Black Hawk Down History through Film

Historical Themes U.S. at War Special Forces Urban/Guerilla Warfare U.S. as International Police Force Problems in Africa Courage/Brotherhood

Somalia Capital: Mogadishu Population: 10.8 million (UN, 2015) Area: 637,657sq km (246,201 sq miles) Major languages: Somali, Arabic, Italian, English Major religion: Islam Life expectancy: 54 years (men), 57 years (women)

Operation Restore Hope UN distributing food to starving (300,000) Somalis starting in December of 1992 Proved difficult because of warlord Mohammed Farrah Aidid Aidid stole food for his soldiers and to sell for weapons (80% of food stolen) Also distributed Cot to his soldiers: highly addictive drug that causes aggressive behavior

U.S. Role US forces sent by President George H.W. Bush to help distribute food at the end of 1992 By 1993, mission had expanded to put an end to the violence of civil war and capture Aidid Initially, Somalis supported US presence, but this changed as more and more were killed October 3, 1993: Battle of Mogadishu

U.S. Army Rangers Elite force of the U.S. Army Arguably oldest existing unit in the military Been around in some form since before the Revolutionary War "Rangers lead the way" "All the way! “ Missions: special operations raids, forcible entry operations, and special reconnaissance. 

Delta Force “Tier One” Special Operations Unit Sign agreement under penalty of prison if you reveal you are a member Estimated only 1,000-1,500 Active Operatives  Missions: execute small, high-intensity operations of short duration like raids and capture missions Today: focus on Counter-Terrorism

Operation Gothic Serpent/ Battle of Mogadishu American special forces carry out mission: Rangers and Delta Force soldiers Goal: capture high ranking followers of Aidid Supposed to last 30 Minutes: Did make arrests of Aidid loyalists 2 Black Hawk helicopters shot down by RPGs Soldiers surrounded and fight through the night to escape

Impact 2 U.N. and 18 U.S. soldiers killed, 73 wounded Hundreds, maybe thousands of Somalis killed President Clinton withdraws US forces U.N. mission ends in 1995 Experience in part stops Clinton from sending forces to help out Rwanda Sgt. Gary Gordon and Sgt. First Class Randall Shughart awarded Medal of Honor

Historical Liberties/Criticism Focuses on military action and not humanitarian effort or prior events Emphasizes American involvement but multiple other countries involved Todd Blackburn not 18 (20) and had been in country as long as everyone else Heroism overshadows mistakes of Operation Viewers do not get a sense of the civilian casualties incurred by the Somalis

Why were the U. N. and U. S. in Somalia in 1993 Why were the U.N. and U.S. in Somalia in 1993? How did the in-country mission evolve over time? This special operation was only supposed to last 30 minutes. Multiple things went wrong. Describe the events that turned Operation Gothic Serpent into the Battle of Mogadishu. A major theme of this movie is heroism. Describe the instances of heroism in the movie. Do you think these soldiers consider themselves heroes? Why or Why not?