Threats On The Sea: A View From A French Warship

If you haven't all ready heard enough about the ongoing scourge of pirates in the Gulf of Aden give a listen to this program on NPR aired a few days ago. Great coverage and audio clips on what's going on this holiday season in the worlds most hostile waters. As a side note, my company just sent out an ABP asking all their vessels plying these waters what measures short of arming the crew with AK-47s and molotov cocktails the Captains would like to see. The replies included recommendations such as Kevlar helmets and flak jackets, more UHF radios, a second LRAD for the opposite quarter, and my personal favorite, painting the location of points of ingress on the weather deck so bins of scrap metal can be "lightered" onto the thwarts of the boarding dhows. For once this Christmas I'm somewhere besides the Persian Gulf and glad for it.