US Navy castigates sailors captured by Iran
The US Navy has released a scathing report on the January arrest of 10 trespassing American sailors by Iran in the Persian Gulf, rebuking the servicemen and their commanders for being “derelict” in their duties.
On January 12, two US Navy crafts carrying 10 Marines were seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy after reaching three miles into the waters surrounding the Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf.
On Thursday, the US Navy released the findings of its 5-month inquiry into the incident, saying poor decisions, bad training and little oversight plagued the mission.
"The RCB boat captains and crews were derelict in performing their duties to expected norms and standards," the report said, using the acronym for riverine command boats.
The amount of information that the sailors gave away when in custody also angered their commanders.
According to the report, the servicemen revealed such sensitive details as the passwords for their phones and laptops.
For instance, the report referred to one of the crew members who provided confidential details about his vessel and that it was used for “presence” missions.
"It is clear that some, if not all, crew members provided at least some information to interrogators beyond name, rank, service number and date of birth," the report added.
The report then directed harsh criticisms at the crews’ commander, who "severely underestimated" the risks of the 250-nautical-mile transit from Kuwait to Bahrain, the longest the crews had attempted.
"He lacked a questioning attitude, failed to promote a culture of safety, and disregarded appropriate backup from his staff and subordinate commands," the report stated.
Last week, the Navy reported that the commander of the boats’ task-force, identified as Captain Kyle Moses, had been relieved of his command.
According to the report, the captains also failed to follow their planned course and took a shortcut before drifting into Iranian waters.
The crew members even failed to properly use their navigation equipment to recognize Iran’s Farsi Island.
"Had any crew member zoomed into the purple dot [on the map], they would have discovered the purple dot was Farsi Island," the report said.
The report comes after the American team’s executive officer, Commander Eric Rasch, was fired in May.
Back then, the Navy said it had lost confidence in Rasch, blaming him for "complacency" and failure to maintain standards in the 10-member unit.
Senior Pentagon officials told the New York Times, nine naval officers were to be punished over the incident.
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