Love your reactions and the channel! So, I am an actor in this movie. I play Clay Othic- the Ranger who picks up the severed hand and puts it in his pocket. Fun Fact: We filmed this in Rabat, Morocco and actually had all those helicopters flying above a real neighborhood. The helicopters were flown by pilots who actually flew during the real Mogadishu incident. Also, if you look closely you'll notice character's names written on the front of each helmet. This was so the film's editor (Pietro Scalia) could tell each actor apart when editing. Otherwise, we all just looked too similar- a bunch of dirt and eyebrows! Really enjoyed your LOTR reactions btw! You are a great reactor and your channel is top notch.
This fight ruined my cousin. He graduated West Point and went straight to Dessert Storm with the Army Rangers, after that war he thought he was going home but was sent straight to Somalia. Some of the stories he told are horrifying, especially when it came to seeing children firing at them. He has PTSD so bad that he can't even leave his house but for a few hours a day. Even then he will have panic attacks.
They named the Post Office after Shugart in his hometown. There where army helo crews in Blackhawks there. After the ceremony I asked a soldier " since you fellas protect this little guy ( my then 2 year old grandson) would you do me the honor of taking a picture with him? Man he lit up!! Next thing every soldier there was gettin' in the pic. ...it got lost on an old computer. 😢 but, I hope it brought some joy to those soldiers. I thanked them for keeping all my grandkids free. Then a Sergent said to me " you served didn't ya?" I said, how'd ya know? He said " some things ya just can't hide" and gave me a grin. Told him I was a submariner ...he said " screw that! " I looked at his Blackhawk then at him and said " ditto! " lol. It was a day to honor true heros and a day to thank those who still served. I just wish I had those pictures.
I was a black hawk crew chief.. That day changed my life at 20. Now 30 years later it still gives me chills watching this movie. The dudes shooting mini guns from black hawks was what I did. My career was ended on july 11,2007. I broke my back in a Blackhawk crash in bahgdad Iraq.
My daughter is a Crew Chief for the Black Hawk helicopters @ Ft. Drum. Her Military career is awesome and scary, for me her Mom, but I couldn't be any prouder. Her twin sister is a Crew Chief with the Air Force, for the F-16. .... I am just literally holding my breath, watching my daughters work, train, and experience their chosen paths. God Bless Our Military, ....then and now. 🇺🇸
@@kristitimbrel189 . I loved the job. But, to be honest with you. Not to mention the minor scuff ups. It was a crash that ended my career. I broke my back in a crash in bahgdad, 536 ft AGL. once you get injured like I did, the Army boots you with a BS retirement, to only have the VA screw you around. I have needed surgery since 08 and STILL waiting. Have your daughter re-class to medical equipment repair. Pays better on the outside than aerospace industry. I worked for lockhead Martin building F35's and that pay maxed out at $38/hr thats about average start rate for a BMET. By the time I retired I had multiple MOS's in 2000 I re-classed for 91A medical equipment repair.( the nomenclature has changed) after being a 12B combat engineer. The school was long approx 11 1/2 months, but, you earn an associates degree in science. However, as I was ending the school when 9-11 happened I got out and gpt back in to re-class to 15T to go to war. It eventually ended my career and the ability to have a pain free life and good mobility. The way the Army treat you and then the way the VA has done me, my best advice IS GET OUT NOW!!!
@@elessartelcontar9415 justin stanton is a liar. He was using my story to get free hunting trips. I had to turn him in along with about 150 we served with to verify his lie and got him black listed. JUSTIN STANTON was committing stolen valor. I know he lives in florida too. However, if your co-workers name is anthony "tony" mitchell, his story is legit. Hewas with me that night.
On May 23, 1994, this was the date that Shughart and Gordon were posthumously decorated with the Medal of Honor for protecting the crew of Super Six Four. They were the first Medal of Honor recipients since the Vietnam War. The selfless heroic act of those two men always makes me cry. Pure courage and balls of steel.
We built several RO/RO ships for the pre-positioning fleet at National Steel and Shipbuilding in San Diego and one of them was named for 1st SGT Randy Shughart.
@@kellymoses8566 that was the whole point for them receiving the MOH. The higher ups wouldn't order them out but the two volunteered to go. It's in the movie that the General asks that they respond that they understood what they were volunteering to do.
The US wasn’t acting unilaterally here. This was an ongoing UN peacekeeping mission that involved 28 other countries. That’s why you see Malaysian and Pakistani armed forces when they’re being evacuated.
But on this operation they did. The US government pressed them to act and they plan this alone thinking they would be able to do the job by themselves...
@@Comissar_Carolus true, but I was referring to just their presence in the county in general. She was wondering whether the US should have even been there in the first place. We’re so used to seeing post 9-11 America intervening in foreign conflicts for its own self interest while operating under the guise of altruism, but it’s important to note that there was a time in the 90s when the US did work with the international community during times of crisis.
@@joeschmoe9154 not so true. You find interviews with the actual men, I believe if I’m not mistaken entirely, actual Rangers in the operation do give credit to the presence of the international peacekeeping force in Somalia.
@@genghisgalahad8465 They were shit. The only thing they had that helped was they had armored vehicles. The US had just pulled out a Marine Unit that had a Company Of Light Armored Vehicles and a Platoon Of Abrams Tanks.
Yeah the story on how he was released was that they sent warships there full of marines and told the warlords if the pilot was not released they would be no city left to rule over
What gets me the most about Shughart and Gordon is that they had a perfect view of exactly what they were getting into, they had plenty of time to reconsider, they had plenty of rationale stay aloft and try to cover the crash site from the helicopter, they had three chances to back out, they even had orders from their commanding officer not to go, but they still kept asking for permission to go down until they were finally given the green light, and they went and fought to the death to protect protect the survivors (the movie shows Mike Durant as the only one still alive, but I've read that the crews chiefs were also alive at the time, though gravely injured). Their act of heroism couldn't be dismissed as just a heat of the moment impulse or just "training kicking in."
TL:DR you are right, I am not funny, and sorry this ended up so long. Also, this got flagged as inappropriate, so it might not be here long anyway lol. Yeah I agree, and I think the director got it right taking enough time to show exactly what you are talking about. I mean when the pilot radioed in that they still wanted to go and finally got the green light, we could see that the situation had gotten even Worse on the ground, yet they Still wanted to go. Maybe there was a part of them that hoped they might scare off a lot, or some, of the militia (the less committed to die for their cause) once they dropped in, but knowing reinforcements where unlikely to be coming anytime soon, if at all, they must have known it was a one-way mission but just couldn't bare to do nothing.... just in case they could pull off the impossible. And They Did. If the movie portrays the mobs actions correctly, if it wasn't for their heroic actions that crowd would have killed Mike Durant before the "official" militia showed up to declare him a live prisoner/hostage. I think that quick scene where we see one of them tell Durant, "we are it", after he asked them where's the rescue team... I think those words said more than the vision could about how desperate they knew the situation was, at least it did for me, especially once I found out he (Durant) survived and that could possibly be his retelling of the actual event. And also at the end of the movie when I found out that they posthumously received the Medal of Honor, that really brought tears to my eyes, because that told me that what they did in the movie was REAL... it wasn't just Hollywood dramatization. ALL those men where heroes, as are all military personnel past and present, but from what I understand (I'm not a merican 😂 so I only know from what I've seen in movies like this about heroes) this medal only goes to the MOST heroic soldiers doing something that makes all the other heroic soldiers, (who are themselves being recognized for acts of heroism beyond what is expected of the "normal" hero that is every soldier), stand back and say, "holy crap those guys are the Real Heroes". In other words... the Best of the best of the best of all the heroes that make up the military 😁 and in other, other words... way Way more heroic and better than Tom Cruise in Top Gun, that was classic Hollywood over acted heroic bs. I'm not trying to make light of any of it btw (except for Top Gun), sometimes my brain goes and tries to be funny when things are getting heavy, unfortunately usually only I find it funny, so I'm definitely not trying to offend anyone. Anyway, my point was supposed to be that, Shughart and Gordon definitely deserve their medals out of all those heroic men, and I think the movie got it right and portrayed their actions well enough that even an idiot like me understood just what they did. Oh, and I hope you spelled their names right because I'm copying you.... bloody hell there I go again 😧 👍👊😁
@ It's hard to explain, but an important effect of that is this sort of feeling that, even if you die, a part of you lives on in the service and in your fellow service members, and that can give you a lot of strength and a lot of comfort when you have to deal with things that are difficult or frightening.
Shughart, Gordon, and Bill Cleveland were the soldiers who were dragged through Mogadishu that appeared on CNN later that day. My heart wrenches for them and their families.
Ohhh! Now I actually got it! And nobody bothered to explain it except to mock it and call it an “ironic” buzzword or something! Buzzword talk without explaining outside of the “in crowd”is tiresome! It would be nice to have people like you did to simply explain! It’s definitely FUBAR! Oh wait.
Yeah i can't even imagine being in Mike Durant's shoes at that point, i'd feel like "Oh jeez, i love you bro". Just imagine two men dying for you without even thinking about it, after realizing they couldn't rescue you. This scene hit me every time i see this movie, and im not even american...
I was a ranger (2/75) and have been on 300 plus missions overseas. This movie did a great job of showing how intense the planning is for a special operations mission, and it did a great job showing how chaotic combat is. It’s very surreal to watch war on tv after experiencing so much of it for real.
"I never heard about this!" is what is the saddest part about this movie. Unfortunately, to this day, most conflicts in africa are not even mentioned in western media. And, as tragic as the loss of those soldiers was, it just shows how little generals and politicians knew and know about the conflicts they send their people into. The civil war was a genocide, a tribal conflict, centuries old hatred. That's why you see a whole city fight. There were no "soldiers" in uniforms, instead husbands and their children. This fight in Mogadishu was a main reason why President Clinton refused to intervene in the Rwandan Genocide a few months later
@@wolfmanjack3451 To be clear Bush sent troops to Somalia after he lost re-election and before Clinton was inaugurated. Talk about sticking your successor with a bad hand. That said SECDEF Les Aspin and Clinton both screwed things up by the numbers afterwards. Aspin denied the transport and use of tanks to the theater. A platoon or company of Abrams (or even Bradleys) has a decisive deterrence effect. For anyone watching BHD, I recommend viewing the Special Edition with the commentary track featuring the commanders and soldiers explaining what is real and what is Hollywood about the movie. Danny McKnight is an acquaintance of mine and he participates in the discussion. Also I was a 2LT training at the Infantry School at Fort Benning when this happened. We were in the field and our instructors set up a massive sand table to explain what they thought they knew about the events in Somalia. Got us laser-focused. Also ensured I never saw any of the TV coverage until, literally, decades later. Because no one cared at the time, once the initial news cycle ended.
In international relations, it's remembered for a few things. First, its role as a potential reason states chose not to classify what happened in Rwanda a genocide like you mentioned. Second, Somalia was a failed state for almost 30 years; it's only just recently probably moved from failed to weak state status, and that might be generous. The piracy that got a lot of coverage in the late 2000s was in part because the government couldn't police its citizens or provide basic services. And finally, the operation in Somalia came at a weird time in American journalism, when CNN's 24 hour news cycle was still novel and news outlets had apparently gotten good advanced notice of military plans and aggressively covered what the US was doing. That led to reporters greeting the Marines landing on the beach in this infamous clip (among a few others): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Xj9Fn3qG-Cw.html
@@calemcconnell7735 Well soldiers were left behind to be dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. I guess they got them after their bodies were desecrated.
Many of the soldiers that survived said the main thing they were upset about was that they weren’t allowed to go back and finish the job that they fought for and their friends died for.
I was at sea with the 24th Marine Expiditionary unit when this went down. I was on board the USS Portland. I was a member of Tango Battery 5th Batallion 10th Marines. We were furious that we didn't go straight in. We arrived in country 3 months after this happened. I feel that we could have helped if we were given the chance.
I knew at an early age that i wanted to be an "army man". I graduated high school in '92, this event happened the next year, and i can still remember the feeling of anger when CNN aired the footage of the militia dragging a dead U.S. soldiers body through the streets of Mogadishu This absolutely solidified my decision to enlist, and although i didn't enlist until 1997, no matter where i went for any sort of training, schools, or certifications, i was always surrounded by soldiers that were part of that horrible day. It was an honor to serve with so many heroes and that honor continued to grow as i also served with so many heroes of future wars in both Afghanistan, Iraq, and pretty much incursions all over the world. What Hoot said is 100% accurate. Whenever someone asks me today what i miss most about being in the military...the answer is always an easy one. I miss all the amazing brothers i met and trained with and fought with, some that are no longer with us, that will always continue to have an impact on who i am today. Great selection to react too. I had many chuckles at various points in your reaction, keep up the good work!
Not to discredit your efforts in the military. But as a civilian living in western Europe I have to say, the more you guys are fighting in said countries, the more of them we see over here in the west. And they bring their ways with them.
@@rovhalt6650 Your comment is incapable of producing any useful result other than a momentary guilt trip at best. Complaining to the weapon of war instead of complaining to those who put that weapon on the ground. Military doesn't choose where they go, the President, commander-in-chief does. There will always be more guys to replace those who are fighting. The war on terror, it's really about oil, which is about power and money. This is just an opinionated estimation but maybe 40% of the war on terror is because of actual terrorists. You want someone to blame, blame the oil giants or even the general public who have the demand for the giants to supply.
In the book, when it became obvious that the convoy was getting shredded, and they wouldn't be able to reinforce either crash site, all the other soldiers stood up and prepared to go out to rescue them. The cooks, medics, technicians, supply officers... basically all the logistics people that would never expect to see front-line combat immediately answered the call to go out and rescue their brothers in arms.
Well, yes and no. There is no such thing as a Ranger who NEVER expects to see combat. The Ranger Regiment is unique among Special Operations Forces in that ALL personnel, including support personnel must go through the selection and indoctrination process and must complete Ranger School to remain within the Regiment. Every Ranger, whether they be a cook or intel or signals, is a better trained soldier than a regular Army soldier and is expected to be ready to step up if the situation calls for it. Often, Ranger support personnel perform their primary functions until their such time that they can be relieved of that duty by other units or contractors and then are attached to the line company/platoon to supplement them. And medics are attached at the platoon level and go out on mission. Medics do everything everyone else in the platoon does, plus their medical function.
@@chaselittle3923 Blackburn wasn't Ranger-qualified. He was a Ranger by being in a Ranger unit. I think you might be a little confused. Ranger School graduates are considered "Ranger-qualified." It takes serving in a Ranger unit to be considered an Army Ranger. The RIs call the students "Ranger" while they're in the course, it doesn't really stay with you after you graduate. You might refer to or address a fellow graduate informally as Ranger, but in the Army, title and job refer to someone who has graduated RIP/ROP or RASP1/2 and is or has served in a Ranger unit.
@@ryhk3293 my point being he is not even been through Ranger school n etc but yet considered to be a Ranger? I want to be a heart surgeon so I guess I can proceed doing open heart surgery.
@@nihrke3844 I must say this has to be the most factually accurate movie to every little detail - all the positioning, movement and even the hawk chopping corner of building during crash. The only tiny thing I noticed is that when Pilla was shot dead, he should have been in the second humvee, but still was depicted covering left upper side as it actually was in real life (the gunner of first humvee was facing to the right).
Sir first and foremost thank you so much for your service and sacrifices you made for the most amazing country that I live in. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 I HAVE SO MUCH GRATITUDE AND I JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU THAT YOUR SERVICE WAS FOR NOT. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
@@rc59191its hard to tell haha.. 13B’s are either really smart and great guys or complete idiot dbags…. But I guess that can be said for the military as a whole. I think Generation Kill does a good job with showing the different type of people in the service.
I’ve watched this movie several times and I still get emotional when those snipers hit the ground to protect the second crash regardless if anyone survived!
The last time the militia mob got their hands on army personnel they mutilated their bodies and did all sorts of horrific things. Sad thing is that once they killed Shugart and Gordon, they stripped them of their uniform and dragged their bodies along the streets which was shown on news all around the world the next day.
Too bad it didn't happen exactly the way it did in the movie. Real life the rest of the crew was still alive from the crash and also were killed along with the delta snipers. Also if memory serves me correctly a third black hawk was shot down shortly after this
My family knew Randy Shughart, the delta sniper last alive in the movie when he was transferred to Ft Bragg in 1986 where my father was stationed a few years later. This is the first time I've been able to watch this movie in over 20 years, when I first learned that my family knew him, even though I was so young and have no memories of him and what the Somalis did to him, I refused to watch it. Actually I cant finish it..RIP Warrior 🙏
Rip to Gary Gordon, Randy Shughart and all the other warriors that died that day, you are gone but will never be forgotten. Thank you for your service and sacrifice to all service members
When I was a ranger we were honest to our casualties. After the medic lost the artery, ida told the dude that he’s fixing to die. On top of that, ida given him permission. A warrior must embrace what’s coming so he can slip away with ease, and not fight impending doom so much that his last existing moments are choking on blood and struggling frantically... Better his thoughts be love, peace, honor, and whatever else he chooses to ponder so that he crosses over with confidence and warmth, while his brothers caress him gently into the swirling, unknown beauty of the twisted nether.
The Rangers were generally very young - late teens and early twenties. The average Delta operator would be mid-thirties or older, with a lot more experience and a lot more specialized training. Getting selected for Delta and then making it through their training is incredibly hard. Most of those given tryouts are already Rangers or Green Berets and 95% of THOSE guys don't make it.
To a European it looks insane. Most special forces here won't even consider you ntil you;ve done a full tour of duty. I know younger men are phsycially stronger, but there is a steadiness that comes with age that can be more important.
@@ajvanmarle Part of it is that Rangers aren't really special operations in the sense of being a commando unit like the SAS, Delta or SEALs - they're more like very proficient light infantry. Their job is generally to provide perimeter defense and support for other special operations units, and other similar large scale operations. If you want a European analog, I'd say that they're far closer to, for instance, the British Paras than to the SAS.
@@ajvanmarle Really? The UK's Royal Marines are considered a tier 2 special operations unit, as are the US Rangers. The minimum age for applying to the Royal Marines is 16. Like I said the average age for Delta is much higher and they uniformly have years of prior experience. SEALs have a cutoff age of even applying of 28. I assume these different limits have been studied and evaluated pretty rigorously, but, yeah, some of these guys do seem so very young for what they're asked to do.
Ranger school and RIP (Ranger indoctrination program) is a pass/fail situation. Special and Delta Forces each have their own SELECTION process. It’s not a matter of just passing. You then have to be selected. So if say you excelled in the training but didn’t mesh well, you’re out. That’s oversimplified but you get the idea.
A few of my buddies fought the Battle of Mogadishu. They were however portrayed as consolidated characters. And the last commander I served under was Lt. Col. Steele, Captain Steele in the film, portrayed by Jason Isaacs.
I saw this movie as a kid and it completely traumatized me because I was so invested in the individual characters and wanted to see them all survive... the scene that got me was when the helicopter got raided and the pilot with the picture of his family got mobbed and almost killed
I've always been amazed by how brutally realistic this movie looks. They did an absolutely amazing job in creating it, from the acting, directing, sound design, locations, sets, everything
Yeah definitely! I think one of the most moving scenes because it’s so realistic is the one at the end when some soldiers just tumble cause they can not even move their feet anymore. Then you realize: They have been up the entire night fighting and even though they are heavily trained they all pushed way beyond their limits… 😮
@@phj223 he might’ve been killed if he wasn’t moved to that corner. They attacked whoever was in the helicopter whereas in the corner, he was clearly unarmed and injured so that might have influenced their keeping him alive and the timing is everything it seems. It’s not like Aidid’s men were at the very front of this attack. It was a mob. From the looks of it in the movie.
@@phj223 A Somali witness said that the crowd dragged an American from the helicopter, waving his arms and shouting at the crowd, and beat him to death. Gordon was already dead, so it was either Shughart or one of the crew chiefs (Bill Cleveland and Tommy Field - at least one account said they were alive but too badly injured in the crash to be moved). Either way, when the crowd took the crash site, it was killing Americans who were no longer able to fight back, and Durant is certain that they would have killed him too if Aidid's men hadn't reached him when they did. Even during his captivity, Durant's "jailer," Abdullahi Hassan, had to protect Durant from other Somalis who wanted to kill him.
One of my favorite movies of all time. Black Hawk Down : A Story of Modern War by Mark Bowden and In the Company of Heroes by Michael Durant (the kidnapped pilot) are a must read. Randy and Gary will never be forgotten.
There's a book featuring six different points of view from men who were there, including Matt Eversmann and Air Force Combat Controller Dan Schilling. They have such insane perspectives on the fight. Also, Eversmann talks about being on the "Lost Convoy" after being picked up near the target building.
There’s also the black hawk down book that was also written by one of the rangers or dboys that were there that does a good job of explain why things went so bad. Like then using green tip ammo and the fact most of the city was on a local drug
this is actually very accurate - it is based on the book - that was based on actual interviews on BOTH sides of the conflict [yeah he actually talked to the folks in the city]
The movie is accurate until the part where they retreated, because they weren’t saved by their own people, India and Malaysia rescued them and their interviews about the movie makes them really irritated by the fact this movie decided to portray them as apc drivers only, especially Malaysians who broke through while India provided cover right into the hotspot and suffered only 1 casualty. I know they are using cheap Russian apc and they literally showed like they were a class above US, but god damn it, they saved you, can’t even show a little sign of respect, naaaah, they are apc Uber drivers.
@@USCFlash Dude, this movie isn’t really that realistic, it’s more close to video games realistic, The Somalians used Guerrilla war tactics, no they did not do over 60% which resulted in their casualties portrayed in this movie. No, that city wasnt at war so their soldiers are not there, there were less than 300, the rest were Militias. You could say how US were proud to beat the Brits by farmers with pitchforks, yeah that’s what happened in this movie. No where near an urban warfare with a giant would look like. This movie portrayed how much lives US lost from incompetence and how much disrespect US can actually be to their saviours. This operation didn’t even effect the civil war as the movie made it out to be, it still went on over a decade. You do the figuring it out why.. it’s pretty obvious why just from who is the target.
@@USCFlash Well something did tick you off about something to reply that long, well, 70+ casualties with 200+ wounded against second hand AK and RPG that can be described as local thugs and dare to even defend it to say “EXERCISE”.
Those Delta Operatives were amazing. They embody what it means to be part of The Unit. Severe, ice-cold, hardcore badasses with an insane mortality rate. They are the US military's most elite assets.
They destroyed the choppers to keep the Somalis from salvaging any usable weapons/ammo/tech/equipment. There's no way that the military would have tried to remove them as they were in the middle of hostile territory and totally destroyed.
I was active duty Army when this happened. When they dragged the US soldier through the streets we all wanted to go and extract some revenge. We were so pissed - we all tried to volunteer to go and our commanders wouldn't let us.
I was at Fort Hood in the First Cav when this happened. Our reaction was the same. To a man every one of us wanted to go over there and raze the country to the ground.
Interesting fact, CWO Walcott was well liked and earned an excellent reputation during the Gulf War. After the investigation of the incident, it is believed that Walcott intentionally pointed the helicopter nose down just before impact so that the force would be directed at the cockpit in order to try and save those in the center.
Whoever said that this movie is NOT historically accurate doesn't know shit. I was a 'NIGHT STALKER' assigned to the 160th SOAR (Special Operations Airborne Regiment) as my last active duty assignment as an Aircraft Electrician. The qualification course to get into the 160th was intense and involved some of the things that Navy Seals go through. (Watch G.I.Jane with Demi Moore for a taste of that). I got to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky in late 1993 to begin qualification that lasted a painful 2 months. Though I was not in Somalia, the rest of the unit was and I was one of the few people in the building. When I finally met my room mate, I found out that he, a Black Hawk Crew Chief lost his best friend over there, among others. Things were still hush, hush, and I found out more piece by piece and met pilot Michael Durant six months after his release from captivity in Somalia. It was his book that tells the tale. Now, the 160th SOAR are the elite of the Army's aviators, preferring the trouble making, 'Maverick' type over the by-the-book type of pilot. They are the taxi drivers for the cool kids like NAVY SEALS, DELTA FORCE, CIA, RANGERS, etc. Because of their special training and modified aircraft, Hollywood has used them in a few movies like Tom Clancy's CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. Producer/director Ridley Scott (The Martian, Blade Runner, Gladiator, G.I.Jane, Alien, Robin Hood, etc.) is known for epic story telling and has a deep respect for accuracy when telling a true story. He asked the 160th to be involved in the retelling of events in which they participated and they said they would but only if they had editorial say over events that involved their pilots and crew. (Imagine being a pilot or crewman and being asked to re-enact events in which your friends and coworkers died. Besides, at the time there were NO civilian UH-60 Black Hawks and you can't make a movie called BLACKHAWK DOWN with old Huey's. The 'Little Birds' (black Hughes 500 series) are unique to the 160th. The aircraft and weapons systems you see in the movie ARE THE REAL THING flown by the real crews. The actors, as the previous commenter stated, were mixed in with the real soldiers and air crews. The only people who had a problem with the movie were the Army Rangers, who despite their bravery, often looked foolish in the film. They were the majority of the casualties and it was their guy who fell out of the helicopter that started the down ward spiral. The 'NIGHT STALKERS' as the 160th are called prefer the cover of darkness, so going in on short notice, in daylight to get the bad guys was not ideal. Plus, with the multi-national force on that air base, security leaks were a problem. A single AC-130 gun ship on stand by could have saved the day, but intel on the ground was so poor that a simple snatch and grab operation turned into a disaster. ACTORS TO LOOK FOR: Ioan Gruffudd (Beales) is Mr. Fantastic in The Fantastic Four, Eric Bana (Hoot) The Incredible Hulk. Ewan McGregor is the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars. Tom Sizemore (McKnight) was Tom Hanks' 2nd in command in Saving Private Ryan, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Delta op Gorden) played Jaime Lannister in Game Of Thrones, and Blackburn the newbie who fell from the Blackwawk in the beginning was non other than the usually agile elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom). Sorry for being so long winded. I was proud to serve with them, even if I only ran the battery shop for a year. NSDQ = NIGHT STALKERS DON'T QUIT
@@tonyweaver2353 something that you have to remember is, the raid was supposed to last 30 minutes. That’s why it says Gen Garrison took full responsibility for it. It was a “mess” up in planning of all proportions. They did not fully appreciate what they were going into, they had to get what ever they could to extract the grab teams. Some guys just didn’t have room for a ride.
@@charlestonw801st Correct. I think it was actual Rangers who did the fast roping scenes, possibly regular Air Assault troops. 160th SOAR did the helicopter work.
@@Halo4Lyf you are correct. A platoon of Rangers from B-3/75 did the fast-roping scenes, appearing as extras. Army Ranger John Collette, a Ranger Specialist during the battle, served as a stunt performer. “All Black Hawks and Little Birds used during the filming were from the 160th SOAR (Special Operations Aviation Regiment) and most of the pilots were involved in the actual battle on 3-4 October 1993. A lot of the Army Rangers in the film were actual Rangers, serving with the 3/75 Ranger Regiment.”
@@gogousa6661 That’s because James Cameron, with one major exception, for which he paid for dearly, didn’t fabricate history. He created two fictional characters to interact independently of historical events and have them live through it. Michael Bay took his fictional characters and had them do the heroic actions of two real pilots, Lt. Taylor and Lt. Walsh. Not a good play.
I met the guy who convinced the scared kid to go back out. He went from SSG Strueker to Chaplain Strueker. And Gary Gordon, and Randy Shughart, the two Delta Force Snipers who voluntarily went in, are the first since Vietnam to be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
This movie had a Hell of a cast. Tom Sizemore, Orlando Bloom, Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana, Sam Shepard, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Tom Hardy, Jason Isaacs... just a Hell of a cast!
You should definitely watch “we were soldiers” my grandfather was in that battle portrayed in the movie and it’s the only movie that made me cry I highly recommend
I highly recommand nit watching it. Apart from the fact that it was not the very good in a cinamatic sense all you see is a bunch of patriotic, heroism bullshit. It gives no fuck about the actual important people of this war which is a vietnamese.
i cried too, at the end. i cried of how disrespectful the people were of our veterans who returned home after a traumatizing experience. they deserved more and better.
I was trained (basic training, Ft Benning) by one of the Rangers who was part of this operation. Also, imo I think you nailed the point of this movie pretty clearly towards the end. "Nobody wins"
At the time people accused this movie of being pro-war. I disagree. I think it's an anti-war movie that is deeply PRO-soldier. To me, it strikes a nearly perfect balance in that regard. The only issue I think it suffers from is a more nuanced exploration of the Somalians themselves. But, no movie is truly perfect. Especially historical movies (except maybe Master and Commander).
I agree. It's like many American war movies in that regard. It doesn't really explore why the UN and the US are there except to paint Aidid as a bad guy. He was, but in tribal conflicts like this nobody is good. A lot of comments here talk about how Clinton didn't get involved in Rwanda because of the Somali experience- true, but at some point when an external force involves itself in these tribal fights you're literally just picking sides. The US has done this over and over, but its intentions are to protect its own interests, whether that be the group that will trade more with us, or the group that is anti-communist, whatever. It's never totally just about humanitarian missions. It can't be, because as soon as you prop up the underdog, they start slaughtering the people who were oppressing them before. There is almost never an innocent good side. And note- when I say 'tribal', I'm not trying to pick on people from particular regions of the world. The same thing happened in Yugoslavia. The same thing is happening now in Ukraine, Armenia, Papua New Guinea, and Myanmar. We (the US) arguably kick-started new rounds of these tribal fights in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan through our war on terror. It has happened in Europe throughout history. Tribalism is endemic to humanity.
@@happyjohn354 but, it's not a documentary. It's a portrayal based on a true story. Even documentaries have messages/narratives they are trying to tell.
@@juvandy The Mogadishu war had a HUGE impact on the US foreign policy for the next decade. The mission, which was supposed to be an hour at most turned into a nightmare for the soldiers, and resulted in the loss of 19 American lives. And the sight of American soldiers being literally dragged in the streets of Mogadishu caused a tremendous uproar back home. President Clinton himself was appalled, and for the rest of his presidency was literally afraid to use ground troops in an engagement, preferring to instead use surgical air strikes to eliminate specific targets. This hesitancy was especially apparent in 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War, where Rwanda's Hutu militias slaughtered over a million of their ethnic rivals, the Tutsi. America, fearing a repeat of Somalia, did not involve itself militarily.
@@tonyweaver2353 I think that is a somewhat different scenario than what Tyson was describing. But I don't doubt that Sun Tzu had a saying which covered exactly what Tyson had in mind.
In the Army we say "no plan survives first contact with the enemy". That's why its important that all leaders understand the intent of the mission and have the ability to make decisions on the fly and adapt.
I remember seeing Black Hawk Down in the cinema with my mom and we both walked out the theatre in a daze. This movie is a must see for a number of reasons. Blessings to all!
What an intense, relentless fire fight from every direction. It gives you the realism of an urban fire fight without any of the romanticism. There are no time outs or tap outs. You have to will yourself to go even when you think you have no more to give. Bravery on full display, with the sole intend of protecting your brothers-in-arms.
That's what how I have described it as well; once you get past the character development first act, it's like Saving Private Ryan's beach scene but the whole rest of the movie is that way.
I was stationed with the unit that went in to extract the Delta Force and Rangers shortly after they had come back from Mogadishu. 10th Mountain Division, C co. 2/14 Infantry. I had heard first hand what had gone down and because of this, our leaders trained us from their experience there. My whole platoon from basic training had been assigned there to fill in the spaces that were vacated due to many either being transferred, being discharged or had [aid the ultimate sacrifice. Those that were still with that unit when I had gotten there were a great bunch of guys.
@@foolsgold9993 um, no. They were committing genocide before the UN came. Fighting for warlords isn't for peace or to be left alone. That's propaganda they sell to the west to justify themselves. They fight because it let's them take what they want or they are brainwashed from childhood.
The warlords wanted power, but all his goons wanted was food. Im serious, I mean money is one thing and power they probably dont care for. Food though? Yea. Imagine being able to recruit an army of soldiers in exchange for one of the most basic needs for human survival. Heck, I bet he had clean water too.
1st crash site was in an alley, not a giant intersecting street with giant buildings; 2nd crash site was in a shanty town; and Somalis are skinny africans, they dont look like West Africans in this movie. Check out the book Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden.
I was 12 when this movie came out. Saw it in theaters with my father. Its what made me decide to join the army. Enlisted at 19. Joined up as a combat engineer. Got my airborne wings, was going to go air assault. Got injured before I could. Was going to re-enlist and go infantry and ranger school. Stupid knee. I feel this movie on a very deep level.
A very good friend of mine worked so hard to get in the best possible shape for special forces training and tore his hamstring in the last week and got dropped.
Fantastic acting all around. Tom Sizemore (McKnight) always turns in a terrific performance (he was fantastic in Saving Private Ryan too), such a great actor
This movie came out when I was in basic training at Fort Knox, when I got to my unit it was definitely required viewing for everybody while hanging out in the barracks, call to prayer over the loudspeakers in this movie is eerily accurate to how it sounds in Iraq
I was invited by a Green Beret buddy to a special screening in Santa Monica. Rangers at the time were still sporting the “Ranger cut” and you can tell who they were in a room full of Army SOF Warfighters, and Veterans. It was a memorable experience.
I love how Ms. Popcorn identities several actors from romantic comedies (romcoms), and so forth. I also love how she is able to track the faces of the men with lesser roles throughout the movie.
22:13 The Arming Range of an RPG-7 rocket is 25 meters. That's the minimum distance it needs to safely go before it can explode the target and not injure the shooter. That it did not explode upon hitting the truck door and impaling the driver means the skinny shot from practically point-blank distance. Sometimes User Error owing to the enemy's lack of training can work in your favor.
The PG-7 rocket (thats the most common munition fired from ab RPG-7 launcher) does not have an arming range, its armed by the setback force of the launch, but if you shoot something closer than 25 meters with it you are likely to be ripped apart by shrapnel from whatever you shot
My instructor in the Army lend one of his buddy's his canteen for this mission. He didn't make it back. The Army then charged him for the canteen. PS. Hooah! = HUA (Heard. Understood. Acknowledged.) It's an Army thing.
@Krister L My pop told me about a guy in the 2ACR lost 2 pair of NVG's off the back of his Humvee deairing the gulf war. He had to pay for them. felt bad for that PFC. This was in the early 90's so they were not cheep. But as Army brats we had a few of use that used are dads stuff when we played army.
Except hooah definitely doesn't mean HUA, and didn't start there. That's just one usage. It can mean basically anything other than no, but it's typically used as an affirmative or positive response. BC asks "how are you doing on this fine day, 3rd battalion?" Response from 3rd battalion "HOOOOOOOAH" Also, in the US Army at least, you don't have an instructor, you have a drill sergeant.
@@tyms13 - I dropped and broke a set of the old fashioned NV on exercise Rendezvous 83 in Wainwright Alberta. I didn't pay for it because I didn't tell anyone. It's been nearly 40 years, so I think I'm OK.
Regarding fame, Hartnett has said, "I know what it's like to be in that whole world. I was up there for a couple of years, and it was uncomfortable. I think trying to stay at the top is a shortcut to unhappiness." Hartnett took a break from acting, saying "I spent a bit of time really thinking about whether this was the right thing for me."
I worked for a car dealership in Clarksville Tn,10 miles from Ft Campbell Ky The 160th SOAR(night stalkers)is stationed there….Mike Durant,the pilot of the Blackhawk that was shot down was a customer of ours…..Mike and his family were the nicest people you’d ever meet
I first saw this movie at a special screening in Santa Monica. I was invited by a Green Beret buddy, and I believe I was the only Marine in a room full of Army SOF Warfighters, and Veterans. It was a memorable experience.
The book gives more background to the events leading up to the Op, like the US taking out the leadership of the local clan, against the advise of their allies, killing the moderates and enraging those that survived. The book's well worth a read but it's worth researching more.
In life the soldier who found the severed hand and put it in his bag his last name was "hand" the filmmakers thought that was just too ridiculous and decided to not include that detail.
@@tanelviil9149 Listen you weird person, stop spamming the same comment that YOU POST IN EVERY SINGLE REPLY.... just f stop it....there are other things to say, so just stop saying the same shit.
One of the issues of what happened here and why things went the way they did was underestimating the militia. The other thing was something that was highlighted earlier in the movie when the soldiers question the timing of the mission and the general says “I had requested armored tanks and AC130 gunships but Washington in all their wisdom”. This is one of those things where politicians will put soldiers into a conflict and won’t give them the okay to use the weapons and tools they want to achieve the mission with minimal casualties on their side.
After this fiasco 'politicians' ordered development of MQ-1 Predator which entered service in 1995 that enabled them hassle-free level to ground any such suspicious buildings that apparently holds gatherings of the insurgent leaders.
I grew up with Sergeant Dominick Pilla. He was the joker in the beginning that got called out by his commanding officer. Dominick was killed in the scene when they were driving through the streets. Dominick was always a joker and a great guy. He just had a local school named after him two years ago. The dedication ceremony was amazing. The surviving rangers from that mission flew in for the dedication. Many spoke at the ceremony. When they all stood up and recited the Ranger creed there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.
This was my brother’s Ranger battalion. My brother completed his service before they deployed for this. He was very upset having to watch his friends on the news while he was not able to help.
"skinnies" was just a nickname for the somalian militia, it was taken from the book starship troopers, which was popular reading material that was passed around the military around that time.
Yeah I thought skinnies was because of all the starvation, the average Somali was well skinny. I read starship troopers (ages ago) did they fight bug as in the movie (I know there was a ton in the book different from the movie, namely how Heinlin promoted the idea of a military controlled society whereas the movie satirized that concept.
@@CaptainEnglehorn Yes in the book they fought Skinnies and Bugs. Skinnies were tall (iirc) and thin - like Somalis.The Skinnies were a much less threatening opponent and a much smaller part of the story. And yes the movie was more of a satire. I think this was in part because the couldn't or wouldn't make the movie the book described, e.g. fully armored troopers. The satire elements of the movie are great, the Melrose Place in Space ....notsomuch.
In all that insanity, "for the guy next to you" seems like the only thing that will make sense. Dunno if being there was the right thing, at least give them support if ya make them go. Ya feel like ya failed them either way with such a half ass decision. Either don't send them and spare their lives and the lives of thousands of Somalis as they figure out their own shit... or you go in hard with all ya got and either make them find a peaceful solution or regulate an area as the battlefield to keep civilians not involved out and let the winner get most of the country as you split it in half. What else can ya do but give them a fish a day? Even if they did stop fighting...
Most of the aircraft flown for filming this movie was flown by actual members of the 160th SOAR. Including several who were there for the actual battle.
The Aussies were in Somalia too, along with many other countries. My cousin's husband was there in the Aussie Army and was present for one of the massacres, there were many. Their rules of engagement prohibited the UN forces from engaging the enemy so they had to just watch. He still suffers in silence today. I was also in the military, Navy, I still am, but we were busy in the Persian Gulf.
We as somalis don't agree with what is shown in movie the people were not somalis the place is not in Somalia and the story of this movie is not complete and that war was on going on 6 days untill the American soldiers ask a Way they were being given road no 30 to get out of the city peaceful we now what happened there
My high school principal was in Mogadishu when this happened. He said this was the most intense fighting he ever experienced and the closest to dying he's ever been. He was part of the last few that ran to the stadium. Only in the movie they just ran but he said they were in a fight the whole way up until a block from the stadium. Only teacher I ever had respect for.
I was in the Army when this happened. I remember watching the events leading up to the this. How they dragged the bodies through the street. We were all so pissed about it and thought that it would escalate the situation but in the end Clinton pulled all them out. I never understood why he did it other then maybe him being afraid to loose too many American's and it looking bad on him. Years later I was going through Paramedic school and ran across a medic who was in the convoy that responded to help get the guys out. He suffered from PTSD but was getting help. For me after 15 years being a Paramedic I had to call it quits due to the amount of stuff that I had seen and had to do. I still have nightmares about seeing people being burned alive in their cars and not being able to do anything about it. Being shot at or knives being pulled on me. So some of the trauma that the guys in combat have seen I can relate but many things about it I can not. I still talk to some of my buddies from the military and tried to keep track of some of them. Unfortunately some have died in combat and some have died of suicide. I miss the times we had but I'm grateful to have known them.
This was truly an All-Star cast representing one of my favorite movies of all time, you noticed a couple of the actors in your reaction but here's a list of the most notable actors you may not have realized were in this: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Hardy, Orlando Bloom, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana, William Fichtner, Kim Coates, Jason Isaacs, Ewen Bremner (also from Pearl Harbor), Ioan Gruffald, Ty Burrell, Jeremy Piven, & Matthew Marsden all major names to some degree nowadays. One of your best reaction videos to date. A lot of people should see this movie to appreciate living in the United States for sure. These War zones are daily life for a lot of people in the world these days and most people don't realize it.
To put in context: 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta aka Delta Force, Army Comparmentalized Element, Combat Applications Groups, Task Force Green is a Tier-1 Special Operations Force within the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC, subcommand of SOCOM), meaning they have almost unlimited resources, weapons, and equipment to carry out special missions including counter terrorism and advance force operations. 75th Ranger Regiment is a Special Operations Force within SOCOM whose tasks include direct action, sensitive site exploitation, and assisting other SOF in operations such as what you saw in the movie. Some 76% of Delta operators came from this regiment. 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment aka Nightstalkers are the helicopter pilots and crew transporting spec ops in and out of mission. Because of the focus on the men of these three units, the movie neglected the contributions of other SOF like DEVGRU/Seal Team Six and partner nations who participated in the Battle of Mogadishu.
Very true, alot the guys I served with at 5th group (team guys) were in this fight and some even wounded. I understand the focus if the movie on tier one delta and its support element 75th but it would have been great to acknowledge more warfighters in the area. Even if for a moment
After I got out of the service, the only thing I truly missed were my buddies. That statement about it being for the guy next to you is so true. I haven't seen most of my buddies in some time, but if they called me today and said they needed my help, I'd be there as fast as I could...no questions asked.
I remember being in the theater, watching couples who came to see this movie. Women kept leaving their guys in the seat, retreating to the bathroom. Heard one guy ask his lady where she went as they left after the movie. She said, "How could you take that, I couldn't anymore?"
I remember opening night for this film. The theater was pretty much overflowing with people and there was only two times people laughed. The rest of the movie, only silence and tears. I don't believe I saw anyone get up and leave.
She says "This is chaos" @ 23:09. Been there, survived that. OIF 05-06, 09-10. God bless everyone who has ever fallen and survived in war. It used to be an adrenaline rush. Today it's just a waste of humanity. May God have mercy on our souls.
Relevant fact: Mike Durant (the pilot who was captured) was released without any concessions from America, primarily because it was very bluntly communicated to the Somalian warlords that if he wasn't handed over the US would begin leveling the city.
@@SAVikingSA What? That has 0 to do with anything. And it's great that you advocate for the massacre of civilians, including women and children, as a means to retrieve one soldier. Excellent moral compass!
@@gregsomlai297 hell of a leap of reasoning there. I was simply pointing out that the US does not give people over to the Hague, where war crimes are prosecuted. You might not like that, it might make you feel sad, but them's the breaks.
@@SAVikingSA I think you might have misunderstood my initial comment. I was pointing out the fact, that leveling a city full of civilians, women and children, for the purpose of retrieving a soldier is a war crime. The very least it should be. Whether people are getting prosecuted for the crime they committed or not has no bearing on them being guilty or not.
I had a couple of friends that were there. They said they were told a couple hours max the mission would last. My friend said it took 24 hours for them to double time it back. My sisters best friend husband was trap out their for hours. This whole mission was a cluster F.
Any time I went to the field I carried four (yes, four) canteens of water with me. I guess that's one good thing about not trusting the people in charge (Marines in the mid-80's) to know what they're doing -- you always plan for the worst so you're not caught unprepared.
I love Generation Kill, as a veteran of that war it's accurate and interesting to watch. Band of Brothers for Iraq? .... not so much but it is a good watch if you wanna know what the Iraq conflict was really like.
The book explains that the reason it took so long for Overwatch to give the convoy directions is because they had to relay the request to an offshore Navy contingent who would figure out where to go then relay it back to Overwatch who'd then relay it back to the convoy. Except the convoy couldn't stop moving and by that point was in a whole different area in relation to where they'd been when they had first called.
