From: Bass, Jonathan ENS [mailto:bassj@cushing.navy.mil] Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2004 6:42 AM  Subject: Bahrain

    Here is the latest on what the mighty CUSH has been up to. As you might know, for the majority of May, we have been operating in the Gulf of Oman and off the coast of Iran and Pakistan. Our days consist of patrolling a box looking for dhows (traditional Arab boats). Most dhows are used for fishing, but some carry cargo. They are small(40ft) and usually have a crew of about 20 people. The US believes that a number of dhows are engaged in smuggling(both people and drugs), and that the profits are benefiting Al Qaida. Our mission is to board these dhows and search them. When we board these dhows, we are exercising the inherent right of a warship to board any vessel on the high seas to determine its State. All ships and boats must be flagged by a country, and have a port of registry. Thus a Stateless ship can be boarded by a warship. A vessel that has a State, can't be boarded unless the country that the vessel has been flagged by has given permission. These dhows do not have any markings or flags on them. Thus we can claim that they are Stateless. If they raise a flag or say they are Pakistani flagged for instance, we say that we do not believe them and that we want to board their vessel to confirm their State. We also have the right to board a vessel suspected of committing one of the three international maritime crimes; slave trade, piracy and illegal broadcast. We are operating as part of the Coalition Forces. Spain, Germany, England, New Zealand, Japan, Pakistan and Italy all have ships out here with the same mission. Sometimes we will have tactical control of another Coalition ship and sometimes they have tactical control over us. Frequently, we have to rendezvous with the Pakistani ship and send hard copies of messages over to them via our small boat since they can't receive our radio transmissions(non-NATO). Things also get interesting when the Iranians get involved. Several times we have been buzzed by Iranian maritime patrol planes(the same ones that we sold them before the Revolution.) Irony? 
     On the 17th we transited the Straits of Hormuz. That is the narrow strait that leads from the Arabian Sea into the Persian Gulf. When you transit the Straits, you actually enter both Omani and Iranian territorial waters. This is allowed under international law. We transit at a high rate of speed and under the cover of darkness. At times we were so close to Iran that I could see the lights of the coast. After entering the Persian Gulf we steamed through the Qatari Oil Fields. It is hard to describe the sight, but there were huge oil platforms that we crisscrossed through. Each platform had a ball of fire coming from it. The whole sky was lit up orange. 
     We were scheduled to arrive in Manama, Bahrain on the morning of April 19th, but as we approached the harbor, the Bahraini Port Control told us that we could not enter until the afternoon. That afternoon we experienced a strong Shamal (SW wind that blows during the summer in the Gulf). Due to the high winds, they closed the port. We were forced to anchor out. We could not run liberty boats due to the high wind and waves. The winds failed to subside the second day and we spent another night at anchorage. On the evening of the third day the winds subsided and we were able to commence the tricky approach to the Mina Sulmann Pier. At times we had only a foot of water beneath our sonar dome. Had we not gone in at high tide, we would have run aground. 
     Unfortunately, the Force Protection Condition in Bahrain was raised from Bravo to Charlie that evening. What that means is that instead of there being a high probability of attack, there was intel saying that an attack is/was going to happen (Delta means there is an attack in progress or that one has just occurred). As a result of the increase to Charlie, we were not allowed to leave the base. Furthermore, the enlisted guys were told not to salute the officers, lest we become targets for snipers. Every machine gun we had was locked and loaded. Liberty call went down at 2000 and expired on the ship at 2400. After a month at sea, I was given four hours of shore leave! We walked down the extremely long pier and boarded buses that drove us from the pier to the nearby U.S. Navy Base. There we had to wait in a long line to enter the base, which was all but in lockdown. There were Humvees with machine guns everywhere. After being searched at gunpoint and proceeding through the check point (think about the video footage you see of the Israeli checkpoints in Gaza), I was admitted onto the base. We were told that our Military ID was to be worn at all times around our neck in special holders and that we were not to run while on base. Running on base at night is considered "suspicious" and you might be shot at by one of the roaming bands of machine gun clad Marines. 
     The only thing to do on base was go to the Desert Dome. This was a basketball-sized area of covered benches. There was loud music playing and more importantly a bar with cold beer! I don't think I need to describe what thus ensued when a ship full of sailors who had been at sea for a month were allowed four hours to drink beer. 
     The next day I had duty, which was uneventful except for the fact that we were told of the high possibility of a waterborne attack from Al Qaida. The officers who did not have duty that night went to a rug flop. These are the same as Tupperware parties except rugs are being hocked instead of tupperware. After my duty day, I quickly made for the brow and was off the ship as soon as Master Chief called, "Liberty Call, Liberty Call, Liberty Call for sections 2 of 3 and 3 of 3." I went to the Officer's Club to eat. It was a really lame club. Alcohol is not even served on base until after 1600. On the way to the O-Club, I passed by the USO shop. There I was able to buy some of the cheesy souvenirs that are available off base. I got the Saddam henchmen deck of cards that have been widely publicized in the media. I also got some t-shirts. After lunch, the base store opened and I was able to stock up on toiletries and food. Also of interest was a rug dealer. For thirty dollars I got handmade wool Afghan prayer rug. However, this rug is very special. It was made to commemorate the Taliban victory over the Russians. The center of the rug has Afghanistan on it. The different provinces are woven in a different color and are labeled with their names. One side of the rug has an AK-47 and the other has an RPG launcher. The top of the rug has a column of tanks going north as if they are retreating back to Russia. Written in Arabic is, "The Russians are now out of Afghanistan." I also got a nice hand knotted Indian wool/silk blend carpet. It is soft and appears to change color with different amounts of light. Lastly, I was able to purchase some Iraqi currency with Saddam's picture. After spending the evening at the Desert Dome, I went back to the ship. We left the next morning at high tide(0530). More to follow on our wild Memorial Day with the French.

Jonathan Bass