Thread: October 3, 1993

a burning reminder of the folly of White House military micromanagement. something the dems revel in doing which adds to their dismal approval among the military.

Originally Posted by daddio

a burning reminder of the folly of White House military micromanagement. something the dems revel in doing which adds to their dismal approval among the military.

Yeah, let's not piss on the graves of those guys by turning it into a partisan blabfest.............let's just blame Clinton....

Originally Posted by goober

Yeah, let's not piss on the graves of those guys by turning it into a partisan blabfest.............let's just blame Clinton....

and LBJ, Carter and Obama.

Originally Posted by MattInFla

The Battle of Mogadishu took place 18 years ago today.

During the battle, 18 American service members were killed and 73 wounded.

And far too many Americans have completely forgotten about it.

Thanks for bringing this up, Matt. I hate to say, but it did completely slipped my mind.

RIP to all the lives lost.

Originally Posted by MattInFla

The Battle of Mogadishu took place 18 years ago today.

During the battle, 18 American service members were killed and 73 wounded.

And far too many Americans have completely forgotten about it.

For those unfamiliar there is both a book and movie "Black Hawk Down" if anyone wishes to familiarize themselves with the units involved.

Originally Posted by michael h

For those unfamiliar there is both a book and movie "Black Hawk Down" if anyone wishes to familiarize themselves with the units involved.

that's a hard movie to watch but well done.

Originally Posted by daddio

that's a hard movie to watch but well done.

I never read the book ... but thought the movie was well done. I've enjoyed a few rides in the blackhawk as an aside ... quite the machine.

Originally Posted by michael h

For those unfamiliar there is both a book and movie "Black Hawk Down" if anyone wishes to familiarize themselves with the units involved.

Bowden did an excellent job with the book, and the movie follows it fairly well.

Another really good book on the battle is In the Company of Heroes by Mike Durant (the helicopter pilot who was taken prisoner by Adid's clan). What he went through is pretty horrific.

Originally Posted by MattInFla

Bowden did an excellent job with the book, and the movie follows it fairly well.

Another really good book on the battle is In the Company of Heroes by Mike Durant (the helicopter pilot who was taken prisoner by Adid's clan). What he went through is pretty horrific.

I've always preferred books over the movies but gotten lazy with my reading the last ten years or so. I haven't read in the company of hero's but Ill keep it in mind.

And let's thank the Malaysians, who saved many more American lives by coming to their rescue and getting them out of harm's way.

Two members of 1st SOF-D were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions defending the site where Warrant Officer Mike Durant's UH-60 crashed.

Master Sergeant Gordon, United States Army, distinguished himself by actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as Sniper Team Leader, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Master Sergeant Gordon's sniper team provided precision fires from the lead helicopter during an assault and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fires. When Master Sergeant Gordon learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the second crash site, he and another sniper unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After his third request to be inserted, Master Sergeant Gordon received permission to perform his volunteer mission. When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Master Sergeant Gordon was inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon and his fellow sniper, while under intense small arms fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members.

Master Sergeant Gordon immediately pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Master Sergeant Gordon used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers until he depleted his ammunition. Master Sergeant Gordon then went back to the wreckage, recovering some of the crew's weapons and ammunition. Despite the fact that he was critically low on ammunition, he provided some of it to the dazed pilot and then radioed for help. Master Sergeant Gordon continued to travel the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. After his team member was fatally wounded and his own rifle ammunition exhausted, Master Sergeant Gordon returned to the wreckage, recovering a rifle with the last five rounds of ammunition and gave it to the pilot with the words, "good luck." Then, armed only with his pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon continued to fight until he was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot's life.

Master Sergeant Gordon's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army.

*SHUGHART, RANDALL D.


Sergeant First Class Shughart, United States Army, distinguished himself by actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as a Sniper Team Member, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Sergeant First Class Shughart provided precision sniper fires from the lead helicopter during an assault on a building and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fires. While providing critical suppressive fires at the second crash site, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the site. Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After their third request to be inserted, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader received permission to perform this volunteer mission. When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader were inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader, while under intense small arms fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members.

Sergeant First Class Shughart pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Sergeant First Class Shughart used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers while traveling the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. Sergeant First Class Shughart continued his protective fire until he depleted his ammunition and was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot's life.

Sergeant First Class Shughart's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army.

http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/somalia.html

While there are those who refer to these two men - and every other member of our armed services - as "Pampered Losers", I myself am amazed by the courage and determination these men displayed that day. Their absolute devotion to their fellow service member was truly heroic, and they saved his life at the cost of their own.

Originally Posted by goober

And let's thank the Malaysians, who saved many more American lives by coming to their rescue and getting them out of harm's way.

Had they been given sufficient forces to begin with, they wouldn't have needed saving.

Bowden's book is amazing at giving you a feel for what it must have been like, and just how screwed up the situation is for our military ... i.e. yesterdays enemies are tomorrow's allies, visa-versa, and how children and women are used in the front ranks of our enemies.

Also, his book is one of the first and only books to discuss anything about Delta force afaik.

The movie wasn't bad, but you simply can't pack the information contained in the book into a 2 hour movie.

RIP to those brave guys and many before and since who got put in a shitty situation by our government.