Hundreds of service members earned an award for seizing two million pounds of “explosive precursor material” in the Gulf of Oman last year, according to a citation obtained by Military.com. It is one of the U.S. military’s largest publicly revealed hauls as it works to stifle arms smuggling in the region.
Between late August and early September, Marines and sailors with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, along with Coast Guardsmen assigned to Patrol Forces Southwest Asia, intercepted a “stateless vessel” suspected of carrying the explosive material, offloaded its haul, and escorted the vessel to a naval base in Bahrain.
Marines and sailors with the 26th MEU — a “special operations capable” unit — provided security for the Coast Guard unit as it interdicted the vessel and offloaded its cargo, according to the citation. The award, the Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation, was signed off on by the service’s commandant, Adm. Linda L. Fagan.
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“This interservice team consisted of Coast Guard underway officers of the deck and engineers of the watch, combined with a security detachment made up from the 26th MEU,” said the citation, provided to Military.com by the MEU. “Together, they executed a 17-hour, high-tension nighttime transit through the Strait of Hormuz.”
The citation said that the service members transported the vessel, using a Coast Guard-led “prize team,” 530 nautical…
