this exercise and the ships commander need to do some long hard soul searching.
As you said, it's a ship with limited crew, so even boarding parties must come from embarked units (be they coasties, marines or navy). The USCG is also getting similar fast boat launch/recovery ships (USCG Bertholf), so perhaps the coasties are teaching the navy.
ReplyDeleteAlternatively, only USCG can make arrests at sea when boarding smugglers and such, so perhaps a closer cooperation between 'littoral'LCS and Coast Guard isn't such a bad idea.
Cheers.