‘UP-THREAT’ IN THE GULF DANGER ZONE
Iain Ballantyne
aboard |
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Devon, July 2008
‘UP-THREAT’ IN THE GULF DANGER ZONE
Iain Ballantyne aboard British and American naval units, summer 2008
I have just returned from a visit to coalition naval forces in the Gulf, which provided a fascinating insight into the situation today compared with my past experiences in the Middle East, which formed the basis for my book ‘Strike From The Sea’ (Pen & Sword Maritime/US Naval Institute Press, £20.00/$24.00, hardback).
There is plenty to write about that would form a fascinating follow-on to ‘Strike From the Sea’, which was printed in 2004, but that is a project which is some way down the line after my next book, which deals with a major episode from WW2 involving the British and German fleets. Like my other books it will seek to convey the harsh reality of combat at sea via the experiences of sailors and marines who were there. This new book will be published in 2010 by Pen & Sword Books.
In the meantime, to provide an insight into operations by the Royal Navy and other coalition forces on the line of confrontation between Iran and the West, and also in the zone where Al-Qaeda has in the past launched suicide boat attacks, I am making available PDF versions of a series of newspaper articles. They were published recently in the Western Morning News, a regional daily title based in the naval city of Plymouth, where the Type 22 frigate HMS Chatham is based.
The Commanding Officer of Chatham, Commander Martin Connell, together with his Weapons Engineering Officer (and PR man) Lt Cdr Chris Smith, as well as other members of the ship’s company, were superb hosts throughout my visit to the northern Gulf.
Lt Krista Hodkinson hosted me with great efficiency ashore in Bahrain where I met senior coalition officers, including Commodore Keith Winstanley, the commander of British naval forces East of Suez and the deputy coalition maritime commander in the region. Cdre Winstanley kindly found time in his busy schedule for an interview.
In the northern Gulf I visited the auxiliary landing ship RFA Cardigan Bay, gaining a fascinating insight into sea-basing in action, courtesy of the ship’s Commanding Officer, Captain Nigel Jones, his officers and crew.
My time in the northern Gulf also included a flying visit to the American patrol craft USS Typhoon, as she patrolled waters around key Iraqi oil terminals, under the command of Lt Matthew Scarlett, who also deserves thanks, as does Lt Sean Doherty, Commanding Officer of the US Navy security team that protects the oil terminals alongside the Iraqi Marines.
While in HMS Chatham I was able to meet Commodore Duncan Potts and other officers of Combined Task Force 158 (CTF-158) the coalition command team responsible for supporting efforts to stabilise Iraq, primarily via protecting the oil terminals through which flows the lifeblood for the economic reconstruction of the war-torn country. Lt Rolf Williams deserves thanks for sorting out access to members of the CTF-158 staff and also access to ships and other facilities.
All in all it was a HVT (a High Value Trip) packing an amazing amount of stuff into a few short days. The northern Arabian Gulf is not an easy place to get to and its is thanks to the US Navy aviators who run the Deserthawk helicopter flight up to the northern Gulf that I managed to get there, even if the flight was a little bit like being Alec Guiness consigned to his tin box in the David Lean movie ‘Bridge on the River Kwai.’
To see the first fruits of my trip to the Gulf click on the links below, which will access the articles published in the Western Morning News and made available in PDF by courtesy of that newspaper.
Also visit www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk
There will be a major series featuring material from my summer 2008 Gulf trip in the magazine which I run for HPC Publishing, WARSHIPS International Fleet Review Visit www.warshipsifr.com
The WARSHIPS IFR series kicks off in the September edition (out August 8) and is available at newsagents or direct from HPC Publishing.
Copyright 2008 © Iain Ballantyne.