BS: Doing it the Aussie Way

Subject: Lyr Req: Doing it the Aussie Way
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 23 Jun 07 - 09:50 PM

You may well have the fact Mr T, but that's not the way the Aussie media treated the story... :-)

I suspect that the version you may put is closer to reality than the Aussie Media's version... :-)

"Once onboard they took up defensive positions."

Even with only a modicum of military history in our family, that sort of physical (military) action seemed pretty obvious to me, but we Aussies prefer our version, perhaps... :-)

I suspected that the Iranian soldiers would be more likely to be slowed down by the concern for real bullets fired from a defensible position than from mere 'colourful language' directed their way! Although once 'dug in' it may not have done any harm... I suspect that the award of the DSM was really based on the excercise of correct military behaviour... :-)

Which brings me to say that surely there must a song in the myth of the event... :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Doing it the Aussie Way
From: Teribus
Date: 23 Jun 07 - 02:13 AM

From reading the reports the circumstances were a bit different:
- The Aussie boarding party remained in contact with their parent vessel throughout.
- Their parent ship was closer and her ship's company were far more alert to the possible dangers their boarding party was exposed to.
- When the Iranian force was sighted the boarding party were close enough to reboard the merchant vessel they had just searched and were ordered to do so. Once onboard they took up defensive positions.
- Once the Iranians left the boarding party was lifted off by helicopter abandoning their boats.

The inquiry into the incident involving the boarding party from the "Cornwall" has found no single person responsible, and stated that it was caused not by a single failure but by a number of things that went wrong. That is the official version, I somehow doubt that either the Commodore or the Captain's naval careers are going anywhere from this point forward.

Subject: RE: BS: Doing it the Aussie Way
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 22 Jun 07 - 10:04 AM

Incidentally, two of the participating soldiers subsequently received the Distinguished Service Medal.

Subject: BS: Doing it the Aussie Way
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 22 Jun 07 - 07:49 AM

It appears that Aussie troops have a secret weapon that the British Troops captured by the Iranians could have used.

Some time ago, a group of Aussies were in almost the same situation, but were finally extracted by helicopter.

No gun were used, but according to the offical sources, 'colourful language was used' - something apparently far more powerful!