At today's press conference, I was able to ask Eric Massa a couple of questions about piracy on the high seas. Massa service in the Navy included time on two different ships that were tasked with anti-piracy duties.
First, on the subject of the recent anti-piracy actions off the coast of Somalia, Massa said that he was "very appreciative of President Obama's leadership in the matter". Though he didn't want to be an "armchair admiral", he thought that Obama was right to allow the military to do their job, and that the service members on the scene exhibited professionalism. He said that he has "ultimate faith" in the armed services.
I asked Massa if he thought that the Navy had the resources to target the anti-piracy mission. He said that anti-piracy is a core Navy mission, and had been since Thomas Jefferson dispatched the Navy to deal with the Barbary Pirates.
I also asked if, in his role on the House Armed Services Committee, there was something more that he thought could be done to help the Navy deal with piracy. Massa mentioned that he will soon be taking an indoctrination ride on the USS Freedom, a Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a small (378 foot), fast (50 MPH) ship designed for shallow water operations. Massa said it was an "amazing piece of technology" that can address the anti-piracy mission, "if we can get the costs under control". LCS procurement has been dogged with cost-overruns and other related issues, as described in this New York Times article.