Sailors learn to fire shotguns and rifles as Navy moves to improves ship security

By ANDREW ENGLAND
Associated Press Writer

ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT – Once or twice a month, sailors aboard this carrier take a break from launching fighter jets toward Afghanistan to fire shotguns, assault rifles and automatic pistols off the ship's fantail.

From young sailors experiencing their first taste of life at sea to tattooed veterans who have spent more than 10 years in the Navy, the USS Theodore Roosevelt's crew are being taught to handle weapons to shield themselves against intruders.

The training is part of the Navy's efforts to improve ship security following the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole while it was refueling in the Yemeni port of Aden. Seventeen U.S. sailors were killed and 37 injured in the attack blamed on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network, also the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Roosevelt has not made a port call since it left its home port in Norfolk, Va., on Sept. 19, part of the measures to ensure ships' safety since the Cole attack.

In the past, sailors didn't always pay attention to security because of the "buffer of being at sea," Rucci said. Ships are most vulnerable when they pull into ports, becoming huge, stationary targets. At sea, they are always on the move, and carriers travel in battle groups that include submarines and frigates.

The training is "an education process for the whole ship," Cmdr. Greg Rucci said.

"There are people who were qualifying (in weapons training) who were junior sailors and there are people qualifying for the first time who may have 15 or 16 years in the Navy," said Rucci, who is in charge of the Roosevelt's security. "They are all learning to be part of the ship's defense."

Before the Cole attack, only 10 percent to 15 percent of a carrier's crew were weapons proficient. Now up to 80 percent of the Roosevelt's 5,500 crew are being taught to use small arms, Rucci said.

The weapons used by the sailors, some of whom had never handled a gun before, include shotguns, 9 mm pistols, M16 rifles, M60 machine guns, 0.50-caliber machine guns and M203 grenade launchers. M16s are being used on carriers for the first time, replacing the older M14s.

A security detail of around 60 Marines used to be deployed on carriers, but this was stopped seven years ago because of cutbacks, Rucci said.

Sailors only carry weapons when they are on watch.

The number of small arms available on the Roosevelt has increased threefold in the last 18 months, Rucci said, without disclosing the figure.

Improvements can still be made, he said, such as training sailors to use 9 mm pistols from the moment they start boot camp.

"From day one in boot camp all the way to the point of their retirement, they (sailors) should know how to handle a weapon ... recognizing they are part of the defense of our nation not just a yeoman, or a metal-smith, that they are integral to the security of the United States."

Navy recruits currently receive a couple of hours' rifle training during their basic education.

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