The Battle of Mogadishu 1993

Tommy McCormick
American Republic
November 18th, 2015

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Interest in the Horn of Africa dates back to the Cold War when trying to make
allies on the continent while competing with the Soviet Union. Both nations were
competing for territory to establish a presence and communications listening posts.
Americans are known for being very humanitarian sometimes to a fault. The Armys
humanitarian relief to Somalia and the region of Mogadishu is considered one of the
least effective operations in regards of helping the citizens. At first, American presence
was welcomed by the starving Somali people. It is estimated, by the United States after
action report, that in the year 1991 over 300,000 Somalis died due to starvation. In 1992
the UN approves relief movements in Mogadishu, which is considered to be the most
dangerous city on the globe. As stated by John Brown in the United States after action
report, The national impulse to intervene to helpis a powerful one, and the U.S.
military forces are uniquely suited to bringing to bear their skill, manpower, and logistical
power anywhere in the world.
The situation in the Horn of Africa started to worsen when the Somali war
general, Mohammed Siad Barre came to power in 1969. In 1977 Barre heralded a
tretorous war against Ethiopia in a fight for the Ogaden region. During this time the aid
received from the West had declined and forced Barre to become more aggressive,
ultimately leading to worsening the situation in Somalia. Barre began kidnapping from
rival clans which increased ferocity over time. Anti-government riots escalated and
caused Barres bodyguards to overreact to a situation and killed 65 civilians and wound
300 more. Barre was forced to flee the country when his people turned against him.
Brown, John. "United States Forces, Somalia, After Action Report." 2003.
Accessed December 9, 2015.
http://www.history.army.mil/html/documents/somalia/SomaliaAAR.pdf.

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United Nations relief was deployed in 1992 to assist in the battle over food and
territory in Somalia. UN peacekeepers tried to sort out the controversial battles between
clans, private armies, and relief organizations all competing over food and resources. It
was evident that food distribution was thrown off due to the hijacking of food trucks.
With the UN unable to do much for the desperate Somalis, the US was forced to
intervene with operation Provide Relief in 1992. The original intent of the operation was
to provide relief without using military force. Lawless gangs and political leaders within
the city were hijacking the food and creating stockpiles of food and supplies. The food
was used as a bargaining chip and was seen as a sign of power. The gangs could win
over locals loyalties with the food meanwhiles hundreds of thousands of people were
dying of starvation. President Bush recognized the chaotic situation and deployed the
5th special forces group to assist in assuring that the starving people were receiving
their care packages.
On October 3rd 1993, The Battle of Mogadishu began as a quick and easy
kidnapping of important warlords in Somalia that, very quickly, went downhill. The
United States had learned intelligence that there was going to be a secret meeting
taking place that would have Mohammed Aidid and ninety other supporters in a safe
house. It would serve as another opportunity after a few failed attempts at capturing the
warlord. The United states would utilize the Task Force and Army Rangers. The
original plan was to have Delta Force enter the two-story safe house and capture
General Aidid and any other important individuals. Meanwhile the Rangers would
Brown, John. "United States Forces, Somalia, After Action Report." 2003.
Accessed December 9, 2015.
http://www.history.army.mil/html/documents/somalia/SomaliaAAR.pdf.

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provide security on the outside of the building. Most of the troops would be inserted via
fast ropes off of blackhawks. Shawn Nelson, who was an M60 gunner, said, "We
immediately started taking fire from the ground. I could see people below us with
weapons maneuvering about". The Delta Force got into the building and captured 24
prisoners but realized that Aidid was never at the building.
During the operation, the US troops faced many complications that added
stress to the whole situation which makes it considered a battle. The main problem was
when Somali militia fired RPG-7s at the blackhawks and one was able to strike the tail
rotor of a UH-60 causing the bird to go down. As soon as the explosion occurred,
Somalis were able to gather hundreds of militants and storm the crash sight in a matter
of minutes. An assisting blackhawk hovered over the scene and was also shot by an
RPG-7 while deploying soldiers by rope, but was able to make it back to the airfield. The
ground convoy of trucks and humvees armed with .50 caliber machine guns was in
route to pick up captured prisoners when the helicopters were shot down. The convoy
was ordered to assist with the men on the ground at the crash sight after picking up the
prisoners. While on route, the convoy took heavy fire from small arms and rockets.
Casualties began piling up as the convoy was moving toward the militants safe house.
After many wrong turns, the convoy finally made it to the prisoner pick up sight and
retrieved the 24 prisoners. While loading the prisoners, Delta Force and the Rangers
amassed many more casualties because of the constant fire of Militia men.

Brown, John. "United States Forces, Somalia, After Action Report." 2003.
Accessed December 9, 2015.
http://www.history.army.mil/html/documents/somalia/SomaliaAAR.pdf.

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After retrieving the prisoners, the convoy was ordered to assist at the
second crash site and retrieve the wounded helicopter crew from the blackhawk. The
convoy was unable to make it to the crash sight due to blocked roads and the constant
fire being taken. As casualties continued to increase, the convoy was called back to
base to regroup and salvage the prisoners that were captured as well as return
wounded men.
A group of foot soldiers was dispatched from the convoy to get the the
crash sight which was only three blocks away from the convoy's position. The group of
90 soldiers reached the crash sight and was able to provide security for the crew
involved in the crash. As nightfall came, the 90 men were able to hold off thousands of
militiamen utilizing mini-guns mounted on little bird gunships and also medical supplies
and ammunition which were air-dropped to the men.
Supplies and ammunition began to run low and the United States
requested the assistance of the United Nations Quick Reaction Force to help evacuate
the remaining troops. The deployment consisted of about 300 infantry and special
forces from the United States 10th Mountain along with some of the troops that
regrouped back at the base. Pakistan also provided much needed protection with tanks
while Malaysia provided armored personnel transportation.
When the newly regrouped personnel entered the city, the convoy split
into two groups, the first group went to the first crash site to recover the wounded and
dead while the second group set up a safe area in an open air stadium. The stadium
Brown, John. "United States Forces, Somalia, After Action Report." 2003.
Accessed December 9, 2015.
http://www.history.army.mil/html/documents/somalia/SomaliaAAR.pdf.

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served as a rally point as well as a hospital for the troops to get out of the city to. After
the first half of the convoy retrieved the battered troops from the first crash site, they
reorganized and rallied to pick up the men that had held off at the second crash site.
The wounded troops were able to ride in the armored vehicles but many of the soldiers
had to run approximately a mile to the stadium following the armored vehicles.
All in all, there were 73 United States soldiers wounded, and 18 were
killed. Michael Durant, a pilot of one of the crashed blackhawks, was taken prisoner but
released 11 days later. Somali Militiamen and civilian casualties numbered at about 500
dead and over 1000 wounded. After the originally thought as peacekeeping endeavor
turned into a much bigger battle, American troops gradually withdrew from Somalia. The
United States extraction gave Osama Bin Laden the false impression that American
Soldiers were weak.
Asymmetric warfare has been around since David and Goliath.
Asymmetric Warfare is Warfare in which opposing groups or nations have unequal
military resources, and the weaker opponent uses unconventional weapons and tactics,
as terrorism, to exploit the vulnerabilities of the enemy. The Battle of Mogadishu is
considered the first time in modern American history is on the upper-hand of
Asymmetric warfare. The Somali militia was armed light arms such as Ak-47s and
RPGs. RPGs are not normally used for anti aircraft purposes but they were utilized as
such when shooting down several American blackhawks. For communications, the

Brown, John. "United States Forces, Somalia, After Action Report." 2003.
Accessed December 9, 2015.
http://www.history.army.mil/html/documents/somalia/SomaliaAAR.pdf.

6
militia utilized younger children with cell phones who would report convoys positions
and the positions of the blackhawks. American soldiers knew that the kids were
reporting positions and giving the militia intel but there was nothing they could do
because they were not within the rules of engagement. The children would even wave
to the soldiers and they smile and wave back.
The United states went into the conflict with the mindset that they could display
their military power and the then the gangs would back down from taking the relief food.
This all went very wrong when that was not the case and the gangs and militia fought
back and wanted to forced the Americans out of the country. The battle of Mogadishu
was expected to last less than an hour but became incredibly complicated when the
militia was able to shoot down several black hawks with the RPGs and take many more
casualties than anticipated. The Battle of Mogadishu turned out to be the deadliest
firefight that the United States has been involved in since the Vietnam war. It is
debatable as to whether or not the operation was a success. The military was able to
capture important prisoner but it was at the cost of American lives and blackhawks. After
President Clinton came into office, he is known for saying that the United States should
not take the role of police officers in Somalia. After the costly battle, a 6 month plan to
remove troops from the region was initiated. The militants of Somalia took advantage of
the lawlessness period and started recruiting for terrorist organizations.
If a similar situation happened again today, it would be handled much more
efficiently. Since 1993 there have been vast advancements to military tactics and
Brown, John. "United States Forces, Somalia, After Action Report." 2003.
Accessed December 9, 2015.
http://www.history.army.mil/html/documents/somalia/SomaliaAAR.pdf.

7
technology. Some technology includes drones that can show enemies locations that are
hard to find. If a raid was conducted today, there would be much more intel gathered
and the military would be sure of what they were about to get themselves into. Where
the battle of Mogadishu went wrong was when the the forces got into a firefight that they
were not expecting. United States forces were not prepared with weapons, ammo, or
heavy vehicles for the fight that they ended up getting into. The UN quick response
team was also no very fast when responding to the call for reinforcements.
In conclusion the 15 hour battle was successful in capturing 24 Somali militants,
but it was at the cost of 18 American soldiers lives, 73 injured, and Mike Durant was
captured and held for 11 days. It also costed 2 blackhawk helicopters and 3 others were
damaged by RPGs. 2 Soldiers received the medal of honor, Gary Ivan Gordon and
Randall D. Shughart. The soldiers were a part of the delta sniper team that went in by
themselves to the crash sight to defend the downed chopper. Their actions saved the
downed pilot's life. The whole battle in the end resulted in the United States military to
be more conservative when it comes to inserting troops on the group for humanitarian
purposes.

Brown, John. "United States Forces, Somalia, After Action Report." 2003.
Accessed December 9, 2015.
http://www.history.army.mil/html/documents/somalia/SomaliaAAR.pdf.

Bibliography

Dictionary.com. Accessed November 18, 2015.

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Accessed December 9, 2015.
http://www.history.army.mil/html/documents/somalia/SomaliaAAR.pdf.
Brown, John. "United States Forces, Somalia, After Action Report." 2003.
Accessed December 9, 2015.
http://www.history.army.mil/html/documents/somalia/SomaliaAAR.pdf.

Brown, John. "Battle of Mogadishu (1993)." Battle of Mogadishu (1993). 2003.

Accessed November 18, 2015.
http://www.militaryfactory.com/battles/battle_of_mogadishu.asp.

"Medal of Honor Recipients - Somalia." Medal of Honor Recipients - Somalia.

Accessed November 18, 2015. http://www.history.army.mil/moh/somalia.html.

"What A Downed Black Hawk In Somalia Taught America." NPR. Accessed

November 18, 2015. http://www.npr.org/2013/10/05/229561805/what-a-downed-blackhawk-in-somalia-taught-america.

Brown, John. "United States Forces, Somalia, After Action Report." 2003.
Accessed December 9, 2015.
http://www.history.army.mil/html/documents/somalia/SomaliaAAR.pdf.