Losacco,+Michael

“To what extent are the events depicted in the film Black Hawk Down, exact, to the 1993 U.S raids in downtown Mogadishu, Somalia?”

Part A:

Plan of Investigation

In my investigation I have decided to find out to what extent the events depicted in the film Black Hawk Down, exact, to the 1993 U.S raids in downtown Mogadishu, Somalia. Through my investigation I have looked at various sources to gather accounts and interviews of men and women that were part of Operation Restore Hope, UNMISO, and Task Force Ranger. I have also taken notes from primary sources and compared them to scenes in Black Hawk Down to test the films recreations.

Part B: Summary of Evidence

Through out my investigation, I found various sources to draw conclusions and comparisons from in order to answer my question. The first source I looked at was a documentary that aired on the History Channel that was called “The True Story of Black Hawk Down”. From the documentary I learned more about the raid from actual Army Rangers and Black Op’s that were on the ground that day. U.S Special Forces arrived in the capital, Mogadishu in December 1992. They entered Somalia as part of a U.N mission to feed starving in the torn nation.//[i]]]// //The assault basically consisted of U.S Army Rangers and Delta Force. They were assigned with raiding a compound and apprehending the subjects inside.//|[ii]]] The location in which the compound was in was known as the Bakara market, and was a strong hold of Mohammed Farrah Adid’s militia.//|[iii]]]// //The rangers had the assignment of securing the four corners around the compound, while Delta operatives landed on the roof and secured the compound, which was accurately compared in the film.//|[iv]]] Matt Eversmann described the scene..”We were in the middle of a four way intersection and we were taking fire form the north, east, and west. The fire wasn’t that accurate at first, but unlike previous missions, the Somalis were not just spraying their weapons at us with reckless abandon; this time they were aiming.”//[v]]]// //Once the suspects were apprehended, the green light is given for extraction, but soon, a Black Hawk helicopter is shot down by militia. Task force Ranger and Delta Force had to move to the crash site and secure a perimeter. Troops began to be trapped and ambushed on highways and back alleys on their way to the Black Hawk crash site. The main convoy full of Teir One prisoners, was also ordered to move to the crash site, but became lost in the city, suffered heavy casualties, abandoned its mission to move to the crash site, and returned to base.[//[vi]]] Dan Schilling, a Task Force Ranger operative, was on bored the main convoy and described the hellacious scene…”The sound of metal being torn apart was deafening, you knew something bad had just happened when you heard it. We had just driven through an ambush and some vehicles were hit by small arms fire and RPG’s (Rocket Propelled Grenades). It was so loud that it hurt….There were soldiers wounded and lying in the street. One of our Humvees had been hit by an RPG and the men ridding in the back, were literally blown out of the vehicle…” [//[vii]]]// // While U.S Rangers and Black Op’s began to secure crash site A, Mike Durant’s Black Hawk was also shot down, but troops on the ground were never able to reach the site. The whole crew died, except for pilot Mike Durant, who was taken prisoner by Somali militia. Through out the evening and night of October 3, 1993 Rangers and Black Op’s repelled wave after wave of Somali attacks. //[viii]]] The following morning, Task Force Ranger and Delta were rescued by U.N Pakistani troops and quickly extracted the task force out of the city and into the U.N safe zone. It is to be noted that two Black Operatives, were dropped into Durant’s crash site to defend it, Randy Shugharts and Gary Gordon, but soon they were overrun and both were killed. They were awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously.//[ix]]]//

=== ** T he mission ended up being successful due to the capture of high value targets in Mohammed Farah Adids clan, However it cam at the cost of 18 American lives and 1 POW. Days after the battle, Somali clan members dragged the bodies of American soldiers through the streets of Mogadishu on live television. Through negotiation and threats to the Habr Gidr Clan leaders by Ambassador Robert B. Oakley, all bodies were eventually recovered. The bodies were returned in bad condition, one without a head. Michael Durant was released after 2 weeks of captivity. [x]]]** ===

Part C:

The True Story of Black Hawk Down Keane, David, dir. “The True Story of Black Hawk Down.” // The True Story of BlackHawk Down. // The History Channel. June 2003. Television

The origin of this documentary was 44 Blue Productions, based in the United States. It was made in the English language. The purpose of this video, is to give a more realistic insight on what the battle of Mogadishu was really like, and give the audience a chance to compare real interviews with real partakers and real footage with the Hollywood version of the battle, “Black Hawk Down”. The reason I decided to use this as a primary source, was because it provides me with real footage from the ground, and gives me first hand interviews with real Army Rangers and Delta Force operatives who were on the ground that day. Some limitations of this video are that it could probably go more into detail on how long the members of Task Force Ranger/Delta decided to stay in service after such a horrific event. It also could provide us with more info on the U.N’s role in the raid.

Keane, David, dir. “The True Story of Black Hawk Down.” // The True Story of BlackHawk Down. // The History Channel. June 2003. Television

Roy Licklider "Somalia, U.S. Military Involvement in" // The Oxford Companion to American Military History //. John Whiteclay Chambers II, ed., Oxford University Press 1999. // Oxford Reference Online //. Oxford University Press. Infohio - NOACSC. 22 August 2010[]

The origin of this article, is from Roy Lickider, whom is well respected and sites all of his work in his bibliography. It is written in English. The purpose of this article is to inform the casual reader of the events that took place in the African nation of Somalia in the early 90s. He takes excerpts from other books and mixes them in with his own research to give a new look on the events. The reason I decided to use this as a primary source, is because it included facts that were backed up and were considered credible. Some limitations of this article is that it could have talked more about the preparation for the mission and the U.N’s role in the raid.

Roy Licklider "Somalia, U.S. Military Involvement in" // The Oxford Companion to American Military History //. John Whiteclay Chambers II, ed., Oxford University Press 1999. // Oxford Reference Online //. Oxford University Press. Infohio - NOACSC. 22 August 2010 <[]>

D.Analysis

In the movie black hawk down there are many similarities and differences between the real life events and the Hollywood film. In the evidence section (part b), I looked at various sources and extracted evidence from them, to grasp a better understanding on the real life event and Hollywood film. During the film when Ranger and Delta forces began their raid on the building adjacent to the Olympic Hotel, Delta forces arrived by little bird helicopters and begin their raid on top of the target building. Right after they land, Task Force Ranger ropes in from 4 black hawk helicopters at each corner of the target building to provide security while Task Force Delta secures Teir One personnel inside According to the book “The Battle of Mogadishu” written by Matt Eversman and Dan Schilling, this is accurately depicted. “There were four blocking positions used by Task Force Ranger to surround the target building. I was in charge of blocking position 4. There were several three-story buildings around the target, so I knew we would have to insert by fast-rope. Our job was very straight forward: isolate the target building, so no enemy could get in or out.” Before the assault began, the plan was to either capture the H.V.T’s (High Value Targets) by assaulting their escort convoy or assault a building they were in. The day time assault on the their staging area was chosen, and the operation was to take no more than half an hour. “We would have an assault force of Special Forces Soldiers to do the work inside the target building. Almost simultaneously the rangers in the blocking position, would set up the perimeter around the target building. Once at the objective, we would slide down thick nylon ropes to the street and assume our battle position accordingly.” After analyzing the film and a primary source from the battle, it would be appropriate to say the extent to which this movie depicted this important scene was major. The film also portrays two major scenes that were what made the raids in Mogadishu such a fiasco, and also gave the film its title. In the film, when Delta Force secures the H.V.T’s, two of the Black Hawk helicopters flying above Mogadishu, get shot down in the heart of the city. This forces the raid team, along with the the extraction convoy to move to the downed chopper. Soon after they arrive though, a second Black Hawk helicopter gets shot down, and again forces elements of the raid team to move across the city and secure the second crash site. This put a strain on ground troops and command. Eventually both crash sites are secured and the assault force is extracted with the help of U.N troops and Pakistani soldiers. In the “Battle of Mogadishu” Matt Eversman describes the situation when he is notified about the first chopper going down. “Diemer told me that a helicopter had crashed. Moore confirmed from his radio that a helicopter had gone down and the task force was to move to the crash site and set up a perimeter.” This leads me to say that the movie accurately depicted this moment of the battle.

Black Hawk down//. Dir. Ridley Scott. Perf. Josh Hartnett and Eric Banna. Columbia, 2001. DVD.// Ibid Eversmann, Matt, and Dan Schilling. // The Battle of Mogadishu: First-hand Accounts from the Men of Task Force Ranger //. New York: Ballantine, 2004. Print. Ibid Ibid Ibid first source Ibid first source Ibid 2nd source

E.Conclusion

In conclusion, I think the events that happened in the movie Black Hawk Down, are very accurate to the actual events that happened during the U.S raids in Mogadishu in 1993. I examined numerous primary sources, as well as the movie, and through out my study there was no major difference between the film, and the actual events. The film accurately depicts it from the beginning assault, to the helicopters being shot down, to the extraction out of the city. They even go into detail in the film, about certain soldiers personal lives and families, that held up to be true in real life. Over all the film did an excellent job in depicting the actual events.

// The True Story of Black Hawk Down //. Dir. History Channel. Perf. Matt Eversman and Mike Durrant. 2003. DVD. //

Ibid

// Black Hawk down //. Dir. Ridley Scott. Perf. Josh Hartnett and Eric Banna. Columbia, 2001. DVD. //

Ibid

// //Ibid Eversmann, Matt, and Dan Schilling. // The Battle of Mogadishu //. New York: Ballantine. Print. // //1st source on list.//

Ibid 3rd source on list

// //Ibid 1st source on list//

Ibid 1st source

Ibid 3rd source