Night Approach to the Pier
At 0210 you are the petty officer of the watch at a pier inside a naval station. A small unlit motor banca approaches the restricted pier at about 8 knots, heading directly toward two moored patrol boats. Visibility is good and the pier is lit. A red restricted-area buoy marks the limit 40 meters out. Your standing orders are to challenge at 60 meters, illuminate, warn, and report to the officer of the deck; do not fire warning shots without OOD approval; deadly force only to prevent an imminent threat to life. The banca does not respond to two challenges and passes the buoy at 35 meters. You have a duty rifle, a handheld radio, and a searchlight. The OOD is at the quarterdeck 80 meters away. A seaman asks, “Should I fire a warning shot?” You must decide and act.
1. List your actions in priority order from first detection to the banca reaching 35 meters, and explain the principle behind that order.
Read the worked answer
Priority order:
- Report the contact to the OOD immediately with location, course, speed, and description. The OOD needs the picture early, not after the situation develops.
- Illuminate the banca with the searchlight and keep it in the beam.
- Challenge and warn clearly: identify the restricted area and order the boat to stop or turn away.
- Alert the ready reaction force or nearby watch standers without leaving the post.
- Continue tracking and reporting as the banca passes the buoy at 35 meters.
- Do not fire a warning shot unless the OOD authorizes it and an imminent threat exists.
The principle is graduated response: observe, report, warn, and escalate only as the threat requires. The use of force must be necessary, proportional, and within standing orders. Reporting first preserves the OOD's ability to decide and keeps the sailor from acting unilaterally.
2. Decide whether to authorize a warning shot. Justify your decision using the standing orders and a threat assessment.
Read the worked answer
I would not authorize a warning shot at this point. The standing orders require OOD approval for warning shots, and the OOD has not given it. More importantly, the threat assessment does not support deadly force: no weapon has been seen, no hostile act has occurred, and the banca's intent is unknown. It may be a lost fisherman, a mechanical problem, or a trespass-not necessarily an attack.
A warning shot carries real risks: ricochet, injury to occupants, damage to nearby boats, and escalation of a situation that might still be resolved by warning and presence. Deadly force is authorized only to prevent an imminent threat to life. The correct response is to continue illumination, warnings, and reporting; prepare non-lethal or defensive measures; and request the OOD's instruction. If a weapon appears or the boat clearly intends to ram or attack, the assessment changes and the OOD must be informed immediately.
3. Explain how you would report the incident to the OOD, including what information matters.
Read the worked answer
I would use a concise, structured report: “OOD, Pier Watch: unlit banca, approaching from seaward, now 35 meters, course directly toward the two moored patrol boats, speed about 8 knots. Passed the restricted buoy. Two challenges and searchlight warnings, no response. No weapons seen. Request instructions.”
The information that matters is: what the contact is, where it is relative to the buoy and boats, course and speed, what warnings were given and how it responded, whether any weapon or hostile act is observed, and what decision is needed. I would then log the time, the report, the OOD's instructions, and subsequent observations. The report should be factual and brief; speculation about intent belongs after the facts are passed.