The apology

There are only three logical explanations as to why the Naval commander agreed to record an apology. First, the Iranians coerced him into apologizing.  Second, he was afforded the opportunity to speak with U.S. commanders who ordered him to apologize.  Third, he could have willingly apologized.  Regardless of what caused the apology, one fact is unavoidably clear; the Iranians chose to use inflammatory verbiage—a decision that revealed negative undertones.

As the news of our detained sailors began breaking last week, I couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of déjà vu.  Having spent over nine years in United States Army Special Forces, the scenario unfolding for the 10 American sailors was one with which I was all too familiar.  Not because I was ever detained by a foreign government, but as a result of the training I received that focused on the possibility that one day I might find myself in their exact situation.

{mosads}As a member of any special operations unit, it is a requirement to attend and pass a Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape School.  For me, that school was a month long course taught at Camp Mackall, North Carolina.  Part of the school’s core curriculum is training students in peacetime governmental detention.

The training is pretty straightforward.  A scenario was displayed, a name was called out, a lucky soldier left the room, and moments later the projection screen showed an interrogation room with a student in the “hot seat.”  Although the focus was peacetime detention, some scenarios were less desirable than others.  For instance, getting captured by a terrorist organization, or detained by the Iranians were scenarios that you preferred to avoid.

There was a sadistic humor to the whole process.  On the outside of the “fishbowl,” we mocked our classmate as they stumbled through their resistance; mentally taking notes of what to avoid in hopes of preventing the “rough” consequences of getting it all wrong.  Secretly we all hoped for the buxom interrogator scenario—making jokes of how we would purposely make mistakes as to receive more “hands on” remedial training.  Unfortunately, the majority of the interrogators resembled NFL linebackers—each with their unique brand of hard knocks and terrible accents.

All that to say, yesterday’s scenario fell into the “less than desirable” category, and could have easily shown up on our screen reading something like this:

You and your team deployed to Bahrain on a counter-narcotics training mission with the Bahraini Coast Guard.  During a routine patrol in the Persian Gulf, your boat becomes disabled.  Suddenly you observe Iranian naval ships approaching your location.  Your vessel is equipped with all weapons, ammunition, and communication devices for real-world operations.  As the Iranian ship pulls up alongside you, an English-speaking Iranian soldier gives you commands to get on your knees and place your hands on your head.  You hear him make accusations of trespassing, and snooping. You are blindfolded and separated from the rest of you team.

Unlike Jennifer Griffin stated in a recent interview with Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, a service member recording an apology is not against the code of conduct.  Article V of the Code of Conduct states that a service member “is required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth.”  However, Article IV states “I will…[not] take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades.”

In training scenarios, a written or recorded statement is explicitly discouraged, with the caveat, that any signed or recorded propaganda is a lesser evil if it saves your comrade from pain, suffering, or death.  Disclosing intelligence that can endanger the lives of U.S. personnel not detained is another issue, but submitting to propaganda to protect your comrades is entirely justifiable.

 Anyone who has trained in resistance techniques knows that the ultimate goal is to return home with honor.  There is no honor in remaining silent beyond name, rank, service number and date of birth if it results in the death of you or your comrades.

This brings us again to the three explanations for the apology.

If the commander were coerced into apologizing, it would be interesting to find out what threats were made to him.  If he were given an order by his superiors to apologize, it would demonstrate the great lengths the administration is going to appease an already volatile relationship with the Iranians.  Finally, if he decided on his own to apologize, it shows that the U.S. has put sailors under the command of leaders who are either incompetent or unfamiliar with proper peacetime governmental detention procedures.  Unfortunately, none of these explain away the gross incompetence of our Navy being so far off course.

DeChristopher is a 9-year veteran of the United States Army Special Forces.  He holds an M.A. in Strategic Security Studies from National Defense University’s College of International Security Affairs with a concentration in Irregular Warfare.  He currently works as an Independent Intelligence Consultant and blogs at exceptionism.com.  Follow @exceptionism