Marines in daring amphibious raid in Somalia
Royal Marines have staged a daring raid in Somalia to seize a tribal leader, it was reported last night.
The commandos carried out a dramatic amphibious landing using Viking armoured vehicles launched from landing craft, according to the Daily Mail.Heavily-armed personnel from 539 Assault Squadron pushed deep inland through the lawless zone to seize the influential clan chief.He was taken off for talks with MI6 and Foreign Offfice officials aboard a Royal Navy support ship ancored off the coast, centring on issues such as terrror training camps and the seizing of hostages.The raid in July was the first time British forces have conducted a military operation in the troubled area in 40 years, according to the Mail.
Special Forces have been focusing on the region amid a rise in ships seized offshore by pirates for ransom, the kidnap of citizens from Western countries, and the threat of the Al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab terror group.
It is also feared that UK-born terrorists are now increasingly travelling to the zone for training rather than Pakistan and Afghanistan.Absolutely ballsy.
The raid came two months before the kidnap of Briton Judith Tebbutt and murder of her husband David at a Kenyan resort near the Somalian border.
Absolutely brilliant.
I didn't think British political leadership had the nerve to allow such a raid. I'm glad I was wrong.
Now that's the kind of stuff the USMC should be doing. Hit hard and fast and leave the terrain holding to the Army.
ReplyDeleteexactly. so you do know that makes you a Marine Corps traditionalist like me right???
ReplyDeleteI'm shocked that the government authorised this, but i'm glad they did. Bang on what the RM's are all about and exactly the sort of thing we need to do more of to make the pirates realise they can't simply run off and hide on land.
ReplyDeleteAlways nice to see the Vikings in action too. It's not quite the AAV you always bang on about Sol but it does a damn good job.
believe it or not i'm a big fan of the viking. we're looking for a Marine Personnel Carrier and i think the viking fits the bill. its built by BAE and can be assembled in the US....win win...oh and i love the action and the stress that your forces are putting on the pirates.
ReplyDeleteglad someone is doing, this has gone unpunished for too long.
Idk if anyone eles has been in a aav or a viking, but having been in both, a aav is much more powerfull and capable. Now the Viking is a lot more maneuverable in small spaces, I still would not want to splash in that thing ever again.
ReplyDeleteI love the operaton and I'm glade they used armor instead of helos. Im sure that gave them a little more don't f with me presence.
good info John. i've never been in a Viking just watched them running around. i'd love to hear more info on the operation...such as how far off shore they were when they hit the water.
ReplyDeleteeither way, i'm glad to see an effort that is accomplished without vulnerable helicopters. against an awake adversary, i truly believe that you'll see a helo raid get butchered.
It couldn't of been far offshore when they splashed. When I rode in it, the Viking launched off a lcu style vessel. And considering the Viking goes about 5 knots I'm sure they wanted speed for their raid and wouldn't be surprised if they used the same method
ReplyDeleteI dunno about being a traditionalist but I think for the Corps to survive they've got to be more then just a 'second army'. I think the brass is going to have to deal with losing a division and using the money saved to beef up the equipment. Also that there isn't going to be any more Tarawa size invasions but more like this.
ReplyDeleteHaul the Viking in an LCAC and you could put your unit just about anywhere before anyone realizes its there.
uh how is the answer to lose a division? the answer is to stop buying questionable products.
ReplyDeleteno JLTV.
no IAR.
the army needs to lose a division or two, SOCOM needs to downsize but the USMC is already right sized.
While I don't see a major assault happening all the time, I do see Iran getting assaulted from the sea on at least one front, teran is on the beach.
ReplyDeleteBut even with that, I dont think dropping a division is rational. If you read the marine corps gazette, there is a great article on the corps mission on coin...about how that is one our true bread and butter missions. Just food for thought
I like the thought that the IAR is actually part of a grand plan to make it the new rifle of the Corps. If not then they need a bit more thinking about just why they have it.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't downsize the Army so much as transfer most of the heavy armor into the Guards and Reserves. Its good to keep the capability but in the active force it takes up resources. For SOCOM we might take a lesson from the Brits and merge a lot of it. I don't know how well 'joint' units might work but its a thought.
While I can understand the thought of the iar being the platform for a new rifle in the corps you might as well just pull hk 416's off the shelf.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do believe the army has a lot of fat that needs to be trimmed, heavy armor is a essential part of the army, as for socom I would like to see some merger in it, o differ from sol in that the Marine Corps needs to be apart of socom