On July 14th, in The pier to nowhere is going away, I wrote:

When what’s left of the pier is finally removed and probably, scrapped, we can be certain, just as with the withdrawal debacle in Afghanistan, the MMPA will declare it a brilliant success and an example of the military acumen and inspired leadership of Joe Biden. Interestingly, at his recent NATO conference, Biden sort of allowed the pier wasn't as successful as it could have been.  And like that disaster, we’ll never know the true financial and human cost.

The horror of it is Israel has ports that could have been used far more safely to offload supplies, but then the MMPA couldn’t brag about their stunningly successful relief efforts. As always, our troops suffer to enable feckless political stunts, but at least Joe got his photo ops.

Graphic: X Screenshot

Since then, the media, and the Harris/Biden Administration--Joe Biden, vanishing POTUS—have ignored the unfolding debacle. The pier, badly damaged and sort of repaired, supposedly has been dismantled, and multiple US Army(?) ships are in little better shape. Earlier reports indicated those ships had substantial difficulty, so poor was their mechanical condition, even getting to the Middle East. Now it appears they’re no longer able to return to America under their own power. 

Roughly seven months after setting sail for the US military’s troubled temporary pier mission off the Gaza coast, three US Army boats are expected to have to be hauled back to the US by contracted civilian vessels behind schedule, raising more concern about the state of the Army watercraft at the center of a major effort to bring humanitarian aid into war-torn Gaza.

“[C]oordination is underway for the [landing craft utility ships] to be transported back on contracted Float-On/Float-Off vessels with an expected ETA of late-October,” Col. Mary Ricks, the spokesperson for the Army’s 18th Airborne Corps, told CNN on Wednesday. The military has not yet locked in a contract for that job, she added.

That means the Army will have to find one or more ships designed to be capable of lifting those ships onto their decks and transporting them back to America, at a guesstimated cost of at least $300,000 each. Since this is a government contract, we can be certain it will be more, and the true cost will be hidden. This is a prime example of understatement:

A retired warrant officer who served as a chief engineer on Army watercraft told CNN that the boats being brought home by contracted vessels indicates they likely need significant maintenance.

“The only things that would stop [7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary)] from sailing are mechanical problems or manning,” the retired engineer said. “Unless the whole unit is deploying somewhere, that means these boats are in rough shape.”

 

As I noted in the earlier article, some 1000 US personnel, under daily attack by Hamas, were involved in building the pier, which was quickly torn to shreds by entirely foreseeable sea conditions. The entire public relations exercise was an expensive debacle that did nothing to effectively supply civilians in Gaza. Hamas stole most of the small quantity of supplies fitfully delivered over the pier. It also did not demonstrate American military superiority, reestablish deterrence, or in any way encourage Hamas to end its genocidal intentions, return hostages—most of whom have almost certainly been killed—or sue for peace. Our hapless Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, continues to proclaim a cease fire deal is imminent, while Hamas laughs in his face. All the while, acting President Kamala Harris continues to denigrate Israel and demand an immediate ceasefire on terms favorable to Hamas. 

The Harris/Biden Administration can’t seem to stop trying to recreate their stunning Afghanistan success.

Graphic: X Screenshot

As always, this mess isn’t the fault of our troops, who were ordered to perform a mission with inadequate equipment not up to the task, inadequate support, while under constant enemy fire in a mission where no American boots were supposed to be on the ground. To maintain the humanitarian illusion, they were, at last check, denied combat pay. It’s an entirely appropriate coda to this failed PR exercise that our ships lack the ability to return home under their own power—just as it was finally made plain Joe Biden lacks the ability to do his job. Not that that realization will remove him from the White House one day earlier than January 20, 2025.

The Army’s ships might be back home by then, and probably ready for the scrapyard.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.