Black Hawk Down

A detailed Summary of Black Hawk Down

It was the sixth and final raid, launched on October 3, 1993, that became the Battle of the Black Sea or better known as Black Hawk Down, a story written by Mark Bowden. The U.S involvement in Somalia was a peacekeeping mission to try and bring Democracy to the area. It was a planned raid on a meeting of Somali warlords, hoping to destabilize Mohammed Farrah Aidid from the political equation in which to make the task easier for feeding the millions of their starving citizens. The assault was launched into the most dangerous part of Mogadishu, in the Bakara Market.

The American soldiers, consisting of Army Rangers and Delta Force were so confident of a quick victory that they neglected to take night-vision devices and water. The targets were two of Aidid's senior advisors, reported to be in a Habr Gidr stronghold, which was just one of the clans in Somalia. The Rangers led by the highly specialized super soldiers the Delta Force operators, went in by helicopter to snatch the two top Lieutenants of Aidid's clan. The ground convoy with 160 men, 19 aircraft, 9 humvees, and 3 five-ton trucks were on stand by at the Army compound near the Mogadishu airport to go in and pick up the Rangers and their prisoners. The operation w

As the night unfolded, and the fighting subsides by morning, 18 U.S soldiers are dead and over 70 injured. The toll for the Somalis is much worse; over 1000 are injured and 500 have been killed. The assault was launched into the most dangerous part of Mogadishu in daylight, even though the Ranger and Delta forces were trained and equipped primarily to work in darkness. Commanders who thought it unlikely that Somalis could shoot down helicopters saw five shot down, three limped back to base before crash-landing. Inproper weapons and gear could have assisted in the mission, instead of proved fatal to the American forces. America went to war in Mogadishu in an effort to remove warlord Aidid from the political equation, but encountered stiff and bloody resistance from Aidid.

From the very moment the Rangers and Delta Force fast rope from their Black Hawks into the streets of Mogadishu to secure a two-block area around the house at the 4 corners to grab the Lieutenants the raid goes terribly wrong. As soon as the Rangers deploy out of the Black Hawk one is seriously injured. Ground fire is unexpectedly intense. Not only are members of the militia attempting to prevent the raid, but the citizens of Mogadishu now sick of U.S interference in their country also take arms against the forces. Gunfire is coming from all sides.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Black Hawks, Ranger Delta, Lieutenants Aidid's, Black Hawk, Michael Durant, Command Staff, Delta Force, Hawks Poor, Mark Bowden, Rules Engagement, black hawks, delta force, rangers delta force, aidid political equation, launched dangerous, aidid political, political equation, assault launched, dangerous mogadishu, streets mogadishu, launched dangerous mogadishu, assault launched dangerous, american forces, seriously injured,

Approximate Word count = 902
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous