Stardate 20020503.1951

(On Screen): One of the reasons why the US Navy has the ability to operate large fleets on station for long periods of time is because of the invisible Navy. There's a swarm of cargo ships of various kinds constantly moving back and forth from friendly ports to the fleet, bringing in fuel and food and supplies and ammunition and medicine and spare parts and luxuries and everything the fleet and the people in it need to stay alive and healthy and effective.

Our carriers and submarines are nuclear powered, but everything else burns oil, and lots of it. And carriers go through a lot of aviation fuel. So the US Navy operates a large fleet of tankers, such as USNS Walter S. Diehl. They're cargo ships rather than warships, but they're manned by US sailors and they don't take any shit from anyone. These are the unsung heroes of the Navy; they're invisible but if they didn't do their job well the people in the warships would have to come home. And a lot of sailors in this unglamorous job have given their lives for our nation.

The crew of Diehl definitely don't take shit from anyone. Diehl was moving through the Strait of Hormuz and was approached by six motorboats full of men who refused to veer off in response to signals. They appeared to be pirates. (There's a lot of that in that area.) So Diehl opened up on them with a .50 caliber machine gun. Seems they got the message and vacated the area. A .50 delivers an message that is understood in all languages.

Good going, guys! Keep it up!