THE REAL STORY ON PHILLIPS

How the rescue happened

I just finished listening to the press conference w/ ADM Gortney about the
rescue of Captain Phillips. At the time it happened the USS Bainbridge was
towing the lifeboat to calmer waters as the sea state was deteriorating. One
of the pirates was on board the Bainbridge as the talks about obtaining
Phillip's release continued. The lifeboat was approx. 25 m behind the
Bainbridge when snipers on the fantail observed one of the pirates in the
pilot house of the lifeboat pointing an AK-47 at the back of a tied up
Phillips and the other two pirates on board were visible (at least shoulders
and heads). The standing authority gave them clearance to engage the pirates
if the life of the captain was in imminent danger. The on scene commander
deemed this to be true and gave the order to fire. All three bad guys were
taken out and then a rigid inflatable boat went to the lifeboat to retrieve
Phillips. It is unknown at this point whether the shooters were SEALs or
Marine Scout Snipers as both would have been available.

This was not a rescue attempt ordered by National Command Authority i.e. the
President. It was a reaction by the on scene commander under standard
authority to safeguard the life of a hostage.

The AP is reporting that President Obama gave the order to use military
force to rescue the hostage, that is misleading.

He did affirm the military's authorization to use force if the captain's
life was in danger, but they already would have had that authorization as
part of their standard rules of engagement. If there are innocents about to
be slaughtered the same reasoning that authorizes self defense also covers
an imminent execution unless the ROE specifically forbid it.

The AP is making it sound like there was an active rescue ordered by the
President. It was not, there was an imminent threat and the local commander
gave the order to fire. Good on Obama for ensuring their authorization was
clear, but let's also be clear that he did not authorize or order an active
rescue attempt.

The above text was excerpted from an account I have access to.

Erich Kern
CTM-2 1956-1960