RoyceKelley

Mrs.Moyer
APLanguageandComposition
16November2013
MistakesofMogadishu
Intheyear1991,civilwarbrokeoutintheAfricancountryofSomalia.Themilitaryleaders
werefightingforcontroloverthegovernment,amongthosewasGeneralMohamedFarrahAidid.Aidid
waspartoftheUnitedSomaliCongresspoliticalparty,andwasoneofthemajorpowersduringthe
SomaliCivilWar.Aididwasrallyingmilitiatooverthrowtheotherforcesintheconflict,andwas
accomplishingthisthroughmeansofstarvingthecountry.AididseizedfoodsuppliesfromtheUnited
Nationsreliefefforts,andkeptitallforhimself,effectivelystarvingthecountry.Withthousandsdead,
theUnitedNationsintervened.PresidentGeorgeH.W.BushbeganOperationRestoreHopein1992,
whichwasamissiontoattempttorestoreorderinthewarshatteredcountry.Withlittlesuccessdueto
Aididsmilitiafiringonandkillingseveralpeacekeepingofficers,PresidentClintonorderedaforceof
UnitedStatesArmyRangersandUnitedStatesDeltaOperativesleadbyMajorGeneralWilliamF.
Garrison,toMogadishu,SomaliaduringAugust,intheyear1993.Severalmissionswerebeen
conductedduringtheoperation,whichwasnamedOperationGothicSerpent,andhadthegoalof
capturingGeneralAidid.
OnOctober3rd,1993,TaskForceRanger(TFR)setoutonamissionintotheBlackSeaarea,
whichwastheheartofAididsmilitia,tocapturetwotieronepersonalities,whoweregoingtobeina
buildinglocatednearthecenterofthedangerzone.Theplanwas,tolandateamofDeltaForce
operativesbyhelicopteratatargetbuildingthatwastobemarkedbyaninformant,andclearthe
buildingandcapturethetargets.TopreventanyoutsidemilitiafrominterferinginDeltaswork,four
chalksofRangerswouldberopedinonBlackHawkhelicopters,tosecureeachroadintothetarget
building.Chalk1wasleadbyCaptainSteele,Chalk2byLieutenantDiTomasso,Chalk3bySergeant
Watson,andChalk4bySergeantEversmann.Afterthetargetsweresecured,aconvoyconsistingof
nineHMMWVsandthreefivetontrucks,ledbyLTCMcKnight,woulddrivein,andloadupthe
prisonersandtheassaultingforces,anddrivebacktobase.Altogether,therewere160men,nineteen
aircraft,andtwelvevehicles.Theestimatedtimeofcompletionwasnolongerthanthirtyminutes.This
however,wasnotthecase,asthebattlelastedfromOctober3rduntilthemorningofOctober4th.
Duringtheraid,atotaloffourhelicopterswerehitbyRPGs,causingmanycasualtiesduringthemission
(Bowden333).ManyunfortunateeventsoccurredintheBattleofMogadishuin1993,butsomeof
themcouldhavebeenavoidedwithamoreprecautionaryplan.
Themissionbegan,andallwasgoingasplanned.DeltaCsquadronwaslandedinfrontofthe
targetbuildingviaMH6Littlebirdhelicopters,andthefourchalksofRangerswerebeingropedinto
thefourstreetcornerstosecureaperimeter.Sgt.EversmannsChalk4wasropinginoffofthe
helicopterattheNorthwestcorner.Chalkfourhadanewrecruitthatday,PFCBlackburn,whohadno
combatexperience.AsBlackburnreachedfortherope,hemissedduetohislowexperience,andfell
70feettothestreetbelow.ThiswasthefirstofseveralmistakesthatoccurredduringtheBattleof
Mogadishuin1993.
PFCBlackburnwasareplacementsoldier,thatwasfreshintothemilitarystraightfromhigh
school,whohadnotyetevenbeentoRangerschool(Bowden4).Blackburnhadlittletonomilitary
experience,andfacedchallengesthatevenSergentEversmannhadnotfacedbefore.Astheywere
hoveringoverthelandingzone,theydroppedtheropes,andEversmannrealizedthatitwasamuch
largerdropthanhehadrealized,about70feet.Thiswasmuchgreaterthantheyhadeverdonein
training(Bowden16).Duetothis,itcanbedeterminedthatthereasonwhyBlackburnslippedoffofthe
ropeandfell70feettothegroundandsustainedsevereinjuries,washislackofcombatexperience.
TheeventofBlackburnfallingcausedLTCMcKnightshumveecolumntobesplitup,inorderto
extractBlackburnandtakehimbacktobase.Intheprocess,SergeantDominickPillawasshotand
killed.Thiswasonlythebeginningofthedeathsduringthismission.Thiswaspreventable,ifBlackburn
wouldhaveneverbeenthrownintothemostdangerouspartofMogadishuonhisfirstmission.Thiswas
onlythebeginningofthedeathsthatoccurredduringthebattle.
Duringtheplanningofthismission,atotalofabout160menweresentin.Amongthesemen,
wereUnitedStatesArmyRangersofBravoCompany,3rdBattalion,75thRangerRegiment.Delta
ForcesCsquadron.OneCSAR(CombatSearchandRescue)team,andfourmembersofSEAL
TeamSix.Ifyouincludethesurveillanceaircraft,therewerenineteenaircraftandtwelvevehicles.
SecretaryofDefenseLesAspinwasinchargeofsupplyingTFRwithvehicles,aircraft,andotherassets
priortothebattle.ThecommandersofTFRrequestedtanksandAPCs(ArmoredPersonnelCarriers)
tobeprovidedforTFRsraid,butweredeniedthese(Sangvic3).Whilethiswasnotthemostcrucial
aspectofthefailedraid,itdidhaveasmalleffectontheoutcomeoftheraid.ThesetanksandAPCs
couldhavebeenusedtopunchthroughSomaliambushes,andultimatelycouldhavemadethe
movementandsecurityoftheconvoymucheasier.Regardless,APCsandtankswerenottheonly
assetsthatTFRcouldhavehadintheraid.
TheAC130gunshipisadevastatingpieceofmilitarytechnology.Itisanattackversionofthe
C130Herculesplatform,andsuppliesextreme,accuratefirepowertothesoldiersonthebattlefield.It
canflyatspeedsupto300MPHanduptoaheightof30,000feet.Ontopofthat,itisarmedwithone
25mmGAU12Gatlinggun,oneL6040mmBoforscannon,andoneM102105mmcannon(Boeing).
GeneralAididwasterrifiedoftheAC130(Sangvic9).ThesewereavailabletoTFR,butwerenot
requestedbyMGGarrisonfortheraid(Sangvic12).AccordingtoMajorRogerSangvicoftheSchool
ofAdvancedMilitaryStudies,theAC130gunshipscouldhavemadeasignificantimpactonthe
outcomeoftheraid.TheycouldhaveprovidedfiresupportinsteadoftheMH60s(BlackHawks),
whichwouldhavekeptthehelicoptersoutofRPGrange(Sangvic).Themerefearfactoraloneofthe
AC130gunshipswouldhavehadasignificantoutcomeonthebattle,andpotentiallycouldhavehelped
avoidalargefirefightalltogether.
OntopofthefailuretorequesttheAC130gunships,thecommandingofficersfoundit
unnecessarytorequesttheextraplatoonofsoldiersthatwasattheirdisposalfortheraid.AsTFRwent
intocombat,theywereseverelyoutnumbered,160menagainstthousandsofSomalimilitia.Iftheraid
weresuccessful,TFRwouldhavebeeninandoutfasterthanthemilitiacouldevengetthere.
Regardless,anextraplatoonofsoldiers,whichisroughly60men,wouldhaveprovidedagreater
advantagetotheAmericanforce,thoughtheystillwouldhavebeenseverelyoutnumbered.Withan
extraplatoon,TFRcouldhaveeliminatedmoreoftheRPGthreatsbythemselvesandpossibly,
preventedthehelicoptersfrombeingshotdown.Thecommandingofficers,inthiscase,severely
overestimatedtheabilityofTFR,whichturnedouttobethemostfatalerrorinthisfailedmission.If
TFRwouldhavebeenbetterequippedandbetterpreparedforasituationlikethis,ifitdidmanageto
happenwiththeadditionalassets,themissionwouldhavebeenagreatsuccess.
Thebattleragedonovernight,anditwasabattleforcontroloverthecrashsites.Intheend,a
reliefeffortwascalledtosecureandevacuatetheassaultingforce.Thereliefeffortwasputtogetherby
GeneralGiles,andascomposedof70vehicles.ThesevehiclescamefromthePakistaniheadquarters,
whichwasastadiumNortheastoftheBlackSeaarea.Thevehiclesincludedtanks,APCs,trucks,and
HMMWVs(Sangvic19).ThemassiveconvoymadeitswaytoCrashSite#1,andsecuredan
evacuatedtheassaultingforce.Furthermore,mostofthemilitiamemberswereequippedwithassault
rifles.Smallroundsfirewouldnothavebeenabletopenetratethearmoronthesevehicles,andcould
haveevenbeenusedasmovablecoverfortheRangerssecuringthehelicoptercrashsites.Thisfurther
provesthepointthatifTFRhadaccesstotanksandAPCs,theoutcomecouldhavebeenvery
different.
Whenthebattlewasfinished,18Americansoldiersdied,78werewounded,andonesoldier
wascaptured(Sangvic20).AtotaloffourBlackHawkhelicoptersweredestroyed,twointhecity,and
twoatbase(Bowden333).ThislosswasdevastatingforAmerica,butitwasalsodevastatingfor
Aididsmilitia.ThetotalnumberofSomalicasualtiesisestimatedtobesomewherebetween
5001,500.Forbothsides,itwasoneofthebloodiesturbanbattlessincetheVietnamWar(U.S.Army
22).Afterthebattle,MGGarrisonacceptedfullresponsibilityfortheeventsthattookplaceduringthe
raid,andresignedfromhisposition.SecretaryofDefenseLesAspinlosthisjobafterthebattle
occurredaswell,duetohisdenialofthetanksandAPCs.
Theseeventscouldhaveeasilybeenavoided,iftherehadbeenabetterplan.PFCBlackburn
couldhavenotgoneintocombatinthefirstplace,whilethiswouldhavemadeaminisculedifferencein
thegrandscheme,thecolumnofvehicleswouldhavenotbeensplitup.TheAC130gunshipsalone
mostlikelycouldhavepreventedthehelicoptersbeingdownedinthefirstplace.Thefireofthegunships
isextremelyaccurate,whichcouldhavebeenusedforfiresupporttokeepthemilitiaatbay,andthe
helicoptersoutofRPGrange.Thiswouldhavemadethemissionsuccessfulalone,buttherewasalso
theextraplatoon.TheextraplatooncouldhaveincreasedtheamountofsecuritythatTFRhadoneach
ofthefourcorners,whichinturnwouldhaveincreasedthechancesofeliminatingRPGthreatsaround
thearea.TanksandAPCscouldhavebeenusedinthebeginningforbreakingthroughmilitiaambushes,
andevenprovidingcoverforthesoldiersphysically.Allofthesethingswerepartoftheplanningaspect
oftheraid,andwereinnowaythefaultofthesoldierswhoparticipatedinthebattle.Thebravemen
whoservedonthegroundexecutedtheirjobstonearperfection,doingeverythingwithintheirown
powertopreventtheirbrothersinarmsfrombeingkilled.Theratioofdeathsisphenomenal,comparing
thenumberofU.S.soldierswhodiedtothenumberofSomalimilitiathatdied.Withthisinmind,more
oftheblamewasonthecommandingofficersofthemission,nottakingthenecessaryprecautionsin
ordertoensurethecompletionofthemission.Therewasalargeproblemwithestimationinthebattle.
OverestimationofTFRsability,andunderestimationoftheSomalimilitia.WiththefailsafesofAC130
gunships,extrasoldiers,andagroupofarmoredvehicles,theeventscouldhavebeenprevented.Inthe
eventthatoneofthehelicopterswasshotdownanyway,thecrashsitecouldhavebeensecuredmuch
moreeasilywiththehelpofmorefirepower.Mostofthesomalimilitiawereequippedwithautomatic
riflesthatfiredthe7.62round,whichwouldnotbeenoughtopenetratethroughthearmoroftheheavy
vehicles.Thiswouldhaveeffectivelyprotectedmostof,ifnotallofthesoldiersonthebattlefield.
Nonetheless,manyunfortunateeventsoccurredintheBattleofMogadishuin1993,butsomeofthem
couldhavebeenavoidedwithamoreprecautionaryplan.