Many veterans are livid that these two boats, with vastly more firepower than the Iranian Boston Whalers, were captured. Better yet, simply surrendered.
Rumors abound, but a friend who is a civilian employee at the Pentagon has said that the Navy Lt. in command of both boats ordered the surrender despite objections of the crews. Then, this knucklehead apologizes!
One question remains unanswered... Was he ordered to surrender from some higher command authority and why? If he did this in his own, he will likely face a courts-martial. If he did it under orders, where did those orders originate and who is responsible?
There is a great many unknowns here, and it reeks of subterfuge, because within 24 hours, there's a politically sensitive prisoner exchange between the US and Iran. This story will not go away as there are several members of the House and Senate, veterans all of them, who want some answers.
First, a boat breaking down is not a likely event. Moreover, the second boat would simply take the other in tow. Furthermore, charts show that the boats would drift southeast with the prevailing current, not due east. Second, any reports that the boats were taking a short-cut to Bahrain is nonsensical. The course is a straight line going nowhere near the claimed Iranian waters. It would take a colossal navigation blunder, which is extremely unlikely considering the navaids and charts on the boats. One could navigate from Kuwait to Bahrain using a water compass....
Something else was afoot here. As a Navy veteran, I find this entire incident unfathomable.
