Check out the behind the scenes video about the film. You mentioned delta do their own thing and it shows it there. Ranger actor done a boot camp and the delta actors were blowing stuff up on day 1 👍
Glad to see Army Special Forces guys reactions to this incident. My father was SF in Nam, KIA in 64. So I decided to join as a medic. Figured I could save someone else's father. Thanks.
Shugart and Gordon the Delta snipers that protected the crash site that day. And ultimately sacrificed themselves. Those were true warriors of a special breed of men. Never forget those two brave beyond words.
One thing that I really wish had made it into the movie was HOW they negotiated the release of Durant. The US negotiator met with a representative from Adid. After listening to their list of demands said... And I paraphrase... If Durant isnt released in 24 hours then no one could stop the onslaught that the entire US military would bring down. Basically saying that they would level the city. Durant was released within hours. In an interview, the negotiator said it was the easiest negotiation he was ever a part of.
The Russians did that in Beirut a coupler embassy people were kidnapped,the Russians said we will execute every warlord in the city then all family members then all relations,
I heard the similar story from a SF who at that time was in the backup team standing by. "If Durant didn't come back" he said, "we will go in and kill them all."
I'm not really sure but I think that President Clinton said to them that if they didn't give Durant back in 24 hrs "the whole Somali Country was going to be bombed back to the stone age", they moved a Nimitz Supercarrier and it's battle group to the coast of Somalia. Within hrs they handed him over. Please feel free to do the research, that interview must be somewhere. I saw it in "HN News" which belonged to CNN, the difference was that they gave a summary of the news every 30 minutes.
That sounds almost like what the Navy did, right after the War of 1812 to the Barbary Pirates. We had negotiated a peace years before, but during the war Great Britain had encouraged them to violate the treaty and start attacking our merchant vessels again. Once the war ended The US Navy rolled into the Capitol cities' harbors of the three countries that the pirates came from and said apologize, pay us back for everything and sign this treaty that acknowledges that if you ever violate it we will burn your countries to the ground. All three signed and when the Navy ships returned to the US they were hailed as heroes. When asked how he managed to get compliance so quickly the mission commander said, "We conducted our negotiations down the barrels of our guns."
The two snipers you spoke about, Sughart & Gordon, Gary was one of my close friends that a day never passes without me thinking about him. Hard to believe it will be 30 years this Oct, a truly special person he was. It is amazing to think being a generation before you how different modern SF seems to be but similar at the same time. And of coarse all these years later, big Army still doesn't know what to make of SF.
Ranger Regiment developed the walking blood bank sometime in the early 2010s - this is 20 years too early for that. This is the event that caused the development of Tactical Combat Casualty Care and the injury you were talking about with the arterial wound high in the pelvis ( too high for a tourniquet ) was the origin for the development of quick clot. remember in 1993 even tourniquets were generally unused with the feeling that it would cause limb loss. This engagement was the pivotal moment in combat medicine in the last 50 years that spurred all the development that lowered combat casualty rates and improved survival in the last 20 years of war.
I must be years outta the loop. Ive always thought if your out in the wilderness and you get a sever injury that is bleeding you want to do the tourniquet. That its more important to stop the bleeding. Id honestly rather lose the limb then bleed to death.
@@dimetime35c you are so far out of the loop that you are back in the loop - tourniquets were commonly taught until sometime in the late 70s or early 80s then tourniquets fell out of favor in medicine. the advent of TCCC in the late 90s spurred on by this event revived the tourniquet use showing real data about limb loss and it returned to civilian medicine in the late 2000s and was instrumental in the boston boming incident the problem was inappropiate useage and poor materials choice that caused unneccessary problems that caused medicine to shy away from tourniquets for a few decades
@@stevendubin5871 my pattern of thinking was your put in the middle of no were and your bleeding severely. The first thing you is to stop the bleeding.
@@dimetime35c i am referencing what the official medical establishment espoused for clinical doctrine and education during the late 1970s or early 1980s until the late 1990s. In my early days tourniquets were not being taught and were referenced in classes as a last ditch resort with the caveat " if you use it you will lose a limb " this was because of poor experiences with improvised ineffective tourniquets and lack of real data. since then the data has shown no loss of limbs that would not have been lost anyway from the injury with the timeframe of 2 hrs prior to definitive medical ( surgical ) care. There is insufficient data past the 2 hr timeframe. back in that era bleeding control emphasized direct pressure and pressure points and elevation. followed by pressure dressings. tourniquets were deliberately deemphasized and discouraged as a last resort prior to loss of life. keep in mind that medical training is usually geared for urban/suburban settings where there can be an ems response within 15 minutes or less and typically 15 to 30 mins to a hospital for the ambulance. in that setting given a poor record of outcomes in that time a bleed could be controlled for that time with other methods so the medical establishment deliberately discouraged tourniquets. That has since changed since the founding of tactical medicine and the experiences of the early 2000's and tourniquets while not technically the first resort can now be utilized early as needed as the circumstances dictate. by the way middle of nowhere is officially defined as wilderness medicine ( a specialized subset of medicine that most medical professionals cant even comprehend ) and is usually recognized as greater than 2 hrs to get to definitive medical care or possibly even greater than 1 to 2 hrs just to get the patient to the ambulance let alone the hospital.
They put Tourniquet and severe bleeding first because they found that people more often died from severe bleeding than for example running out of air. In fact bleeding out inaction also inhibits 02 as 02 is transported in Red Blood cells. You can be in a Tourniquet 2 hours before you start causing any damage. So unless you really out by yourself in the middle of nowhere a Tourniquet is fine. As I already said a friend of mine invented the Jetts Tourniquet that addresses the femoral injury that corpral Smith had. They are now have better improved versions and are on most ambulances in the US at least.
I live in Mogadishu, Somalia, and I vividly remember this war, even though the events of the movie only revolve around a specific operation; the war continued for several more days. As you mentioned in your discussion, regarding the tactics used in the RPGs against helicopters, Russians trained General Aid and his team during Siad Barre's government. P.S Currently, Somalia is a close ally of the United States. Thank you guys for the in-depth analysis of the movie.
Wow, the infrastructure has gotten better in recent years then, I’d imagine. How hard is it to have internet access over there? I know a couple people from Somaliland but I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone from straight up Somalia.
Sean and Kurt sharing memories is the best! Cueing off the movie to explain and expand using their own lived experience... these videos just get better and better.
@@emmanuelawosusi2365 go to your local recruiter and they will have all the information for you. Two things that will help you being in good shape so you will get good pt scores and do well on the asvab. I was in the 2nd Ranger bat from 03-06
The Ranger officer butting heads w/ the Delta guys was captain Michael Steele. He made it to full colonel & commanded a brigade combat team in the 101st. His career ended w/ a letter of reprimand. On an operation In Iraq, he reportedly gave his troops illegal orders to open fire on all military age males, but denied it to investigators.
Yep. I was on that op. And those soldiers went to prison. Sucks. He gave an ambiguous order. The ROE was dogshit. It's always the guys at the bottom that pay the price.
He really got fired because he didn't play well with others. He didn't play well with CAG and he didn't play well with Marines in Anbar and the Corps got real sick of his bullshit.
I watched this in Uzbekistan in 2002, during Operation Anaconda. While we were watching, one of the scenes was actual footage shot from a P3 Orion. My copilot says: “Oh. That’s our video.” We stop the movie and ask him “what did you say?” He replies that he was one of the pilots in a P3 filming the operation and that overhead footage was captured by his crew. We were stunned. I’m just a guard baby, but as I learned more about the people I served with I was truly honored to have served with some great people (like my friend the Night Stalker.”
I had a buddy who after he graduated in 1988 🎓, went in to fly helo's, did that for his 1st deployment, then got into flying little bird M.D.500, then somehow fenagled a transfer to 160th S.O.A.R. (A) . Then he decided to go career military 🪖, and we lost touch after that. ...from Wyoming USA 🇺🇸 🤠
I was with 2nd BN 20th Special Forces Group with CJSOTF in K2 and Afghanistan back in 2002-2003. We got a briefing with SSG Eversman before we left from Bragg according to him and alot of other Rangers and CAG guys we had that served in Somalia according to all of them the biggest problem was that because they had been there so long running the same mission over and over they lost the initiative. Eversman said the first and last time an enemy should get to se a Ranger or CAG guy is when they kick down your door and shoot you in the face. The bad guys got the chance to acclimate to their MO after watching then operate for 6 weeks.
In a regular SF group once you make Major you are placed in HQ. In fact you can turn down Major up to 4 times to stay with your team. CAG and SMUs are different their ranking officers still operate in the field.
The two Delta Operators, MSG Gary Gordon and SFC Randall Shughart, posthumously received the Medal of Honor for their sacrifice to save Super 6-4 pilot CW2 Michael Durant. When I was in PLDC I did my research paper on them and the cadre asked me to read it again on graduation day. I'm glad you commented on their character being representative of the caliber of men Delta has. Anytime we worked with them (in support or training) we were always in awe.
That battle had some delta guy s you wouldn’t wanna meet in your worst nightmare in a place like Mogadishu. Absolute machines of death. Green berets are more focused around longer term unconventional warfare ops like training insurgencies and stuff. They seem to work a lot more with CIA than Devgru etc Whereas the “go pull some ants that look like THIS out from that fire ant hill and do t sisturb the ant mound on your way in and out via a night stalker courtesy fast rope. It’s almost like saying do that and don’t get but by any ants. Although this was such a unique scenario it’s not fair to make generalized statements about the unit and the types of missions they do since outside of conventional war theaters like Afghanistan and Iraq from what I understand missions this just sheer huge busting to the brim with elite American soldiers (tons of rangers too)was extremely rare ) Snd the dumb ass politicians trying to play both sides who were afraid of collateral damage and so sent these guys in without ac130. All they had were friggin little birds for any type of qrf but if the literal worlds best Blackhawk pilots are getting shot down (shoot 100 RPGs 1 of em fuckers gonna hit) and yet can only offer more birds and little birds at that, no actual gun ships or anything. The problem is that our guys are so good where even with the cards stacked badly against them they still pull through and come out on top and politicians can get away with putting the nations most elite guys in heaps of shit to avoid pissing off this asshole or that asshole for 5 minutes But it’s statistics 101 that sooner or later something is gonna happen and with these guys chances are it’s gonna start with some sort of fluke or complete freak accident which starts a chain of events that can’t be slowed down and as Americans we don’t “cut our losses” so in getting the guys from first crash up and out and destroying bird stuff hek ajorher gets shot and repeat and keeps happening until the birds can’t do shit and the ranger convoy is the only way out of city driving through a maze of streets that look identical and roadblaocks being put up and down at a fluid pace. And then even after the movie ends. They still had mike Durant. And doesn’t matter what we’d lost at that point th y would’ve got that boy out. It’s jsut weird thinking about this stuff and the BLD scenario is one scenario that exemplifies so many bigger issues that can lead to stuf like this and is just the perfect event to point to to REMEMBER what can happen and when non warriors become complacent due to real warriors insane success rate.
I watched this with my dad when I was around 12 in '04. To this day no scene in any movie has ever made me feel the way the Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon scene did. Hard to describe at 12, but it was like something grabbing your soul making you feel every emotion a human has. No other way to put it but those two are an example of the pinnacle of what a man should be.
_"When I go home my friends ask me, 'Why do you do it man, what are you some kind of war junkie?' but I don't say a goddamn thing. They wouldn't understand. They just don't know why we do it. They don't understand that it's about the men next to you, that's it, and that's all it is."_
My father is a retired green beret. I used to hang out with the teams a lot but I have never actually known what he did. Watching you guys makes me feel like I can better understand with something’s.
My grandpa was a Marine Raider and I never knew until after he was dead. Wish I could’ve asked him more about his experiences. I knew he was a marine, but I didn’t know he was SOF.
That snap of a passing bullet is one of the reasons (besides being cheap lol) that the majority of Marine Corps rifle ranges still make you pull "pits" RE: RPGs not only did they understand where to shoot, but they also figured out they needed to weld in blast deflectors so when they shot the RPGs at an upward angle towards helicopters they wouldn't be hurt or killed by the backblast of the RPG going off.
44:20 Thank you guys for talking about the real bond of brotherhood and love that forms between two men in the worst situation life can offer. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." This brought me to tears.
I served 5 years in 10th Group. Then went to Aviation and was assigned to 10th Mountain at Ft Drum right after the Somalia SNAFU. What isn't shown in the movie and has gone pretty much ignored is the support that came from the AH-1 Cobras during the convoy mission to rescue the forces over whelmed in the city. The movie shows the ground convoy, but the supporting Aviation is not in the movie. One W4 had 3 Cobras shot out from under him supporting that mission and he just jumped into another and went back in the fight. I met him as he was out processing as I was getting established to set up the Cav with their new Kiowa Warriors. He was thin with silver hair and very laid back. You would never have guessed he was The Man. A lot of men came back home because of him.
I don’t remember Apaches being there at this time. I’m not doubting you, I just don’t remember it, but I do remember the “little birds” conducting gun runs that night. I also remember that the Marines had Cobra’s but they stayed on their ship when this happened. That said, the move does not show the or even mention Task Force 2-14 (10th Mountain) or in particular the 1-87th. But then, it wasn’t a move about the 10th Mountain Division.
Respect. Our NJ National Guard went through FT Drum back in 05/06 with 42nd Infantry Division. I know, stop calling us half-rainbow or "skittles" Ft. Drum has the only range I ever saw that the targets twist during 'sit up' and turn forward.
January 28, 2008 Mosul Iraq we got hit by a complex ambush, whether was so bad no air was up at the time. It took 24 minutes for air to get up and to us, we lost our lead M1114 and had five KIA immediately. The enemy had us completely surrounded in a perfect kill zone, and we weren’t going anywhere without recovering my men. When THUG 1-4 came on station they called me and offered to lay down rockets so we could break contact without even noticing what was left of our lead vehicle, much less see the KIA. I said “no, I need you to provide security, I’ve got catastrophic kill with five KIA. We aren’t going anywhere.” The enemy would risk life to take US Soldiers bodies, and/or any gear/equipment to use as propaganda against us and there was no way we were letting them get any of our guys. That fight and recovery lasted nearly five hours. Anyway the air asserts that come on station was THUG 1-4 and when they got there I swear to god the enemy reacted as if was no big deal and just started engaging the Kiowa’s. THUG 1-4 went back for reload three times, then went back to switch birds because he’d take so much damage and came back to the fight. I wish I’d gotten to meet him, he saved our asses and stayed in the fight until Apaches and Fast movers came on station. There’s some video of that day floating around RUclips, we out tank and hellfires into a mosque that day because we were getting engaged from it and another mosque that stopped engaging us when we lit it up with 240s (the biggest thing 3ACRs commander allowed because he said “it’s not that kind of war anymore” when we asked for .50 cal and Mk19 ammo, thanks COL Bills”)
@@syskusa6512 have you seen the footage of the failed capture of el chapo's son in the capital city of sinaloa? The sinaloa cartel coordinated an attack on the city against the Mexican army forces there trying to capture him. It was wild. It was similar to the black hawk down situation. But no one in the special ops community ever talks about it
I just retired after 21 years active army medic, love watching this shit! I wasn't anything special, just a line medic most of the time, did the invasion and a couple additional times 4/9 Infantry and so on but cool hearing this because i did a little time working with 160th in Central America which one one of the best assignments I was on!
I have full respect for Tier I SMU units. But after reading "Chosen Soldier: The Making of a Special Forces Warrior", I've come to really respect the Green Berets. Even though they're fully capable of standing on their own in a firefight, the one thing that they excel at that no one else does is working with and training other cultures. The people & foreign language skills are critical to good intel and mission success, and such skills take years to develop. As the author of "Chosen Soldier" wrote, kicking the door down is easy; knowing WHICH door to kick is much more difficult. Again, every unit has their mission specialties. But that's what stands out to me for the Green Berets. And that's why I found the "We are just Green Berets" line amusing.
Mike Durant covers the part of the two Operators coming to defend him in his book "In the Company of Heroes," it's an incredible description of their actions and tribute to the type of guys they were.
Such a good book. My old man met Durant and took a pic with him. My dad gave me the book with the pic when I was a kid. Such a good book. I’ll never forget reading it at that age. I wish they covered more of his story in the movie.
There is a great short documentary by SGT Struecker who went back to Mogadishu about 20 years after these events. It was quite something as he was in a secure convoy driving back through the streets they fought on and he was re-telling everything that he experienced during that operation.
43:53 If im not mistaken, Randy Shughart (the delta sniper) actually ran with a non magnified reddot optic on his M14, specifically for engaging targets better from the heli. Great stuff guys.
He ran an ART scope(Adjustable Range Telescope) on his M21.It was not an M1A. Randy was from Lincoln,Nebraska-and a quiet unassuming guy who I miss every day.He was one of the few who could run that weapon like an extension of himself.
M14, M1A, M21 effectively all the same thing since the full auto selector was removed shortly after inception, but I read it was the M14. Also read he used an Aim Point CompM2/M68 reflex for quick target acquisition from Helo.
@@henrywes2628 An M21 is not at all the same as an M14.It’s a dedicated SWS.It’s Chromium lined and has a free floater and is bedded.The differences are vast.
@@henrywes2628 One other thing-the Comp M2 wasn’t even released until 2000-we were in Somalia in 1993.I mentioned in a previous post what Randy ran on his weapon.
@@irishdefense77 yeah, the M2 was not out yet agreed. Too bad the set of Blackhawk Down didn't have your insight as there has been much debate about the set ups of both rifles used.
I am only seven minutes in and I already had to stop to say how excellent it was that you took the time to explain that the Ranger Captain was not just being an a$$, he was, in his way, taking care of his men. EDIT: And I am now at thirty minutes and all you guys have done is jaw on about your training ... and it was great! :D
Dude I literally found and binge watched every episode of this, just this morning, and was disappointed there were no more to watch... Then this drops. What timing! Love the content y'all! Cheers from Texas
Ya'll need to read Mike Durant's new book!!Was in the 160th spec ops, and just reading about what he went through with this, bones broken, abandonment, being 2 miles away from the air base, everyone being killed and 2 receiving medal of honor, him getting captured and tortured, all the way to him now running for Alabama senator! Dude was and is a hero!
31:18 They were taught to set the rpg on a timer and air burst it near the tail rotor. A technique taught by the CIA to the mujahideen in Afghanistan in the 80’s to take down Russian choppers. This technique spread around the various Islamic guerrilla groups. Another interesting fact was Randy Shughart carried an M14 because the 5.56mm rounds they used for the M4s were a green tipped round that didn’t tumble but would rip straight through the somalis - somalis who were usually high on khat. So they would shoot them multiple times and they would keep moving. But the 7.62mm round would knock them down and keep them down.
My dad was in Samolia...doesn't talk about it much, but I remember when I was kid and this movie came out. He went to go see it in the theater, came back home, didn't say a word for what seemed like days.
This has always been one of my go-to movies to watch with my dad. Good action, a lot of drama, and it touches on a lot of the aspects of war from the "wtf are we doing here" to the respect for the locals and the usual war movie let's go kill shit.. and as a movie buff, it's always interesting going back and seeing all the future stars in this movie as well.
Unfortunately my dad was there in this shit. We've tried a few times, but he can never watch any more than 5 minutes of this movie, as well as the opening of Saving Private Ryan. These two movies are "too accurate" he says.
Black Hawk Down is by far one of the most realistic war/combat movies of all time. It shows it all. The reality that even being a superior force, sometimes it's not enough and ya still get fucked up. Things go wrong. It shows the hectic nature of it all. But then also shows the pure radiance and will power of these guys.
love this reaction, not just about the movie, but also your own personal experiences. Also, other than 10th Mountain and the Pakistani's, there were also Malaysian soldiers there as part of the UN mission. 1 Malaysian soldier was KIA during the rescue mission.
Apparently the story with hoot's rifle being on fire was he had cleared the weapon and then pulled the trigger so the hammer is dropped. When the hammer is dropped on a rifle, you can't actually work the safety. It's a weird design but he also didn't care. To him, the gun's clear and safe
I am sure a fellow Bat Boy caught this, but just in case you missed it.While I believe the 75thRR would appreciate the additional funding moving from tier 2 to tier 1 the fact of the matter is that the 75thRR and their battalions are not tier 1 units. I will say that the Rangers Recon element is a tier 1 unit. Or at least when I was in. BTW I did not recall Captain Steel losing his commission so he couldn't be a Sergeant Major. The real guy was huge in size so it is funny to see the smaller actor play him same thing with Everson that guy is much bigger than the Josh actor that played him. De Tomaso is now a Colonel I believe saw him in Iraq.
I heard SEAL Team 6 who are also a Tier 1 unit like the Deltas were there to giving sniper cover and overwatch but they were so secretive that they were literally never ever mentioned even when some of them received the silver star medal.
They were mentioned in the book couple of times. They were driving one of the humwees. Were actually leading the convoy after McKnight was wounded. Delta Paul Howe said that ST6 were there just because every branch wanted their SF guys seeing some action.
Your conversations and how much you listen to each other gives me that nice inflated heart feeling Going through a lot sh|t wakes you up and just chattin and relaxing with similar people can be magic
Rangers don’t do CAG support hardly at all anymore, it’s been unilateral direct action raids for decades now, (essentially Rangers doing the ACTUAL raid, not supporting it) the pulling Blocking position type stuff is very VERY outdated mission set for regiment. Modern Ranger regiment is an entirely different beast than it was on this movie.
So I was not SF or assigned to any SF group. I was just Paratrooper assigned to 3/504 PIR when Chaplain Strueker was our battalion Chaplain. We used to get made fun of since the most bad ass guy in our battalion was a Chaplain.
This movie was heart wrenching for me. Definitely on the top list next to private ryan & hacksaw ridge which made me cry a few times. Don't tell anyone. It was the onions.
@@DeusAstro I went in to it knowing it was very Hollywoodified. I enjoyed it, and there were definitely some emotional parts, but it was certainly no Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers.
@@Mrwhomeyou .. yeah, thought same thing. How do you put Blk Hawk Down & Saving private Ryan in with Hacksaw?? I like Clint too. But ffs, Good morning Vietnam was a better military movie. At a minimum put Lone survivor in there... I'm still pissed the guys I supported, P.J.'s, (did ecm on hh60's) never get any publicity to the public. I know tier 1 guys & every pilot will give them the utmost respect, but the general public doesn't even know bout them. Cause Hollywood only wants to make the "kill or capture" sf movies... The other hero's that go into to rescue the injured tier 1 or downed pilots & airmen never get any Hollywood coverage....
I remember reading the book a few years ago and one of the Delta guys was lamenting the performance of his CAR-15 rifles and how, despite having the latest and greatest in bullets (M855), he felt like he had to shoot a guy 3 or 4 times just to get his attention. Because, unless the bullet hit a vital organ, the bullet just punched a tiny little hole in their body. Kinda like getting stabbed with an ice-pick, it wasn't necessarily lethal or even debilitating so guys could just get right back up again and keep fighting. And he also commented how some of the guys were giving Shugart a bunch of shit for using an old-ass M14 but whenever he shot a guy, that guy went down and stayed down. Also, Shugart wasn't using a magnified optic. It was actually an Aimpoint Comp M2 red dot. I _think_ they mentioned in the book that it was easier to provide sniper fire from a helo than it would be using a magnified optic.
@@ogbrownwalrus2428 I've heard that too. Though most of the cloners discussions I've read agree it was most likely a 3000 or 5000. They would know better than me but I don't think the 2000 is out of the realm of possibilities either.
Randy Shugart probably had more confidence in his weapon than a 556 rifle. That's the advantage that he was comfortable with. After all, this wasn't his first rodeo. The courage that it took to attempt to hold that position is incredible.
I was in 3 bgd 4th id, we ended up getting fed by the op for in a village after we cleared it, our unit was black on mres for days so i remember you guys gave us some of the stuff you had, i got an apple that was cooled from the morning, best apple i have ever had. I also remember knockong out a bunch of your tanks from the top of one of the cliffs with my javlin, fun times
I went to highschool with Specialist David Richie. He was in the rear vehicle when his friend Ruiz was wounded while manning the .50. Ruiz was barely conscious and slumped down into the seat so they couldn’t get into the turret from inside. Dave GOT OUT of the Humvee, climbed up the side and got the .50 back up. Ruiz was still half in the seat so Dave re-engaged with the .50 while hanging off the side as the driver hauled ass. He received a Purple Heart among other things but he’s almost embarrassed by praise and it’s obviously very painful remembering the friends he lost. He’s a humble, soft spoken guy who quietly goes about life and seems to avoid recognition as much as possible. I actually had to read about the stuff he did in the book Michael Durant (who was captured) wrote. The indescribable valor of guys like Dave and everyone he fought beside is awe inspiring. After the Rangers, he became a Med Evac pilot. Now he’s a wildfire pilot in WA. Y’all are a different breed of human. Bless you.
He did and was not for long range. He also had an MP5 he gave Durant. Watch the Patreon video with Paul Howe explaining the real story. Not far from the movie.
Ironically, if the MH-60s that the SOAR had used standard M240s as door guns, they could have unmounted them frim the door and used them to hold off the crowds. Instead they had miniguns in the doors, which required electric power to run the guns. So once rhe helos crashed, they were useless.
I knew one of the medics who did the extraction of the first pilot’s body while the firefight raged around him. He was in the reserves when I knew him, 10 years after Mogadishu, and President of Nebraska Emergency Medical Services Association. I worked with his reserves colonel, who told me about it, and that he got a Silver Star.
This was such a great episode not just for your guy's personal critique and input of the movie but also how you shared your experiences and lessons from service. Great content !
New to the channel and it’s quickly becoming my favorite thing on yt. So much respect for you guys and the service you gave and I’m really enjoying the breakdowns. Salute sirs
I love this movie! My papa was in Somalia during this incident and my family are great friends with the captured pilot. He’s from New Hampshire and my nana served with him in the National Guard.
I just graduated 68w ait and we trained on blood transfusions. Currently the training is working towards the medics carrying little coolers with whole blood on missions. As far as blood transfusions, we trained on taking the blood from the donor, into a bag, then into the patient.
I hate to be "that guy" but the only Tier 1 assets the 75th has is the RRC and RMICO. the 3 Ranger Bn's are Tier 2 ops. Love this series btw, it's my favorite thing you do. RLTW
No, Regiment now reports directly to JSOC, and are doing missions that only 20 years ago were considered 'CAG only'. So for the cheap seats that are stuck on that 'Tier' horsehit, the 75th Ranger Regiment would be considered 'Tier One'. Not just RMIB and RRC. If you're part of TF Green, TF Blue or any SOF-JTF (which all of Regiment is) you're 'Tier One' for airsofters, paintballers and wannabes that don't know what 'Tiers' actually mean because they never had the balls to enlist and make it into a Special Operations unit. What boneheads stuck on that hero worship Tier thing don't realize, is that the Tier system is based on asset budgets, not the unit itself or how 'elite' it is. So if you want to assign Tiers, an aircraft carrier packed full of personnel and aircraft, would be (say) Tier One. CAG and Regiment would probably be Tier Three or Four because of the budget differential. The funny part is, the guys don't give a shit what you call them. Call them Tier 771. They really don't care. They know who they are, know how they got there, have a serious job to do and really don't care what they get called by wannabes on the internet, in video games, fantasy novels, on TV shows and in movies. They have bigger problems. If you think anyone in Special Operations measures themselves on a tier based system, you'd be dead wrong. If you ever speak to someone who legitimately served in a Special operations unit that refers to themselves on a tier system, they are just treating you like an idiot and mansplaining it to you. If someone does refer to themselves as having served in a 'Tier One' unit, you can be 99% sure you have a poser on your hands. Ex-B Co, 3/75th
@@michaelkirk4056 Thanks for the info on the new JSOC assignment, this was not the case when I served, Still I think regimental rangers have been crying about the tier lines being fucked up since forever, So the tone of your comment is not surprising. ML&R
Enjoy watching you guys. Army vet and it's comfortable to hear y'all's conversations. Brings a smile to my face. Hearing you guys talk about NTC brought back so many memories. Thanks guys
As far as walking blood banks, it’s called Valkyrie now. At least for Corpsmen such as myself, basically you identify the person with a matching blood type (pre identified obviously). You’re drawing the blood from your donor into a bag, then doing the transfusion from that bag to your patient. Obviously there’s a lot more steps, and being extremely clean is super important but that’s how we do it nowadays.
As big of a breakdown you laid on the “this is my safety” scene, there was even more to it. Supposedly the story goes, the CAG guy cleared and dry fired it before reinserting his mag, so it doesn’t get any safer than that. Plus in production, the selector levers on the rubber ducks didn’t move. Love the coverage
I was a former 91B ( reclassified as 68W now). We'd carry emergency transfusion kits, you would place a large bore needle into the donor and the blood would drain into a bag, then you would start a line on the patient and hang the blood to infuse and have somebody squeezing it in. Love the channel!!
They don't show this in the movie but in the real event, Super 6-2, the Black Hawk which inserted Shughart and Gordon, was actually circling the 6-4 crash site providing minigun fire to ease the Delta Operators' burden a bit and to keep the mob coming down on them at bay. Shughart and Gordon could've very well survived that day if Super 6-2 hadn't been hit with an RPG while providing suppressing fire toward the crowd swarming the 6-4 crash site. Super 6-2 had to pull out only after 10 minutes of minigun fire because the RPG slammed directly into the cockpit and knocked the copilot unconscious. Luckily Goffena, Super 6-2's pilot, managed to crash land at the friendly zone in the south of the city despite the damage and the entire crew survived and the mission was spared another disaster. Unfortunately it resulted in the Delta Operators dying after they ran out of ammo.
One of the little bird pilots in the movie was CW4 Keith Jones who did the actual rescue of SSG Dan Busch in Mogadishu. It's gotta be one of the first movies where see the people and the machines who were actually there in action.
During the 1962 film the longest day about D-day one of the people portraying the army rangers climbing Point-Du-Hoc was actually one of the rangers who did so on d-day 17 years prior when he was 22 his name was Private Joseph Lowe
31:26 Muhammad Farah Ahdid (the somalia faction leader) studied at Frunze military academy in moscow. He also trained in italy too. He noticed how russian mig helicopters were getting shot down in afghanistan. And how russian response teams (qrf) would simply get obliterated by guerrilla fighting tactics. Learning from this he implemented the same tactics in Somalia. The only difference is he would frenzy a mob by giving them drugs to go near the crash-sights and set up rpg teams within them. The somalis would also set up road blocks to deter any vehicles or armor convoys. Super 6-4 was actually hit at the main rotor and managed to limp a mile or 2 south towards a friendly airbase but sadly the main gear box disintegrated mid air causing the bird to have a controlled crash. Not a lot of people know this but 3 total helicopters were hit. First being super 6-1 second being 6-4 and the third being the helicopter that dropped off Gordon and Shughart. It took 3 helicopters for command to realize whats going on to send un forces i believe 13 hours after super 6-1 got hit.
Ah, NTC. I was an infantry scout in an NG sniper platoon. I remember when I went to NTC. I think I got the best training there. As AD in the 10th Mountain Division, we always went to Fort Polk, LA, to train. I remember falling inside an old mine shaft after the ground caved in. Scary stuff. I met 1SG Matt Eversmann when I got to my unit (B Co, 4-331 IN, 10th MTN). He was super chill. I didn't know who he was until someone pointed that out. Is crazy because I had the BHD book with me when I met him. Anyway, great reaction and explanation video. RLTW.
Brad Hailing was also another Delta guy in the same helicopter as Gordon and Shugart. He was originally going to infill with them to save Durant but one of the nightstalker door gunners got shot and he took his position on the minigun. He ended up having his leg blown off by an RPG and was retired from the Unit after this. He has said in many interviews that none of them thought Shugart and Gordon would get killed and they all believed they could hold off the enemy no matter how long it took.
OMG Buck….I was on that deployment! That dude who got his kit taken was my buddy! 🤣 I never thought I’d hear about it again. That was some crazy shit, and there were some decisions that led to that scenario playing out
Coming from an ADF background with an uncle who served 28 years in 3, 4 RAR, SASR and 2CDO. Thank you for your service lads. CDO are our Green Beret, SASR are the Sandy Beret.
An interesting detail to note that they changed for the movie about the guy who fell out of the helicopter, we don't know why he fell exactly. There's a bunch of theories by witnesses that he was carrying too much gear, or he was over-excited and missed the rope, but for the movie they changed it to a helicopter maneuver. I feel like they should've kept the real version in to showcase how unpredictable combat can be, it would also have amplified the shoot down of the Black Hawks because you wouldn't expect them to have until they did, of course aside from the title.
the story was he had never fast roped from an aircraft. when I joined the Ranger Regiment in 97, we trained all the time on the fast rope tower with and without gear all the time. Our train up to RF1 involved training on every rotary wing airframe, fast roping and air assault. Our whole mentality at the time was refighting this battle.
Every episode turns into Mr. McGregor light, strolling down memory lane. War stories are great, but stick the task at hand. Maybe add some ridalin to those drinks. 😂
Our platoon worked with a team from 3rd group in Afghanistan as well as Navy SEALs. We worked with the SEALs for a 3 day mission, but were stationed on a SF base for about six months. They were extremely humble and willing to teach us and let us use their high speed gear. They were never arrogant. I gained even more respect for them when we worked side by side with them. True professionals and always humble.
Look at the reaction at 6:03, I LOVED that subtle eye twitch. I imagine the Delta Force character is thinking, "Is this clown REALLY using football analogies for combat?" I knew a Major who loved to do that and when I was briefing my people before a CONUS FTX (after he had launched into every sports cliché he could think of before leaving the tent), I said, "I'm not gonna use sports analogies because those are for pussies. Football players wanna be US!" I got the deepest and loudest 'Hooah' I ever heard in reaction. I was later told that when the Batt XO heard what I'd said, he lost his mind. I also heard that the CSM heard him ranting and essentially said he agreed with what I'd said and the XO should just let it go. He always gave me the 'stink eye' after that, which I couldn't have cared less about
At @49:00 or so they mentioned Pakistani forces, but sadly what the movie somewhat didn't show was that Malaysians were also part of the convoy during the Mogadishu Mile. Around 100+ of them answered the call to rescue, and we lost 1 man when his Condor APC got hit by an RPG. 9 other men wounded. I hope that their sacrifice would be remembered, since the film did them a little injustice. P/s: by we, I meant as a nation. I'm in no way military, just wanted to chime in
You guys do a great job breaking down these films. Lot of fun to watch. I'd like to give a shout out to the book too, which was incredible. I think I read it one sitting..... Thanks and keep up the good work.
This is good insight. The author of Blackhawk Down said the sports media did more detailed breakdowns of "what went wrong" after a football game than the military did for this operation. He mostly had to piece together the events of that day via interviews with both the US servicemen who were there and Somalis who witnessed it.
Love these, brother. keep these up. I went in as an 11B in 1997 and served with some guys that fought in Mog. So much respect. I can say as an 11B enlisted dude in the 82nd, we looked up to SF and Delta. They were our heroes.
this was awesome! Couldn't agree more that the book is amazing! This is one of my favorite movies that was done very well in accordance to the book. Thank you so much for breaking this down. From a civilian that has neve served, it gives me more information of what combat really is and I really appreciate all those who have given there lives for their brothers and us! Thank you for your service and keep doing what you do!
Immediately following the events of Black Hawk Down, U.S. Navy and Marine forces arrived off the coast of Mogadishu. It was the New Orleans ARG and the Abraham Lincoln carrier together for a month following. General Aideed's son was a Marine and onboard one of the ships in the ARG. He later exited the Marine Corps and returned to Somalia and became a Warlord like his Father.
160 vs 4,000. They were outnumbered 25 to fucking 1. It's a miracle they didn't get completely overrun, even with air support. These guys were hard af. I'd absolutely love to hear a podcast from one of these Soldiers.
Fun fact: One of the Rangers that took part in this operation, then Sgt Jeff Struecker (who is the guy giving the pep talk to the Ranger that used an inhalator), actually has a RUclips channel where he posts lots of stuff about both the accuracy of the movie, which I believe he says is about as good as Hollywood could produce (and it better be since many of the men that were involved in the operation actually played roles in the movie and in some case, their own role), and of the actual battle. He also took part in Operation Just Cause and the Gulf War.
Much respect to you guys from this knuckle dragging Marine grunt. I'd like to bring up a few key points. 1. The Ranger captain scolding Eric Bana's character was a Division 1 football player on the 1982 U. of Georgia national championship team so that is why he uses a lot of football references when he talks. 2. Eric Bana's character was a very smart tactician. He hated the fact that they were all stationed at the Mogadishu Airport which was surrounded by hills because all their movements could be observed and reported. A week later after this fight, he was killed in a mortar strike from those very hills. 3. The movie left out a lot of the events that had the city turning against the US's presence. A lot of the low level flights and flaring stops the SOAR pilots did were knocking over vendor stands, blowing the clothing off women and kids, knocking children over, blowing babies out of the mother's arms, and destroying property. 5. Aidid's son was in the Marine Corps at this time and orders were given not to attack the Marines for fear of harming Aidid's son. 6. There was a lot of "trying to get their's" actions from a lot of the Rangers who missed out on Desert Shield/Storm. 7. The coffee nerd office clerk who was a did some heroic stuff during the battle ended up getting arrested for assualting his 6 year old step daughter. There probably a few others like several characters in the movie are amalgamations of several real people which was done for movie run time, but I felt the ones I listed help put some more context into the movie. Going off of what you guys were talking about getting shot at by your own guys - I had that happen too. My platoon was on a night patrol in this rinky dink Iraqi town and we radioed ahead to one of the check points that we were passing through and to hold their fire. We cross their POS and are heading up this street when all of a sudden reddish-orange tracers are flying in between our staggered column. We didn't even hear any bullet cracks or the initial gun fire until about a second later as we are all diving for cover. Turns out the radio watch never told the guys manning the machine guns we were coming so the gunners did what they were trained to do when they saw shadowy figures creeping along in the street.
@@S_047 the coffee nerd, aka Spc "Grimesy" Grimes, was originally written to be Ranger Spc John Stebbins who was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during the battle. However, several details about the character were changed after Stebbins conviction of child molestation in 2000. The film makers send it was their decision, while others speculation that the character was changed due to pressure from the Pentagon and the Ranger community.
43:02 the real life Randy Shughart did carry an M14 with him during the engagement. I believe it was fitted with an Aimpoint 5000 or a similar optic. Either way, Shughart was actually called the Old Man of the unit for carrying an M14. However, he noticed that the drugged up militiamen were taking multiple rounds from CAR15s and not going down. However, it would only take one shot to bring someone down with the M14.
So so much respect to all you guys. One of my bosses at a past employer was a Vietnam era Green Beret. The guy was so humble. To shake his hand for the first time was a moment I’ll never forget. Honestly, he seemed a bit embarrassed. I’m not going to lie. I’m a 54 year old man and maybe I’m just too old to worry about what others think, but films like this always get me crying. When the Delta guys attempt to rescue the downed pilot. Oh man. I joined the Air Force in the late eighties, but couldn’t finish basic because of bad knee issues. My heart was always there, but the rest of the body just couldn’t handle it. Much love to you guys and to all who serve.
@bobcload8943 - re: "I'm not going to lie." 1. Do you normally "lie" much in daily life? 2. Or do you use that meaningless phrase as an attention getter, when self revelations are about to occur.
Interesting fact Aidid's son was a US Marine who was with them at the time because he was the only active duty at the time who was fluent in Somali, he would later assume his father's position when he died... Unlike his father he was a major influence in making peace in Somalia....
Pretty spot on analyzis on the young rangers and their officer(s) and the Deltas.. :) The book is really good for those that have not read it. Some characters in the film are amalgamated from several real characters.. And there were actually a couple more Black hawks lost.. One crash landed in the harbour iirc and the one putting the medics in crashes too, but in friendly territory. Maybe that´s the one that goes down in the harbour? There is also one dropping supplies during the night that gets quite badly shot up.. but it did its job.
My dad was in the army he was a cav scout he never went over but a good amount of friends who stayed in went and some have died he got out right before 9/11 so I don’t think he fully relates to the conflict in Somalia but he watches this movie pretty much silent so I know it resonates with him and it hits home but watching this alone 21 years old is a very different experience the last act of the movie is probably my favorite part because it shows the sides of war some war movies don’t show or care to display because its not “cool” I won’t lie I had to choke back tears because I can’t imagine the pain but I understand the emotions and the actors make it feel so genuine and not forced thank you for you for what you guys have done and the sacrifices you made I respect you and pray to God that you are all in good health and mental space great video
This was the last movie I watched in a MEPS hotel room before I was picked up by my recruiter to start basic at Fort Knox. It holds a special place in my heart.
Inserted a ranger squad at NTC at zero dark thirty, and someone was a little eager. He released the emergency exit (the windows). The windows fell down the mountain. Came back to pick them up the next day. The guy chased the windows for us and apparently carried them the whole night. We couldn't tell him that they were useless now. We appreciated he got them back to us though. Too many stories from ntc. Good times
Come meet the team! Special Forces seminar tickets live!
shop.thefngacademy.com/products/mentorship-seminar-admission
buck, these movies react videos needs to be longer
Check out the behind the scenes video about the film. You mentioned delta do their own thing and it shows it there. Ranger actor done a boot camp and the delta actors were blowing stuff up on day 1 👍
Can't wait to fly over! Just figuring out a place to stay nearby and I'm set to go!
That was Cpt Steele, not the CSM, in the chow hall 😉
They waited for the Marines to leave because his son was in the US Marines who was there.
Glad to see Army Special Forces guys reactions to this incident. My father was SF in Nam, KIA in 64. So I decided to join as a medic. Figured I could save someone else's father. Thanks.
Thanks for your service brother and sorry for your loss brother prayers for you
Thank you and your dad for your service
Respect to you and your Father.
Bless you brother
Respect for you and your father. thank you sir.
Shugart and Gordon the Delta snipers that protected the crash site that day. And ultimately sacrificed themselves. Those were true warriors of a special breed of men. Never forget those two brave beyond words.
Amen. Both men were awarded CMOH posthumously.
Amen brother
Look at my dp
Both posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for their efforts.
Yes! They knew it was a one-way ticket. Incredible bravery!!
One thing that I really wish had made it into the movie was HOW they negotiated the release of Durant. The US negotiator met with a representative from Adid. After listening to their list of demands said... And I paraphrase... If Durant isnt released in 24 hours then no one could stop the onslaught that the entire US military would bring down. Basically saying that they would level the city.
Durant was released within hours. In an interview, the negotiator said it was the easiest negotiation he was ever a part of.
The Russians did that in Beirut a coupler embassy people were kidnapped,the Russians said we will execute every warlord in the city then all family members then all relations,
I heard the similar story from a SF who at that time was in the backup team standing by. "If Durant didn't come back" he said, "we will go in and kill them all."
I'm not really sure but I think that President Clinton said to them that if they didn't give Durant back in 24 hrs "the whole Somali Country was going to be bombed back to the stone age", they moved a Nimitz Supercarrier and it's battle group to the coast of Somalia.
Within hrs they handed him over. Please feel free to do the research, that interview must be somewhere. I saw it in
"HN News" which belonged to CNN, the difference was that they gave a summary of the news every 30 minutes.
That’s bad ass they should have made that scene
That sounds almost like what the Navy did, right after the War of 1812 to the Barbary Pirates.
We had negotiated a peace years before, but during the war Great Britain had encouraged them to violate the treaty and start attacking our merchant vessels again.
Once the war ended The US Navy rolled into the Capitol cities' harbors of the three countries that the pirates came from and said apologize, pay us back for everything and sign this treaty that acknowledges that if you ever violate it we will burn your countries to the ground. All three signed and when the Navy ships returned to the US they were hailed as heroes. When asked how he managed to get compliance so quickly the mission commander said, "We conducted our negotiations down the barrels of our guns."
The two snipers you spoke about, Sughart & Gordon, Gary was one of my close friends that a day never passes without me thinking about him. Hard to believe it will be 30 years this Oct, a truly special person he was. It is amazing to think being a generation before you how different modern SF seems to be but similar at the same time. And of coarse all these years later, big Army still doesn't know what to make of SF.
I'm happy for you that you got to be friends with such a high-class man
@@davidreisinger9272 Thanks David.
Peace snd grace friend.
Sorry for the loss of someone you know.
He will always be a hero in my eyes.
@@oreorey1793 Thank you, your good thoughts are nice to hear.
Ranger Regiment developed the walking blood bank sometime in the early 2010s - this is 20 years too early for that. This is the event that caused the development of Tactical Combat Casualty Care and the injury you were talking about with the arterial wound high in the pelvis ( too high for a tourniquet ) was the origin for the development of quick clot. remember in 1993 even tourniquets were generally unused with the feeling that it would cause limb loss. This engagement was the pivotal moment in combat medicine in the last 50 years that spurred all the development that lowered combat casualty rates and improved survival in the last 20 years of war.
I must be years outta the loop. Ive always thought if your out in the wilderness and you get a sever injury that is bleeding you want to do the tourniquet. That its more important to stop the bleeding. Id honestly rather lose the limb then bleed to death.
@@dimetime35c you are so far out of the loop that you are back in the loop - tourniquets were commonly taught until sometime in the late 70s or early 80s then tourniquets fell out of favor in medicine. the advent of TCCC in the late 90s spurred on by this event revived the tourniquet use showing real data about limb loss and it returned to civilian medicine in the late 2000s and was instrumental in the boston boming incident
the problem was inappropiate useage and poor materials choice that caused unneccessary problems that caused medicine to shy away from tourniquets for a few decades
@@stevendubin5871 my pattern of thinking was your put in the middle of no were and your bleeding severely. The first thing you is to stop the bleeding.
@@dimetime35c i am referencing what the official medical establishment espoused for clinical doctrine and education during the late 1970s or early 1980s until the late 1990s. In my early days tourniquets were not being taught and were referenced in classes as a last ditch resort with the caveat " if you use it you will lose a limb " this was because of poor experiences with improvised ineffective tourniquets and lack of real data. since then the data has shown no loss of limbs that would not have been lost anyway from the injury with the timeframe of 2 hrs prior to definitive medical ( surgical ) care. There is insufficient data past the 2 hr timeframe.
back in that era bleeding control emphasized direct pressure and pressure points and elevation. followed by pressure dressings. tourniquets were deliberately deemphasized and discouraged as a last resort prior to loss of life. keep in mind that medical training is usually geared for urban/suburban settings where there can be an ems response within 15 minutes or less and typically 15 to 30 mins to a hospital for the ambulance. in that setting given a poor record of outcomes in that time a bleed could be controlled for that time with other methods so the medical establishment deliberately discouraged tourniquets. That has since changed since the founding of tactical medicine and the experiences of the early 2000's and tourniquets while not technically the first resort can now be utilized early as needed as the circumstances dictate.
by the way middle of nowhere is officially defined as wilderness medicine ( a specialized subset of medicine that most medical professionals cant even comprehend ) and is usually recognized as greater than 2 hrs to get to definitive medical care or possibly even greater than 1 to 2 hrs just to get the patient to the ambulance let alone the hospital.
They put Tourniquet and severe bleeding first because they found that people more often died from severe bleeding than for example running out of air. In fact bleeding out inaction also inhibits 02 as 02 is transported in Red Blood cells. You can be in a Tourniquet 2 hours before you start causing any damage. So unless you really out by yourself in the middle of nowhere a Tourniquet is fine. As I already said a friend of mine invented the Jetts Tourniquet that addresses the femoral injury that corpral Smith had. They are now have better improved versions and are on most ambulances in the US at least.
I live in Mogadishu, Somalia, and I vividly remember this war, even though the events of the movie only revolve around a specific operation; the war continued for several more days. As you mentioned in your discussion, regarding the tactics used in the RPGs against helicopters, Russians trained General Aid and his team during Siad Barre's government.
P.S Currently, Somalia is a close ally of the United States.
Thank you guys for the in-depth analysis of the movie.
No Somalia is not an ally, it remains a failed state.
Glad both of our nations have been getting along better since '93.
Wow, the infrastructure has gotten better in recent years then, I’d imagine.
How hard is it to have internet access over there?
I know a couple people from Somaliland but I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone from straight up Somalia.
Sean and Kurt sharing memories is the best! Cueing off the movie to explain and expand using their own lived experience... these videos just get better and better.
thank you!
@@FNGACADEMY how can I become a ranger,out of high school,then work with three letter agencies?
@@emmanuelawosusi2365 go to your local recruiter and they will have all the information for you.
Two things that will help you being in good shape so you will get good pt scores and do well on the asvab. I was in the 2nd Ranger bat from 03-06
The Ranger officer butting heads w/ the Delta guys was captain Michael Steele. He made it to full colonel & commanded a brigade combat team in the 101st. His career ended w/ a letter of reprimand. On an operation In Iraq, he reportedly gave his troops illegal orders to open fire on all military age males, but denied it to investigators.
Yep. I was on that op. And those soldiers went to prison. Sucks. He gave an ambiguous order. The ROE was dogshit. It's always the guys at the bottom that pay the price.
Didn't he also get caught promoting Kill count scores on his men?
@@MrHellsing76 Yeah, the 'Kill Boards'. A version of 'body counts' that became infamous in Vietnam.
My son was in that squad
He really got fired because he didn't play well with others. He didn't play well with CAG and he didn't play well with Marines in Anbar and the Corps got real sick of his bullshit.
I watched this in Uzbekistan in 2002, during Operation Anaconda. While we were watching, one of the scenes was actual footage shot from a P3 Orion. My copilot says: “Oh. That’s our video.” We stop the movie and ask him “what did you say?” He replies that he was one of the pilots in a P3 filming the operation and that overhead footage was captured by his crew. We were stunned.
I’m just a guard baby, but as I learned more about the people I served with I was truly honored to have served with some great people (like my friend the Night Stalker.”
I had a buddy who after he graduated in 1988 🎓, went in to fly helo's, did that for his 1st deployment, then got into flying little bird M.D.500, then somehow fenagled a transfer to 160th S.O.A.R. (A) . Then he decided to go career military 🪖, and we lost touch after that. ...from Wyoming USA 🇺🇸 🤠
I was with 2nd BN 20th Special Forces Group with CJSOTF in K2 and Afghanistan back in 2002-2003. We got a briefing with SSG Eversman before we left from Bragg according to him and alot of other Rangers and CAG guys we had that served in Somalia according to all of them the biggest problem was that because they had been there so long running the same mission over and over they lost the initiative. Eversman said the first and last time an enemy should get to se a Ranger or CAG guy is when they kick down your door and shoot you in the face. The bad guys got the chance to acclimate to their MO after watching then operate for 6 weeks.
In a regular SF group once you make Major you are placed in HQ. In fact you can turn down Major up to 4 times to stay with your team. CAG and SMUs are different their ranking officers still operate in the field.
In fact when I was in Afghanistan in 2007 I was doing PSD. Anyone over the rank of Major got a PSD.
The two Delta Operators, MSG Gary Gordon and SFC Randall Shughart, posthumously received the Medal of Honor for their sacrifice to save Super 6-4 pilot CW2 Michael Durant. When I was in PLDC I did my research paper on them and the cadre asked me to read it again on graduation day. I'm glad you commented on their character being representative of the caliber of men Delta has. Anytime we worked with them (in support or training) we were always in awe.
It was an honor doing this with you guys. Learned so much during the filming and had a blast just hanging out.
was fun dude!
It was definitely a good time!
Great questions man I liked your input in this!
Thanks glad you had fun. Semper fi, the salmon pie
Randy and Gary are 100% heroes. I have no doubt they knew they were going to die securing that crash site.
"We are just green berets" - loved that line.
there is always a bigger kid in the school yard
@@FNGACADEMY real recognize real
@@FNGACADEMY Delta force 😍😍😍
Humble professionals?
That battle had some delta guy s you wouldn’t wanna meet in your worst nightmare in a place like Mogadishu. Absolute machines of death.
Green berets are more focused around longer term unconventional warfare ops like training insurgencies and stuff. They seem to work a lot more with CIA than Devgru etc
Whereas the “go pull some ants that look like THIS out from that fire ant hill and do t sisturb the ant mound on your way in and out via a night stalker courtesy fast rope. It’s almost like saying do that and don’t get but by any ants.
Although this was such a unique scenario it’s not fair to make generalized statements about the unit and the types of missions they do since outside of conventional war theaters like Afghanistan and Iraq from what I understand missions this just sheer huge busting to the brim with elite American soldiers (tons of rangers too)was extremely rare )
Snd the dumb ass politicians trying to play both sides who were afraid of collateral damage and so sent these guys in without ac130. All they had were friggin little birds for any type of qrf but if the literal worlds best Blackhawk pilots are getting shot down (shoot 100 RPGs 1 of em fuckers gonna hit) and yet can only offer more birds and little birds at that, no actual gun ships or anything.
The problem is that our guys are so good where even with the cards stacked badly against them they still pull through and come out on top and politicians can get away with putting the nations most elite guys in heaps of shit to avoid pissing off this asshole or that asshole for 5 minutes
But it’s statistics 101 that sooner or later something is gonna happen and with these guys chances are it’s gonna start with some sort of fluke or complete freak accident which starts a chain of events that can’t be slowed down and as Americans we don’t “cut our losses” so in getting the guys from first crash up and out and destroying bird stuff hek ajorher gets shot and repeat and keeps happening until the birds can’t do shit and the ranger convoy is the only way out of city driving through a maze of streets that look identical and roadblaocks being put up and down at a fluid pace.
And then even after the movie ends. They still had mike Durant. And doesn’t matter what we’d lost at that point th y would’ve got that boy out.
It’s jsut weird thinking about this stuff and the BLD scenario is one scenario that exemplifies so many bigger issues that can lead to stuf like this and is just the perfect event to point to to REMEMBER what can happen and when non warriors become complacent due to real warriors insane success rate.
I watched this with my dad when I was around 12 in '04. To this day no scene in any movie has ever made me feel the way the Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon scene did. Hard to describe at 12, but it was like something grabbing your soul making you feel every emotion a human has. No other way to put it but those two are an example of the pinnacle of what a man should be.
Pretty intense movie for a 12 year old. I'm not surprised it hit ya in that way. It's intense for adults.
Those guys were heroes. No question.
No doubt. Those guys absolutely earned the MoH.
Yes that ultimate Sacrifice.."All Gave Some ....Some Gave All...RIP ❤🍺🍺🍺brothers..
_"When I go home my friends ask me, 'Why do you do it man, what are you some kind of war junkie?' but I don't say a goddamn thing. They wouldn't understand. They just don't know why we do it. They don't understand that it's about the men next to you, that's it, and that's all it is."_
My father is a retired green beret. I used to hang out with the teams a lot but I have never actually known what he did. Watching you guys makes me feel like I can better understand with something’s.
Your dad never told you any stories?
@@Make-Asylums-Great-Again nope. Not a singe one
@@spookyduckgaming25 the work they did is probably stuff they can't talk about .
@@akfreed6949 it's likelier that he just didn't wanna tell his son about the shit he had to do
My grandpa was a Marine Raider and I never knew until after he was dead.
Wish I could’ve asked him more about his experiences. I knew he was a marine, but I didn’t know he was SOF.
That snap of a passing bullet is one of the reasons (besides being cheap lol) that the majority of Marine Corps rifle ranges still make you pull "pits"
RE: RPGs not only did they understand where to shoot, but they also figured out they needed to weld in blast deflectors so when they shot the RPGs at an upward angle towards helicopters they wouldn't be hurt or killed by the backblast of the RPG going off.
“Math might be a problem” absolutely killed me 😂 love the knowledge from you two legends!
thanks bro!
the room i was listening to this video used to be quiet until i heard this comment. people are staring at me now.
41:24 "F*ck you guys, we're not cool anymore!" is where I lost it.
quite idiotic
LMAO, just hit that!
44:20 Thank you guys for talking about the real bond of brotherhood and love that forms between two men in the worst situation life can offer. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." This brought me to tears.
I served 5 years in 10th Group. Then went to Aviation and was assigned to 10th Mountain at Ft Drum right after the Somalia SNAFU. What isn't shown in the movie and has gone pretty much ignored is the support that came from the AH-1 Cobras during the convoy mission to rescue the forces over whelmed in the city. The movie shows the ground convoy, but the supporting Aviation is not in the movie. One W4 had 3 Cobras shot out from under him supporting that mission and he just jumped into another and went back in the fight. I met him as he was out processing as I was getting established to set up the Cav with their new Kiowa Warriors. He was thin with silver hair and very laid back. You would never have guessed he was The Man. A lot of men came back home because of him.
I don’t remember Apaches being there at this time. I’m not doubting you, I just don’t remember it, but I do remember the “little birds” conducting gun runs that night. I also remember that the Marines had Cobra’s but they stayed on their ship when this happened. That said, the move does not show the or even mention Task Force 2-14 (10th Mountain) or in particular the 1-87th. But then, it wasn’t a move about the 10th Mountain Division.
Respect. Our NJ National Guard went through FT Drum back in 05/06 with 42nd Infantry Division. I know, stop calling us half-rainbow or "skittles"
Ft. Drum has the only range I ever saw that the targets twist during 'sit up' and turn forward.
January 28, 2008 Mosul Iraq we got hit by a complex ambush, whether was so bad no air was up at the time. It took 24 minutes for air to get up and to us, we lost our lead M1114 and had five KIA immediately. The enemy had us completely surrounded in a perfect kill zone, and we weren’t going anywhere without recovering my men. When THUG 1-4 came on station they called me and offered to lay down rockets so we could break contact without even noticing what was left of our lead vehicle, much less see the KIA. I said “no, I need you to provide security, I’ve got catastrophic kill with five KIA. We aren’t going anywhere.” The enemy would risk life to take US Soldiers bodies, and/or any gear/equipment to use as propaganda against us and there was no way we were letting them get any of our guys. That fight and recovery lasted nearly five hours. Anyway the air asserts that come on station was THUG 1-4 and when they got there I swear to god the enemy reacted as if was no big deal and just started engaging the Kiowa’s. THUG 1-4 went back for reload three times, then went back to switch birds because he’d take so much damage and came back to the fight. I wish I’d gotten to meet him, he saved our asses and stayed in the fight until Apaches and Fast movers came on station. There’s some video of that day floating around RUclips, we out tank and hellfires into a mosque that day because we were getting engaged from it and another mosque that stopped engaging us when we lit it up with 240s (the biggest thing 3ACRs commander allowed because he said “it’s not that kind of war anymore” when we asked for .50 cal and Mk19 ammo, thanks COL Bills”)
@@syskusa6512 have you seen the footage of the failed capture of el chapo's son in the capital city of sinaloa? The sinaloa cartel coordinated an attack on the city against the Mexican army forces there trying to capture him. It was wild. It was similar to the black hawk down situation. But no one in the special ops community ever talks about it
@@jonathanramos8414 I’ve read about it, but not seen footage. I’ll have to look that up.
I just retired after 21 years active army medic, love watching this shit! I wasn't anything special, just a line medic most of the time, did the invasion and a couple additional times 4/9 Infantry and so on but cool hearing this because i did a little time working with 160th in Central America which one one of the best assignments I was on!
I have full respect for Tier I SMU units. But after reading "Chosen Soldier: The Making of a Special Forces Warrior", I've come to really respect the Green Berets. Even though they're fully capable of standing on their own in a firefight, the one thing that they excel at that no one else does is working with and training other cultures. The people & foreign language skills are critical to good intel and mission success, and such skills take years to develop.
As the author of "Chosen Soldier" wrote, kicking the door down is easy; knowing WHICH door to kick is much more difficult.
Again, every unit has their mission specialties. But that's what stands out to me for the Green Berets.
And that's why I found the "We are just Green Berets" line amusing.
Your explanation of the CAG and the attitudes between the different types of tiers was spot on.
Mike Durant covers the part of the two Operators coming to defend him in his book "In the Company of Heroes," it's an incredible description of their actions and tribute to the type of guys they were.
Such a good book. My old man met Durant and took a pic with him. My dad gave me the book with the pic when I was a kid. Such a good book. I’ll never forget reading it at that age. I wish they covered more of his story in the movie.
There is a great short documentary by SGT Struecker who went back to Mogadishu about 20 years after these events. It was quite something as he was in a secure convoy driving back through the streets they fought on and he was re-telling everything that he experienced during that operation.
43:53
If im not mistaken, Randy Shughart (the delta sniper) actually ran with a non magnified reddot optic on his M14, specifically for engaging targets better from the heli.
Great stuff guys.
He ran an ART scope(Adjustable Range Telescope) on his M21.It was not an M1A.
Randy was from Lincoln,Nebraska-and a quiet unassuming guy who I miss every day.He was one of the few who could run that weapon like an extension of himself.
M14, M1A, M21 effectively all the same thing since the full auto selector was removed shortly after inception, but I read it was the M14. Also read he used an Aim Point CompM2/M68 reflex for quick target acquisition from Helo.
@@henrywes2628 An M21 is not at all the same as an M14.It’s a dedicated SWS.It’s Chromium lined and has a free floater and is bedded.The differences are vast.
@@henrywes2628 One other thing-the Comp M2 wasn’t even released until 2000-we were in Somalia in 1993.I mentioned in a previous post what Randy ran on his weapon.
@@irishdefense77 yeah, the M2 was not out yet agreed. Too bad the set of Blackhawk Down didn't have your insight as there has been much debate about the set ups of both rifles used.
I am only seven minutes in and I already had to stop to say how excellent it was that you took the time to explain that the Ranger Captain was not just being an a$$, he was, in his way, taking care of his men.
EDIT: And I am now at thirty minutes and all you guys have done is jaw on about your training ... and it was great! :D
Dude I literally found and binge watched every episode of this, just this morning, and was disappointed there were no more to watch... Then this drops. What timing! Love the content y'all! Cheers from Texas
thank you!
Ya'll need to read Mike Durant's new book!!Was in the 160th spec ops, and just reading about what he went through with this, bones broken, abandonment, being 2 miles away from the air base, everyone being killed and 2 receiving medal of honor, him getting captured and tortured, all the way to him now running for Alabama senator! Dude was and is a hero!
31:18
They were taught to set the rpg on a timer and air burst it near the tail rotor. A technique taught by the CIA to the mujahideen in Afghanistan in the 80’s to take down Russian choppers. This technique spread around the various Islamic guerrilla groups.
Another interesting fact was Randy Shughart carried an M14 because the 5.56mm rounds they used for the M4s were a green tipped round that didn’t tumble but would rip straight through the somalis - somalis who were usually high on khat. So they would shoot them multiple times and they would keep moving. But the 7.62mm round would knock them down and keep them down.
No doubt why Indian Forces always prefer 7.62 mm rounds while fighting the terror groups in Kashmir.
My dad was in Samolia...doesn't talk about it much, but I remember when I was kid and this movie came out. He went to go see it in the theater, came back home, didn't say a word for what seemed like days.
The amount of stories you guys told us in this one video was great. Definitely worth the hour. Good shit
appreciate it
A privilege to listen to you guys. Thank you all for your service, (Including Mr. Fireman.) Much love from Australia.
This has always been one of my go-to movies to watch with my dad. Good action, a lot of drama, and it touches on a lot of the aspects of war from the "wtf are we doing here" to the respect for the locals and the usual war movie let's go kill shit.. and as a movie buff, it's always interesting going back and seeing all the future stars in this movie as well.
this movie is awesome
Unfortunately my dad was there in this shit. We've tried a few times, but he can never watch any more than 5 minutes of this movie, as well as the opening of Saving Private Ryan. These two movies are "too accurate" he says.
Black Hawk Down is by far one of the most realistic war/combat movies of all time. It shows it all. The reality that even being a superior force, sometimes it's not enough and ya still get fucked up. Things go wrong. It shows the hectic nature of it all. But then also shows the pure radiance and will power of these guys.
love this reaction, not just about the movie, but also your own personal experiences. Also, other than 10th Mountain and the Pakistani's, there were also Malaysian soldiers there as part of the UN mission. 1 Malaysian soldier was KIA during the rescue mission.
Apparently the story with hoot's rifle being on fire was he had cleared the weapon and then pulled the trigger so the hammer is dropped. When the hammer is dropped on a rifle, you can't actually work the safety. It's a weird design but he also didn't care. To him, the gun's clear and safe
I am sure a fellow Bat Boy caught this, but just in case you missed it.While I believe the 75thRR would appreciate the additional funding moving from tier 2 to tier 1 the fact of the matter is that the 75thRR and their battalions are not tier 1 units. I will say that the Rangers Recon element is a tier 1 unit. Or at least when I was in.
BTW I did not recall Captain Steel losing his commission so he couldn't be a Sergeant Major. The real guy was huge in size so it is funny to see the smaller actor play him same thing with Everson that guy is much bigger than the Josh actor that played him. De Tomaso is now a Colonel I believe saw him in Iraq.
On modern deployments, Regiment falls under JSOC, and under the Tier one umbrella and has been part of the JSOC package for some time
i love that the convos between the guy behind the camera and yall on the couch aren't always cut feels more casual and real
I heard SEAL Team 6 who are also a Tier 1 unit like the Deltas were there to giving sniper cover and overwatch but they were so secretive that they were literally never ever mentioned even when some of them received the silver star medal.
Hey, isn't Seal Team 6 the ones who took out Bin Laden. Then why are they referring it to the Delta Force (CAG).
They were mentioned in the book couple of times. They were driving one of the humwees. Were actually leading the convoy after McKnight was wounded. Delta Paul Howe said that ST6 were there just because every branch wanted their SF guys seeing some action.
Your conversations and how much you listen to each other gives me that nice inflated heart feeling
Going through a lot sh|t wakes you up and just chattin and relaxing with similar people can be magic
Rangers don’t do CAG support hardly at all anymore, it’s been unilateral direct action raids for decades now, (essentially Rangers doing the ACTUAL raid, not supporting it) the pulling Blocking position type stuff is very VERY outdated mission set for regiment.
Modern Ranger regiment is an entirely different beast than it was on this movie.
So I was not SF or assigned to any SF group. I was just Paratrooper assigned to 3/504 PIR when Chaplain Strueker was our battalion Chaplain. We used to get made fun of since the most bad ass guy in our battalion was a Chaplain.
This movie was heart wrenching for me. Definitely on the top list next to private ryan & hacksaw ridge which made me cry a few times. Don't tell anyone. It was the onions.
great movie
it's weird hearing these 3 movies in the same sentence... hacksaw ridge was a weirdo
@@DeusAstro I went in to it knowing it was very Hollywoodified. I enjoyed it, and there were definitely some emotional parts, but it was certainly no Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers.
@@Mrwhomeyou .. yeah, thought same thing. How do you put Blk Hawk Down & Saving private Ryan in with Hacksaw??
I like Clint too. But ffs, Good morning Vietnam was a better military movie. At a minimum put Lone survivor in there...
I'm still pissed the guys I supported, P.J.'s, (did ecm on hh60's) never get any publicity to the public.
I know tier 1 guys & every pilot will give them the utmost respect, but the general public doesn't even know bout them.
Cause Hollywood only wants to make the "kill or capture" sf movies...
The other hero's that go into to rescue the injured tier 1 or downed pilots & airmen never get any Hollywood coverage....
Wasn’t heart wrenching for me one bit cuz it’s just A MOVIE
This is such a great channel. I just discovered it. Thanks for creating it and for what you do. I have a lot to catch up on.
I remember reading the book a few years ago and one of the Delta guys was lamenting the performance of his CAR-15 rifles and how, despite having the latest and greatest in bullets (M855), he felt like he had to shoot a guy 3 or 4 times just to get his attention. Because, unless the bullet hit a vital organ, the bullet just punched a tiny little hole in their body. Kinda like getting stabbed with an ice-pick, it wasn't necessarily lethal or even debilitating so guys could just get right back up again and keep fighting. And he also commented how some of the guys were giving Shugart a bunch of shit for using an old-ass M14 but whenever he shot a guy, that guy went down and stayed down.
Also, Shugart wasn't using a magnified optic. It was actually an Aimpoint Comp M2 red dot. I _think_ they mentioned in the book that it was easier to provide sniper fire from a helo than it would be using a magnified optic.
In the movie he’s using a comp m2 in real life it was probably a Aimpoint 2000. Js
@@ogbrownwalrus2428 I've heard that too. Though most of the cloners discussions I've read agree it was most likely a 3000 or 5000. They would know better than me but I don't think the 2000 is out of the realm of possibilities either.
The standard military mag for the M14 holds 20 rounds. Still a lot less than what Gordon could carry with his CAR-15.
It always takes more rounds to take someone down when using 5.56mm ammo. &.62 is one shot and your target is done.
Randy Shugart probably had more confidence in his weapon than a 556 rifle. That's the advantage that he was comfortable with. After all, this wasn't his first rodeo. The courage that it took to attempt to hold that position is incredible.
I was opfor at NTC from 2010 to 2014. I worked with a few SF guys. They were the most professional soldiers I ever saw.
I was in 3 bgd 4th id, we ended up getting fed by the op for in a village after we cleared it, our unit was black on mres for days so i remember you guys gave us some of the stuff you had, i got an apple that was cooled from the morning, best apple i have ever had.
I also remember knockong out a bunch of your tanks from the top of one of the cliffs with my javlin, fun times
I knew Gary Gordon, he was the delta sniper that went down to protect the downed pilot, we grew up in the same town. Thank you for the video
I went to highschool with Specialist David Richie. He was in the rear vehicle when his friend Ruiz was wounded while manning the .50. Ruiz was barely conscious and slumped down into the seat so they couldn’t get into the turret from inside. Dave GOT OUT of the Humvee, climbed up the side and got the .50 back up. Ruiz was still half in the seat so Dave re-engaged with the .50 while hanging off the side as the driver hauled ass. He received a Purple Heart among other things but he’s almost embarrassed by praise and it’s obviously very painful remembering the friends he lost. He’s a humble, soft spoken guy who quietly goes about life and seems to avoid recognition as much as possible. I actually had to read about the stuff he did in the book Michael Durant (who was captured) wrote. The indescribable valor of guys like Dave and everyone he fought beside is awe inspiring. After the Rangers, he became a Med Evac pilot. Now he’s a wildfire pilot in WA. Y’all are a different breed of human. Bless you.
i believe shughart actually had an aimpoint 2000 or 3000 on his m14 and had 20 round mags. definitely still not enough ammo for the situation
He did and was not for long range. He also had an MP5 he gave Durant. Watch the Patreon video with Paul Howe explaining the real story. Not far from the movie.
Ironically, if the MH-60s that the SOAR had used standard M240s as door guns, they could have unmounted them frim the door and used them to hold off the crowds. Instead they had miniguns in the doors, which required electric power to run the guns. So once rhe helos crashed, they were useless.
I knew one of the medics who did the extraction of the first pilot’s body while the firefight raged around him. He was in the reserves when I knew him, 10 years after Mogadishu, and President of Nebraska Emergency Medical Services Association. I worked with his reserves colonel, who told me about it, and that he got a Silver Star.
This was such a great episode not just for your guy's personal critique and input of the movie but also how you shared your experiences and lessons from service. Great content !
New to the channel and it’s quickly becoming my favorite thing on yt. So much respect for you guys and the service you gave and I’m really enjoying the breakdowns. Salute sirs
I love this movie! My papa was in Somalia during this incident and my family are great friends with the captured pilot. He’s from New Hampshire and my nana served with him in the National Guard.
that's awesome
@@FNGACADEMY I love the video and I love how you broke it down. Love you man for real your a true role model of mine.
I just graduated 68w ait and we trained on blood transfusions. Currently the training is working towards the medics carrying little coolers with whole blood on missions. As far as blood transfusions, we trained on taking the blood from the donor, into a bag, then into the patient.
I hate to be "that guy" but the only Tier 1 assets the 75th has is the RRC and RMICO. the 3 Ranger Bn's are Tier 2 ops. Love this series btw, it's my favorite thing you do. RLTW
Took my comment. Much respect brother.
No, Regiment now reports directly to JSOC, and are doing missions that only 20 years ago were considered 'CAG only'. So for the cheap seats that are stuck on that 'Tier' horsehit, the 75th Ranger Regiment would be considered 'Tier One'. Not just RMIB and RRC. If you're part of TF Green, TF Blue or any SOF-JTF (which all of Regiment is) you're 'Tier One' for airsofters, paintballers and wannabes that don't know what 'Tiers' actually mean because they never had the balls to enlist and make it into a Special Operations unit.
What boneheads stuck on that hero worship Tier thing don't realize, is that the Tier system is based on asset budgets, not the unit itself or how 'elite' it is. So if you want to assign Tiers, an aircraft carrier packed full of personnel and aircraft, would be (say) Tier One. CAG and Regiment would probably be Tier Three or Four because of the budget differential.
The funny part is, the guys don't give a shit what you call them. Call them Tier 771. They really don't care. They know who they are, know how they got there, have a serious job to do and really don't care what they get called by wannabes on the internet, in video games, fantasy novels, on TV shows and in movies. They have bigger problems.
If you think anyone in Special Operations measures themselves on a tier based system, you'd be dead wrong. If you ever speak to someone who legitimately served in a Special operations unit that refers to themselves on a tier system, they are just treating you like an idiot and mansplaining it to you. If someone does refer to themselves as having served in a 'Tier One' unit, you can be 99% sure you have a poser on your hands.
Ex-B Co, 3/75th
@@michaelkirk4056 Thanks for the info on the new JSOC assignment, this was not the case when I served, Still I think regimental rangers have been crying about the tier lines being fucked up since forever, So the tone of your comment is not surprising. ML&R
@@michaelkirk4056perfect explanation
Enjoy watching you guys. Army vet and it's comfortable to hear y'all's conversations. Brings a smile to my face. Hearing you guys talk about NTC brought back so many memories. Thanks guys
As far as walking blood banks, it’s called Valkyrie now. At least for Corpsmen such as myself, basically you identify the person with a matching blood type (pre identified obviously). You’re drawing the blood from your donor into a bag, then doing the transfusion from that bag to your patient. Obviously there’s a lot more steps, and being extremely clean is super important but that’s how we do it nowadays.
I love this video! I'm a vet too. but I love they are really drinking beers. You guys give a real aspect on war.
As big of a breakdown you laid on the “this is my safety” scene, there was even more to it. Supposedly the story goes, the CAG guy cleared and dry fired it before reinserting his mag, so it doesn’t get any safer than that. Plus in production, the selector levers on the rubber ducks didn’t move.
Love the coverage
I was a former 91B ( reclassified as 68W now). We'd carry emergency transfusion kits, you would place a large bore needle into the donor and the blood would drain into a bag, then you would start a line on the patient and hang the blood to infuse and have somebody squeezing it in. Love the channel!!
Love the beers & breakdowns, great movie! Thank you gentlemen! Love & respect from TX! 🙏🏽🇺🇸
Much appreciated!
The coffee nerd is Obi Wan Kenobi and Blackburn (who missed the rope and fell out of the Blackhawk) is Legolas the elf from Lord Of The Rings.
.
I love how you explained the discipline thats needed vs CAG... Well said
They don't show this in the movie but in the real event, Super 6-2, the Black Hawk which inserted Shughart and Gordon, was actually circling the 6-4 crash site providing minigun fire to ease the Delta Operators' burden a bit and to keep the mob coming down on them at bay. Shughart and Gordon could've very well survived that day if Super 6-2 hadn't been hit with an RPG while providing suppressing fire toward the crowd swarming the 6-4 crash site. Super 6-2 had to pull out only after 10 minutes of minigun fire because the RPG slammed directly into the cockpit and knocked the copilot unconscious. Luckily Goffena, Super 6-2's pilot, managed to crash land at the friendly zone in the south of the city despite the damage and the entire crew survived and the mission was spared another disaster. Unfortunately it resulted in the Delta Operators dying after they ran out of ammo.
One of the little bird pilots in the movie was CW4 Keith Jones who did the actual rescue of SSG Dan Busch in Mogadishu. It's gotta be one of the first movies where see the people and the machines who were actually there in action.
During the 1962 film the longest day about D-day one of the people portraying the army rangers climbing Point-Du-Hoc was actually one of the rangers who did so on d-day 17 years prior when he was 22 his name was Private Joseph Lowe
Audie Murphy starred in the movie To Hell and Back(1955) about his combat career.
31:26 Muhammad Farah Ahdid (the somalia faction leader) studied at Frunze military academy in moscow. He also trained in italy too. He noticed how russian mig helicopters were getting shot down in afghanistan. And how russian response teams (qrf) would simply get obliterated by guerrilla fighting tactics. Learning from this he implemented the same tactics in Somalia. The only difference is he would frenzy a mob by giving them drugs to go near the crash-sights and set up rpg teams within them. The somalis would also set up road blocks to deter any vehicles or armor convoys. Super 6-4 was actually hit at the main rotor and managed to limp a mile or 2 south towards a friendly airbase but sadly the main gear box disintegrated mid air causing the bird to have a controlled crash. Not a lot of people know this but 3 total helicopters were hit. First being super 6-1 second being 6-4 and the third being the helicopter that dropped off Gordon and Shughart. It took 3 helicopters for command to realize whats going on to send un forces i believe 13 hours after super 6-1 got hit.
Ah, NTC. I was an infantry scout in an NG sniper platoon. I remember when I went to NTC. I think I got the best training there. As AD in the 10th Mountain Division, we always went to Fort Polk, LA, to train. I remember falling inside an old mine shaft after the ground caved in. Scary stuff. I met 1SG Matt Eversmann when I got to my unit (B Co, 4-331 IN, 10th MTN). He was super chill. I didn't know who he was until someone pointed that out. Is crazy because I had the BHD book with me when I met him. Anyway, great reaction and explanation video. RLTW.
Brad Hailing was also another Delta guy in the same helicopter as Gordon and Shugart. He was originally going to infill with them to save Durant but one of the nightstalker door gunners got shot and he took his position on the minigun. He ended up having his leg blown off by an RPG and was retired from the Unit after this. He has said in many interviews that none of them thought Shugart and Gordon would get killed and they all believed they could hold off the enemy no matter how long it took.
OMG Buck….I was on that deployment! That dude who got his kit taken was my buddy! 🤣 I never thought I’d hear about it again. That was some crazy shit, and there were some decisions that led to that scenario playing out
Coming from an ADF background with an uncle who served 28 years in 3, 4 RAR, SASR and 2CDO. Thank you for your service lads.
CDO are our Green Beret, SASR are the Sandy Beret.
An interesting detail to note that they changed for the movie about the guy who fell out of the helicopter, we don't know why he fell exactly. There's a bunch of theories by witnesses that he was carrying too much gear, or he was over-excited and missed the rope, but for the movie they changed it to a helicopter maneuver.
I feel like they should've kept the real version in to showcase how unpredictable combat can be, it would also have amplified the shoot down of the Black Hawks because you wouldn't expect them to have until they did, of course aside from the title.
the story was he had never fast roped from an aircraft. when I joined the Ranger Regiment in 97, we trained all the time on the fast rope tower with and without gear all the time. Our train up to RF1 involved training on every rotary wing airframe, fast roping and air assault. Our whole mentality at the time was refighting this battle.
Every episode turns into Mr. McGregor light, strolling down memory lane. War stories are great, but stick the task at hand. Maybe add some ridalin to those drinks. 😂
Rangers are tier 2 not tier 1 my bad homies!
As a retired Aussie soldier who was SF, I to this day cannot work out why the U.S. has to have tiers.
Our platoon worked with a team from 3rd group in Afghanistan as well as Navy SEALs. We worked with the SEALs for a 3 day mission, but were stationed on a SF base for about six months. They were extremely humble and willing to teach us and let us use their high speed gear. They were never arrogant. I gained even more respect for them when we worked side by side with them. True professionals and always humble.
Look at the reaction at 6:03, I LOVED that subtle eye twitch. I imagine the Delta Force character is thinking, "Is this clown REALLY using football analogies for combat?" I knew a Major who loved to do that and when I was briefing my people before a CONUS FTX (after he had launched into every sports cliché he could think of before leaving the tent), I said, "I'm not gonna use sports analogies because those are for pussies. Football players wanna be US!" I got the deepest and loudest 'Hooah' I ever heard in reaction. I was later told that when the Batt XO heard what I'd said, he lost his mind. I also heard that the CSM heard him ranting and essentially said he agreed with what I'd said and the XO should just let it go. He always gave me the 'stink eye' after that, which I couldn't have cared less about
I am nothing but a USAF vet. I cannot explain enough, my respect for you.
"we can't do anything about ending wars"
We can, we just don't.
War is a racket.
Before Man, War waited.
Lawrence sorry buddy, pick up a history book. Or use your common sence , war is simply in human nature. from the beginning of time.
At @49:00 or so they mentioned Pakistani forces, but sadly what the movie somewhat didn't show was that Malaysians were also part of the convoy during the Mogadishu Mile. Around 100+ of them answered the call to rescue, and we lost 1 man when his Condor APC got hit by an RPG. 9 other men wounded. I hope that their sacrifice would be remembered, since the film did them a little injustice.
P/s: by we, I meant as a nation. I'm in no way military, just wanted to chime in
You guys do a great job breaking down these films. Lot of fun to watch.
I'd like to give a shout out to the book too, which was incredible. I think I read it one sitting.....
Thanks and keep up the good work.
Great movie, glad you guys did a breakdown for it. Need more movies like this.
on the way!
This is good insight. The author of Blackhawk Down said the sports media did more detailed breakdowns of "what went wrong" after a football game than the military did for this operation. He mostly had to piece together the events of that day via interviews with both the US servicemen who were there and Somalis who witnessed it.
Love these, brother. keep these up. I went in as an 11B in 1997 and served with some guys that fought in Mog. So much respect. I can say as an 11B enlisted dude in the 82nd, we looked up to SF and Delta. They were our heroes.
this was awesome! Couldn't agree more that the book is amazing! This is one of my favorite movies that was done very well in accordance to the book. Thank you so much for breaking this down. From a civilian that has neve served, it gives me more information of what combat really is and I really appreciate all those who have given there lives for their brothers and us! Thank you for your service and keep doing what you do!
On the grenade through the window scene, I remember in the book the delta guys were using "golf ball sized grenades." Any experience with those ?
No such things back then.
We use the same ones today the M67 frag grenade
They had golf ball grenades as far back as 1967 in Vietnam - SOG hand them
Immediately following the events of Black Hawk Down, U.S. Navy and Marine forces arrived off the coast of Mogadishu. It was the New Orleans ARG and the Abraham Lincoln carrier together for a month following. General Aideed's son was a Marine and onboard one of the ships in the ARG. He later exited the Marine Corps and returned to Somalia and became a Warlord like his Father.
160 vs 4,000. They were outnumbered 25 to fucking 1. It's a miracle they didn't get completely overrun, even with air support. These guys were hard af. I'd absolutely love to hear a podcast from one of these Soldiers.
aw guys, you made me cry. awesome review, thank you for your candor and salute! 🫡🖤
Great video Sean and crew. Didn't Msgt Gordon and Schugart receive the Medal of Honor for their actions that day?
yes.
I believe they also had Navy supply ships (USNS) named after them.
Fun fact: One of the Rangers that took part in this operation, then Sgt Jeff Struecker (who is the guy giving the pep talk to the Ranger that used an inhalator), actually has a RUclips channel where he posts lots of stuff about both the accuracy of the movie, which I believe he says is about as good as Hollywood could produce (and it better be since many of the men that were involved in the operation actually played roles in the movie and in some case, their own role), and of the actual battle. He also took part in Operation Just Cause and the Gulf War.
Much respect to you guys from this knuckle dragging Marine grunt. I'd like to bring up a few key points. 1. The Ranger captain scolding Eric Bana's character was a Division 1 football player on the 1982 U. of Georgia national championship team so that is why he uses a lot of football references when he talks. 2. Eric Bana's character was a very smart tactician. He hated the fact that they were all stationed at the Mogadishu Airport which was surrounded by hills because all their movements could be observed and reported. A week later after this fight, he was killed in a mortar strike from those very hills. 3. The movie left out a lot of the events that had the city turning against the US's presence. A lot of the low level flights and flaring stops the SOAR pilots did were knocking over vendor stands, blowing the clothing off women and kids, knocking children over, blowing babies out of the mother's arms, and destroying property. 5. Aidid's son was in the Marine Corps at this time and orders were given not to attack the Marines for fear of harming Aidid's son. 6. There was a lot of "trying to get their's" actions from a lot of the Rangers who missed out on Desert Shield/Storm. 7. The coffee nerd office clerk who was a did some heroic stuff during the battle ended up getting arrested for assualting his 6 year old step daughter. There probably a few others like several characters in the movie are amalgamations of several real people which was done for movie run time, but I felt the ones I listed help put some more context into the movie.
Going off of what you guys were talking about getting shot at by your own guys - I had that happen too. My platoon was on a night patrol in this rinky dink Iraqi town and we radioed ahead to one of the check points that we were passing through and to hold their fire. We cross their POS and are heading up this street when all of a sudden reddish-orange tracers are flying in between our staggered column. We didn't even hear any bullet cracks or the initial gun fire until about a second later as we are all diving for cover. Turns out the radio watch never told the guys manning the machine guns we were coming so the gunners did what they were trained to do when they saw shadowy figures creeping along in the street.
Though I remembered from my copy of the movie ,coffee guy was one of those amalgamation of a few guys from the mission.
@@S_047 the coffee nerd, aka Spc "Grimesy" Grimes, was originally written to be Ranger Spc John Stebbins who was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during the battle. However, several details about the character were changed after Stebbins conviction of child molestation in 2000. The film makers send it was their decision, while others speculation that the character was changed due to pressure from the Pentagon and the Ranger community.
@@joshuasill1141 thank you for the info
43:02 the real life Randy Shughart did carry an M14 with him during the engagement. I believe it was fitted with an Aimpoint 5000 or a similar optic. Either way, Shughart was actually called the Old Man of the unit for carrying an M14. However, he noticed that the drugged up militiamen were taking multiple rounds from CAR15s and not going down. However, it would only take one shot to bring someone down with the M14.
So so much respect to all you guys. One of my bosses at a past employer was a Vietnam era Green Beret. The guy was so humble. To shake his hand for the first time was a moment I’ll never forget. Honestly, he seemed a bit embarrassed.
I’m not going to lie. I’m a 54 year old man and maybe I’m just too old to worry about what others think, but films like this always get me crying. When the Delta guys attempt to rescue the downed pilot. Oh man.
I joined the Air Force in the late eighties, but couldn’t finish basic because of bad knee issues. My heart was always there, but the rest of the body just couldn’t handle it.
Much love to you guys and to all who serve.
@bobcload8943 - re: "I'm not going to lie." 1. Do you normally "lie" much in daily life? 2. Or do you use that meaningless phrase as an attention getter, when self revelations are about to occur.
Interesting fact Aidid's son was a US Marine who was with them at the time because he was the only active duty at the time who was fluent in Somali, he would later assume his father's position when he died... Unlike his father he was a major influence in making peace in Somalia....
Pretty spot on analyzis on the young rangers and their officer(s) and the Deltas.. :)
The book is really good for those that have not read it. Some characters in the film are amalgamated from several real characters.. And there were actually a couple more Black hawks lost.. One crash landed in the harbour iirc and the one putting the medics in crashes too, but in friendly territory. Maybe that´s the one that goes down in the harbour? There is also one dropping supplies during the night that gets quite badly shot up.. but it did its job.
Agreed. Top 10 book for me
That book was so well written it is still taught at Westpoint!
@@jdhunter9727 Also check out Robert´s Ridge.. :)
The blood pressure of the person receiving the blood uses the Venturi effect to pull the donors blood through the tube.
I lost friends there. Sometimes it feels like it was last year.
sorry to hear that brother
My dad was in the army he was a cav scout he never went over but a good amount of friends who stayed in went and some have died he got out right before 9/11 so I don’t think he fully relates to the conflict in Somalia but he watches this movie pretty much silent so I know it resonates with him and it hits home but watching this alone 21 years old is a very different experience the last act of the movie is probably my favorite part because it shows the sides of war some war movies don’t show or care to display because its not “cool” I won’t lie I had to choke back tears because I can’t imagine the pain but I understand the emotions and the actors make it feel so genuine and not forced thank you for you for what you guys have done and the sacrifices you made I respect you and pray to God that you are all in good health and mental space great video
This was the last movie I watched in a MEPS hotel room before I was picked up by my recruiter to start basic at Fort Knox.
It holds a special place in my heart.
Inserted a ranger squad at NTC at zero dark thirty, and someone was a little eager. He released the emergency exit (the windows). The windows fell down the mountain. Came back to pick them up the next day. The guy chased the windows for us and apparently carried them the whole night. We couldn't tell him that they were useless now. We appreciated he got them back to us though. Too many stories from ntc. Good times