Re: [semi-OT] black hawk down?

--- Ryan M Gill <rmgill@mindspring.com> wrote:

> I agree, I'm suspecting it will be a hard movie to
> watch. Knowing the 
> drama and carnage was stuff that really well
> happened and for once, 
> Hollyweird isn't having to add a lot of drama to the
> plot (from what 
> little I've heard of the movie).

The worst part was where the medic and an SSG were
working on a kid's severed artery.

> A major fubar of a mission that should have worked.

Bullshit--it's a goddamn miracle this CF didn't go
south on a prior mission.  Every time they left the
compound they went out the same route and did more or
less the same things.  They go into bandit country
KNOWING they were outnumbered, with minimal air
support and without coordinating a QRF to come get
them if things go south?  The Ranger NCOs dropped the
ball 100% on PCC/PCIs--for which a number of deaths
are directly attributable (ie: The guy who leaves the
back plate out of his RBA saying "I don't plan on
getting shot in the back by some skinny" and gets,
sure as shit, shot in the back by a skinny).  The
Rangers, as a matter of fact, acted more like Boy
Scouts on a camping trip than the highly professional
elite troops that they claim to be.  For God's sake,
they left two guys behind on the exfil!  Their company
commander flaked out and became a psychiatric casualty
halfway into the fight.  If it weren't for Delta
operators stiffening the Rangers and the initiative of
a handful of NCOs, this would have been a far worse
CF.

> The threat that 
> RPG-7's cause to Helo's wasn't well recognized. Not
> having armour at 
> hand to bull their way in was another problem. The
> fact that every 
> mother's son that had an AK in the area decided to
> come over and take 
> a pot shot also didn't help.

They knew they were inserting into Aideed's stronghold
and they knew that every adult male in Somalia carries
a weapon.  Even those who aren't fulltime fighters are
part of local neighborhood self defense militias.

Lessons Learned:

1)Do your damn PCC/PCIs.  Take freakin' water, NVGs,
and ALL YOUR BODY ARMOR.
2)Testosterone does NOT make you bulletproof (Rangers,
Airborne, Light Infantry take note).
3)Failing to coordinate with relief forces is lethal.
4)Failure to make contingency plans (ie, what happens
if a helicoptor goes down?) sets yourself up for
failure.
5)Failure to take your opponent seriously causes
mental shock and failure to think clearly on the part
of your leadership.
6)Armored vehicles are the only things that can
operate with impunity against large numbers of
hostiles.  Yes, they would be vulnerable to RPGs.  But
less so than goddamn HMMWVs!!

John

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