Another perspective that wasn't in the movie Black Hawk Down, a true story from Seal Team 6 who were there at the time.

The story of Operation Gothic Serpent in Mogadishu
Somalia in 1993

It was one of the missions that damaged both reputation and personnel.
In the history of the US military, it has been compiled into records.
Books and all the way to the movie Black Hawk Down that everyone knows.
And we are already familiar with each other.

The film features the 3rd Infantry Battalion, 75th Ranger, Delta Force,
160th SOAR Pilot - Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Night stalker)
and the Air Force PJs who are combined into a special task force, Rangers (Task Force Ranger)
Including the 10th Mountain Division and Pakistani personnel affiliated with the UN.

But the film never mentions the NAVY SEALS Team 6.
Who participated in the raid and arrested the leaders of this conflict?
They also received Silver Stars.
From the heroic actions in that battle as well.

Howard Wasdin (HT1 Howard Wasdin) enlisted in the Navy.
In 1983, as an anti-submarine weapons operator.
and water rescue unit of the 7th Anti-Submarine Squadron
(HS-7/Anti-Submarine Squadron 7)
And he also survived a helicopter crash on the sea floor.
During the Navy's mission

Before re-enlisting into the navy and
Apply for BUD/S training (24-week SEALS selection program)
Wasdin graduated from the 143rd SEALS course in July 1987.
and was assigned to SEALS Team 2 at Little Creek, Virginia.

He has served in the Persian Gulf War and served in Europe.
and the Middle East before he volunteered to join the task force.
Naval Special Warfare is known as DEVGRU or SEALS Team 6.
In November 1991, Wasdin passed the special selection training.
To join DEVGRU for 8 months
and later trained as a Marine sniper reconnaissance officer.


Howard Wasdin (2nd from left) poses with fellow DEVGRU snipers.

August 1993 Wasdin joined the deployment in Mogadishu.
Along with three other snipers from SEALS Team 6 and their target-spotting partners.
Theirs and Commander Erik Thor Olsen
Join the Task Force Rangers.

The primary mission of the Ranger Task Force is to capture
Muhammad Farah Aidid, who led the troops in heroic deeds
Robbing a supply convoy
and the UN Food Distribution Center

When the time came to dawn on the day of the raid and capture
A four-man CIA intelligence reconnaissance team returned to the base airfield.
From the mission to place signal transmitters in Mogadishu
I also met the Ranger task force who were busy getting dressed.
And the equipment is ready.
The intelligence that would propel the mission was relayed and plans of attack were hastily developed.

Including Wasdin and his fellow SEALS were assigned
To participate in missions in and around Mogadishu.
From Commander Olsen

"You will join the escort team. Delta will rappel into the building.
You guys arrested the suspect and withdrew with the convoy."
Commander Olsen said before lightly patting Vasdin on the shoulder.
And he continued, "It shouldn't take long. Good luck."
"See you when you get back," Vasdin said at the end of that sentence.
And the friends jumped into the carriages that were prepared in the procession.
And move into the city

Shortly after the convoy entered the city, it was
Aidid's forces ambushed and fired indiscriminately.
The SEALS' Humvee, which they call the "Cutvee".
No roof, doors, or windows were installed.
The protection of the vehicle is limited to the front body of the vehicle and
Kevlar armor panels are placed under the vehicle to protect against shrapnel.
Which doesn't make you feel any safer.

On the way to the target building, Little Big Man
One of Wasdin's teammates felt a jolt of impact in his leg.
So he shouted, "Shit, I've been shot." Wasdin heard.
So he didn't hesitate to stop the car suddenly and turned to check on his friend.
It was found that there was not a single drop of blood on Little Big Man's body.
But on the contrary, Wasdin saw a combat knife in a sheath tied around Little Big Man's leg.
It broke in half and left only a red bruise on his teammate's leg.
Luckily, the knife absorbed the full force of the bullet instead.
To be the legs of Little Big Man


(Kneeling, from left to right) Little Bigman, Casanova, Vasdin, Sauerpus, and Task Force Ranger personnel.

The convoy finally reached the target building, and the SEALS and 75th Ranger teams spread out and formed a defensive perimeter around the building.
Meanwhile, Delta Force rappels into the building from the roof.

Wasdin, while surrounding the target building, got into a gunfight with
Aidid's forces ambush and fire from rooftops surrounding the target building.
With the CAR-15 assault rifle for more than 30 minutes.
Before hearing the radio call for troops to return to the convoy
In the split second that the radio sound ended, Wasdin was hit by a bullet that ricocheted into the back of his left knee.
"At that moment, I couldn't move at all," Wasdin said of his feelings.
And then Casanova, Wasdin's SEALS teammate, responded with a quick wit.
Take care of the enemies in front of you instead of Vasdin.
As Air Force CCT Dan Schilling drags Wasdin into cover
and stop the bleeding and give first aid

It has been 37 minutes since the mission went according to plan.
But then the unexpected happened. The radio sounded and said,
Changing the face of Vasdin's mission and life from day to night

"Super Six One Down."

Blackhawk, flown by Chief Special Agent Level 3 Cliff "Elvis" Walcott.
(CW3 Cliff “Elvis” Wolcott)
The first one was shot down by an RPG, turning the assault mission into a rescue mission.

Wasdin, after receiving treatment and being able to control his body again
Without delay, he jumped behind the wheel with the SEALS team.
Climbing into their old Humvee Qwii, Vasdin holding the steering wheel with his left hand and the CAR-15 in his right, they headed toward the Wolcott Blackhawk crash site.

As they drove to the crash site, they checked their visibility.
Five Somali women walk along the edge of a road.
In strange poses, shoulder to shoulder, colorful cloths stretched over their sides.

And as the Humvee crossed the road to where they were walking,
Five Somali women lift their veils to reveal
Four more armed Somali men hiding behind

Vasdin made a quick decision.
Thumb tap changes the CAR-15's firing mode to full auto.
He fired without taking his finger off the trigger, and the 30-round magazine was completely empty.
Along with the bodies of the nine Somalis who collapsed to the ground.

"It is better to be judged by 12 people than to be carried by 6 people."
(This is an expression of the US military. To put it simply,
It's better to go to court than to be carried to a crematorium.)

Wasdin explained his actions.

Soon after, the situation worsened to another level.
When what they heard on the radio that
Blackhawk, call sign Super Six Four
Another aircraft flown by Special Agent 3 Mike Duran was shot down.

With two Black Hawks down, ammunition running low, and a truck full of wounded
The entire Somali city chased after the American soldiers.
The whole incident turned into a nightmare.
Squeezing the hearts of every Ranger Task Force soldier


Sergeant Randy Shugart and Sergeant Gary Gordon, who received the Medal of Honor after their heroic rescue of Mike Duran before they were unable to repel Idid's forces.

To make matters worse, communications between the Joint Mission Command and Control Center's surveillance aircraft and the convoy leader became confused.

They led the convoy to the nearest crash site.
Instead of having to go to the first drop point, they had to maneuver through a rain of bullets in convoy.
Go through the circle of buildings around the first building, which is the main objective of the mission.

Even the AH-6J Little Birds, an attack helicopter that provides air support in conflict areas, has been stressed by the distorted mission model.

Soon the ammunition reserve for air support ran out.
Little Bird pilots decided to fly close to the rooftops of surrounding buildings.
To divert the attention of the Idid forces from the bombardment of the convoy.

"They didn't do it once, but as many as six times as I can remember,"
Wasdin tells of the heroic deeds of the Night Stalker squadron.
(160th SOAR - Night Stalker)
"Our 160 pilots are so extreme, using themselves as decoys.
And it saved our lives."

Aidid's troops were so numerous that they were outgunned by 5.56 ammunition.
The Vasdin stuff he brought was all gone, even the bullets he took from the Rangers.
The injured person was lying in the back of the Qwi car that was given to him, causing Wasdin
He had to pull out his 9mm SIG pistol to fight back.
With the Aidid forces running towards the convoy without end

At the same moment the convoy slowed down, one of Aidid's soldiers
Emerging from the door of the house closest to him, armed with an AK-47.
Wasdin clashed with Idid's soldiers. Wasdin's first two bullets missed the target, but a 7.62 bullet pierced Wasdin's inner shin bone.
Before Wasdin could shoot again, two more shots, killing the Aidid soldier.

Wasdin's weak right leg dangled beside the doorless Kiwi car.
Wasdin asked to switch seats with Casanova so that he could drive instead.
And Vasdin was able to continue shooting for cover, but after that, no more than 5 to 10 minutes.
Wasdin was also shot and injured for the third time, in his left ankle.
"My feelings towards the enemy forces are boiling," Vasdin said.

"But in a split second, I realized that I was running into a snag."
When the Qwi car drove over a landmine, luckily the Kevlar armor panel under the car was intact.
Save everyone in that car. The explosion caused the Qwi engine to stop working.
And temporarily stopped

With three bullet holes on Wasdin's body.
It reminded him of one of his favorite movies, "The Alamo."
He will not give up if he still has the strength to fight. Vasdin gathered his wits and strength.
Covering his teammates with a shot

"To tell you the truth, I didn't have the strength to shoot anyone to death at that time."
Vasdin recalled himself at that time.
"And I also used up all of Casanova's 9mm magazines."


The only photo taken in the middle of the battlefield in Mogadishu.

The next event, which is similar to the movie, the resistance forces move quickly.
They were able to reach the officers who were stuck in the convoy and remove them from the area.
When the Aidid troops saw the US reinforcements, they retreated.
Helping U.S. troops breathe a sigh of relief

"Take it easy on him," Casanova said to the reinforcements who had arrived to help.
Along with helping to carry Wasdin's weak body onto the M35 truck with a canvas roof.
"His right leg is hanging so much that it's almost torn off."
Casanova described Vasdin's condition at that time.
The entire convoy moved out of the area and returned to the base airfield safely.

The image of the runway seen in the movie is a bit of an exaggeration.
A picture of American soldiers lying injured, covering the entire area.
A medic is busy treating his troops, a Ranger opens the back of a Humvee
Found blood flowing all over the pickup truck.

Images of several leaders of the Aidid forces have created fear.
US forces are expected to re-enter the city.
Some chose to flee the city, while others banded together to boycott and surrender Aidid.
To US forces in exchange for freedom.

The mental image of the four young SEALS in DEVGRU.
Being dispatched to assist Delta Force's Alpha Company mission.
Preparing equipment to provide assistance
Charlie Company, a new wave of Rangers, will be taking turns.

But in reality, all of the images mentioned above never actually happened...

Because of the broadcast in the United States
The outcome of the war in Somalia has the government fearing the outcome.
That will create negative public sentiment if ordered.
To continue the counter-operation

"Instead of seeing the results we will get,
President Clinton, on the other hand, sees our sacrifices as
It is a defeat."

Vasdin spoke with a worried tone.

"And he also ordered a halt to all operations against Idid."

Four months later, all suspects arrested by the Rangers task force
Released to freedom, this mission should be:
Mission to enter the target, capture and withdraw

However, all special operations personnel must carry out their missions in an open location.
and was ambushed by over a thousand Somali forces of Aidid.

Deciding to take action in broad daylight instead of at night
Which will help special operations forces have the upper hand.

Send troops into a crowded city without armored vehicles or
Gunship aircraft provide surveillance or fire support.
Further reducing the advantage of the US forces

For a warrior like Howard Wasdin
The defeat he felt was probably
Failure to complete duties

Source
https://coffeeordie.com/navy-seals-mogadishu/

by
Miguel Ortiz, We are the Mighty October 7, 2020

article
THE NAVY SEALS YOU DIDN'T SEE IN BLACK HAWK DOWN

Translated by Teetat Rinchai on October 12, 2020.
Compiled by Ranakrit " VikinGz " Sriphumma on October 12, 2020.