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.

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