26 NAVY NEWS, AUGUST 2007
● The landing craft of 9 Assault Squadron train with a boarding party from Ocean
● Being a Royal Marine is more than skin deep
Green
days
FOR THE Royal Marines of 9
Assault Squadron on board
HMS Ocean this deployment to
the Caribbean has been a bit out
of the ordinary.
In her usual assault ship role,
carrying up to 600 Marines on
board, the 30 men and four land-
ing craft of 9ASRM are constantly
busy with their green brethren.
So this stint in the Caribbean
sunshine has provided ample
opportunity for other pursuits
– such as training other defence
forces, sporting fixtures, diving,
preparing for disaster scenarios
and tasks such as capsize drills
for people from Ocean’s company
(and the occasional journalist)...
My first thought is that those
waves just didn’t look so high from
up on Ocean’s deck.
The landing craft of 9ASRM is
bobbing and weaving on the tops
of the azure waves, those same
way round to the back of the
● The US Coast Guard cutter Sapelo picks up the bales of cocaine
blue blue waves that had looked so
capsized rigid inflatable boat then
and heroin from one of Ocean’s landing craft
enticing from the assault carrier’s
climb back up onto the upturned
deck, and now look so daunting as
hull. Or clamber, haul, and in my
they loom alongside the LCVP.
case, get shoved on top by the
Gleefully Royal Marines are
cheerful Marines who for some
hurling themselves into the waves
reason were finding this whole
and I’m sat on top of the land-
Silent
thing terribly amusing.
ing craft just wondering what on
Then make the capsize rope
earth I’m doing in the middle
tight, grip it firmly and stand up
of the Caribbean ocean – and
– oh damn, no one else is stand-
I mean it, this is really in the
ing up... Fall in. Swim round.
middle of the Caribbean ocean
Clamber (push, shove, heave) up.
with any Caribbean beach and
running
Try again.
its Caribbean hammocks and its
Over flips the turtle-shell of the
Caribbean cocktails a long long
hull, with one of our team clinging
THE US Coast Guard are the policemen of the seas for the American
long way away.
desperately to the sponson, having
Joint Inter Agency Task Force (South) that strikes against the drug
Of course, ten minutes later I
spent several patient minutes in
dealers, and their officers maintain a strict anonymity to protect
came to the happy realisation that
the miniature air bubble beneath
themselves and their families from vengeful retribution.
the nearest bit of the Caribbean
the hull waiting for us to complete
A small team of the US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment
was in fact just three miles away.
the manoeuvre.
(LEDET) set off with HMS Ocean from a wet and windy Plymouth at
Unfortunately those miles were
Then it’s swim, slide, haul,
the start of this four-month deployment and it is only within their juris-
straight down beneath my feet as
curse and grab back into the boat
diction that arrests and seizures have been carried out.
I fell backwards off the dinghy
– possibly slightly easier to get in
Each British ship on counter-narcotics work will carry a team of six to
into (admittedly rather beautifully
to when it’s right way up. But not
nine officers from the LEDET during their patrol, as will ships from the
blue, and pleasantly warm) sea.
much.
US, Dutch or French navies – any of the nations with an interest in this
However no moment to enjoy
And back to the landing craft
cluster of islands that make up the Caribbean and an interest in slashing
the Caribbean waters as we are
and whizz back to HMS Ocean.
back the destructive drug trade.
mid capsize drill, and at this point
But remember those giant
The LEDET teams have a wider remit than just narcotics work,
I’m desperately struggling to
waves...?
encompassing national security, counter-terrorism, people-smuggling
remember the number I’d been
Oh, the Marines were very kind
and territory protection, but describe the counter-narcotics and counter-
given – it could only be one to six,
to a bedraggled journalist suf-
immigration work as their ‘bread and butter’.
so it wasn’t as if the choice was
fering from seasickness from the
Last year the US Coast Guard in their operations around the world
that difficult.
back of a landing craft...
seized 234,337lbs of cocaine, and this year to date their total is already
Shout your number, make your close to the 200,000lbs mark.
● The Landing Craft (Vehicle and Personnel) of 9 Assault Squadron Royal Marines – great
fun when charging through the waves but not good for the seasick when stationary...
0023-027_NN_aug07.indd 423-027_NN_aug07.indd 4 118/7/07 16:04:148/7/07 16:04:14
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