Originally Posted by The_Dunedan

The problem lies in the fact that they -are- professionals: elite professional soldiers. Head-crackers, ass-kickers, and name-takers. You don't send this kind of person to interdict an unarmed flotilla of hippies. You send the Coast Guard and a few Deputies borrowed from the County Sheriff (or the local equivalent). If heads need breaking, they break 'em with sticks and sap gloves. If somebody gets legitimately life-threatening, they take a .38 to the forehead and take a dirt nap. You send in the likes of these commandos when you want people killed and toys broken and the wreckage deposited on the bottom of the Med without any signal or survivor getting off the boat.