Re: [semi-OT] black hawk down?

As a certified Civilian, I won't begin to pretend to be qualified to 
actually reply to this conversation.  Mr. Atkinson sounds pretty
convinving 
in his comments, but that's my impressionability speaking.  Just one 
question:  What's a PCC/PCI and what's an RBA?

Brian B2

>From: John Atkinson <johnmatkinson@yahoo.com>
>Reply-To: gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu
>To: gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu
>Subject: Re: [semi-OT] black hawk down?
>Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 16:21:24 -0800 (PST)
>
>
>--- 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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