First Person Shooter
April 30, 2010 2:40 PM Subscribe
Dutch Marines capture Somali pirates with all the action caught by the team leader's helmet videocamera.
The field of view is all screwed up. How many grenades do I have?
Jaggies.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 2:49 PM on April 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
Jaggies.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 2:49 PM on April 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
oh hey, I know that map from Call of Duty.
Funny, the first thing I thought of was GTA: San Andreas.
posted by shakespeherian at 2:50 PM on April 30, 2010
Funny, the first thing I thought of was GTA: San Andreas.
posted by shakespeherian at 2:50 PM on April 30, 2010
oh hey, I know that map from Call of Duty.
Me three. I kept looking around for the intel left behind by the terrorists.
posted by lampshade at 2:52 PM on April 30, 2010
Me three. I kept looking around for the intel left behind by the terrorists.
posted by lampshade at 2:52 PM on April 30, 2010
Gorman: Drake, check your camera. There seems to be a malfunction.
[Drake smacks the camera against a nearby support. The picture clears]
Gorman: That's better.
posted by mark242 at 3:11 PM on April 30, 2010 [5 favorites]
[Drake smacks the camera against a nearby support. The picture clears]
Gorman: That's better.
posted by mark242 at 3:11 PM on April 30, 2010 [5 favorites]
Dukea nukeman
posted by pianomover at 3:19 PM on April 30, 2010
posted by pianomover at 3:19 PM on April 30, 2010
Those pirates lack a sense of style.
posted by longsleeves at 3:24 PM on April 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by longsleeves at 3:24 PM on April 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
I was just glad that despite the initial footage from the landing, it wasn't another crate level.
posted by Spatch at 4:02 PM on April 30, 2010
posted by Spatch at 4:02 PM on April 30, 2010
although it does rate a 1:06 on the Start-to-Crate scale.
posted by shmegegge at 4:08 PM on April 30, 2010 [5 favorites]
posted by shmegegge at 4:08 PM on April 30, 2010 [5 favorites]
I read that the crew of the ship went to a safe room and called for help from there. Then I went and Googled up safe rooms on ships and was fascinated for a bit.
posted by circular at 4:12 PM on April 30, 2010
posted by circular at 4:12 PM on April 30, 2010
I dunno. Frame rate seemed kinda low, mission design was really linear, sound and lighting effects were terrible. Unless the multiplayer is something else, I'd only give it a 6 / 10.
posted by TBAcceptor at 4:24 PM on April 30, 2010
posted by TBAcceptor at 4:24 PM on April 30, 2010
Spoken Dutch sounds just close enough to English to be almost, but not quite comprehensible. It feels like I've had a stroke and lost the ability to understand speech.
posted by letourneau at 4:42 PM on April 30, 2010 [10 favorites]
posted by letourneau at 4:42 PM on April 30, 2010 [10 favorites]
It seems like this kind of mission must be particularly nerve-wracking (although being shot at is obviously unpleasant no matter what)- the nooks and crannies on any ship are considerable, and when you add all the alleys created by the containers on top of that, it seems as though bad guys could come popping out of almost any of those closed doors. Amazing that they pulled this off without anyone getting killed.
posted by jenkinsEar at 5:01 PM on April 30, 2010
posted by jenkinsEar at 5:01 PM on April 30, 2010
senseless propaganda
posted by Substrata at 5:03 PM on April 30, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Substrata at 5:03 PM on April 30, 2010 [2 favorites]
@letourneau I speak fluent Dutch, and it sounded to *me* like they were speaking English for a while there. FWIW, the commentator was just as boring as he sounds like he is.
posted by digitalprimate at 5:14 PM on April 30, 2010
posted by digitalprimate at 5:14 PM on April 30, 2010
letourneau: "Spoken Dutch sounds just close enough to English to be almost, but not quite comprehensible. It feels like I've had a stroke and lost the ability to understand speech."
What digitalprimate said. I've heard that before, and although I can sort of imagine how that would work I can't really judge that because Dutch is my mother tongue. But having said that, note that the audio is absolutely littered with English military jargon (as might be expected). Spoken with a Dutch accent in the context of spoken Dutch sentences, I can imagine how frustrating it must be to an Anglophone to just *quite* not understand what's being said.
Although I must note that the audio is not remotely interesting enough in my mind to translate even in part: it's just what you'd expect, a play-by-play of the proceedings to illustrate what is essentially an NL Ministry of Defence promo video. On which note:
Substrata: "senseless propaganda"
Propoganda, or... prop-gay-ganda?
*tongue very firmly in cheek, mind you*
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:30 PM on April 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
What digitalprimate said. I've heard that before, and although I can sort of imagine how that would work I can't really judge that because Dutch is my mother tongue. But having said that, note that the audio is absolutely littered with English military jargon (as might be expected). Spoken with a Dutch accent in the context of spoken Dutch sentences, I can imagine how frustrating it must be to an Anglophone to just *quite* not understand what's being said.
Although I must note that the audio is not remotely interesting enough in my mind to translate even in part: it's just what you'd expect, a play-by-play of the proceedings to illustrate what is essentially an NL Ministry of Defence promo video. On which note:
Substrata: "senseless propaganda"
Propoganda, or... prop-gay-ganda?
*tongue very firmly in cheek, mind you*
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:30 PM on April 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
propoganda = propaganda, gay or straight
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:30 PM on April 30, 2010
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:30 PM on April 30, 2010
I thought the part where the Dutch commandos stopped for hot chocolate and smoked a doobie was really very special and moving. I felt like I finally understood their motivation and their goal more clearly, and I guess you could say I really felt like I was rooting for them after that point....
posted by Skygazer at 5:58 PM on April 30, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Skygazer at 5:58 PM on April 30, 2010 [2 favorites]
Wow. Those guys were good. They didn't have to pick up any health or ammo packs. OTOH they didn't get the big armor booster.
posted by Splunge at 6:08 PM on April 30, 2010
posted by Splunge at 6:08 PM on April 30, 2010
Interesting video. It reminded me of this level from Goldeneye.
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 6:27 PM on April 30, 2010
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 6:27 PM on April 30, 2010
"... when one hears Dutch, one feels one ought to be able to understand it."
~ Bill Bryson
posted by bwg at 6:28 PM on April 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
~ Bill Bryson
posted by bwg at 6:28 PM on April 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
But wait, I though the Dutch were ineffective because of all the gays in the their military?
posted by rodgerd at 7:25 PM on April 30, 2010
posted by rodgerd at 7:25 PM on April 30, 2010
What did they do at the start of the video after being lowered onto the ship? Seemed like the guy with the camera shoots quite a few rounds, but there's nothing to be seen that seems inherently shootable. Warning shots?
posted by ymgve at 9:14 PM on April 30, 2010
posted by ymgve at 9:14 PM on April 30, 2010
Following circular's comment I also did some Googling. One way to deal with pirates is to have the crew retreat to an armored panic room from which they can disable the ship and call for help. They also broadcast a message over loudspeakers to the pirates telling them (in their own language) that help is on the way. Without a navigable ship or hostages, and under pressure to make a quick decision, the pirates have considerable incentive to leave quickly.
But I imagine that after all the risk of boarding the ship, the pirates probably figure they have a little bit of time before help comes, so it's worth looking around for a hostage or some other valuable. Perhaps in this case the help came quicker than they expected. The early shots probably were warning shots; a way of telling the pirates that the game was over. They did surrender rather quickly.
posted by twoleftfeet at 10:35 PM on April 30, 2010
But I imagine that after all the risk of boarding the ship, the pirates probably figure they have a little bit of time before help comes, so it's worth looking around for a hostage or some other valuable. Perhaps in this case the help came quicker than they expected. The early shots probably were warning shots; a way of telling the pirates that the game was over. They did surrender rather quickly.
posted by twoleftfeet at 10:35 PM on April 30, 2010
Needs a [via reddit] - like so many mefi posts these days
posted by the noob at 2:39 AM on May 1, 2010
posted by the noob at 2:39 AM on May 1, 2010
ymgve, they carefully shoot each of the windows on the bridge. You can see the result later in the video -- the bridge windows, made of safety glass, are all shattered and hence opaque. The bridge would otherwise be much more advantageous location for the pirates.
posted by HarshLanguage at 2:54 AM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by HarshLanguage at 2:54 AM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
they carefully shoot each of the windows on the bridge.
Well, the guy with helmet cam must be an awful shot, because I don't see those windows anywhere while he's shooting.
posted by twoleftfeet at 3:47 AM on May 1, 2010
Well, the guy with helmet cam must be an awful shot, because I don't see those windows anywhere while he's shooting.
posted by twoleftfeet at 3:47 AM on May 1, 2010
Needs a [via reddit] - like so many mefi posts these days
REDDIT PIRATES HAVE CLIMBED ABOARD! ABANDON SHIP!
posted by twoleftfeet at 4:00 AM on May 1, 2010
REDDIT PIRATES HAVE CLIMBED ABOARD! ABANDON SHIP!
posted by twoleftfeet at 4:00 AM on May 1, 2010
Spoken Dutch sounds just close enough to English to be almost, but not quite comprehensible.
I came in just to repeat what everyone else said. It's amazing how close it is: some words you can definitely make out easily. Motorvessel typin, helicopter, upper-deck, containers, the nam ovf tha boot, teem members.
I find it pleasing to note that the language the Dutch police used with the Somali pirates was English. Truly, the universal language of both scum and hero.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:42 AM on May 1, 2010
I came in just to repeat what everyone else said. It's amazing how close it is: some words you can definitely make out easily. Motorvessel typin, helicopter, upper-deck, containers, the nam ovf tha boot, teem members.
I find it pleasing to note that the language the Dutch police used with the Somali pirates was English. Truly, the universal language of both scum and hero.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:42 AM on May 1, 2010
The bridge windows were pretty shot up by the time they got there, I imagine a combination of "We will fuck with you" and keeping fire off the helicopter while everyone was getting lowered.
posted by mendel at 8:42 AM on May 1, 2010
posted by mendel at 8:42 AM on May 1, 2010
The deal with the shooting puzzled me for a minute, too, but looking at the video the second time the reason for it became pretty clear: you'll notice that when they drop onto the containers, there are only two vantage points from which they can be shot at - the tops of the other containers (which the door gunner on the helicopter is perfectly positioned to deal with), and the bridge windows.
No other locations have line-of-sight to their drop zone, and since the door gunner on the helicopter is probably a) focused on the deck/container tops, and b) probably doesn't have much visibility into what's going on behind the bridge windows at that point, it's up to the soldiers who do have a good angle into the bridge to use suppressive fire on it.
Once everybody's roped down, *then* they start worrying about things like what's in the corridors directly below their drop zone, etc.
posted by Ryvar at 10:11 AM on May 1, 2010
No other locations have line-of-sight to their drop zone, and since the door gunner on the helicopter is probably a) focused on the deck/container tops, and b) probably doesn't have much visibility into what's going on behind the bridge windows at that point, it's up to the soldiers who do have a good angle into the bridge to use suppressive fire on it.
Once everybody's roped down, *then* they start worrying about things like what's in the corridors directly below their drop zone, etc.
posted by Ryvar at 10:11 AM on May 1, 2010
As the guy explains in the video, that was all covering fire to get the pirates to take cover while they landed on the containers. That's also what the guys who have already landed are doing. It seems likely they never aimed at any pirate in particular, just suppressive fire.
I like how the helicopter lands them exactly behind the tallest stack of containers.
posted by Harry at 10:19 AM on May 1, 2010
I like how the helicopter lands them exactly behind the tallest stack of containers.
posted by Harry at 10:19 AM on May 1, 2010
Needs a [via reddit] - like so many mefi posts these days
Well, I didn't get this via Reddit - and don't even read Reddit - so there. :P
posted by darkstar at 10:41 AM on May 1, 2010
Well, I didn't get this via Reddit - and don't even read Reddit - so there. :P
posted by darkstar at 10:41 AM on May 1, 2010
Fox News has an article with a little bit more information including the following quote which I thought was interesting:
Col. Lodder said he decided to seek permission from his own command for an "opposed boarding"—one in which pirates may resist—rather than act under procedures laid down by Brussels.
"We just told my force commander we would operate under national command until after the boarding," he added. "We kept everyone in the EU informed of everything we did."
Cmdr. John Harbour, U.K.-based spokesman for the European Union Naval Force Somalia said the Dutch action avoided a delay and was legitimate. "For speed of reaction, if you're on the spot ... [and] dispatched at haste to react to something immediately, the best thing to do is to go under national command," he said.
The message I got from that was that the EU's command structure is preventing them from actually accomplishing anything and that everybody knows this and in this case were able to work around it. That doesn't bode well for the EU's military capability and I would argue its long term durability.
posted by Horatius at 10:18 PM on May 1, 2010
Col. Lodder said he decided to seek permission from his own command for an "opposed boarding"—one in which pirates may resist—rather than act under procedures laid down by Brussels.
"We just told my force commander we would operate under national command until after the boarding," he added. "We kept everyone in the EU informed of everything we did."
Cmdr. John Harbour, U.K.-based spokesman for the European Union Naval Force Somalia said the Dutch action avoided a delay and was legitimate. "For speed of reaction, if you're on the spot ... [and] dispatched at haste to react to something immediately, the best thing to do is to go under national command," he said.
The message I got from that was that the EU's command structure is preventing them from actually accomplishing anything and that everybody knows this and in this case were able to work around it. That doesn't bode well for the EU's military capability and I would argue its long term durability.
posted by Horatius at 10:18 PM on May 1, 2010
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posted by shmegegge at 2:44 PM on April 30, 2010 [4 favorites]