Sailors belong on ships and ships belong at sea

Sailors belong on ships and ships belong at sea. It's an old saying and it is definitely true today when on an overseas deployment.

Missile Fired at U.S. Navy Ship in Jordan

My initial reaction was relief when I read the missile missed. After thinking about it, I was angry that we even had a ship in a Jordanian port. In recent years, we have made less port visits than previously and incidents like this are a prime reason. Ships in port are sitting ducks. I can't speak about the geo-political situation on the ground in Jordan. However, the entire region is sufficiently hostile to the United States that I wouldn't recommend a port visit to any predominantly Muslim country no matter how much good will the State Department believes the visit would generate. Remember the Cole didn't need to go to the port of Aden for oil they were sent there to help improve relations.