Well I only wanted to comment that the frequent use of word battleship in the article is not appropriate because "battleship" is a class of ship and larger than a "destroyer". Warship is the appropriate term which is any ship used in warfare.

This story has nothing to do with pirates.

I wanted to see this ship fire at the pirates,it could be fun to watch.

Glad to see that I'm not the only one that "battleship" grated on.

I question whether a destroyer is the right ship for shooting up rubber boats, either.

David,

Thanks for this "behind the scene" post. Glad to know you experienced a nice French hospitality :-)! You do such a great job with all your reports in this part of Africa. Your story about the Chadian children was awesome... Thanks to all the staff & producer.

To Brent : you can see two videos on cnn.com, related to this post ...

As a retired US Naval Officer, who spent many years at sea on Destroyers, I envy David McKenzie's awe at his experience of what he was riding. I also appreciated his use of words like "Tradition", and "Class". Too often articles are full of the opposite. As Brent's comment, I too was a little disappointed that it had no mention of "pirates", or the opreations against them. Perhaps next time, after Mr. McKenzie enjoys his "coq au vin".

A very timely report. If you're interested in these sorts of military operations, I recommend two good books. The first is Michael Sheehan's CRUSH THE CELL - focused on counterterrorism, but with applications to this sort of operation. There's also another book that focuses on these sorts of anti-piracy operations as part of an overall strategy to combat non-state actors in the 21st Century. That book is MANHUNTING: REVERSING THE POLARITY OF WARFARE by George A. Crawford. Both of these books have applications to this sort of military operation - and we need to do more of it. Rather than invading countries and killing innocent civilians, we could go after the root of the problem: the pirates, terrorists, arms traffickers or other non-state actors that disrupt civilization.

I agree with Kumar's statement that a destroyer is a "warship", not a "battleship". It is also inappropriate to call a surface warship a "boat". A submarine is referred to correctly as a "boat". I certainly wish that these alleged journalists would at least do their homework and have the respect for the magnificent men and women that serve in these warships to at least learn the correct terminology and use it appropriately. They owe them no less.

the article is obviously written by a landlubber! LOL
This an article of media reporting about itself, not more importantly about the point of its title. I guess I shouldn't expect much more from main stream media so-called journalists?

ARRR ME MATEYS!

So what exactly is this article about?

It is insulting to call a warship a boat. Please also do not call a destroyer a "battleship" A battle ship is a type of war ship that the US Navy no longer uses.

Thank You

What is this storey about? Satellites? Devices that only CNN has? Waste of my two minutes. Guess its an action story, what with ships changing courses on a whim, planes flying over and jumping from one ship to another! Pure Hollywood or rather "Missing In Action"

What a waste of reading. I thought I was going to get an education on the piracy problem and how it's being addressed. Instead a stupid report of how they can't get a live feed.

Title is misleading. No talk about pirates.

I will read every word of your blog. I have a son stationed on the Shoup and they often are unable to let us know where they are. I could not be happier to have this connection!

I agree with Brent. I was misled by the title. Please tell me where at least the word 'pirate' appears in the article besides the title. I am not a writer myself, but I would believe this to be another example of poor journalism. The French Mirage jet appeared "out of the blue"? You make it sound like the ship had no idea it was in the sky, mentioning how the bridge starts barking commands suddenly. This is just a guess, but they might have radar.

Where is the hunting pirates part of this article?

The report concerned it self more with describing the ship, its cramped quarters & very litfle on how the coalition forces deal with pirates

My son, Matt Hanson, is on the USS Shoup so I was interested to learn that they're hunting pirates off the coast of Somalia. I would like, however, to learn more about the "hunting pirates" part (like what it entails and how dangerous it is) but maybe that's classified info and perhaps why my son hasn't told me about it yet.

Could you please not have misleading titles anymore, I wouldn't have read this boring piece if it weren't for the title. Thanks!

The title of this article should have been "Keystone Cops attempting to get a signal to a CNN satellite". The first sentence could have started with; CNN's David McKenzie aboard the USS Shoup stumbles and fumbles as he and his crew make the rookie mistake of not anchoring themselves to the boat as they prepare to report to CNN's headquarters. David McKenzie and his crew are almost a rescue statistic as they hang on for dear life from falling overboard from the 30 knot winds and rolling seas.

I'm sure the crew of the USS Shoup got a good laugh as they watched the fumbling CNN crew from the bridge.

i agree with brent

This is crazy that the world is allowing this piracy to continue.

Aye Aye Captain , I once went to see the Pirates play a doubleheader in Pittsburgh.

Just to clarify from a prior service U.S. Navy submariner and currently active duty CPO in the U.S. Coast Guard, Submarines are called "boats" after the German Term "Unterseaboat or U-Boat". There are "boats" used in warfare on the high seas as the Coast Guard has "boats" when the vessel measures less than 65' in length. Some of those "boats" carry .50 cal machine guns and other weapons used for LE.
Now that I have laid out those facts, I do wish they had talked more about operations against the pirates vs. talk about the different ships. Maybe, more will be forthcoming in the future.

Don't call it this and don't call it that wah, wah, wah!!! What a bunch of geeks. Unless you're in the military, there is no use for all of this ridiculous terminology. Leave the guy alone and go stuff your head back in your books you bunch of squid wannabes. You obviously have too much time on your hands.

Why is it only the US and France protecting the waterway from pirates? Where are other navys of the world? Where is Iceland, for example??

this landlubber needs to be keelhauled and hung to dry on yardarm!

I work for a ship-routing company, and considering the amount of vessels that we route across the Gulf of Aden (from Suez to Singapore, and vice-versa), the drastic increase in piracy incidents is quite disturbing, since we have to route vessels along considerably longer routes now in order to remain well away to the north of Somalia and Socotra island. However, with the summer sw-ly monsoon season beginning to increase (the weather over the Gulf of Aden and Arabian sea gets quite bad with 40+ knot winds and frequent 20+ foot seas), hopefully this should reduce piracy incidents.

Remember that the piracy boats are very small and such heavy weather could deter them from sailing far from shore, as the risk of capsizing increases dramatically.

dear cnn -re:hunting for pirates with the u.s. navy -

i really do not know when it u.s. started negotiating with terrorists -hi-jackers or criminals -especially pirates -.

i remember history when we used privateers against pirates -in modern days it seems the u.s. doesnt want to get involved or get its hands bloody or dirty any more .

i wonder what kind of detterent for priacy there would be if -modern day naval ships administrated judgements on prisoners at see for piracy -

you know -giveem 50 lashes
or hang them from the yard arm
or keel haul em
or have them walk the plank in shark infested waters

i feel if these somalian war veterans and criminals and terrorists want to play pirate they should recieve a form of pirate justice .

other than that -getting blown out of the water -left adrift and in flames
inshark infested waters would be ok for me to -since they have no deterrants -othere than u.s. naval escorts and negotiating teams on releases of victims and propertyy for ransom -i guess the barbary cost pitrates that the marines defeated -have come back to haunt somalia and etheopia .

Next time, send someone who is qualified and is knowledgeble about Armed Forces. Pirates? Where?

matondy@bigpond.com i think that being a pirate would be awesome. but i'd rather search for gold and sunken treasure than actually hurting anyone.

This article is misleading and somewhat useless. Where are the pirates?

As a Navy vet of the late Cold War era, my opinion of the French Navy isn't nearly as "warm and fuzzy" as Mr. McKenzie's. Please forgive my bias.

Refusing to participate militarily in partnership with the US gives France the luxury of having luxuries aboard their vessels. After all, if they don't mean to actually fight, there's little else to do but continue to develop the fine dining experience. As this report makes clear, the Durance class supply ship supplies a large quantity of hot air and French narcissism as well. Thanks, France; but we have more than enough of that in our own government. Besides, we're a little busy with things like hunting down pirates and terrorists, keeping eyes on rogue regimes, and helping to protect nations of the free world...like France, for example.

Why don't I like the French Navy? One reason is that while hunting submarines for the US Navy, we had to be extra cautious when we came across French vessels. France didn't like playing by NATO's rules, and flatly refused to join the alliance. They liked to poke their noses in where they didn't belong, complicating already very dangerous situations....situations such as tracking the Soviets in relatively crowded waters, such as the Mediterranean Sea....those kinds of dangerous situations.

I could never be too sure if a nearby French vessel might decide to launch a giant heat-seeking croissant at our helicopter. I hate croissants.

I agree with all those expressing a little disappointment at not seeing anything in this story about the actual anti-pirate operations. I know the pirate problem has dramatically increased in recent years, and is a huge problem worldwide. Part of the reason is corruption within smaller governments, and the relative complacency of others. Some of the same leading law enforcement officers of some nations have actually participated in piracy themselves; that is, the same guys who are supposed to protect ships from piracy are "moonlighting" as pirates!

I'm glad to see the US Navy getting involved. I participated in LEO ops in the Caribbean as Reserve helicopter crew in the mid 1990's, after active duty hunting submarines. Let's just say drug runners made for wonderful target practice. If the Navy's approaching this pirate problem the same way they approached those drug runners then, piracy will easily become the most dangerous job in the world, and pirates can expect to have the lifespan of a mosquito.

Ahh, I can hear the "wiZZZZ!!!" of the Sea-Whiz now....

My son is also aboard Shoup. Like others we only get quick, after the fact references to where they are and what the ship is doing.

I took the blog entry and the video clips together and saw at least some reporting on the pirates... but would like more (along with information on the international coalition fighting them, and the diplomatic efforts behind all of this).

Like others, the misuse of terms (battleship in place of the more proper warship or destroyer) troubling, but that may be a case of American English vs. British English.

I enjoyed description of the Shoup its facilities and quarters, and especially the reference to Naval tradition.

Open season on Pirates...kill'em all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just wanted to make a few points
The terminology was wrong, calling a surface ship a boat when describing the ship, yet sailors do say they are "headed back to the boat" when reffering to the ship after a night on liberty.
A DDG is by far not a Battleship.
He did a good job describing Dijibuti and the unbearable heat, picture what we sailor went thru when we operated the old "steam driven" Navy ships there (Dijibuti was known as our 2nd homeport).
He did an excellent job telling us that the French (and most foreign Navies) do have better living conditions for their crews, (living quarters, food, working conditions, entertainment onboard even alcohol with limitations).
He sure didn't see no Pirates. And why?
Well the pirates are not stupid.
THEY KNOW NOT TO MESS WITH SUCH FIREPOWER.
So "Bravo Zulu" to CNN and the reporter making this report.
Have one question: Did he Highline to the oiler during an unrep or did he take the helo?

For pete's sake! The U.S. and French Navies are patrolling international waters in warships looking for men in dingy's. The merchant ship companies should hire mercinaries to man the rail with .50 cal guns and assorted "gear" to deter these so-called "pirates". Heck, I'll volunteer just for the fun of it!!

Read The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, The First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805 (Richard Zacks). Nothing much has changed since that era. Hostages were taken by the Barbary States as far as Ireland for over a hundred years. Muslim radicals raid shipping and hold hostages for ransom. The Barbary pirates are simply plying centuries old trade and will not stop unless someone steps in.

It's a compelling read about this nation's first covert mission.

Your article is totally confusing and misleading from the headline. Reading it was a challenge and it caused me a headache. It is obvious that you did not do your homework. What happened to the pirates?? Get it together pal! We would appreciate to read what is really going on.

Luis Marrero
SGT USMC (Former)
CTF-62 (1983-1984-1985-1986-1987)

What is the story all about, pirates, the cnn techincal problem in delivering news on a ship, or is about enlightening the American public. Bosting about USA fire power aganist a rug tag pirates. The journalist needs some schooling about the region, its politic, and the current state of problems in the horn of africa. The problem of piracy is in Southern Somali (ex Italian Somalia) and not Somaliland(ex British Somaliland). There is need to contextual this problem, and educate people about the problem. The problem of piracy will be less if the world community supported the nascent democracy in Somaliland , and not hold it hostage to African and Arab despotes. If Somaliland with the help of the western democracies institutionalise democratic regimes, this would have an impact in the horn, and in Africa in general. Most of the African and Arab countries do not want this interesting experiment to flourish. Somaliland with no help from the world community have established a modern democratic system with an Africa twist. It is an existing experiment that shows that democracy and african traditions are compatible. The african traditional democratic values have been hijacked by corrupt african leaders with implicit support of western democracies.

I am waiting for another chapter... David, will there be one from the Shoup?

After reading this article one must say why should we police the world but , coming from a Sailor of the USS COLE (DDG-67) I have to say these waters can be a danger for across this gulf you have ADEN Yemen and the Last time we were in these waters I had Lost MANY GOOD Friends, SO should we be there ? No!!! Unless we want another Tragic incident to happen!! We MUST LEARN FROM OUR PAST!!!! I AM A USS COLE VETERAN And we must let the people of these countries handle their problems and stay out!!!

For those who can't find the link from the story to the video.. seems to be a lot of posters.

Also the video show the sailors patrolling in small fast boats deployed off the destroyer.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/05/26/mckenzie.somalia.pirates.cnn

And Jerry, I appreciate your service to the USA.

When pirates attack international merchant ships, and they come from a country that does not care, the navy’s of the world have to react, as it always has done since ships started sailing.

You know, I was wondering why they haven't setup a decoy vessel armed with explosives yet? The pirates hop onboard looking for loot and you blow em all to pieces. Try to film it somehow and post the video on youtube so we can see the bastards get whats coming to em.

Bob, thanks much for the video link.

Jerry, your service and the Cole's sacrifice will be remembered. Thank you.

In the absence of sovereign observance of international law we MUST protect free trade. Unchecked this problem simply gets worse. It is precisely because of the sacrifice and dedication of our armed forces that commerce and trade will, some day, be a reality in this part of the world. It's in everyone’s best interest.

battleship is more oftenly used by the non-initiated due to their heavy involvement in the world wars and major naval conflicts. it would be nice though if (some) of our reporters would keep abreast of of the current and proper naval terminology. like warship, or in this case an Arleigh Burke class destroyer. I still have to read about the pirates though.

Get a grip people, seriously, can't any of you tell that this is just the first part of a series of reports? Good grief, complaining that he called the ship a "battleship" versus a "warship?" If you want to be specific, he didn't capitalize "battleship" and therefore in the context of the article, "battleship" would be a perfectly acceptable term also considering he classified the ship as a "destroyer;" this should be accectable to everyone except weekend naval-captain wannbes.

Good article, nice to see someone talk about the traditions and the feel of the ship.

I am currently active duty in the Navy and stationed aboard an LPD-7. I do find the story very flawless and not to the point. The title should have been rephrased to "how sailors receive DTS while out at sea" , "the lives of sailors out at sea", or "how sailors are able to keep up with the news and current events out at sea". I just returned from deployment and i know about the satellites.

I am absolutely saddened that this person covered a news story about "battleships". In the US Navy, we do NOT use the term battleship. That was the old saying. Please obtain your facts before you make comments and embarrass the US Navy of other countries. We (US Navy) are always available to help you cover a story. We have carriers, destroyers, amphibs, etc...

ISN'T IT ABOUT TIME WE USED DRONES TO POLICE THESE AREAS OF THE WORLDS SEAS WHERE PIRATES OPERATE? IF WE ARE USING EM IN AFGHANISTAN AND IN IRAQ THEN WHY NOT USE EM ON PIRATES, OPERATED ALL THE WAY FROM NEVADA?

EASY AND CHEAP TO TRACK AND SEE WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY ARE ABOUT ETC WITH DRONES. THEN WE CAN BLAST THEM OUT OF THE WATER WHENEVER WE WANT AND NO ONE NEED KNOW ABOUT IT.

How 'bout them pirates?

This reporter just wanted to do a story because he managed to get on the ship. He should have just done a story about the food, or describe the sleeping conditions. Clearly, nothing to do with pirates, unless he was aboard a pirate ship...

arrrggghh, cnn bes giving up me fellow priates identities. blast them!

what happened to the pirates????

I read a few of these blogs and thought they were a bit harsh. This is an intro story. There is more to come. Give the man a chance! For American journalism, this is well written. Carp not!

Por favor si en el titulo pones "piratas", al menos escribe algo relacionado con piratas, fue una perdida de tiempo el leer este articulo, ademas donde estabas no es un battleship mas bien es un warship.

As in years past, the US Navy has been the force to deal a blow to the Muslim Pirates. The Barbary pirates have long been a thorn in the side of ocean going nations and vessels from the beginning of time. Complain if you will about the US Navy, but don't be naive... we may have saved your ancestors at one time and odds are, as history has all but proven, we may need to do so again.
Pirates, thieves, rapists, killers, etc must be dealt with harshly and decisivey. If it happened to you, your family or your nation and you felt any less… shame on you.

It is an introductory post with several videos. Watch them. Pay attention. He talks about just arriving. He displays enthusiasm and respect for the men and women who serve with pride. Let us show some respect as well. =

There will be more posts and videos, and you can tune into CNN to watch more I am sure.

Bring on the pirates! To the people patrolling, here is hoping you clean the pool of pirate scum.

Regarding the debate over calling the Shoup a battleship, as a former submariner I feel it my duty to point out that that there are only two kinds of ships, submarines and targets.

A story about pirates, sans pirates.
It said nothing about the ship, the sailors or its mission.
Just talked about the incompetence of the CNN technicians
and how they couldn't find the satellite signal.

Having spent the last 6 years of my life forward deployed on board cruisers and destroyers I can honestly say that our patrols amount to very little being accomplished besides a show of force. This policy towards enforcing the rule of law against international piracy holds a much larger political picture of reminding everyone who has the guns to put behind their politic. A single of these "hotels on gas stations" comprise more military might then 90% of the worlds countries. The piracy that these ships are protecting the global economy from is the piracy of the poor and impoverished who can lay their very lot at the feet of the economies that created the warships in the first place. We would do well to be reminded that these war machines are the first impression most of the world gets of coalition forces. The fear and hatred that caused these machines to be built in the first place is now inciting fear and hatred of the just cause for which it was and will always be. We cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war.

not a pirate to be seen, sorry guys, thats the coast guard

Dude, you sunk my battleship!!!

Another good read related to this topic is THE OUTLAW SEA. The following book description is from Bookmarks Magazine:

Langewiesche, an Atlantic Monthly correspondent and author of American Ground (2003), turns an astute eye to a disturbing topic: the sea’s pollution, piracy, and possible breeding ground for terrorism. His stories, written in lucid, gripping prose, reveal the tragic consequences of our failure to police the sea’s terrible freedoms. Some critics feel that Langewiesche devotes too much time to the Estonia, which—though told in thrilling details culled from survivor testimonies—doesn’t fit in with his larger regulatory theme. This disconnect diminishes the book’s call to action. Yet overall, Outlaw Sea is riveting. And we can breathe easy knowing that the U.S. leads the world in ocean safety and environmental regulation. But it only examines two percent of all containers coming into port.

I'm shocked that the Largest Bike Race in the world ended yesterday, the Tour De France and there was absolutely no mention of it on CNN this morning nor is it anywhere on their website. There were Americans in it and I can't believe it was not mentioned.