Seems like the powers that be have finally woken up to the fact that we have Riverine Forces that aren't in the fight. Read the story here.
Tuesday, the Navy tested the ability to dock and secure the RCB and the smaller riverine patrol boat in the well deck of the anchored dock landing ship Oak Hill during a proof-of-concept test held at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.My guess.
Riverine force leaders gave the demonstration a thumbs-up. If senior Navy leaders agree, the riverine force could find itself with a new post-Iraq war mission set outside the green-water arena for which it is designed, and the Navy with yet another capability for the flexible and heavily deployed amphibious force.
Riverine looked around, put its finger up in the breeze and didn't like the direction that the wind was blowing.
Remember my posts here? Well even though this is a positive development, it doesn't go far enough. If Riverine's are going to continue then they need to become attached to the MEU. JHSV's as some are talking about won't be operating in as independent a fashion as some imagine.
They are ship to shore connectors. They aren't combat boats. And unless the Riverine's attach themselves to either Amphibs or LCS then they're done once the budget cutters come.
The facts are simple and stark.
We have a war fighting capability that can't get to the scene of conflicts and worse aren't visible to the Combatant Commanders (or worse still, the Commanders see no use for them).
