Maritime Security Operations: A Critical Component for Security and Stability
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS050608-04
Release Date: 6/8/2005 11:05:00 AM
From Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, U.S. Fifth Fleet Public Affairs
MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- In an interview June 1, the commander of combined maritime forces provided an update on the impact of maritime security operations (MSO) in the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) area of responsibility.
Forty-five ships, from a coalition of global and regional nations, patrol 2.5 million square miles of international waters to conduct integrated and coordinated operations with a common purpose - to preserve the free and secure use of the world’s oceans by legitimate mariners, and prevent terrorists from attempting to use the world’s oceans as a venue for attack or as a medium to transport personnel or material.
By pressurizing the environment through MSO, coalition forces create the conditions for security and stability in this critical region of the world.
“Pressurizing the maritime environment describes an effect we’re trying to have out there, which deters the terrorists from using the maritime environment because they know we’re out there. They know we’re keeping a careful eye on what’s going on,” said Vice Adm. David Nichols, the leader in command of the naval force responsible for conducting MSO in international waters in the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
“Being ready to deal with or defeat transnational threats here in the region” is how Nichols describes MSO. “We do that via integrated operations amongst a coalition force of several nations across the entire region inside and outside the Gulf.”
Nations like Australia, France, Canada, Germany, Pakistan, Great Britain, Italy and regional allies of the Gulf Cooperative Council work together toward a common goal against a common enemy.
“About one third of my capacity is non-U.S., day in, day out,” said Nichols. “The coalition brings a tactical and operational level skill set that serves us very well in the coalition environment, and there is true synergistic effect there. The strategic impact it has against those who are opposing us out here and other places around the world - the tighter they see the coalition partners working together, the more difficult it is going to be for them to do the things they want to do.”
That capacity normally consists of 45 ships – about 30 from the United States and 15 from coalition nations, including Iraq.
“This is the very first time for us to be involved with many nations in the Arabian Gulf area,” said Iraqi Capt. Thmir Naser, chief of staff for the operational commander at Umm Qasr Naval Base during a recent visit to NAVCENT. “The coalition has done very well for us. They have helped us with training, as well as to deal with operations to protect our two [oil] terminals.”
The level of integrated and coordinated operations between these various navies has had a direct impact on the coalition’s ability to achieve its goal.
“I can tell you over the last year and a half in this region, there have been some significant, tactical-level successes in terms of disrupting terrorists’ plans and plots,” said Nichols.
Such plots include the attempted attacks on the Iraqi oil platforms last year.
Two U.S. Sailors and one U.S. Coast Guardsman lost their lives April 24, 2004, when an unidentified dhow exploded while the group was attempting to conduct a visit, board, search and seizure mission. Nichols said the explosive-laden dhow was headed for the Khawr Al Amaya and Al Basrah Oil Terminals but “were successfully repelled and disrupted by a combination of coalition maritime forces activities, as well as the Iraqis who were on the platforms at the time.”
Iraq’s participation in MSO is critical not only to the country itself, but to the world as a whole.
“The Iraqi navy is already patrolling with coalition forces in the northern Gulf,” said Nichols.
The growing Iraqi maritime force, along with support from coalition maritime forces, provides protection to key infrastructure nodes like the oil platforms because of how important they are to Iraq’s future.
“It’s very important to the way ahead and future of Iraq because [the oil platforms] represent about 90 percent of the income for the country of Iraq at this point,” said Nichols. “That economic activity and the continued growth of economic activity is key to the way ahead for the Iraqis determining their future and continuing the political process and other things that are occurring in the region.”
These key nodes form the foundation for much of the region’s economic growth, stability and prosperity and can significantly impact the worldwide economy.
“We are saving the world,” said Pakistani Radar Technician Sailor Azad Bukhari, who is stationed aboard the Pakistani frigate PNS Tariq.
Tariq, a current member of the coalition task force, deployed twice to the region as part of Pakistan’s contributions to the MSO effort. Bukhari is proud of the mission he and his ship are doing.
“We work together with other navies because this job [of security and stability] is not for one nation," he said. "It’s for the entire world.
“We are all humans first, not Christians or Muslims,” said Bukhari. “As humans, our needs and wants are equal, and we all want freedom. Terrorism threatens freedom. By fighting terrorists at sea, we are an iron wall against that threat. We are saving the world from terrorism.”
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