Re: Black Hawk Down
Jason Ramgel
I want to make this a comprehensive topic about Operation Gothic Serpent, discussing the tactics, weapons, gear, vehicles and events related to Gothic Serpent. Please feel free to post any information you have.
Operation Gothic Serpent was an operation carried out by Special Operations Forces from the 22nd of August 1993 to the 13th of October 1993, the objective was to capture Muhammad Farrah Aidid and take down the Somali National Alliance. The most famous part of the operation was the events of October 3rd-4th 1993, commonly called "Black Hawk Down' or 'the Battle of Mogadishu".
Soldiers from B Company, 3rd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment posing for a photo. Most wear Ranger Body Armor(RBA) which had no hard armor plate in the back. The Soldier in the back left of the group is wearing the T.G. Faust armor worn by 1st Special Forces Operations Detachment Delta (1st SFOD-D) [Whats the official designation? Does it have one? The T.G. Faust website only calls it "Special Forces"]. His vest has an American Flag on the chest [How were these attached? Velcro or sewn on?] These were worn by Rangers due to a lack of RBA. Other rangers stateside gave their RBA to B Company, I believe only the heavy weapons had RBA the rest only had PASGTs[Can anyone confirm? What units gave up their vests? All of them?] I don't know if the Rangers wore the 1st SFOD-D vests out on missions, in the book Black Hawk Down, it mentions somebody trading in his black vest for RBA to go out on a mission.
The same man with the T.G. Faust armor has some sort of machine gun, I cannot tell if it is an m240 of m249. The rest have m16s? Some with scopes[What type?]. The man in the front middle has an m203 with the vest for the 40mm grenades[Whats it called?]
The Soldiers have m16s[A2s?] with suppressors[What model?] there is a mix of fixed and retractable stocks. The 2nd fron the right in the group(2nd from left in picture has a shotgun[What model?]. He also has some sort of Smoke Grenade shaped grenade on his left shoulder[What type?]
Some of the men have woodland camouflage knee-pads[What type?]. The man on the far right is wearing full "Chocolate Chip" camo, while the rest wear 'Coffee Stain" except all of the helmets are"Chocolate Chip".
Because the man on the far right has the American flag on the velcro section on the vest I believe it is Velcro'd on. The american flag is reversed.[Are these the standard size that would be sewn on the uniform sleeve?]
The picture in front of the MH 60 is from the CSAR team by the faces I recognize, ie Ranger's, AF CCT, etc. From memory the far right & 3rd from the right were from B/3/75...2 & 4 from the right were AF CCT (could be wrong but that's what I remember). I was a Ranger at that time and from what I remember on the uniforms - first come first serve based on size. I had what you called "coffee stain" while my friend had chocolate chips. I had the black body armor (I remember calling it Level III body armor?) and my friend had the RBA. I know commo & medics carried CAR-15's possibly fire support men as well. We always carried an American flag in our patrol cap with a safety pin but I remember there was a box of American flags in the hanger and I think the flag I had was velcro. Callsigns - yes on Super ## for the aircraft. We always used callwords for actions/events for brevity and to help identify what part of the operation/sequence was occurring - which was reinforced during rehearsals.
Here are 4 soldiers posing for a photo (and a photo bomber on the right) in the hanger. I know they aren't rangers but they could be Combat Search And Rescue (CSAR) C Squad 1st SFOD-D or possibly even Navy Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG or DEVGRU [Which one was used in 1993?])
The man on the far left of the photo has pocket sewn to his right sleeve, there is a normal size American flag on it, and what looks like infared glint tape below it. The light from the hanger door is too bright to be able to sell how they are attached but my guess is velcro.
Both have the overly large flag I was referring to in the last post. The man on the left of the photo has a normal size flag on his left shoulder. The man on the right of the photo has a slightly larger, non reversed flag on his right shoulder.
The UH-60 BlackHawk is Super 66 "Gun Slinger". It is parked on grass and there is another one visible through the open doors. There is a man back there with a black rectangle on the left shoulder, probably velcro.
They used a mix of Colt Model 653, 723 and 727 Carbines depending on which unit you are talking about. The M4 had yet to be adopted and there was no other standard "shorty" version of the M16A2 in use in the Army. The units bought the various commercial Colt carbines and had them customized. I think they were all colloquially referred to as "CAR-15's", however.
The [Pro-Tec classic skateboarding?] helmets have NVG mounts[What model? For AN PVS 6?]. Googles [Not Sun Wind and Dust, what type?] IR strobes [What type?] on top, probably attached with velcro, NVG google batteries on the back[An PVS 6?] The sides of the far left and far right men have something reflective on them, probably IR glint tape.
3 delta have NVG mounts on their helmets, the man on the far right of the picture has a strobe and glint tape, 2nd from right has NVG batteries and velcro on top of his helmet for the strobe but no strobe, far left has a bare helmet, the velcro for the strobe is visible on top. The 2nd from the left has NVG batteries and strobe so I will assume he has NVG mount even though the area is covered by his goggles.
The film shows valiant attempts by Special Forces troops to rescue their trapped comrades. It also tries to provide some context as to why the American military as well as UN forces got involved in the conflict. There's some attempt to show why some individuals on both sides were fighting, their motivations for taking up arms.
Tremendous self-sacrifice and sacrifice for the good of other soldiers during moments of intense battle. Movie goes beyond simplistic "good vs evil" to show the different motivations many of the American soldiers had for fighting in Somalia.
EXTREMELY graphic deaths of soldiers (dismemberment, beatings, impaling, etc.). After the set-up of the characters and context for the first 45 minutes, the next 90 minutes are one long battle scene. Graphic imagery of cutting open an injured soldier and getting to his artery to try and keep him alive.
Frequent profanity, including regular use of "f--k" and its variations. "S--t" and "ass." Character makes a gesture with his hand to represent masturbation. Somalis are referred to by some in military slang as "skinnies."
Parents need to know that Black Hawk Down is a 2001 war movie based on the true story of the bravery and grave danger faced by American Special Forces while at war against a brutal warlord and his militia amidst the civil war-ravaged Somali capital Mogadishu. The first 45 minutes or so sets up the context, introduces the officers and soldiers, outlines their mission, and then the next 90 minutes are essentially a nonstop battle of American infantry and helicopters against armed and desperate Somali militia men and boys. The movie does not shy away from war violence -- casualties, blood, and graphic injuries are a constant. Surgery in the midst of battle is performed; soldiers are cut open and entrails are exposed. A nearly cut-off finger dangles from a hand. Frequent profanity, including regular use of "f--k" and its variations. What emerges overall is the bravery and selflessness of the soldiers in the midst of a battle unexpected in its ferocity, as well as an attempt to go beyond simplistic "good versus evil" dramatizations that have historically typified war movies. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
In the early 1990s a humanitarian crisis in the country of Somalia brought international attention to the region. On October 3, 1993 the United States military sent approximately 120 members of US Special Forces to capture the warlord General Aidid or any of his top lieutenants. This supposedly quick operation turned into a two-day frantic mission and withdrawal. BLACK HAWK DOWN depicts the costly rescue attempt by US Rangers and Delta Operators sent to retrieve men trapped when their black hawk helicopters were downed. Trapped in a Somali war-zone, the soldiers struggle to regroup, save their wounded, and avoid the sights of a frenzied and armed militia. Through hostile fire, already injured men re-enter the war-zone in a valiant attempt to "leave no man behind."
03c5feb9e7