Firsthand Account of Standing Pirate Watch in the Waters Off Somalia

The news is full of the successful rescue by U.S. sharpshooters of Capt. Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama. Joseph Schwartzstein, Captain, U.S. Merchant Marine, LTJG, USNR/MMR, who wrote about serving as a Merchant Mariner in a February 1st blog post and a February 2nd blog post, offered to give the readers of this blog a firsthand account of standing pirate watch -- unarmed:

In January 2007 I was sailing Chief Mate aboard the MV Perseverance, an ex-oil tanker that we converted to carry 31,000MT of U.S. aid grain to the country of Djibouti, just north of Somalia and sharing the northern border of Somalia. Aboard this specific ship I was serving as the vessel security officer.

As vessel security officer I was required to do regular security inspections of the ship and ensure that we took appropriate measures as per our ship security plan. Our security measures actually started prior to ever reaching the waters off the coast of Djibouti and Somalia.

I started the preparations for the vessel in the U.S. as the ship was loading grain. I talked with the captain in the port of Houston about specific measures that we could take and lessons learned and recommendations from different government agencies. This started with purchasing locks to secure outside portions of the ship such as the focsle, the port and starboard dog houses (machine and tool shops on deck), and storage lockers.

We also took the time to weld “locks,” which consisted of a welding a 3” stainless steel nut on all watertight and weather tight doors just above one of the “dogs” (a handle on the door). We then welded a piece of pipe on the door to insert a 3” stainless steel bolt. The idea being that we would screw the bolt into the nut and thus no matter what you did you would not be able to lift the “dog.”

We did the same to the emergency escape scuttles (escape hatches from engine room spaces on to deck). However these hatches had wheel handles so the bolt length had to be extended. We also decided that, once we arrived into the waters off Egypt, we would “lock down the vessel” to have only one entry point.

This point was on the portside of the vessel on A deck, one deck above main deck. This was done so as to minimize the ability of anyone coming aboard as moving up a deck makes it more difficult to come aboard. We also removed any outside ladders so individuals could not climb up the outside of the wheelhouse.

We also ensured that we had “buckler plates” secured to the top of the anchor hawse pipes so that no one could climb up the anchor chain should we anchor.

Underway after our security modifications

Once we completed our assessment and finished our modifications to the vessel, we briefed and started training the crew in security operations once we got underway. The training was done once a week and consisted of hands on and after action discussions.

While underway I received daily security and pirate updates from a private maritime security firm called SecureWest International. These were daily briefs on what was going on in the area. As time went on we entered Egyptian waters and began the transit of the Suez Canal.

After we exited the canal and entered the Red Sea we increased our vessel security level from MARSEC I to MARSEC II. As my discussion with the captain, we locked down the ship and limited movement in and out of the vessel. We increased our bridge watch standing team with an additional member.

The vessel being an ex-oil tanker, we were equipped with fire monitors (aka water cannons). We moved these from the stowed position and alternated them from the port and starboard side to shoot water overboard.

We opened up specific monitors so should something happen all we would have to do is start the fire pump to shoot water over the side. I had the bosun lay out fire hoses on the port and starboard sides and stern of the vessel so should a vessel come at us I could have crew go to these stations and begin shooting water over the side as per our training we did in the Mediterranean Sea.

Now we were never attacked by pirates but we did increase our watch and kept an eye on any and all small fishing vessels. While in the Red Sea we had constant contact with coalition warships relaying any information about possible attacks.

A fishing vessel approaches us about a day out from Djibouti

About a day out from Djibouti I was off watch in my state room. I had just finished lunch and went to the bridge to talk with the second mate. While on the bridge the AB on watch pointed out to the second mate a 20-foot fishing vessel coming up on our starboard side.

The second mate and I looked at the vessel to see what was happening. Once we saw the vessel coming after us, the second mate made a hard to port turn and I called the captain.

As I was calling the captain I started one of the fire pumps to start water shooting over the side. Now on most merchant marine ships the captain’s state room is very close to the bridge, so he was on the bridge within seconds.

We sounded the vessel security alarm and started to muster the crew at their stations. We had everyone mustered, I had security teams break up and ensure that the wheelhouse was locked down, and we took our positions awaiting the orders from the captain.

Luckily we were not attacked and, as we continued to sail away and swing the vessel to make it more difficult to come alongside, while we were doing this the smaller vessel altered course and sailed away.

I will never be sure that it was or wasn’t a pirate vessel. It most likely was not, but while in those waters looking for pirates is a difficult and stressful job.

I just want to point out that pirates not only operate in the waters off Somalia, but they are all over the world. There are pirates off the Straits of Malacca, coast of Brazil, China, Indonesia just to name a few.

My first experience dealing with pirates

My first experience dealing with pirates was as an engine cadet aboard the MV Sea Wolf in the summer of 1993 off the coast of Brazil. Our sister ship had been attacked by Brazilian pirates the trip before and the captain had shot and killed one of the pirates as they were fleeing the vessel with the cash they had stolen. (The Brazilian pirates actually put a price on the captain’s head and the company had to move the captain to a different ship on a different run.)

We went to anchor and actually at the urging of the Brazilian coast guard we had to pick up the anchor and steam in a big square. We had deck patrol and put lights on over the side to discourage anyone from coming alongside.

P.S. I forgot to add that, yes, we were unarmed. The best we had were fire axes and fire hoses! Most companies stopped arming their ships in the '90s. Prior to that, even if there was a gun aboard, it was usually a pistol in the captain's safe.

The only ships that have any kind of military weapons aboard are USNS ships (merchant ships owned by the Navy with Merchant Marine crews). Some government Merchant Marine ships contracted by the government will carry a Navy detachment on them as security.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. She also blogs at PZ the Do-Gooder Scrooge and Operation Support Jews in the Military, and she is the co-host of the BlogTalkRadio show Your Military Life. Her company Miller Mosaic LLC builds call-to-action websites for book authors and small businesses.

Those Things That Will Not Be Deployed With Him

I asked permission of poet Jehanne Dubrow to share her poem about being a military wife here on this blog. She graciously said yes. And if you want to know more about her, visit her website at www.jehannedubrow.com.

NONESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT

By Jehanne Dubrow

The dog and I are first among those things
that will not be deployed with him. Forget
civilian clothes as well. He shouldn’t bring
too many photographs, which might get wet,
the faces blurred. He only needs a set
of uniforms. Even his wedding ring
gives pause (what if it fell?—he’d be upset
to dent or scratch away the gold engraving).
The seabag must be light enough to sling
across his shoulder, weigh almost nothing,
each canvas pocket emptied of regret.
The trick is packing less. No wife, no pet,
no perfumed letters dabbed with I-love-yous,
or anything he can’t afford to lose.

First appeared in Barrow Street
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. She also blogs at PZ the Do-Gooder Scrooge and Operation Support Jews in the Military, and she is the co-host of the BlogTalkRadio show Your Military Life. Her company Miller Mosaic LLC builds call-to-action websites for book authors and small businesses.

West Point Admissions: Learn From an Admissions Officer

Do you know anyone who is interested in applying to West Point -- the United States Military Academy? If you do, please send the person this blog post in order to have the link to the April 7th BlogTalkRadio show www.YourMilitaryLife.com that I co-hosted with Nancy Brown of www.YourMilitary.com. We interviewed Major Michael Nuckowski of West Point Admissions.

Major Nuckowski gave his views and perspectives as an admissions officer and not as the official policy of the Army. Yet this insight, after almost three years on the job, is quite valuable for high school students considering applying to the United States Military Academy (www.usma.edu).

Listen to Major Nuckowski's interview now to learn important information about applying to West Point.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. She also blogs at PZ the Do-Gooder Scrooge and Operation Support Jews in the Military, and she is the co-host of the BlogTalkRadio show Your Military Life. Her company Miller Mosaic LLC builds call-to-action websites for book authors and small businesses.

Sal Baldovinos Shares His Army Experience

I met Sal Baldovinos on Twitter with his Twitter username @mayhemchaos when I noticed a tweet and clicked through to his profile. As soon as I saw ex-army as part of his Twitter profile, I asked if he would write a guest post for me. He jumped right in with both feet and wrote a long guest post.


I didn’t break this post into two parts because I think it’s worth reading in one take for a very descriptive insider’s view of basic training and the concerns of our service members. And you can read more of Sal’s writing at his own blog www.mayhemandchaos.com/blog.

What drives a person to join the military. For some it's an escape. For others, it is true patriotic servitude to their country. And for me, like many others, it was a way to lessen the financial burdens of college tuition.

It was career and financial aid night at my high school. I was just a junior then and already looking for ways to pay for school to ease the stress off of my mother.

I sat in on all the major Texas universities’ financial assistance sessions. Just as my mother and I were leaving, I spotted a friend of mine, Jason, a senior, sitting at the Army recruiters' booth with his black army shirt on.

We chatted for a bit when, in no time, I was approached by one of the recruiters. He gave me his card and for the next few weeks we went over the formalities of what it would take for me to join the Army. Being that I was only a junior and 17 years old, I could not enlist in the regular Army for another year. My only other option was to enlist in the split-option program in the Army Reserve. So I did just that.

I took my oath

December 29, 1999, was the day I took my oath to be in the United States Army Reserve. Though it's been 10 years, and as cliche as it may sound, I still remember that day as if it were last week.

I spent the night in downtown Houston prior to all the tests, questioning and more tests that would follow the next day. It was a night you'd think someone would not be able to sleep. However, it was the opposite for me. I never really get anxious or nervous until the moment of execution, so sleeping was not a big deal for me that night.

Early the next morning, I went down stairs to the hotel's cafeteria and ate what would be my last official civilian breakfast. The van took us to the MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) center and so began an all-day procedure of enlisting in the United States Army. I was shuffled from room-to-room, asked question after question, signed and dated countless documents and officially grew annoyed of reciting my social security number.

Nevertheless, the day came to a close with our swearing in. I raised my right hand and pledged myself, like countless numbers of men and women before me, to the United States.

I would leave for Basic Combat Training that summer to complete the required 10 weeks of training at Ft. Knox, KY. Since I was under the slit-option, I would return home to finish my senior year of high school and complete the second half of training the following year.

Boot camp – an adjustment to say the least

Boot camp was just as you would imagine. Most movies depicted basic training just as it is. Within a few hours my personal belongings were whisked away to be replaced with standard issue clothing. My once full set of hair was substituted with a "screaming eagle" -- a fully shaved head.

We were met with two drill instructors that said nothing to us on the bus ride to the barracks, though that would soon change with constant yelling and in-your-face insults on our lack of speed. We were wrangled up, filed in to lines, made to do push-ups for not retrieving our duffle bags quickly enough. And this was all before lunch.

The next few weeks were an adjustment, to say the least. Class after class, drill after drill, mile after mile made me cherish what I had left back home. Once assimilation to military life had set in, the rest of boot camp was pretty much easy. I repelled off towers, marched more miles then most people do in a year, experienced night infiltration training, slept in the mud and ambushed opposing companies.

I fired a weapon for the first time, threw a hand grenade, stepped into a gas chamber and counted to 10 with riot gas filling my lungs. We went through what all soldiers go through in preparation for what could one day save our lives.

I didn't pray much then, only during the standard prayer times one might participate in: bedtime, meal times and times of stress. As a treat, we were taken in to town to a local church that would give a magic show and presentation every class. They gave us all Bibles and prayed over us.

I was filled with a religious high that lasted about as long as I could stand to sit and read one chapter of the Bible. I think we all had that spiritual motivation the night following. We were all a little nicer to one another, reading portions of the Bible that we felt would help us through this time.

Of course that went away as quickly as it came for most of us. The stresses of boot camp, being away from home and clashing personalities would ultimately extinguish that spiritual high. After all, we were being trained to recite "kill, kill, kill" -- not recite the Ten Commandments.

After Basic Combat Training

I finished the 10 weeks of Basic Combat Training and graduated just three days before I had to go back to Houston and start my senior year of high school. It was, as for many people, a fuzzy memory of mid-terms, Friday night football games and steady girlfriend. Throughout that year I began drilling with my Reserve unit in Houston. I was the youngest person in the entire unit at the time. Not even fresh out of high school, but still enjoying those days.

I had great leadership and made strong friendships in that time. But as quickly as I came home, I was leaving again to finish the second half of my training in Ft. Lee, VA. When I enlisted I was given only a few options to choose from for job training as I was forced to pick based on shipping dates since I was in the split-option.

Out of my choices, I went with the job that best suited my interests. I went to Ft. Lee and completed my training as a Food Service Specialist, the glorified title for a cook. I enjoyed every class and all the free food we cooked. It was basically college with drill instructors yelling at you in the mornings and evenings, while our classroom instructors treated us with a little less aggression.

The weeks to follow were not as routine as one would expect. My time in Virginia was immediately following the events of September 11th. Besides the constant security checks, the chronic challenge and passwords to enter a building and endless reminders that we were at war, training went by quickly and I would graduate and come back home.

By this time I was already into my second year of an eight-year contract with the Army. I was strongly considering joining the regular Army and going overseas to finish out my time. I took a year off from school after I got home to evaluate what I really wanted to do with my life.

I postponed the decision to transfer to an active army unit once I decided to go to The Art Institute of Houston to pursue a degree in multimedia and web design. I continued drilling at my reserve unit and living my life as a civilian/soldier.

For the next two years as I completed my studies at The Art Institute, my postponed decision not to go active duty became a more permanent one. I was enjoying school and most of all civilian life. I knew, for me, the Army was not a career choice anymore and I started to resent aspects of the Army. After September 11th our unit was under constant rumor alert for when and if we would be getting deployed. Each summer seemed to be our last in the States.

One such summer was met with a phone call telling me to get my paperwork in order and finalize any personal things for we would be leaving in 90 days. This not only upset me, but also my family and finance, as we were in the beginning phase of planning our wedding. We had less then two months to plan everything only to find out in the end that it was just another false alarm.

My resentment in the Army stemmed from ever-changing leadership, mismanagement, disorganization and simply being burnt out from all the back-and-forth and instability of whether or not we would ever be deployed. My final two years in the Army Reserve were filled with challenging my superiors, questioning my reasons for enlisting and at one point considering reenlisting to another unit.

I had become disillusioned with the unit I was with but didn't want to get out of the Army just yet. With the changing political atmosphere and constant threat of being deployed, I decided with my family that it would be best to finish out the two years and be discharged at the end of my contract.

Leaving the Army

As my time was coming to an end there I was met with at monthly meetings about why I didn't want to reenlist. One of the new motor pool sergeants called me in to his office. We were fairly acquainted but didn't know one another beyond that. He was curious, like the retention officers, why I didn’t want to reenlist.

He said to me, "I always see you come to drill and you're smiling, laughing and generally seem to like being here. So why would you want to leave so badly?" I answered him as honestly as I could; I told him about my troubles with the Army and the mishandling of medical expenses.

I've been out of the Army for almost two years and, though I miss a lot of the friends I made, I don't miss the Army itself. I was an important phase of my life and I honestly don't look back with any regret. I learned about being a leader, being a follower and being a good American.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. She also blogs at PZ the Do-Gooder Scrooge and Operation Support Jews in the Military, and she is the co-host of the BlogTalkRadio show Your Military Life. Her company Miller Mosaic LLC builds call-to-action websites for book authors and small businesses.

New Afghan Law Makes It Legal for Husbands to Rape Their Wives

"A new Afghan law makes it legal for men to rape their wives, rights groups said." This news blurb was carried on the front page of the April 3rd Wall Street Journal.

My immediate thought was: That's one reason we're in Afghanistan -- to try to stamp out this oppressive male-dominated society.

My second thought was about the April 1st interview of Eldonna Lewis Fernandez on the BlogTalkRadio Show www.YourMilitaryLife.com that I co-host with Nancy Brown of www.YourMilitary.com.

Eldonna retired from the Air Force as a master sergeant and is now working with women to empower them. You can read Eldonna's January 23rd guest post about her military experiences and the book HEART OF A WOMAN, which she is co-authoring. (The deadline for submission of essays by military women has been extended to April 20th.)

Yet it's Eldonna's life experiences -- how she was raped more than once while in the military -- and how she finally got help (she suffered PTSD from these experiences and her abusive childhood) that offer the inspiration for women -- and the reminder of how wrong this new Afghan law is.

Listen to the interview now of Eldonna Lewis Fernandez.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. She also blogs at PZ the Do-Gooder Scrooge and Operation Support Jews in the Military, and she is the co-host of the BlogTalkRadio show Your Military Life. Her company Miller Mosaic LLC builds call-to-action websites for book authors and small businesses.

Fibromyalgia and Gulf War Syndrome: The Symptoms and the Cures

I asked my Facebook friend Sue Ingebretson to share with the readers of this blog the connection of fibromyalgia to such military conditions as Gulf War Syndrome in the hopes of helping people whose illness has not yet been diagnosed. Sue is a writer and health and wellness enthusiast who is “living well” with fibromyalgia. Her story below is told for information purposes and not to give a diagnosis nor to be a treatment plan. If you have questions, you can tweet her at www.Twitter.com/SueInge

After my fibromyalgia diagnosis, I became an “unplanned expert” on the subject of chronic illness. It’s my hope you’ll find my findings informational if not applicable to you or someone you know.

Nearly everyone has aches and pains or feels a bit creaky in the morning, right? While everyone feels that way to some degree, not everyone has fibromyalgia.

Imagine feeling like you’ve got the worst flu ever. Body aches, digestive problems, joint and muscle pain, overwhelming dizziness, and extreme fatigue are daily occurrences. Add to that weird symptoms such as hair loss, insomnia, chest pain, vision problems, and a generalized “foggy” feeling. For women, “female” problems may prevail. For men, an overall weakness or fatigue may be a dominant factor.

Do any of these symptoms sound familiar to you? Have they been present for longer than six months? If so, please see a doctor and pursue a diagnosis. Be persistent if necessary.

I felt critically ill for over a decade. It took seven years, more doctors than I could count, and endless hours glued to my computer before I figured it out for myself. On the plus side, awareness of the condition is greatly improved today than even five years ago.

Chronic illness occurs when a “perfect storm” of conditions exists. These conditions create a weakened immune system that can make the body vulnerable to fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, Epstein-Barr, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, diabetes, asthma, and other syndromes. Do you see yourself in more than one of these conditions?

• Injury (physical trauma/surgery)
• Infection (viral/bacterial)
• Hormonal irregularities
• Emotional trauma (including post traumatic stress syndrome)
• Intestinal inflammation (food allergies/intolerances and acid/alkaline imbalance, yeast overgrowth)
• Malnourishment or nutritional deficiencies
• Exposure to external toxins (chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, molds, toxic cosmetics, fragrances, dyes, etc.)
• Exposure to internal toxins (chemicals, food additives/preservatives, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, etc.)
• Genetic predisposition for auto immune and related illnesses (heredity)

So what about Gulf War Syndrome? From what I’ve read, the term was created to expedite medical benefits and to legitimize the illnesses of military personnel. Whatever name it is given, I believe it is all part of the same cluster of conditions.

Debates continue about the similarities and differences between Gulf War Syndrome and fibromyalgia, but classifications may not be as important as the solutions.

Once conditions such as exposure to toxins have been remedied, rebuilding a weakened immune system is the next step to achieving wellness. If you can, build a support team of health professionals: functional medicine physicians, nutritionists, physical therapists/chiropractors, etc. Healing must take place in three areas – nutrition, exercise, and stress relief.

Following a healthy diet including nutrient-dense foods and exercise (even at very low intensity levels) has been shown to improve energy levels and overall health. Lastly, the issue of stress and anxiety must be addressed. Healing modalities such as prayer, meditation, journaling, and even tai chi and yoga may prove beneficial to reducing stress levels.

Become an educated patient and learn to discern what you read. If an article makes healing sound impossible or hopeless, look elsewhere. No one says that healing from chronic illness is easy – but it is possible. I know this is true – because I did it.

In closing, I’d like to share this article headlined: Brain damage in Gulf War syndrome pinpointed – Texas researchers verify link to toxic exposure.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. She also blogs at PZ the Do-Gooder Scrooge and Operation Support Jews in the Military, and she is the co-host of the BlogTalkRadio show Your Military Life. Her company Miller Mosaic LLC builds call-to-action websites for book authors and small businesses.

Divorce in the Military: Special Financial Considerations Can Be Very Important

Unfortunately divorce is a relevant topic for many military families. Multiple deployments can wreak havoc with a family and cause additional strains on a marriage -- strains that civilian couples don't have.

And for military couples divorcing, there are importance differences in the divorce laws that military families should know about before seeking a divorce.

Yesterday the BlogTalkRadio show www.YourMilitaryLife.com that I co-host with Nancy Brown of www.YourMilitary.com featured financial consultant Michael Kothakota of WolfbridgeFinancial.com in his third time on our show. He talked about the importance of working with a financial consultant during a divorce.

Also, Michael repeatedly said that the most important thing for a military couple divorcing is to have a good attorney who knows the special circumstances of military divorces.

What most struck me is that, if a couple doesn't know about the 10-year rule, the non-military spouse could miss out by only a few weeks on the benefits that otherwise would be hers or his.

Even if you aren't in the military or married to someone in the military, Michael's informative discussion of financial considerations in divorce could be vital information for you to know. Listen to the replay of the interview now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. She also blogs at PZ the Do-Gooder Scrooge and Operation Support Jews in the Military, and she is the co-host of the BlogTalkRadio show Your Military Life. Her company Miller Mosaic LLC builds call-to-action websites for book authors and small businesses.