During the Spring of 1988, the U.S. Navy was engaged in Operation Earnest Will, which had as an objective to maintain freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf as Iraq and Iran continued to fight a seemingly endless war. On 14 April 1988, lookouts on the Perry-class frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts spotted three mines ahead in waters northeast of Qatar. Immediately the frigate's skipper, Cdr. Paul Rinn, sent the crew to General Quarters. Unfortunately, in backing down the frigate hit a fourth mine, which blew a 21-foot hole in the port side, cracking the hull, and injuring ten Sailors. The damage control efforts of the crew have become legendary as they welded cable to the hull to keep the ship from breaking in half. Within a few days, allied minesweepers combed the area and found more freshly laid mines. Judging from the markings, Iran was the clear culprit.
In Washington, President Ronald Reagan met with his national security team. Adm. William J. Crowe, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wanted to go after Iranian warships. Reagan instead favored the less militarily confrontational approach of going after Iranian oil platforms that had been used for command and control purposes. However, Crowe did convince the president to allow for "a very good set of rules of engagement" that would permit the Middle East Force commander to engage Iranian warships should they challenge the American operation. Crowe hoped that the notorious Iranian patrol frigate Sabalan, a warship that had mercilessly attacked many merchant ships and massacred numerous unarmed sailors, would be drawn into the fray. The action was code-named Operation Praying Mantis.
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