Operation Gothic Serpent
| Operation Gothic Serpent | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Somalian Civil War | |||||||
 Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment in Somalia, 1993. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| United States |
Habar Gedir other Mogadishu local militia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Maj. Gen. William F. Garrison | General Mohamed Farrah Aidid | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 600+ | Around 20,000 + | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 19 killed, 73 wounded, 1 captured then released. | 500-1500 killed | ||||||
Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted by special operations forces of the United States with the primary mission of capturing warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The operation took place in Somalia, Africa from August to October 1993 and was supervised by the Joint Special Operations Command.
As part of the operation, the soldiers were deployed in a mission to arrest two of Aidid's lieutenants. The result of that mission —executed under the command of Gothic Serpent— became known as the Battle of Mogadishu to most or "The Battle Of The Black Sea" to those who fought it.
Background
In December of 1992, President George H W Bush ordered the U.S. armed forces to join the United Nations in a joint operation known as Operation Restore Hope with the primary mission of restoring order in Somalia. The country was wracked by civil war and a severe famine as it was ruled by a number of warlords. Over the next several months, the situation deteriorated.
In January 1993 newly elected President Bill Clinton took office.
In May 1993, all the parties involved in the civil war agreed to a disarmament conference proposed by Mohamed Farrah Aidid, the leading Somali warlord. On June 5, 1993, 24 Pakistani troops in the UN force were killed in an ambush in an area of Mogadishu, controlled by Aidid. Any hope of a peaceful resolution of the conflict quickly vanished. The next day, the United Nations Security Council issued Resolution 837 calling for the arrest and trial of those responsible for the ambush. US warplanes and UN troops began a concentrated attack on Aidid's stronghold. Aidid remained defiant, and the violence between Somalis and UN troops escalated.
On August 22, Task Force Ranger was deployed to Somalia under the command of Maj. General William F. Garrison, commander of JSOC at the time. The force consisted of:
- Company B (Bravo), 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment (B/3/75)
- C Squadron from the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force) (1st SFOD-D)
- A deployment package of 16 helicopters and personnel from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Nightstalkers) (160th SOAR), which included MH-60 Black Hawks and AH/MH-6 Little Birds. Their mission was the pursuit of Aidid under the code name Operation Gothic Serpent
- Navy SEALs from Naval Special Warfare Development Group
- Air Force Pararescuemen and Combat Controllers from 24th Special Tactics Squadron.[1]
General Garrison had originally requested 75 Delta Operators, but was thrilled when Washington gave him the whole 450 man unit.[citation needed]
General situation
In Mogadishu, the task force occupied an old hangar and construction trailers under primitive conditions. The force even lacked on-site potable water and was subject to frequent mortar fire.
During the month of September, the force conducted several successful missions to arrest sympathizers of Aidid and to confiscate arms caches. The aircraft also made frequent flights over the city to desensitize the public to the presence of military aircraft and to familiarize themselves with the narrow streets and alleys of the city (see PSYOPs).
The Battle of Mogadishu
On the afternoon of October 3, 1993, informed that two leaders of Aidid's clan were at a residence in central Mogadishu, the task force sent 19 aircraft, 12 vehicles, and 160 men to arrest them. During the mission, Private Todd Blackburn missed the rope while fast-roping from an MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and fell 70 feet to the street below, badly injuring himself. The two Somali militia leaders were quickly arrested. The prisoners and the injured Ranger were loaded on a convoy of ground vehicles. However, armed Somalis converged on the target area from all over the city. During the first hours of the battle, the MH-60 Black Hawk, Super Six One, was shot down by a Rocket Propelled Grenade fired from the ground. Although firing an RPG upwards from the ground can be fatal to the shooter, he managed to survive. The pilots did not survive. However, the crew survived the crash landing and held off the advancing Habr Gidr militia until the one and only rescue team was able to recover them.
Later another Black Hawk, Super Six Four, was shot down by RPG fire from the ground. This time no rescue team was immediately available, and the small surviving crew, including one of the pilots, sat tight. Two Delta snipers volunteered repeatedly to try and secure the crash site and were finally given permission knowing full well it would probably cost them their lives. When the Delta team of two arrived, they attempted to secure the site. One of the Delta operators was shot, leaving only the pilot and one Delta operator. Eventually, after holding off Somalians and most likely killing many, the second Delta operator was killed and the pilot remained sitting peacefully, waiting to be killed. The militia, however, were surprised to find the pilot on the other side of the helicopter and took him hostage after beating him violently.
The battle turned out to be the most intensive close combat that US troops had engaged in since the Vietnam War. In the end, two MH-60 Black Hawks were shot down (as well as one seriously damaged) and 19 US soldiers were killed along with 1 Malaysian soldier on the rescue convoy. Estimates of Somali dead are around 1,000 Somali Militiamen killed during the battle. The Delta Force Snipers SFC Randall Shughart and MSG Gary Gordon were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for their efforts.
NOTE: 18 Americans died in the actual battle; SFC Matt Rierson died two days later after a mortar attack on the US compound.
References
- ^ Bailey, Tracy A (2008-10-06). "Rangers Honor Fallen Brothers of Operation Gothic Serpent". ShadowSpear Special Operations. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
- Dolan, Ronald E. A History of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). Chapter IX: Somalia/Operation Gothic Serpent. Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. October 2001.
- Loeb, Vernon. The CIA in Somalia: After-Action Report. Washington: Washington Post Magazine. February 27, 2000.