Anyone know anything abou the Riverines?

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Permalink Reply by Hoppi aka Angie on December 8, 2009 at 12:41pm

FYI, your young Sailor has to finish his tour at his current command before he can even think about getting orders to the Riverines. He has to ask to go there and there has to be an opening.

Just wait, sounds like he has a while before he can even try to do taht.

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Permalink Reply by timmyg on December 8, 2009 at 12:46pm

Hi. Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. He just got his orders. He's very excited but doesn't know what to expect in training so he asked me to ask around.

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Permalink Reply by Anti M on December 8, 2009 at 1:32pm

I looked into them a little a couple years ago as my friend was supposed to go. Didn't for medical reasons. They are the Brown Water Navy... so called because shallow water is brown, not deep blue. Yes, there are units in Iraq, but they guard US ports too, and seaways near American Naval bases. I do know some are assigned to guard or monitor oil rig platforms.

I hope that helps... I know there's not much info out there.

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Permalink Reply by timmyg on December 8, 2009 at 1:37pm

Anything helps and I appreciate the time all of you take to answer my questions :o)

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Permalink Reply by RivRon Mom on December 10, 2009 at 9:57pm

My son is a Riverine. He's RivRon2.... so the second of 3 Units that were initially formed. They basically are what the Swift Boat guys in VietNam were - patrolling the Rivers on what basically amount to Armored speedboats. If you look it up online there are probably pictures. There are 4 or 5 on each boat - 2 big machine guns up front, one in back and the coxswain (driver) - also a medic on some boats. After VietNam the job of patrolling the Rivers was given back to the Marines --- and just a few years ago was passed back to the Navy --- but really seems to be a joint operation.

they've been teaching the Iraqi soldiers to patrol their own river, they also insert the seals for special ops - a very elite group. They not only have Navy training but also some Marine Training, and are the only group in the military with dual classification - Navy and Marine.

My son just got back from his 2nd tour. They don't see a LOT of action because the bad guys are (and should be) afraid of the big guns. (They fire about 300 rounds a second). However when they're on land or on a base, they can get fired on just like anyone else.

What the guys seem to like about it is NOT having to be on a ship full time - and what young man doesn't like to ride on or drive a speed boat on the river?

He will re-up in January for another 4 years and other than being stationed for right now in Virginia (which he hates --- we're west coasters) he seems to like it fine.

Hope that helps! Take care....

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Permalink Reply by Hoppi aka Angie on December 8, 2009 at 8:12pm

Does your son have phyiscal orders to the Riverines? Or is he just saying he wants to go to them? What rate is he?

Also you might want to remove your last name from your page.

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Permalink Reply by Sallie4UT on December 11, 2009 at 2:29pm

My son joined the Riverinres when Squadron One was established on May 26, 2006. He has had two tours in Iraq since then. The Riverines are a highly trained unit and a great group of guys. They only operate in the rivers, not on the coast. They DO NOT guard oil rigs, or guard ports. That is a different unit.

The Riverines are a combat unit and that there are always risks associated with that. I can say that the training the guys receive is the best available. They operate as a team and have yet to lose a man. RivRon Mom's comments (below) give a good overview.

As for the training, tell your son to start a very serious PT program. He should think SEALS, not Fleet when he plans his program. I wish him the best of luck. You should be very proud that he has been selected for this elite group.

I hope this helps.

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Permalink Reply by Sallie4UT on December 11, 2009 at 2:41pm

My son joined the Riverinres when Squadron One was established on May 26, 2006. He has had two tours in Iraq since then. The Riverines are a highly trained unit and a great group of guys. They only operate in the rivers, not on the coast. They DO NOT guard oil rigs, or guard ports. That is a different unit.

The Riverines are a combat unit and that there are always risks associated with that. I can say that the training the guys receive is the best available. They operate as a team and have yet to lose a man. RivRon Mom's comments (below) give a good overview.

As for the training, tell your son to start a very serious PT program. He should think SEALS, not Fleet when he plans his program. I wish him the best of luck. You should be very proud that he has been selected for this elite group.

I hope this helps.

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Permalink Reply by RivRon Mom on December 12, 2009 at 3:26pm

I would agree with this as well.... I'm remembering they run @ 5 miles a day MINIMUM - rain - heat - doesn't matter.

Also - there's not much out there on them because they are pretty secretive. Not allowed to tell us where they are stationed while overseas or what they are doing until they get home. HOWEVER - if you do a google alert on Riverines, Navy, etc..... you'll get various articles emailed to you about the group as they go up (and some older ones) that will give you more info.

I was truly terrified when Mike told me he'd joined them - As a mom, my feelings about the navy was "well, at least he'll be at sea and not over there where all the IED's are." right? But when he chose the Riverines, it scared me to death. We want to be able to protect them, when the truth is, they are much more capable of protecting us at this point. And as the others say - they are VERY well trained - similar to SEALS - and are a very tight group. Their Medics are the best in the Navy and, as I said before, so far - the bad guys know well enough to not engage them directly.

After two tours - though no mother is happy about her son being 'away at war'..... I feel much better about my son's overall safety than if he were, say, Driving a Tank? Even our other son who is AirForce and drove a truck for 3 tours in Iraq was shot at a LOT more than my Mike has ever been. He'll be home for the first time since his second tour tonight for the holidays and I'll get more info from him then and pass along what I can.

Breathe..............

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Permalink Reply by timmyg on December 12, 2009 at 6:01pm

Thank you so much! Thank you all! I am so grateful to you for all the info. My son actually asked me to get this info for him b/c he starts training in August and doesn't know what to expect and since he's on a ship, he has very limiited access to info. so thanks and keep it comin!!! I love ya all for it.

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Permalink Reply by Kim - Josh's Mom on December 20, 2009 at 9:08pm

Hi there, just wanted to mention my son Josh just graduated from Riverine school at Camp LeJeune and was transferred from Riv II to Riv I. He loves it so much! They've decided he will be driving the boats so he is so excited. I guess he'll be meeting up with your son when he head back from Christmas break.

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Permalink Reply by judy on December 12, 2009 at 2:37pm

My son retired from the swcc (special warfare combatant crewman) four yrs ago..He has seen duty all over from the carribean to Bahrain...His job was to pilot a MarkV and to insert and extract SEALS and patrol rivers and other waters as needed by the Navy...They have to be as tough and ready as a SEAL. He needs to be able to fire his weapons, swim and dive from anywhere..after 17 yrs of this duty when you ask my son his biggest accomplishment his answer is every man I took in I brought home...These guys are tough as SEALS and have a close bond...yes there are only 5-6 men on the boat but they are as close as any Seal team...they are the Best of the Navy..

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