In commeration of the Battle of Mogadishu (3rd Oct 1993)

dRaKe86 SG

I dun believe I forgot, but being an avid military enthusiast (from both World Wars to modern-day), I wld like to take tis opportunity to commerate the 19 American soldiers who perished on the 3rd of October, 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia in Africa. To unenlightened pple, the novel/movie Black Hawk Down will explain what I'm trying to say..

I noe it's outdated since it's already 22nd of October when I posted tis, but try to give ur opinions eh? Basically wad happened tat day was US soldiers from the Rangers & Delta Force (yes u heard me rite.. it's the elite D-boys) were on a mission to capture 2 top lieutenants of a Somalia warlord who had been hoarding food provided by the UN peace-keeping forces helping the starving pple tere.. To put it simply, they were tere to capture 2 bad guyz who make pple starve.

The mission was supposed to last onlie 30 min, but all tat changed when 2 UH-60 (or was it MH-60?) Black Hawk copters were shot down by RPG's (yes, the Africans were tat well-trained or tyco), making the soldiers defend the crash sites for one entire day (16 hours in total).

Issit bravery? Or juz pure redundancy becuz of the US army's mantra to "leave no man behind"? Give ur opinions pple!

Note: This commeration is not created to be biased to the Americans.. Over 1000 Africans (both armed and unarmed) were injured and killed on tat very single day. They are human beings as well. And some of dem were children who were caught in the horrendous firefights tat dae..

Johnston SG

.................................?
I read BHD from cover to cover, and save for remmnants of the Somalian army in various militias, not much of those mobs had any real training.

Here's a very good question.
After all the fire and smoke died down, was the mission a sucess. or not?

dRaKe86 SG

Oh yah, I shld add tat a total of 140 elite US soldiers were involved in the battle. They were carrying extra ammo onlie since they tot the mission onlie 30min. They didn't bring canteens & NVG (nightvision), making dem dreadfully dehydrated & vison-impaired at nite when thousands of rounds were zinging abt dem..

Another interesting pt to discuss is the 2 Delta operators, Randy Shugart & Gary Gordon who were awarded Medal of Honors (to family) after their valiant efforts in defending the 2nd crashed Black Hawk all by demselves along wif the injured pilot, Mike Durant. These 2 guyz r real heroes who died wif multiple bullet wounds & their bodies were PARADED & MUTILATED on CNN pple.. so if u wanna tok abt them, plz do so wif utmost respect. Seeing the movie is one thing.. But realizing tat it DID happen is another.. It was unbelievable how professional tese 2 snipers were.. Randy Shugart used an M-21 (upgraded M-14) and Gary Gordon used a modded CAR-15 tat day.. The body count they made was unknown, though it was believed to be in the dozens. Each bullet which came out of their rifles' ejector ports basically means 1 kill.

SibeiSuayKia SG

Hah, i hate black hawk down..

The truth is much more to the eye then the "movie" itself..

so many things were left out..or should i say..edited..

SBSK ,salutes all brave men who sacrificed their lives for freedom on this fateful day.

And if im correct, there's a SF mission in America's Army which simulates training on the BHD.

dRaKe86 SG

LoL! This post aint tokin abt the movie anywayz.. The movie is WAY too inaccurate at some parts, but nth is perfect eh? Anywayz, in reply to Johnston, I tink US intervention in Somalia at tat time is overrated.. Ok, arresting dem is gd enuf, but harrassing civilians wif the Black Hawks during their occupation is another rite? I dun wanna tink abt it as tose pilots r elite from the 160th SOAR.. Pilots who can fly copters betwee alleyways man..

By my opinion, the mission was a success in terms of objectives.. But as a whole, it's a screw-up.. And a big one at tat..

John Ching SG

At Ft Benning, theres a MOUT site dedicated to MSG Randy Shugart & SFC Gary Gordon. Sad

dRaKe86 SG

Hmm, tat I don’t know.. Thx for the info! I tinik they were the last 2 guyz to have received the Congressional Medal of Honors so far till tis dae.. It’s kinda ironic tat medals like tese are mostly given to their relatives aint it? Well, heroism in war alwayz ends wif death i guess.. Kinda sad though..

palmerised SG

i don't know who it was, either randy or gary but when one of them were younger, he went to a library to borrow a book on the MOH and little did he know that he'd be the next person to receive the MOH post-humously after the vietnam conflict.

palmerised

beavan SG

bravery ends in glory
heroism ends in death

that's what i feel..heros do not exist in real life..brave people are the smart ones who take risks that are worth taking..

palmerised SG

well i guess that view of yours is quite opinionated..

quote from theodore roosevelt..

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy course; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."