Here is the Dutch navy in action, taking down a Somali pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden. Although the intro labels the participants as Dutch sailors, don’t be fooled – the Korps Mariniers are the Marines of the Netherlands. (Having been in both the US Marines & the US Navy, I can understand why they would want me to specify who they are, & by way of explanation, I should quote Field Marshall Montgomery: “A Marine should be sworn to the patient endurance of hardships, like the ancient knights; and it is not the least of these necessary hardships to have to serve with sailors.”)
Just to show that you don’t have to be smart to be a pirate, they take the Dutch boarding party under fire as it approaches. Naturally, the Dutch generously return the greeting.
My bio refers to the fact that I served with a collection of foreign Marine units in my time, either in combined training operations, individual assignments, or being ‘seconded’. I wasn’t assigned to the Korps, but I did some training ops with them, including a time when I was hanging out with the UK Royal Marines. Both the Dutch & British Marines have a long history of combined operations, & together they serve as a combined NATO Marine Command.
Good job with those pirates, guys. QPO
(H/T to Donald Sensing)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are welcome and discussion is open and encouraged.
I will delete comments that are profane and ad hominem, though I will often include profane words when they are part of an original quote (I will not play games with little asterisks; we know what the word is).
I will also delete comments that link to a commercial site.