Political Quotes

“I rise to commend the work of our Navy operating off the coast of Somalia. Over the weekend, the USS Stephen W. Groves encountered a pirate mothership, a captured Taiwanese fishing vessel, the Jih Chun Tsai. The pirates aboard exchanged fire with the Stephen W. Groves. Once the firefight ended, a boarding party found that the Taiwanese captain had been murdered along with three pirates. The crew of the Groves captured 19 surviving pirates, but, unfortunately, by much higher command, was instructed to return them directly to Somalia. I recently visited the Groves, shortly after a previous engagement with the Jih Chun Tsai in April. I, personally, commend CDR Matthew Rick and his crew aboard the Stephen W. Groves for the work they have done fighting piracy in the Gulf of Aden. Their actions over the weekend eliminated the pirate threat of one mothership, but, unfortunately, there are many more to take out. Also, on Monday, a helicopter from the USS Bulkeley responded to a distress call from the M/V Artemis Glory, a German-owned crude carrier. The helicopter crew from the Bulkeley saw the pirates firing on the merchant ship and returned fire, sinking the skiff and killing the four pirates aboard. Also, on Monday, the USS Bainbridge responded to a distress call from a cargo carrier, the MSC Ayala. After the crew of the Ayala repelled a pirate attack, the Bainbridge arrived and located the mothership responsible for the attack.…”