When was black hawk down

Early signs of trouble. Two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down during the Oct. But prior to the events chronicled on film, Americans had already sustained losses in Somalia. On Sept. Soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division in Mogadishu, Somalia in Randall Larsen. It was the first time a helicopter had been downed in Mogadishu, though not the first time one had been hit by hostile fire, according to contemporaneous news reports.

In a miniature version of the events that would play out roughly one week later, three more U. About a month prior to the shootdown, on Aug. Osman Ali Atto, a financier for Aidid, is depicted early in the film being spirited away by U. The reality, according to an interview Atto gave to the British Broadcasting Corporation, is that there was only one vehicle and he was in it. And my colleague Ahmed Ali was injured on both legs. Navy SEAL Howard Wasdin, who helped capture Atto, recalled in his book how the mission took place in an urban area, with militia appearing in the neighborhood to shoot up at the helicopters.

How Somalis were depicted. Many of them were just people in the neighborhood who got caught up in this fire and were trying to defend their homes, as they thought they were under attack. The exact number of Somali deaths, both civilian and militant, is unknown.

Gabriel Casseus Kurth as Kurth. Kim Coates Wex as Wex. Hugh Dancy Schmid as Schmid. Ron Eldard Durant as Durant. Ioan Gruffudd Beales as Beales. Charlie Hofheimer Smith as Smith. Danny Hoch Pilla as Pilla. Jason Isaacs Steele as Steele. Zeljko Ivanek Harrell as Harrell. Glenn Morshower Matthews as Matthews.

Ridley Scott. More like this. Watch options. Storyline Edit. On this date nearly U. Army Rangers, commanded by Capt. Mike Steele, were dropped by helicopter deep into the capital city of Mogadishu to capture two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord. This led to a large and drawn-out firefight between the Army Rangers, US Special Forces, and hundreds of Somali gunmen; resulting in the destruction of two U. Black Hawk helicopters. The film focuses on the heroic efforts of various Rangers to get to the downed black hawks, centering on SSG Eversmann, leading the Ranger unit Chalk Four to the first black hawk crash site, Chief Warrant Officer Durant who was captured after being the only survivor of the second black hawk crash, as well as many others who were involved.

Rangers Lead the Way. Rated R for intense, realistic, graphic war violence, and for language. That isolationism ended abruptly on September 11, But even as Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, they kept their distance from the Islamic insurgents in Somalia. During the last two years of the Obama administration, there were only 18 airstrikes both drones and manned on Somalia. Now things are changing. In the past two years, U.

The number of American forces on the ground has doubled, to about Alexander Conrad was killed and four others wounded in June of this year during a joint mission in Jubaland. All of this might raise the question: What do we expect to achieve by returning to Somalia? After years of turmoil in Afghanistan and Iraq, why should we expect this mission to be any different?

A casual visitor to Mogadishu today might not see an urgent need for U. There are tall new buildings, and most of the old shanties have been replaced by houses. There are police, sanitation crews and new construction everywhere. Peaceful streets and thriving markets have begun to restore the city to its former glory as a seaside resort and port. Somali expatriates have begun reinvesting, and some are returning.

The airport is up and running, with regular Turkish Airlines flights. Miguel Castellanos first entered Mogadishu as a young Army officer with the Tenth Mountain Division in , looking down from the open door of a Black Hawk helicopter.

He is now the senior U. Somalia largely has its neighbors to thank for this prosperity. The United States lent support in the form of training and equipment. Bowden was a reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer when he started researching the story on his own dime.

He only got to devote the time to finish it because The New York Times made him a job offer, and Bowden negotiated the freedom to do the story as a condition of staying with the Inquirer. Once the newspaper started running his articles, readers were electrified, movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer bought the film rights, and the book became a huge best-seller.

Whether you're looking for news and entertainment, thinking of joining the military or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military. Sign up for a free Military. Fellow Marines surely were thankful Bernice Frankel, better known as Bea Arthur, was a friend, traveling down the road and The U. The demonstration, which took place in A former US Marine, Trevor Reed, has gone on hunger strike in hunger to protest against his prison sentence