ABOARD THE USS BONHOMME RICHARD -- ABOARD THE USS BONHOMME RICHARD (Jan. 25, 2007) – A large, suspicious vessel off of the Horn of Africa is headed towards the Persian Gulf region. The cargo – an undisclosed amount of suspected Al Qaeda members and an arsenal big enough to support a multi-company sized insurgency.
If this scenario occurred in the real world and U.S. Navy ships were present, a team of special-operations Marines could board and inspect the rogue vessel. Marines and Sailors of the 1st Marine Special Operation Battalion prepared for this possibility by conducting a “hook-and-climb” exercise, Jan. 25th during the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Expeditionary Strike Group Integration exercise.
“We would conduct a hook-and-climb operation if there were vessels violating trade embargos against (certain countries). A naval special warfare craft would go along the side of such vessels with Marines and Sailors … to board the vessel,” said a 1st MSOB member.
In several waves, depending on the ship’s size and threat level, the Sailors who pilot the Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boats offload the Marines while providing security with machine guns. Marines then begin to search the ship.
In some instances interpreters or human intelligence specialists accompany the teams to assist them in communicating with members of a foreign ship. Once this is accomplished, the ship’s “prize” crew, navigators, engineers and any personnel who have working knowledge of the vessel are handed over to appropriate personnel aboard the host U.S. ship – in this case, USS Bonhomme Richard, USS Denver or USS Rushmore.
When asked about planning to board a defiant vessel, a 1st MSOB Marine stated, “It’s a short-string planning process using the MEU’s Rapid Response Planning Process system (R2P2). It usually takes six to eight hours to plan an operation by the time a non-compliant vessel has been identified. Only then the teams would be ready to execute the hook and climb.”
There are a series of steps the Marines and Sailors go through before deciding to put men on the RHIBs to conduct an interdiction.
“We’ll get information by shouldering the ship, conducting aircraft flybys and generally going through the escalation of force process,” he said. “It’s a fast but intricate process that is adequate in dealing with prohibited threats.”
The 13th MEU and MSOB Marines are currently preparing for an upcoming spring deployment.
Marines and Sailors of the 1st Marine Special Operation Battalion conducted a hook and climb exercise, Jan. 25th for the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Expeditionary Strike Group Integration Exercise. Here the Marines and Sailors are aboard a RHIB to reach the objective.
A Marine from 1st Marine Special Operation Battalion transports to the objective, USS Denver seen in the background, in a Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat to conduct a Hook-and-Climb exercise. Marines and Sailors of the 1st Marine Special Operation Battalion conducted the exercise, Jan. 25th for the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Expeditionary Strike Group Integration Exercise, Jan. 21 - 30.
A Marine from 1st Marine Special Operation Battalion conducts a hook and climb aboard USS Denver, Jan. 25th for the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Expeditionary Strike Group Integration Exercise. The purpose of the rehearsals was to take on any maritime interdiction, Jan. 21 - 30.