Platoon commander: Pirate ‘sh– his pants’ after Marines captured him

September 9th, 2010 | Anti-piracy MEU operations | Posted by Dan Lamothe



The first wave of Marines from 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s maritime raid force approaches the cargo ship Magellan Star on Thursday in the Gulf of Aden. The ships' crew said pirates boarded the vessel. (Photo by MC1 David McKee/U.S. Navy)

Has a new legend been born?
I’m going out on a limb here: Events that have occurred in the last 24 hours in the Gulf of Aden will give drill instructors and recruiters across the Marine Corps a new story to use as motivation in the future.
It’s hard not to believe that when you boil the details of the rescue of the Magellan Star down to the basics. Ready?
1) The ship, a German-owned shipping vessel, reports Wednesday that their ship had been captured about 85 miles off the coast of Yemen.
2) Heavily armed force reconnaissance Marines with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., board the ship early Thursday, backed by a force that included snipers with Pendleton’s 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, and numerous helicopter gunships.
3) Marines take control of the ship without a shot being fired. After being detained, one of the pirates defecates in his pants, according to a Marine captain on board at the time.
In case you missed in the story linked above, I’m not kidding about No. 3. In a conference call with reporters Thursday afternoon, Capt. Alexander Martin, commander of 2nd Platoon, Force Reconnaissance Company, which boarded the ship first, shared that last detail. His quote in the story:
“As soon as the first stack of [Marines] made our way into the bridge, their hands were up, their weapons were down, they moved to their knees and they were compliant,” Martin said. “At that point, they were pretty scared. One guy actually defecated himself. … He sh– his pants. I don’t know if that can go on the news or not, but that actually happened.”
Yes, Capt. Martin, that can go on the news. In fact, considering it could become part of Corps lore, it seems relevant to include, in my estimation.
Reaction to the poopy-pants pirate story was interesting after I Tweeted a few details about it Thursday night. Consider the following…
From MissHedgeHodge: Can’t wait to see the T-Shirt: Marines make pirates crap their pants.
From noonanjo: sure DIs are already preaching it at Paris Island
Oh, give it some time. Say, until today.
Tags: 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Alexander Martin, Force Reconnaissance, Magellan Star, Pirates, Somalia, Yemen