Modern Riverine Warfare
In World War Two, the US Navy began using small
craft (motor torpedo boats variously called PT boats, MTBs, MGBs,
Schnellbooten, or MAS-boats) to fight near shore. This developed in the Vietnam
War into true riverine warfare (brown water navy), in intertidal and river
areas. Shifting military tactics and irregular warfare overseas makes this
style of combat even more likely in the future. In January 2006, it was
reported that the US Navy plans to deploy three riverine squadrons to Iraq in
2007. These squadrons will relieve Marines who are currently responsible for
conducting maritime security operations in the ports and inland waterways of
Iraq.
The Gamewardens will showcase news of Modern
Riverine Warfare here as it becomes available. Please check back often for
news. If you come across an applicable news feature, please feel free to
forward it to Larry
Bissonnette for inclusion here.
 Photo Gallery of Special Operations Craft - Riverine
»
 TOP OF PAGE
Anchor’s aweigh on
the Cape Fear-Navy trains in Bladen for Iraq mission — Walter Taylor,
Staff Writer
Euphrates –
Riverine Warfare on the Euphrates River »
Navy's
new river-patrol force will engage the enemy up close »
Navy's Newest
Naval Coastal Warfare Squadron Commissioned »
News from Iraq
(November 2007) »
News from Iraq – RIVRON 1 Sailors Return Home (October 2007)
»
News from Iraq
(November 2006) »
News from Iraq
(June 2006) »
New
RIVRON ONE website »
Riverines Enforce River Curfew on the Euphrates River »
River Runners:
navy warriors train for Iraq battle on Cape Fear »
Sailors prepare Iraqis for riverine combat ON THE PEARL RIVER,
Miss. »
Stars
& Stripes: Navy’s revived riverine squadron to patrol dam
»
Transcript of Radio
Interview with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen on the G. Gordon
Liddy Show »
USS James E.
Williams Crew Prepares For Maiden Voyage »
USS
Williams helps with pirated North Korean Vessel »
Vietnam vets'
experience on boats utilized in Iraq (7/9/2006) By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
»
TOP OF PAGE
RIVGRU 1 Sailors
Recognized by GWVA
Story Number: NNS070909-06
Release Date:
9/9/2007 10:50:00 AM
The GWVN Leadership Excellence Award honorees
(and A. Billy Rat, Jr.), L to R: HM3 Olson - RIVRON THREE OS1 Herring - RIVRON
TWO BM2 Carter - RIVRON ONE (BMSN (?) Ratt, Jr.)
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class
(SW/AW) Elizabeth Merriam, Fleet Public Affairs Center Atlantic
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- The Gamewardens of
Vietnam Association (GWVA) recognized three Sailors from Riverine Group
(RIVGRU) 1 Sept. 7, by awarding them the first GWVA Leadership Excellence Award
at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek.
Receiving the awards were Boatswain's Mate 2nd
Class (EXW/SCW) Benjamin Carter of Riverine Squadron (RIVRON) 1, Operations
Specialist 1st Class Russell Herring of RIVRON 2 and Hospital Corpsman 3rd
Class (FMF) Chad Olson of RIVRON 3.
RADM Bullard, HM3 Olson, OS1 Herring, BM2 Carter
and CAPT Jordan.
"When we started working with the admiral on this
award we specifically asked for deckplate leadership," said retired Capt. John
Woody, president of the GWVA. "We were looking for a person who can bring you
out of harm's way, take care of the engine problem or fix a weapon if they need
to under stress. Each one of the squadrons has provided us with a Sailor that
we feel is an embodiment of this award."
The award was designed to honor leadership and
service, two principles that the members of GWVA feel are just as important
with today's riverine forces as they were when the association was serving.
"I think if you learn from all of the gamewarden
stories of what went on in Vietnam, you understand what this award means
because in a boat crew of five or six, everybody has got to stand up and be
able to lead," said Rear Adm. Donald K. Bullard, Commander, Navy Expeditionary
Combat Command.
"I think these heroes in Vietnam saw in nume rous
f irefights that anybody could be a leader in that boat if need be, but it's
those special few who, if needed, would take the lead in the most dangerous
conditions," added Bullard.
During the ceremony Carter presented the
association with a flag flown by RIVRON 1 in Ramadi, Iraq.
"I flew this at Camp Ramadi because we were the
first riverine squadron to be in country since Vietnam so I figured it would be
appropriate to pass that on to connect the chain between the present and the
past," Carter said.
For more news from Navy Expeditionary Combat
Command, visit www.news.navy.mil/local/necc/.
TOP OF PAGE
The first ever recipient of the Gamewardens
Leadership Excellence Award is presented to Petty Officer, FC2(SW) Stefanie
Dressel of the USS James E. Williams (DDG-95) on February 2, 2007. Gathered
around her in this photo are; Gary Marker, John Woody, Larry Weatherall, Jerry
Gandy, Skip McIntosh, and Newell Butts. All are members of the Mid-Atlantic
Chapter of Gamewardens of Vietnam Association, Inc. (Photo submitted by Vaughn
Shuler.)
River
Group One Leadership Excellence Award »
TOP OF PAGE
Navy
seeks guidance of Vietnam ''river rats''
By Louis Hansen
The Virginian-Pilot
© April 23,
2006
After spending a year on river patrols in Vietnam, Petty
Officer 3rd Class Bill Ferguson had a few memorable welcome-back-to-fleet
moments.
One happened at the front gate of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Ferguson and some fellow sailors drove to meet their new ship, the ammunition
hauler Santa Barbara. The Marine guard looked at Ferguson's chest full of
ribbons. The men exchanged words...More
»
TOP OF PAGE
 Navy Blue
Goes Brown & Green
New command insignia show riverine mission's true colors...
More »
TOP OF PAGE
On-Scene
Report "An Integrated Battle Space" – Riverine Warfare Conference Final
Wrap-Up
By Eric Mills
US Naval Institute
© April
2006
A call to “build awareness from the blue water to the green
water to the brown water” and for the Navy to heed the “three
r’s”—reorganize, recognize and redistribute—heralded Day
Two of the U.S. Naval Institute’s 2006 Applied Naval History
Conference.
“Riverine Warfare: Back to the Future?” was presented
at the U.S. Naval Academy April 6-7, and an estimated 300
attendees—military personnel, civilians, academics—are present.
More
»
TOP OF PAGE
 PDF Version of The Advisor - April 2006
The Advisor is an authorized publication for members of the U.S.
Defense Department and multinational partners...More »
TOP OF PAGE
New
Navy Force Will Take The Fight Upriver In Iraq
By Louis Hansen
The Virginian-Pilot
© April 10,
2006
At this time next year, about 200 sailors will fill up small
boats, man .50-caliber machine guns and watch for trouble along the waterways
of Baghdad.
There’s a catch, though: At the moment, these sailors have
no boats, no manuals and no past missions to call their own. Riverine Group 1
of the Navy’s new river combat force based at Little Creek Naval
Amphibious Base is starting from scratch.
More
»
TOP OF PAGE
A Riverine Force
Sailors volunteer to dive into high-risk mission, but money,
materials fall short of the mark
By Andrew Scutro
NavyTimes staff writer
April 10,
2006 Issue
By this time next year, the Navy's first squadron of river
warfare sailors should be on the water, deep inside Iraq. But today, the
riverine force has no boats of its own and limited funding for two of its
planned three squadrons. The riverine concept of operations was only just
approved by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen on March 29.
More »
TOP OF PAGE
The Brown
Water Navy Is Returning! Realignment puts Navy's Land Forces under one
command »
TOP OF PAGE
Special Boat Teams: The 'Wave' of
Future Fight
By Journalist 1st Class Sonya Ansarov, Naval Special
Warfare Command Public Affairs
CORONADO, Calif. (NNS) — High
speed, sharp turns, the ability to stop on a dime, stealth, and enough
firepower to make the enemy think twice about attacking, make Mark-Five (MK-V)
boats formidable weapons in the global war on terrorism. But it's the Special
Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC -pronounced "swick") that make the MK-Vs,
and other special operations surface craft, more than just boats.
More »
TOP OF PAGE
New Navy squadron will focus on protecting harbors from
terrorism
By Steve Liewer
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 3, 2006 Petty Officer 1st Class Shane Hartey hoisted the
blue-and-white, fishtail flag up the mast until it whipped in the breeze just
below the Stars and Stripes. “Man the squad and bring 'er to life!”
barked Cmdr. Joseph Bell, commanding officer of the new Naval Coastal Warfare
Squadron 5.
More »
TOP OF PAGE
|
USNI
Conference Extra |
March
1, 2006 |
|
|
REGISTER
TODAY
Applied Naval History Conference
Riverine Warfare:
Back to the Future?
Annapolis, MD
6-7 April
2006
The Global War on Terror is
changing the way the Navy thinks about sea power. What are the lessons learned
from the past that can prepare us for tomorrow's naval challenges? Join
historians and the operational commanders of today's Navy, Marine Corps, and
Coast Guard in Annapolis this April as we look back to the future of Riverine
Warfare.
Panel
discussion topics include:
- Riverine Warfare: Snapshots from
the American Military Experience:p>
- Vietnam: How We Waged the Fight for
Rivers and Canals
- Riverine Operations Today: An
Operator's Perspective
- Lessons Learned in Joint and
Combined Operations
- Support from Above: Aviation in
Riverine Warfare
- Special Operations and the Riverine
Warrior
- Platforms and
Resources
Distinguished speakers
to include:
RADM Donald K.
Bullard, USN
Commander, Naval Expeditionary Combat Command
(invited)
CAPT Kiem Do,
Vietnamese Navy (Ret.)
Commander, Sea Float Operations:
Chief of Staff, VNN Mobile Riverine Operations, 1969-1973
ADM John B. Nathman,
USN
Commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Commander, Fleet
Forces Command (invited)
ADM Robert J.
Natter, USN (Ret.)
Former Commander in Chief, U.S.: Atlantic Fleet,
Former Commander, Fleet Forces Command:
James R.
Reckner
Professor, Department of History, Texas
University; Director, The Vietnam Center
Craig L.
Symonds
Professor Emeritus, History Department, U.S.
Naval Academy
~
Special Banquet Presentation on 6 April ~
"The Life and Legacy of John Paul
Jones"
Please join the commemoration of
the 100th Anniversary of President Theodore Roosevelt's official reception of
the remains of John Paul Jones at the U.S. Naval Academy, with RADM Joseph
Callo, USNR (Ret.), Evan Thomas, and David Hartman,
moderator.
More
information:
Program
Lodging
Register |
|
View New Riverine Force Regs
»
TOP OF PAGE
 Texas Guard unit finds new
assignment is smooth sailing Guardsmen test waters of Tigris River on
coveted boat patrol »
 USMC running River
Patrol Operations in Iraq »
"Royal in
Fallujah" – an article from The Globe and Laurel – a professional
publication for the British Royal Marines »
TOP OF PAGE
|
Home |
About Us | Black Beret | Chapters | Forum | Links |
Medals & Ribbons
)