The U.S. Navy's Savage 8-Hour War Against Iran

Defense One Deputy Editor Brad Peniston joins Ward to discuss Operation Praying Mantis, the U.S.'s retaliatory war at sea against the Iranians after the USS Samuel B. Roberts was severally damaged by a mine during the Tanker War of 1988.

And as an audiobook here:

[digitalperson]

Was stationed on the Roberts, arrived just after the blast when she was in Portland, ME for repairs.
Rinn was legend and the stories of that day from my shipmates were something to hear. Impressive leadership and a damn fine crew.
Once repairs were complete, under Sestak, DC was of course paramount.
We took her back into the Gulf after Desert Storm, proudly and fearlessly.
No Higher Honor!

Another great long form talk from one of my favorite Brownshoes. Well done Mooch!

[KNETTWERX]

One of the most impressive things about the Roberts that stand as a testament to the leadership, training, and performance of the crew came after she was out of the theater and being repaired. Every simulation and model done by military think tanks of the event, the ship never survived. The crew of the Roberts truly did the impossible of saving that ship.

[BigMouthcal]

This was a GREAT presentation. When you work with your guest to share a story it is really enjoyable and flows well.

[patrickhall]

I was a 21-year old reactor operator trainee on the Enterprise that day. Although we had all been told at a high level what was going on, we certainly weren't aware of many of the details that were told in this presentation. It's very interesting to learn so many years later what actually happened. After the Samuel B. Roberts hit that mine, we knew the other shoe was going to drop, but we didn't know when. Strange things started happening. For example, we conducted an underway replenishment... with us actually playing the role of the oiler. The Linde McCormick pulled along side us and took on JP-5 from us, which was normally reserved for our aircraft. I had never seen that before or since. Normally, planes on deck had a minimum of armament installed. However, on the morning of April 18th every plane was loaded to the max with weaponry. Guys wrote notes on the missiles like "I'd fly a thousand miles to smoke a Camel". We knew the day had come. It wasn't long before flight ops began, and the flight deck crew seemed to work a very long day. From my point of view, it was almost boring. We were ordered to suspend all our normal reactor maintenance activities, which was highly unusual. The captain didn't want any risk of accidentally tripping a reactor off line while performing calibration checks, which occasionally happened. We just stood our watches in the propulsion plants and got a little extra sleep in between. For several days we were at modified Zebra, meaning that all the large hatches between decks were closed and we had to use the little "scuttle" hatches to get anywhere. It was quite inconvenient, but necessary to be able to quickly protect the ship in case of attack. One of the main concerns was the threat of mustard gas. Every man was issued a Mark V gas mask and encouraged to carry it with him everywhere. Though my role in the event was trivial, it's a day I will always remember.

[nuvostef]

I was on active duty in the USAF then, on TDY status in WA state. We were all hoping Mr. Reagan would pull out all the stops against Iran, but at the same time we were apprehensive because we worried about the wider regional possibility of igniting a war with numerous other Islamic nations. It was a heady, tense time and, in retrospect, I’m glad we didn’t push Iran to the point of all-out war. Episodes like this make me wish I was still in the military. Great episode, Commander, thank you! 🤙🏼🌹

[thatguyinelnorte]

The point here is that weakness invites attacks; but setting an example like this stops the trouble very, very quickly.

[RichL]

This is without a doubt one of your very best videos to date, Ward. I was literally on the edge of my seat! Great stuff!

[JonesingUSAF]

That CO is a straight G.O.A.T.!!! Calm, cool, collected.? There was no hesitancy in his voice, only resolve and complete control of a hellish situation. Bravo Zulu to you and your sailors sir!

[dannileigh]

Calm, competent, confident. Three qualities of good leadership the captain demonstrated quite well under stress.

[mitchlakind]

I was an OS on board the USS Merrill on my first deployment and was in CIC during the action. Thank you for putting this video out there and bringing back a flood of memories.

[GintaPPE]

One more thing about this sequence of events Brad did not mention: as a result of Roberts' mining, and in case the Iranians decided to strike back immediately in the wake of Praying Mantis, we diverted one of our then-rare Aegis cruisers, the Vincennes (CG-49), from the Seventh Fleet to provide area air cover for the remainder of Earnest Will.

Unfortunately, on July 3, the Iranians decided to harass her with a couple of boghammers, and in the midst of the gun battle, her crew misidentified an Iran Air A300 on a regular flight (IA 655) as an incoming Iranian F-14. A combination of issues with the early Aegis interface, crew training failures, and the chaotic situation around them caused the mistake, but it was not caught and Vincennes then fired a pair of SM-2s, causing 290 civilian deaths in the deadliest airliner shootdown until MH17 was downed in 2014.

Arguably, this incident, more than Praying Mantis or Nimble Archer, is what brought Iran to the negotiating table, as it demonstrated the danger they were posing to even their own civilians through asymmetric warfare and creating intentionally-confusing situations. The ceasefire was agreed to just 2 weeks later, and although it doesn't take away from the triumph of Praying Mantis, it's a grim reminder that technology doesn't replace training, and why we need to train our sailors well: being the best in the world doesn't mean we can't do better.

[stevehill]

Thanks for taking this on -- good show! I was aboard USS Joseph Strauss (SAG D). We were the air control ship in the gulf. Aircraft from Enterprise checked in with us for tasking. You described it well after the first Harpoon hit on Sabalan. It became a Sinkex -- all the aviators had visions of Air Medals dancing in their heads. It was all we, onboard Joseph Strauss, could do to keep our foot in the door to get off our Harpoon shot. Keep up the good work.

[anthonyrose]

Outstanding history lesson given Mooch! Thank you sir! I love how you two synchronized your narration back & forth & the editing in of the combat footage (archival, pics & videos) helped tell the story perfectly! Learned a ton...

[Borzoi]

Condolences to the families of the two KIA USMC Cobra aviators lost in this action.

[jamiegalus]

CAPT Rinn was the real deal! His historical presentations during SNA National Symposiums were the highlight of the week

[JHillNC]

Story time with Uncle Mooch is always a fascinating listen with excellent visuals and even better Naval insights that you can't get anywhere else. Thank you!!!

[navsparks]

BZ to the crew of the Sammy B. 👍🇺🇸 They exemplified the spirit of Samuel B Roberts and the USN. 🇺🇸🇺🇸

[imrwhoe]

I was a LtJG on the O'Brien (DD-975) during Operation Praying Mantis. Hell of a way to spend 8 hours.

Excellent presentation of the events of that day. We then provided cover for the recovery of the cobra crew.

[randybrown]

Excellent presentation...in an increasingly frustrating political climate, it is enormously reassuring to learn about the occasional effectiveness of our national assets. Not within your purview but another "slam dunk" has been the James Webb telescope. These outstanding outcomes make me proud to be American.

[randys]

The DC1 who taught me most everything I knew about fire fighting and damage control as a new HT3, was a major player is saving the Samual Roberts. Great guy.