“Coasties, Marines and Sailors Awarded for Seizing Millions of Pounds of Explosive Materials in Middle East” –Military.com

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Chuck Hill

220822-A-KS490-1182 STRAIT OF HORMUZ (Aug. 22, 2022) From the left, U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutters USCGC Glen Harris (WPC 1144), USCGC John Scheuerman (WPC 1146), USCGC Emlen Tunnell (WPC 1145) and USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr. (WPC 1147) transit the Strait of Hormuz, Aug. 22. The cutters are forward-deployed to U.S. 5th Fleet to help ensure maritime security and stability across the Middle East. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Noah Martin)

Military.com reports,

“Hundreds of service members earned an award for seizing two million pounds of “explosive precursor material” in the Gulf of Oman last year, according to a citation obtained by Military.com. It is one of the U.S. military’s largest publicly revealed hauls as it works to stifle arms smuggling in the region.”

The award was made to “192 Marines and sailors with the 26th MEU, 342 sailors assigned to the USS Carter Hall” and unreported numbers of additional personnel “aboard the USS Stethem and Coast Guard Cutters Emlen Tunnell, Glen Harris and John Scheuerman…”

This is not the first time PATFORSWA cutters have stopped shipments of explosives.

I had never heard of the Meritorious Team Commendation (MTC). It is a Coast Guard unit award created in 1993 for groups or teams that are not identifiable by OPFAC as a United States Coast Guard unit.

“U.S. attempts to stop arms smuggling to Yemen with limited resources” –Is the Coast Guard the Answer?

Posted on March 16, 2024 by Chuck Hill

US Coast Guard / CENTCOM released photo of weapons seized aboard an Iranian dhow on February 15 2024. The seizure included UUV and USV components. The annotations, highlighting possible UUV parts, have been added.

The Washington Post reports,

“The Biden administration is expanding efforts to surveil and intercept Iranian weapons being smuggled to Yemen, where Houthi militants have staged a deadly campaign of violence against commercial shipping that has proved resilient to six weeks of military strikes, said U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

The initiative seeks to map seafaring routes used by Tehran and stop the arms shipments while in transit, an acknowledgment that the Houthis are likely to pose a significant security challenge for the foreseeable future. It is part of a broader strategy that also includes sanctions and diplomatic pressure but faces constraint as essential military resources are in short supply.

This sound, to an old Coastie, a lot like what lead to the creation of Coast Guard Squadron One (ultimately 26 Point class 82-foot patrol boats) and Squadron Three (five to seven High Endurance cutters) during the Vietnam War.

At the very least expect more Coast Guard boarding teams to be operating with the Navy.

The Webber class Fast Response Cutters (FRC) are the weapon of choice here. The Navy never bothers to produce small ships suitable for the interdiction of clandestine coastal shipping, while this has always been a type common in the Coast Guard fleet. Six FRCs are already operating with the 5th Fleet out of Bahrain. They are already intercepting arms smugglers, as well as drug smugglers that finance Iranian proxy movements. The Coast Guard already has 55 FRCs and is procuring at least ten more.

Will we see more cutters assigned to 5th Fleet? They are also short of air assets. Will we see Coast Guard fixed wing aircraft searching the Arabian Sea?

“CENTCOM (USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr.) Intercepts Iranian Weapons Shipment Intended for Houthis” –U.S. Central Command Public Affairs –U.S. Central Command Public Affairs

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Chuck Hill

Feb 15, 2024 ,U.S. 5TH FLEET – The U.S. Coast Guard Sentinel-class fast-response cutter USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr. (WPC 1147) seizes a vessel carrying military-grade weapons and other lethal supplies in the Arabian Sea, Jan. 28. Clarence Sutphin Jr. operates in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region.

Below is a US Central Command news release.

Feb 15, 2024, U.S. 5TH FLEET – Military-grade weapons and other lethal supplies are stacked on the deck of a vessel seized by the U.S. Coast Guard Sentinel-class fast-response cutter USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr. (WPC 1147) in the Arabian Sea, Jan. 28. Clarence Sutphin Jr. operates in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region.

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter, forward deployed to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility, seized advanced conventional weapons and other lethal aid originating in Iran and bound to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen from a vessel in the Arabian Sea on Jan. 28.

The U.S. Coast Guard Sentinel-class fast-response cutter USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr. (WPC 1147), assigned to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, located the vessel and boarded it in the Arabian Sea. The boarding team discovered over 200 packages that contained medium-range ballistic missile components, explosives, unmanned underwater/surface vehicle (UUV/USV) components, military-grade communication and network equipment, anti-tank guided missile launcher assemblies, and other military components.

The direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of such aid violates U.N. Security Council Resolution 2216 (as extended and renewed by resolutions 2675 and 2707).

“This is yet another example of Iran’s malign activity in the region,” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander. “Their continued supply of advanced conventional weapons to the Houthis is in direct violation of international law and continues to undermine the safety of international shipping and the free flow of commerce.”

CENTCOM is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means including U.S. and U.N. sanctions and through interdictions.

“U.S. Forces Assist UK Seizure of Missiles Shipped from Iran” –NAVCENT

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Chuck Hill

U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF OPERATIONS (Feb. 26, 2023) Anti-tank guided missiles and medium-range ballistic missile components seized by the United Kingdom Royal Navy sit pierside during inventory at a military facility in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, Feb. 26, 2023. (Photo by Sgt. Brandon Murphy)

U.S. Forces Assist UK Seizure of Missiles Shipped from Iran

By U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs | March 02, 2023

MANAMA, Bahrain —U.S. forces provided airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support for an interdiction in the Gulf of Oman conducted by the United Kingdom Royal Navy, Feb. 23, that resulted in the discovery of an illegal weapons shipment from Iran.

Coordinated efforts among U.S. and UK maritime forces led to Royal Navy frigate HMS Lancaster (F229) confiscating anti-tank guided missiles and missile components from a small boat that originated from Iran. UK forces discovered packages that included Iranian versions of Russian 9M133 Kornet anti-tank guided missiles, known in Iran as “Dehlavieh,” and medium-range ballistic missile components.

“This is the seventh illegal weapon or drug interdiction in the last three months and yet another example of Iran’s increasing malign maritime activity across the region,” said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces. “We will continue to work with our partners in pursuing any destabilizing activity that threatens regional maritime security and stability.”

The interdiction occurred along a route historically used to traffic weapons unlawfully to Yemen. The direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of weapons to the Houthis in Yemen violates U.N. Security Council Resolution 2216 and international law.

U.S. and UK naval forces regularly conduct combined maritime security operations to disrupt the flow of illicit cargo in Middle East waters. Last year, U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101), Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose (F236) and combined air assets led to Royal Navy forces seizing surface-to-air missiles and land-attack cruise-missile engines.

In the past three months, seven major interdictions have resulted in U.S. and partner maritime forces seizing more than 5,000 weapons, 1.6 million rounds of ammunition, 7,000 proximity fuses for rockets, 2,100 kilograms of propellant used to launch rocket propelled grenades, 30 anti-tank guided missiles, medium-range ballistic missile components and $80 million worth of illegal drugs.

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and United Kingdom Maritime Component Command are headquartered in Manama, Bahrain.

“Winston S. Churchill Seizes Illicit Weapons from Two Dhows off Somalia” –Seapower

Posted on February 16, 2021 by Chuck Hill

DDG-81 USS Winston Churchill, US Navy photo, 2008

The Navy League’s online edition of Seapower Magazine reports that an “Advanced Interdiction Team” [Army, Navy and Coast Guard] from the destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) had seized weapons found on two stateless dhows off the coast of Somalia.

“The cache of weapons consisted of thousands of AK-47 assault rifles, light machine guns, heavy sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and crew served weapons. Other weapon components included barrels, stocks, optical scopes and weapon systems. “

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