(Editor’s note:  I posted this mostly out of nostalgia — Special Boat Squadron 2, which became Riverine Squadron 2, was my last tour of duty in the Navy.)

Riverines Stand Ready to Roll on Iraq’s Waterways

By Navy 1st Lt. Chris Dunphy

Special to American Forces Press Service

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, Sept. 22, 2009 – The Navy’s Riverine Squadron 2, a Vietnam-era security patrol brought back after 9/11, is securing Iraq’s waterways here and giving its sailors unique opportunities.

“The training we receive is unlike anything else we do in the Navy,” Navy Cmdr. Ty Britt said. “It’s physically demanding as well as mentally challenging, requiring us to learn small unit tactics and apply them on the water.”

Britt, of Mississippi, commands Riverine Squadron 2 under 17th Fires Brigade tactical control. Known as the “brown-water” Navy because of its association with coastal waters, the squadron has three detachments based in Multinational Division South.

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Harold M. Crockett, assistant public affairs officer for the squadron’s headquarters and one-time squadron bow gunner, is based here where detachments 2 and 3 are responsible for patrolling the inland waterways of Basra province, to include the Shatt al Arab and Qarmat Ali rivers.

via DefenseLink News Article: Riverines Stand Ready to Roll on Iraq’s Waterways .