We Were Soldiers and Black Hawk Down - Books

[Viper5]

Originally Posted by WNxKenwayy

Okay, fine, so here's a few questions for you then.

Why were AC-130 spectre's not used as an aviation asset?

D.C. bureaucracy decision to not keep an imposing force in Somalia. Actual decision made by SecDef I believe.

How were RPG's actually able to bring down the blackhawks?

Metal pieces that angled the backblast allowing the RPGs to be shot vertically. BHawk 2 was hit in the tail which gave way. Dont recall exactly how Bhawk 1 went down.

What design attributes of the UH-60 and AH-6/OH-6 allowed them to accomplish the mission? What design attributes allowed crew members of them to survive a crash landing?

AH-6 Sleekness allowed the attempted rescue for Daniel Busch from crash site one. The shock absorbers in cockpit more than likely saved Mike Durant's life. The AH-6 w/ FFARs also allowed for continuous air support from an aircraft with a sleek frame, thus making it hard to hit.

How many aircraft were hit that day?

3 by RPGs, many by small arms. 2 Blackhawks went down while a third made it back to base.

What are the primary difference between regular army BH and the ones that participated in Somalia?

Spec Ops trained pilots, Miniguns vs. M60s.

What unit were the BH's part of?

160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR)

How did Mike Durant signal to his wife and comrades that he was okay?

Writing NSDQ (160th SOAR Motto: Night Stalkers Dont Quit) on letter given to his wife by Red Cross.





Keep in mind I'm not aviation. That's all just question I've remembered from reading it several years ago and experience in the army.

How'd I do? Read it 1-2 years ago.

Eagle: The book was really worth a thorough read. It gives many crucial details, shows some of the misgivings of the 5.56 round w/ penetrator (Twombly droppping man w/ Afro, Delta TL not bing able to kill the 2 Somalis scouting out positions during the night). Even if you've passed it in already, thats unfortunate but you owe it to yourself aand the 18 men who died those days to give it a good read.

[WNxKenwayy]

Viper gets the cookie. Missed the part of the RPG fuze's being modified so as to make for a 'airburst' type round as well as the fact that THOUSANDS of them were fired that day, which pretty much depleted the stockpiles which would have made subsequent operations actually easier. Would write up a quickie about Ia Drang but screw it.

Listin, being a LT in the army isn't like being a student in college. All that crap you hear about having to make life or death decisions, yeah, that's real. I know that doesn't mean much to you know, but right now I'm looking at a guy whose supposed to come out of ROTC capable of leading me and my guys into hostile fire and bring us out alive, that doesn't like to read. What happens when you have to read pages of intel briefs about OPSEC, OPFOR, CCIR, et al that could save your guy's life? I don't take this stuff lightly and most guys here that are/have served don't either, because I know for sure we lost at least 1 guy because of an incompetent officer.

[EagleEyeLG]

Originally Posted by WNxKenwayy

Viper gets the cookie. Missed the part of the RPG fuze's being modified so as to make for a 'airburst' type round as well as the fact that THOUSANDS of them were fired that day, which pretty much depleted the stockpiles which would have made subsequent operations actually easier. Would write up a quickie about Ia Drang but screw it.

Listin, being a LT in the army isn't like being a student in college. All that crap you hear about having to make life or death decisions, yeah, that's real. I know that doesn't mean much to you know, but right now I'm looking at a guy whose supposed to come out of ROTC capable of leading me and my guys into hostile fire and bring us out alive, that doesn't like to read. What happens when you have to read pages of intel briefs about OPSEC, OPFOR, CCIR, et al that could save your guy's life? I don't take this stuff lightly and most guys here that are/have served don't either, because I know for sure we lost at least 1 guy because of an incompetent officer.

Listen, I was unaware that the book report was due as early as it was due. I thought our branch briefs were due that day as our syllabus frequently changes. If I had known I would have started it much sooner.

I made a mistake and hopefully I will somehow learn from it. I have another 2.5 years to improve myself. I'm sure as hell not perfect and I HIGHLY doubt you were never in a tight squeeze due to an error you made while you were in school, and that goes for everyone and anyone.

I go home for Thanksgiving on Saturday so on my flight home and in the airport I will give the book a more thorough read. I was not in any way trying to disrespect the 18 brave soldiers that died that day and I understand why you make think that, but it's not the case. I have incredible respect for everyone in the military. If I'm not cut out to be an officer, than hopefully for both of our sake's I'll be filtered out of the program, but I believe I have the potential to be a good officer.

Edit: After reading over the entire thread again I can understand how I sounded like a huge douche, and again, there was no disrespect intended.

[The_motivator]

tip, eagleeye- leave the book in the shitter, or bring it with you when you shit. You get a lot of reading done. Atleast I do. Don't have as many distractions in there. Granted, doctors and proctologists will tell you not to sit for too long tryin to poop, but i've found (and this is probably TMI) that I end up sitting there just reading for a while, since it's the quietest least-distracting place in my entire townhouse and in the dorms in the past. We (as a group) bought a sign that says "Library" and put it up on the crapper door after a while.

[EagleEyeLG]

Originally Posted by The_motivator

tip, eagleeye- leave the book in the shitter, or bring it with you when you shit. You get a lot of reading done. Atleast I do. Don't have as many distractions in there. Granted, doctors and proctologists will tell you not to sit for too long tryin to poop, but i've found (and this is probably TMI) that I end up sitting there just reading for a while, since it's the quietest least-distracting place in my entire townhouse and in the dorms in the past. We (as a group) bought a sign that says "Library" and put it up on the crapper door after a while.

That's actually a pretty good idea. Probably better than reading the same shit I read everyday in the magazines we've got in our bathroom.

[The_motivator]

Originally Posted by EagleEyeLG

That's actually a pretty good idea. Probably better than reading the same shit I read everyday in the magazines we've got in our bathroom.

I burn through books like that.