Drones, missile boats and helicopters for the Iraqi navy
مرسل: الخميس سبتمبر 22, 2011 11:05 pm
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/ ... eremonies/
UMM QASR, Iraq — Twenty five years ago, I woke up early on a Saturday morning, watched the movie “Top Gun” and began dreaming of becoming a heroic naval aviator like Tom Cruise’s character Maverick.
That career never panned out.
Last week, however, I came the closest to a real life “Top Gun” experience than I have ever before. No, I didn’t land a plane on an aircraft carrier. Nor did I get the chance to tour one. I did something far less exciting: I observed an Iraqi military ceremony that celebrated Navy Day at the Umm Qasr port in southern Iraq.
The ceremony was fairly similar to the one in the final scenes of “Top Gun.”
In the movie, naval aviators get dressed up in their white uniforms and hats for a ceremony that marks the end of their dog fighting course and a shiny plaque is awarded to the top pilot.
At Navy Day, an admiral in the Iraqi Navy, who wore a white suit and hat just like the aviators in “Top Gun,” doled out shiny plaques and trophies to Iraqi and American officials. Despite the thick mustache nearly all Iraqi officers seem to have, the admiral looked like he could have been an extra in the movie.
The similarities between the movie and the ceremony, however, diverged from there.
In the movie, the pilots are dispatched into battle.
When the ceremony I attended was over, we were directed to a hall where we were given a buffet lunch and time to speak with Iraqi and American officials about the Navy’s progress. The interviews gave me a chance to learn about the Navy, which has been largely rebuilt since the United States invaded in 2003 and receives far less attention than the Army.
The Army has nearly 200,000 soldiers and covers the entire country’s 170,000 square miles of terrain, fight insurgents and protecting Iraq’s borders. The Navy has just a few thousand sailors and is in charge of patrolling 35 square nautical miles. Despite its size, the Navy has an important role in ensuring Iraq’s future.
Mauricio Lima for The New York Times
An Iraqi Navy sailor plays with his daugther after attending the Iraqi Navy Day ceremony held at Umm Qasr port.
About 90 percent of Iraq’s budget comes from its sale of oil and the Navy is in charge of protecting the two oil platforms in the Persian Gulf where 75 percent of the country’s oil exports are loaded onto tankers.
Like the other branches of the Iraqi military, the Navy has received extensive training from American forces.
I talked to the Iraqi naval officials, who like many other Iraqi military officials I have tried to interview over the past few months, said little of substance.
But Rear Adm. Kelvin N. Dixon, an American commander who has helped train the Iraqi Navy, sat down to talk about the progress the Iraqis have made and was far more forthcoming.
Below are some of Admiral Dixon’s comments:
Status of Iraqi Navy and Its Future
“Today they are patrolling and protecting the oil terminals extremely well, better than we anticipated,” Admiral Dixon said. “They are doing better than some of their neighbors in the region.”
The sailors are staying out on patrols for three to four days compared to just a few hours for their neighbors, he said.
The Iraqis, who currently patrol 80 percent of their waterways, will take over the remaining 20 percent from the Americans in coming weeks.
“Then we will advise them through the end of the year.”
The head of the Iraqi Navy, Adm. Ali Hussein Ali, wants to expand the Navy’s capabilities in the coming years, Admiral Dixon said.
“He wants to purchase some missile patrol boats and he would like to have a Navy air force with a couple of helicopters and more mine counter capabilities,” he said.
Before the end of the year, the Iraqis will begin using a drone aircraft that they purchased from the United States. The drone will provide them with more intelligence capabilities and also alert them if there is an oil leak, Admiral Dixon said.
The Iraqis will also receive several other boats over the coming year that they have purchased through the United States government’s foreign military sales program.
Threat of a Suicide Attack on the Terminals
An attack on the oil platforms would be devastating for Iraq because so much of its economy is tied to oil sales.
Nonetheless, Admiral Dixon said that he believed there was a low threat of an attack on the oil terminals because “it is obviously easier to attack a land-based oil facility than a sea-based oil platform.”
In fact, there have been several attacks on the land-based oil infrastructure in Iraq this year and no attacks on the platforms.
“We continue to train Iraqi Navy in intelligence areas and operational areas, and nighttime operations of oil platforms. And they continue 24-hour protection of platforms.”
Along with the Navy, about 50 Iraqi Marines are stationed on each oil platform to prevent a siege.
Iranian Threats and Run-Ins
Several times a week, the Iranian Navy tries to enter the Iraqi waterways, Admiral Dixon said.
“The Iranians will run out on their boats and test to see how Iraqis respond — to see what is their response mechanism,” he said.
The Iraqis “do the proper hails and escort those craft away from their water space and they have done a phenomenal job at that.”
UMM QASR, Iraq — Twenty five years ago, I woke up early on a Saturday morning, watched the movie “Top Gun” and began dreaming of becoming a heroic naval aviator like Tom Cruise’s character Maverick.
That career never panned out.
Last week, however, I came the closest to a real life “Top Gun” experience than I have ever before. No, I didn’t land a plane on an aircraft carrier. Nor did I get the chance to tour one. I did something far less exciting: I observed an Iraqi military ceremony that celebrated Navy Day at the Umm Qasr port in southern Iraq.
The ceremony was fairly similar to the one in the final scenes of “Top Gun.”
In the movie, naval aviators get dressed up in their white uniforms and hats for a ceremony that marks the end of their dog fighting course and a shiny plaque is awarded to the top pilot.
At Navy Day, an admiral in the Iraqi Navy, who wore a white suit and hat just like the aviators in “Top Gun,” doled out shiny plaques and trophies to Iraqi and American officials. Despite the thick mustache nearly all Iraqi officers seem to have, the admiral looked like he could have been an extra in the movie.
The similarities between the movie and the ceremony, however, diverged from there.
In the movie, the pilots are dispatched into battle.
When the ceremony I attended was over, we were directed to a hall where we were given a buffet lunch and time to speak with Iraqi and American officials about the Navy’s progress. The interviews gave me a chance to learn about the Navy, which has been largely rebuilt since the United States invaded in 2003 and receives far less attention than the Army.
The Army has nearly 200,000 soldiers and covers the entire country’s 170,000 square miles of terrain, fight insurgents and protecting Iraq’s borders. The Navy has just a few thousand sailors and is in charge of patrolling 35 square nautical miles. Despite its size, the Navy has an important role in ensuring Iraq’s future.
Mauricio Lima for The New York Times
An Iraqi Navy sailor plays with his daugther after attending the Iraqi Navy Day ceremony held at Umm Qasr port.
About 90 percent of Iraq’s budget comes from its sale of oil and the Navy is in charge of protecting the two oil platforms in the Persian Gulf where 75 percent of the country’s oil exports are loaded onto tankers.
Like the other branches of the Iraqi military, the Navy has received extensive training from American forces.
I talked to the Iraqi naval officials, who like many other Iraqi military officials I have tried to interview over the past few months, said little of substance.
But Rear Adm. Kelvin N. Dixon, an American commander who has helped train the Iraqi Navy, sat down to talk about the progress the Iraqis have made and was far more forthcoming.
Below are some of Admiral Dixon’s comments:
Status of Iraqi Navy and Its Future
“Today they are patrolling and protecting the oil terminals extremely well, better than we anticipated,” Admiral Dixon said. “They are doing better than some of their neighbors in the region.”
The sailors are staying out on patrols for three to four days compared to just a few hours for their neighbors, he said.
The Iraqis, who currently patrol 80 percent of their waterways, will take over the remaining 20 percent from the Americans in coming weeks.
“Then we will advise them through the end of the year.”
The head of the Iraqi Navy, Adm. Ali Hussein Ali, wants to expand the Navy’s capabilities in the coming years, Admiral Dixon said.
“He wants to purchase some missile patrol boats and he would like to have a Navy air force with a couple of helicopters and more mine counter capabilities,” he said.
Before the end of the year, the Iraqis will begin using a drone aircraft that they purchased from the United States. The drone will provide them with more intelligence capabilities and also alert them if there is an oil leak, Admiral Dixon said.
The Iraqis will also receive several other boats over the coming year that they have purchased through the United States government’s foreign military sales program.
Threat of a Suicide Attack on the Terminals
An attack on the oil platforms would be devastating for Iraq because so much of its economy is tied to oil sales.
Nonetheless, Admiral Dixon said that he believed there was a low threat of an attack on the oil terminals because “it is obviously easier to attack a land-based oil facility than a sea-based oil platform.”
In fact, there have been several attacks on the land-based oil infrastructure in Iraq this year and no attacks on the platforms.
“We continue to train Iraqi Navy in intelligence areas and operational areas, and nighttime operations of oil platforms. And they continue 24-hour protection of platforms.”
Along with the Navy, about 50 Iraqi Marines are stationed on each oil platform to prevent a siege.
Iranian Threats and Run-Ins
Several times a week, the Iranian Navy tries to enter the Iraqi waterways, Admiral Dixon said.
“The Iranians will run out on their boats and test to see how Iraqis respond — to see what is their response mechanism,” he said.
The Iraqis “do the proper hails and escort those craft away from their water space and they have done a phenomenal job at that.”