On May 20^th, 2009 I wrote a blog entry expressing my astonishment that members of our Pentagon were of the opinion that owners of US Merchant Marine vessels should refrain from placing armed security guards on board their vessels because, “fighting off pirates should be left to the professionals” and that arming merchant vessels “could create an arms race or result in the acquisition of ever more lethal weapons and tactics by the pirates".” My astonishment was framed as follows:

 Am I missing something here? Where is our common sense? This seems like a definite ‘no-brainer’ situation to me. As a former US Merchant Marine and firearms instructor who has trained US Navy personnel to combat pirates and terrorists on the high seas I am of the opinion that THE ONLY OPTION IS TO TRAIN AND ARM THE CREWS OF ALL MERCHANT SHIPS. It may be just me, but it seems pretty obvious that if someone points a gun in your face you have a right to point a gun at them to protect your life.

Another option is to provide armed security crews for each ship. That would be far more expensive than simply training and arming the crews themselves but one thing is certain, doing nothing at all is definitely a very expensive and risky option. Paying the ransoms (some of which amount to millions of dollars) is a burden on the ship owners and insurance rates have skyrocketed recently.

At the writing of my May 20^th blog entry, Richard E. Hicks, a member of the crew of the Maersk line US Merchant ship Alabama that was rescued from pirates by the US Navy Seals had filed a lawsuit in Houston, Texas alleging that their shipping company employer failed to provide them with the training and weapons to protect themselves.

Apparently that lawsuit grabbed the attention of Maersk because this same ship was attacked again a couple of days ago by Somali pirates. This time the crew was ready and this time the pirates were driven off by gunfire from vigilant armed security officers stationed on deck. Fortunately, Maersk decided to ignore the “wisdom” of our politically cautious Pentagon and took steps to protect themselves. Their precautions prevented another piracy and quite possibly saved the lives of crewmembers. I congratulate them for taking a stand on this vital issue.

It seems I frequently find myself in the position of saying “I TOLD YOU SO”, so this is no new experience for me. I am however pleased that someone out there took the appropriate action and armed this vessel. I hope the other shipping companies passing through the Gulf of Aden do not miss the lesson here.  It is an unfortunate fact that force must sometimes be met with superior force if one desires to avoid victimization by the thugs of the world.

Michael Jaquish- A Vigilant American