Manning The Rails At Pearl Harbor

Sailors and Marines man the rails aboard Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) while passing the USS Arizona Memorial. 

Essex is the flagship of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group and, with the embarked 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (15th MEU), is currently operating in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of responsibility. 

Note: The above U..S. Navy Photo was taken by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sean P. Gallagher.

Oliver North's Column: Incendiary Iran

Retired Marine Lt Colonel Oliver North looks at the threat from Iran in his latest column.

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. -- Our Fox News crew is here wrapping up our 100th "War Stories" documentary -- with some of the "stars" of previous episodes. Though most of the Marines here are recent veterans of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, their present focus is on the next trouble spots. Thanks to inept national security planning in Washington, there are more vulnerabilities today than there were just three years ago. At the top of the list: Iran.

Few of the young Marines we meet here are old enough to remember what happened to the U.S. Embassy in Tehran 32 years ago this month. But the "old guys" do. That's why senior officers and noncommissioned officers here had a déjà vu moment when images of Iranian "students" sacking the British Embassy in Tehran flashed around the world this week.

You can read the rest of the column via the below link:

http://townhall.com/columnists/olivernorth/2011/12/02/incendiary_iran

You can also read my interview with North about Special Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan via the below links:

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/NorthrQA1.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/NorthrQA2.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/NorthrQA3.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/NorthrQA4.jpg

My Q & A with Mark D. Clookie, Director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)

Counterterrorism magazine published my interview with Mark D. Clookie, the Director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

I first met Mark Clookie a while back when he was the NCIS Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge in the Northeast.

Mark Clookie was my guest on Inside Government, a public affairs radio program that aired on Sunday mornings on WMGK FM and WPEN AM in the Philadelphia area.

He and another NCIS Special Agent came on the radio program to discuss military procurement fraud.

You can read my Q&A with the NCIS director below:

Note: You can click on the above to enlarge.

U.S. Marines Seize Control of Ship From Pirates

Below is a U.S. Naval Forces Central Command news release:

MANAMA, Bahrain, Sept. 9, 2010 - A 24-member maritime raid force from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit today boarded and seized control of an Antigua-Barbuda-flagged, German–owned vessel from pirates who attacked and boarded it yesterday.

Helicopters from USS Dubuque provide aerial watch as Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit's maritime raid force board and seize control of the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged, German-owned vessel M/V Magellan Star, left, Sept. 9, 2010, a day after pirates attacked and boarded the vessel. The Marines serve aboard USS Dubuque, operating under Combined Task Force 151.

The mission secured the safety of the M/V Magellan Star's crew and returned control of the ship to the civilian mariners.

Nine pirates are under the task force's control, pending further disposition, officials said, and the ship's crew has not reported any injuries or casualties. No injuries to the maritime raid force were reported.

The Combined Task Force 151 flagship, TCG Gökçeada, a Turkish frigate, was the first ship on scene, responding to a distress call early yesterday. Two additional warships assigned to the task force -- USS Dubuque and USS Princeton -- arrived in the vicinity to support Gökçeada.

"Units from the multinational maritime force, under Combined Task Force 151, are actively engaged in antipiracy operations," said Rear Adm. Sinan Ertugrul of the Turkish navy, task force commander. "This regional problem truly has global impact, and we are completely committed to bringing the disruptive acts of piracy to an end.

"We have full support of the international community," he continued, "and will continue to do everything possible to bring security to the Gulf of Aden and Somali Basin."

Combined Task Force 151 is one of three task forces operated by the 25-nation Combined Maritime Forces. It was established in January 2009 to deter, disrupt and suppress piracy, protecting maritime vessels of all nations and securing international freedom of navigation.

The above U.S. Navy photo is by Petty Officer 2nd Class William Farmerie.