2032 BLANK [likely OH-58D] will sparkle RPG site which just fired on AH-6 ELE, AH-6 will service.
2035 There is a lot of frustration over QRF/QRC [quick reaction company] not moving to assist. MG Garrison, BLANK [likely Boykin], and LTC McKnight discussing QRF plan of attack with BG Gile and QRF staff.
2100 SITREP [situation report] crash sites. Crash site #1: 99 total pax (13 x WIA/3 x KIA). Crash site #2: No report, situation unknown.
2108 BG Gile reports to CG [commanding general – Garrison] QRF will probably not be able to move until approx. 2200.
2130 QRF en-route to link-up with Malaysians at New Port.
2200 QRF arrive New Port/link-up w/Pakis [Pakistanis] & Malaysians/finalizes plan: establish holding area between crash sites; move 1 company to each crash site, reconstituted Ranger Force (& 8 x HMMWV, 56 pax) to secure area/act as reserve.
2224 BLANK [likely Hoar] called. Covered OPREP [operation report] 3 report with him.
2228 MG Montgomery requests QRF convoy route for possible “improvement” planning prior to departing. No estimate on when convoy will proceed to crash sites for TF Ranger relief.
2230 Final PC status: 24 detainees; 1 x WIA, 3 x KIA = 24 total; enemy KIA are currently in 507th Mortuary Support ELE (at AFLD).
2300 Telecom between BLANK [likely CIA] requests stop jamming – BLANK [likely J2] said no – not until all TF Ranger forces recovered; BLANK [likely J2] request BLANK [likely CIA] put up cash reward for anyone who aids Americans or helps recover remains; Also, try to get “sources” in VIC of crash sites to inform on what’s going on.
2305 BLANK called BLANK and requests plus-up LONG BLANK [unknown but likely relating to CIA activities, possibly launching CIA aircraft].
2323 QRF departing New Port.
2345 QRF receiving fire en-route to holding area.
2350 QRF arrive holding area/A Company dispatched to crash site #1.
2353 AH-6 will break for fuel.
2357 QRF convoy and crash sites taking heavy small-arms fire. Friendlies believed south of southern crash site based on PLS [personal locator system] codes being picked up in that VIC (old Saudi embassy).
0002 QRF believes location approx. 200M from TFR [Task Force Ranger] crash site #1 under heavy contact. Lead ELE of QRF (TF Ranger LNO [liaison officer] ELE) has Quickie Saw to cut remaining body from aircraft.
0026 Pakistani tanks refuse to move on/APCs very reluctant to move, but eventually do. Roadblock removed by hand, by dismounted QRF troops.
0036 BLANK [likely P3 Reef Point] relays QRF troops dismounted way too soon. Approximately 3–4 blocks from TFR forces.
0120 BLANK [likely P3 Reef Point] reports QFR approx. 300M from TFR location.
0122 Friendlies believed in abandoned building approx. 100M south of old Saudi embassy (crash site #2).
0148 Enemy forces approx. 150M east of crash site #1.
0155 Link-up between TFR and lead QRF element; ensure good accountability personnel prior to movement & cut KIA out of ACFT.
0210 QRF en-route to crash site (#2).
0227 Crash site #2 secure – no sign of aircrew.
0230 CG receives approval to bring replacement aircraft into theatre. C5 will bring 5 x MH-60 and 2 x AH-6 with supplemental crews.
0239 BLANK [likely P3 Reef Point] reports 4 x barrel gun firing (possibly Paki) have them check fire. Enemy illumination at site #2.
0248 QRF (TF Ranger LNO) advises several hours required to cut free/recover KIA in ACFT at site #1.
0249 No bodies found at crash site #2 (Super 64) & no one answers to aircrew’s names in VIC (4 x aircrew plus 2 x BLANK [Delta] snipers should have been there).
0300 Thermite grenades set on crash site #2 (south) – no confirmation they have been lit.
0336 AH-6 returns to airfield with inoperative fuel gauge and “Fuel low” light.
0348 Pakis request to fire mortars into Villa Somalia (mortar position).
0350 Reef Point very briefly picked up 2 x PLS in VIC crash site #2.
0400 AH-6 service RPG launch location VIC crash site #1.
0409 Pakistanis cleared road from Paki stadium to CP207, no mines reported.
0415 AH-6 RTB for main rotor blade replacement, estimated 30 min downtime.
0420 Phone con from BLANK [likely Van Arsdale] report 2 x Malaysian APCs reported hit by RPGs vicinity grid NH363265. Requesting assistance from TF Ranger gun helos. Passed to TF Green [Delta].
0424 Pakistanis report they have not cleared road from stadium to CP207. Pakis have a guide to RDVZ [rendezvous] W/BLANK [unknown] at CP [check point] on National.
0438 BLANK [likely Miller or Van Arsdale] querying avail of additional transport to pick up dismounted troops.
0453 ASLT reports he has 200 dismounted, (QRF/assault force/Ranger blocking force) will link w/transport on National once body recovered.
0500 ASLT query about possible resupply of 5.56/40MM/and water to BLANK [likely Miller] advises redistribute rom vehicles, high helo threat. Still at least 20 minutes to cut body from wreckage.
0515 ASLT reports attempting to cut out majority of body from wreckage.
0523 LNO reports no control over Malaysian vehicles, APCs abandoned Dragon 6 position, Malays appear returning to Paki stadium.
0530 Body recovered. Destructive charges set on helo. BLANK [likely Barber AH-6] providing cover fire for withdrawal from crash site #1.
0542 ASLT moving all elements out of target site. AH-6 ELE continues fire support.
0550 Terminator & Kilo elements linking up with Dragon ELE.
0605 Not enough transport, 50 pax still dismounted. ASLT requesting more APCs.
0610 30 pax mounting APCs.
0620 All pax loaded, convoy moving out.
0627 Cobras making TOW [anti-tank guided missile] shot on abandoned APCs.
0630 Convoy pulling into Paki stadium.
0715 Confirming names of 20 pax RTB to New Port so BLANK [likely Van Arsdale] can check his headcount.
0720 BLANK [likely Reef Point] RTB.
0734 AH-6 ELE all on standby at FARP.
0745 AH-6 or ASLT feels that 2 snipers inserted to crash site #2 are possibly responsible for taking bodies and equipment from site. Might be in hiding near site.
0810 Begin shuttle of Rangers, from stadium RTB. Net monitoring weak intermittent transmissions from VIC of crash site #2.
0815 BLANK [likely SIGINT] possible beacon transmission, frequency being investigated.
0827 BLANK [likely Reef Point] being launched. AH-6 being stood down.
0845 Voice came in over beacon saying “my arm is broken.” Attempting to DF [direction find] source.
0915 Continued attempts to establish comms with Beacon station unsuccessful. Beacon being turned on or off.
0916 Ground commanders report all personnel accounted for except for the 4 crew members and 2 snipers inserted into crash site #2.
GLOSSARY
AC-130 Armed version of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, also known as Spectre
AGMS Armored Ground Mobility System
AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter
AH-6 Little Bird helicopter variant armed with rockets and miniguns
AIAI al-Itihad al-Islami, a Somali insurgent group
AMISOM African Union Mission in Somalia
ASLT Assault Force Commander
AWSS Authorized Weapons Storage Sites, UN cantonment areas for illegal heavy weapons and technicals
BP Blocking Position
C2 Command and Control
CAP Combat Air Patrol
CAR15 Colt 5.56mm carbine carried by Delta and some Rangers – predecessor to the M4
CAS Close Air Support
CCP Casualty Collection Point
CCT Combat Controller, US Air Force special operations personnel trained to guide in close air support
CENTCOM Central Command, US military headquarters responsible for
operations in the Middle East, Central Asia, and northern Africa
CI Counter Inte
lligence
CP Command Posts
CQB Close Quarter Battle, techniques for breaching and clearing rooms and shooting at close range
CQM Close Quarters Marksmanship
CS Confined Space
CSAR Combat-Search-and-Rescue: on October 3 the Black Hawk known as Super 68 was assigned the mission
DAP Direct Action Penetrator, a kit allowing the MH-60 to be transformed into an attack helicopter variant armed with 30mm cannon, miniguns, and rockets. Taken to Mogadishu by 160th SOAR but not deployed.
DMZ Demilitarized Zone
DO Directorate of Operations, CIA command responsible for field operations
EDRE Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise
ELE Element
EMT Emergency Medical Technician
EOD Explosives Ordnance Disposal
FARP Forward Armament and Refueling Point
FLIR Forward-Looking-Infrared Laser
FO Forward Observer
FSO Fire Support Officer
GMV Ground Mobility Vehicle
GRF Ground Reaction Force, Ranger units mounted in Humvees and trucks
HMMWV High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, designation for Humvee
HUMINT Human Intelligence, using agents on the ground to gather intelligence
HVT High-Value Target
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross, a humanitarian organization
ICU Islamic Courts Union, a Somali insurgent group that preceeded
al-Shabaab
IED Improvized Explosive Device
IR Infrared
IRF Immediate Reaction Force
ISA Intelligence Support Activity, US Army covert unit (also known as Centra Spike and Office of Military Support)
ISR Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance
J-2 Intelligence Cell
JCS Joint Chiefs of Staff
JOC Joint Operations Center, the Task Force Ranger headquarters
JSOC Joint Special Operations Command, the parent organization responsible for the special mission units such as Delta and SEAL Team 6
KIA Killed In Action
LBE Load-Bearing Equipment
LZ Landing Zone for helicopters
M14 7.62mm nettle rifle used by some Delta and SEAL snipers
M16A2 Colt 5.56mm assault rifle carried by most Rangers
MEDEVAC Medical Evacuation, usually by air
MH-6 Unarmed troop-carrying variant of the Little Bird helicopter
MH-60 Special operations modified version of the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter
NCO Non-Commissioned Officer, a sergeant or corporal
OH-58 Kiowa reconnaissance helicopter
OMS Office of Military Support, another cover name for the Intelligence Support Activity
OPSEC Operational security
PC Precious Cargo, codeword for prisoners
PJ Pararescueman Jumper, US Air Force special operations personnel trained to rescue trapped aircrew
PKM Heavy weapons system, the Russian 7.62 x 54mm medium machine gun
PLS Personal Locator System
PZ Pick-up Zone, normally for helicopters and often within an urban environment such as from a rooftop
QRC The QRF’s standby Quick Reaction Company
QRF Quick Reaction Force drawn from the 10th Mountain Division
RBA Ranger Body Armor
REDS Rapid extraction deployment system
Reef Point Modified surveillance version of Navy P-3 Orion
RG-8 Schweizer glider surveillance aircraft operated by CIA
ROE Rules of engagement, the conditions under which an enemy combatant can be engaged
RPG Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot or antitank grenade launcher. Incorrectly but widely mistranslated as Rocket-Propelled Grenade.
RTO Radio Telephone Operator, the radioman
SAD Special Activities Division, CIA paramilitary unit
SAR Search and Rescue, also known as CSAR
SAS Special Air Service, UK Special Forces
SAW Squad Automatic Weapons, the Belgian-designed M249 or Minimi light machinegun
SEAL Sea, Air, and Land, US Navy commandoes
SERE Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape
SFOD 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Airborne), official title of Delta Force
SIGINT Signals Intelligence
SMU Special Mission Unit, term used to describe Delta, SEAL Team 6 and the Intelligence Support Activity
SNA Somali National Alliance, a clan militia of the Habr Gidr clan
SNM Somali National Movement, an insurgent group in the Somali civil war
SOAR 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the Nightstalkers
SOCOM US Special Operations Command, the parent organization responsible for all US military SOF units
SOF Special Operations Forces
SOP Standard Operating Procedure
SSE Sensitive Site Exploration
TCCC Tactical Combat Casualty Care
Technical Militia armed pick-up truck
TF Task Force
TFR Task Force Ranger
TOC Tactical Operations Center
TOW Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided; an American anti-tank missile fired from AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters
TTP Tactics, Techniques, and Processes
UNOSOM United Nations Operations in Somalia, the UN humanitarian mission in Somalia
USC United Somali Congress, a clan militia of the Hawiye Clan
USSOCOM United States Special Operations Command
VIC Vicinity
WIA Wounded In Action
NOTES
Chapter 1
1. https://www.csmonitor.com/1993/0614/14011.html
2. UN Mission Statement: http://www.un.org/Depts/DPKO/Missions/unosomi.htm
3. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/08/world/factional-fighting-in-somalia-terrorizes-and-ruins-capital.html?pagewanted=all
4. Baumann, Robert F. and Yates, Lawrence A. with Washington, Versalle F., My Clan Against the World: US and Coalition Forces in Somalia 1992–1994 (Leavenworth: Washington Combat Studies Institute Press, 2003), p. 108
5. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ambush/interviews
6. Wasdin, Howard E. and Templin, Stephen, SEAL Team Six (New York: St Martin’s, 2011), p. 177
7. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ambush/interviews/howe.html
8. Ibid.
9. https://www.csmonitor.com/1993/0614/14011.html
10. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/06/16/somali-warlords-tactics-confound-un/2c574b6f-8741-44b2-ad84-1aa9dacee2e0/?utm_term=.3fcc29a15cd7
11. Baumann and Yates with Washington, My Clan Against the World, p. 139
12. Ernst Presentation, MOUT 2000 Conference
13. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ambush/interviews/howe.html
14. Senate Review of Circumstances Surrounding the Ranger Raid on October 3–4, 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia (hereafter “Senate Review”)
15. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ambush/interviews/howe.html
16. Ibid
17. Senate Review
18. Ibid
19. http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/profile-how-to-turn-a-warmonger-into-a-hero-general-aideed-top-bad-guy-on-americas-hit-list-1485338.html
20. Senate Review
21. Baumann and Yates with Washington, My Clan Against the World,p.139
22. Senate Review
23. McKnight, Lieutenant Colonel Danny, Streets of Mogadishu (Chester: Leading for Freedom, 2011), p. 84
24. DiTomasso, Captain Thomas, The Battle of the Black Sea: Bravo Company, 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, 3–4 October 1993 (Fort Benning: Infantry Officer’s Advanced Course, 1994); www.benning.army.mil/library/content/Virtual/.../DiTomassoThomas%20CPT.pdf
25. Smith, Captain Kurt, Task Force Ranger in Somalia: 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, 3–4
October 1993 (Fort Benning: Infantry Officer’s Advanced Course, 1994); www.benning.army.mil/library/content/Virtual/.../other/.../SmithKurt%20CPT.pdf
26. Ibid
27. Senate Review
28. Ibid
29. Department of Defense, Subject: After Action Report for TASK FORCE RANGER Operations in Support of UNOSOM II; 22 August–25 October 1993 (USSOCOM, 1994); http://www.socom.smil.mil/socs-ho/aarll/somalia
30. Ibid
31. Smith, Task Force Ranger in Somalia
32. DiTomasso, The Battle of the Black Sea
Chapter 2
1. Smith, Task Force Ranger in Somalia
2. Faust, Colonel James T., Task Force Ranger in Somalia: Isaiah 6:8 (US Army War College, 1999); http://www.lc-vans.lintcenter.org/wp.../08/TF-Ranger-Part-1-Paper-with-Prologue-pp-0-29.pdf
3. Smith, Task Force Ranger in Somalia
4. Senate Review
5. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ambush/interviews/haad.html
6. Faust, Task Force Ranger in Somalia: Isaiah 6:8
7. Senate Review
8. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-08-27/news/9308270330_1_delta-force-mohamed-farrah-aidid-somalia
9. Ibid
10. http://articles.latimes.com/1993-10-22/news/mn-48499_1_ american-policy
11. Rysewyk, Captain Lee, Experiences of Executive Officer from Bravo Company, 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and Task Force Ranger during the Battle of the Black Sea on 3–4 October 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia (Fort Benning: Infantry Officer’s Advanced Course, 1994); www.benning.army.mil/library/content/Virtual/.../RysewykLee%20A.%20CPT.pdf
12. Lechner, Captain James O., A Monograph of Combat Operations in Mogadishu, Somalia Conducted by Task Force Ranger (Fort Benning: Infantry Officer’s Advanced Course, 1994); www.benning.army.mil/library/content/Virtual/.../LechnerJamesO%20%20CPT.pdf
13. Ibid
14. Ibid
15. Carney, Colonel John T. and Schemmer, Benjamin F., No Room for Error: The Covert Operations of America’s Special Tactics Units from Iran to Afghanistan (New York: Ballantine Books, 2002), p. 250
16. McKnight, Streets of Mogadishu, p. 166
17. Bowden, Mark, Black Hawk Down (London: Bantam Press, 1999), p. 34
18. Thomas, Keni, Get It On! What it Means to Lead the Way (Brentwood: B&H Publishing Group, 2011), p. 137
19. Ibid
20. United States Forces, Somalia: after action report and historical overview: the United States Army in Somalia, 1992-1994
Day of the Rangers: The Battle of Mogadishu 25 Years On Page 37
