Summer - United States Special Operations Command

combat against anything and anyone, especially Americans.The Somali fighters battled with no sense of lettingdown. The precise attacks from Somali fighters, followedby relatively well-coordinated ambushes, incorporated tacticsthat had proven successful in Soviet-Afghan warfare inthe 1980s.In Mogadishu on October 3, 1993, United StatesArmy Rangers and Delta Force teams in Operation GothicSerpent started a relatively routine mission to capture tierone personalities serving under the Somali warlord MohammedFarrah Aidid. Staff Sergeant Matt Eversmann, achalk leader, was with the first group of Rangers who fastroped from one of the Black Hawk helicopters involved inthe mission. He was the last to exit his aircraft. By thetime he descended down the rope, Somali bullets had alreadystruck one of his men.Fast roping into the battle and establishing immediatecasualty collection points (CCPs) became a prominenttheme throughout the six chapter text. Fast roping isalways potentially dangerous. In Mogadishu that day, thedanger of fast roping exceeded its potential. Early in thecourse of the battle, the need to establish CCPs rapidlytransitioned into the need to maintain CCPs.A straightforward mission chaotically unraveledinto a death-defying rescue operation. Sergeant RaleighCash did not enter the raging battle by fast roping. He advancedinto battle in an eight-vehicle ground convoy sentto rescue his besieged buddies. Cash became the primaryforward observer charged with rescuing those who crashedin the first downed Black Hawk.In Special Operations Forces, if rank is less importantthan tactical proficiency, knowledge, and the will toovercome challenges, then it is no surprise that a Specialist(E-4) uttered the famed “Black Hawk Down” call in battle.Specialist Mike Kurth, a radio and telephone operator,former infantryman, and native of Texas, was on the radioas soon as he saw the first Black Hawk go down: “All stationsbe advised – we have a bird down, we have a BlackHawk down.” Thinking clearly, Kurth made initial radiocontact to let everyone know what had just happened. Hefelt that the sooner his higher command knew about it, thebetter. Radio contact then became more than intense. Itbecame frantic. Everybody (friendly and foe) in the vicinityof the battle wanted to find the crash site.By the time Sergeant John Belman engaged in thebattle he had fast roped into the biggest firefight of the battleand his helicopter had already been hit with a rocketpropelled grenade (RPG). As he slid off the rope, with approximatelya 40-foot drop, he hit the ground hard andthought it a big mistake to use Black Hawk helicopters toprovide sniper cover. Mistake, or not, his role on the CombatSearch and Rescue (CSAR) team meant he had a job todo. But his thoughts about the use of Black Hawk helicoptersto provide sniper cover could not be avoided. ADelta sniper who had been on the first Black Hawkdowned lay on the ground disoriented with severe facialinjuries. Belman aided the sniper, but ran out of ammunitionvery quickly. In the course of the battle, existentialperspectives overwhelmed him as he thought that ifhe were killed, he did not want anyone to have to die toprotect his dead body. After making way to a CCP, hegrabbed additional ammunition and made sure he stayedalive for the fight.Pararescueman (PJ) Tim Wilkinson served asone of the Air Force PJs who conserved life for many ofhis buddies in battle under intense Somali fire. He claimsthat during his insertion he saw more RPGs streakingthrough the sky than he had ever seen on any of his previousmissions. He knew the men on the ground werelocked in mortal combat. His job was to maintain life atthe established CCPs and facilitate medical evacuation.Wilkinson vividly recalls saying a silent prayer beforehis insertion. His fast rope experience became intenselydangerous, as it had been for all the others, but more soin his case because he shouldered the added weight ofapproximately 90 pounds of equipment and medical supplies.Wilkinson’s recollections demonstrate the scopeof mental focus balanced by creative distractions. “Themind is a funny thing,” he states. All he could thinkabout in one of the most chaotic combat scenarios hefaced was a scene from the movie The Jerk starring SteveMartin. With so much information being directed at himall at once, and chaos all around, he found thoughts ofMartin’s role in The Jerk to be enough of a creative distractionfor him to remain in touch with his battlefield realitybut not consumed by it.Staff Sergeant Dan (Dano) Schilling, an AirForce combat controller responsible for directing closeair support from rotary wing aircraft, made several foraysby ground into battle to rescue his buddies. The designated“medic” on his team, not only did he plan key partsof the mission as a combat controller, but also he renderedlife saving techniques and procedures that sparedmany others in battle. His drive and commitment literallymade him the last out among the six contributingwarriors in the book and in the battle itself. He claimedthat in the Battle of Mogadishu, the sensation for himwas different than any he had experienced before onother missions. He could feel the difference, but couldnot define it. When he and the others finally made it outto a safe zone, his most poignant thoughts were of hisfriends, alive and dead.In a two-day battle in which 18 United Statesservicemembers died and 73 were wounded, the men of84Journal of Special Operations Medicine Volume 9, Edition 3 / Summer 09