Passport

Reality TV: pirate edition

 Ever wish you could watch a reality TV show about something as cool as, say, catching pirates? Wish granted. Spike TV is set to join the U.S. Navy on the high seas in coming months, with two camera crew tagging along to the U.S. fleet on its patrol of the 1.1 million square miles of ...

By , International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Colombia.
586749_090415_navy2.jpg
586749_090415_navy2.jpg
INDIAN OCEAN - APRIL 13: In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, a team from the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer tows the lifeboat from the Maersk Alabama to the Boxer to be processed for evidence after the successful rescue of Capt. Robert Phillips April 13, 2009 in the Indian Ocean. Phillips was held hostage by suspected Somali pirates in the lifeboat for five days after a failed hijacking attempt off the Somali coast. Three of the pirates were killed and one captured in the firefight that freed Philips. (Photo by Jon Rasmussen/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

 Ever wish you could watch a reality TV show about something as cool as, say, catching pirates?

 Ever wish you could watch a reality TV show about something as cool as, say, catching pirates?

Wish granted. Spike TV is set to join the U.S. Navy on the high seas in coming months, with two camera crew tagging along to the U.S. fleet on its patrol of the 1.1 million square miles of pirate-infested ocean. Expect footage for the show by September. 

What does the Navy get out of the deal — aside from prime time exposure? Recruiting, of course!

If chasing pirates doesn’t get you to enlist, I’m not sure what would.

Jon Rasmussen/U.S. Navy via Getty Images

Elizabeth Dickinson is International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Colombia.

Tag: Drugs & Crime

latest

How to Get Chinese Elites to Support Democracy

South African History From Above

Why Did Trudeau Dawdle on Chinese Election Meddling?

Who’s Afraid of Europe’s Big, Bad Wolves?

U.S., Ukraine Sign Joint Weapons Production Deal
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    No, the World Is Not Multipolar
  2. 2
    Why Did Trudeau Dawdle on Chinese Election Meddling?
  3. 3
    The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky
  4. 4
    Chinese Spies Are Targeting Access, Not Race
  5. 5
    How to Get Chinese Elites to Support Democracy

More from Foreign Policy

An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.

A New Multilateralism

How the United States can rejuvenate the global institutions it created.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.

The Endless Frustration of Chinese Diplomacy

Beijing’s representatives are always scared they could be the next to vanish.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.

The End of America’s Middle East

The region’s four major countries have all forfeited Washington’s trust.

Trending

  1. The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky
    Argument
    Stephen M. Walt

  2. Why Did Trudeau Dawdle on Chinese Election Meddling?
    Report
    Justin Ling

  3. No, the World Is Not Multipolar
    Essay
    Jo Inge Bekkevold

  4. Chinese Spies Are Targeting Access, Not Race
    Argument
    Horatio Smith

  5. How to Get Chinese Elites to Support Democracy
    Excerpt
    Yasheng Huang