Squadron Officer College holds Gothic Serpent symposium Published Sept. 8, 2009 By Carl Bergquist Air University Public Affairs MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- As part of Squadron Officer School's Warrior Symposium series, SOS students received details about Operation Gothic Serpent, which prompted the Battle of Mogadishu, and they also received wisdom from two members of the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment who participated in the battle Oct. 3 and 4, 1993. Operation Gothic Serpent involved U.S. forces going into Mogadishu, Somalia, to capture several militia fighters loyal to Somali general and warlord Muhamed Farrah Aidid. A battle ensued that resulted in 18 Americans killed and 77 wounded, and was the basis for a book by author Mark Bowden titled, "Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War." Army CW5 Tony Rinderer and retired Army CW5 Stan Wood were on hand Aug. 27 at Polifka Auditorium to describe how what should have been a "more-or-less routine mission" turned into an 18-hour ordeal for American military forces. CW5 Rinderer said from the outset, some military members, to include himself, were not very pleased with the mission. "I couldn't help but think this was a stupid mission. I mean, you're going in to snatch one or two dudes," he said. "But, it was our mission, and once you are committed to a mission, you have to commit completely." CW5 Rinderer said when the "mission in Somalia started going down," there were several versions of the plan discussed. Personnel that were to be involved in the mission went to Fort Bragg, N.C., to train and develop a template that would work for everyone. He said originally the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were to establish a cordon around the target building to keep Somalis sympathetic to Aidid from coming into the fray. CW5 Wood said the United States brought in high-tech aircraft, and after countless surveillance missions, located a building they believed the militia fighters were using. He said on the day of the mission, aircraft came in from the west, swung around the target area and assaulted from the southeast. "The Little Birds (A/MH-6 helicopters) went in first, but that generated a thick cloud of dust for the rest of us. The dust was so thick we could no longer see trees we were hovering close to," he said. "We started hearing calls from the ground guys, then we heard Super 61, CW3 Phil Wolcott's helicopter, get shot down by a rocket propelled grenade. That changed the whole picture. We were now an aircraft recovery mission." CW5 Wood said even before the Gothic Serpent mission, he had always liked the Black Hawk, but after the mission, "he really liked it." He said despite the loss of two Black Hawks, many of the other Black Hawks took heavy damage and still flew. "What is really important, though, is that you will revert back to what you know," he said. "That is why training is so important, and we saw that in Somalia." CW5 Rinderer said, at first, everything went pretty much according to plan, then the first helicopter went down, changing the plan to urban warfare, and he knew people were going to die. He said they also knew this area of Mogadishu was, "a bad neck of the woods." "When the second Black Hawk went down, I remember the chaos that ensued. I was terrified, not of getting shot, but of letting the guys on the ground down," he said. "And, never underestimate a third-world nation when it comes to communications ability. The Somalis had computers and radios, but they also had runners, and it all worked for them to get the job done." CW5 Rinderer said during the battle they learned to let the Somalis gather in groups before attacking them so they would take 20 or 30 militia fighters instead of just one or two. He said even after the fight was over, those involved didn't have any idea of how intense it had been. "If I have a take-away from Operation Gothic Serpent it is that there is no magic key. For me, the mission became much more about the guys around me than my desire to be a warrior," he said. "The more you can invest in your people, the better off you will be. Technology is great, but it's no substitute for training. There is always someone who has done more than I have, and that keeps me in check. It makes me a better trainer and a better warrior." CW5 Wood told SOS students he hoped some valuable lessons in "how we fight today" had been passed along to them during the symposium. He said one message from Gothic Serpent he "heard clearly" was to watch the enemy at all times. "We noticed that anytime we flew over certain buildings those building were defended entirely. If you watch what the enemy does, it will tell you a lot," he said. "But more importantly, understand your mission down to the basics, and you won't need as much technology." CW5 Wood said he also learned another lesson concerning preparation for missions. He said the ground forces were, "not armed up the way they should have been," for this action, and that helped lead to the chaos, confusion and casualties on the ground and in the air. CW5 Rinderer said in Gothic Serpent high tech was often not necessary to accomplish the goal, as was the case with marking laser targets. "On the gunships, the pilots were leaning out their window marking the targets with a laser pointer," he said. "While they might have preferred a more stable and accurate method, the laser pointers worked very well for them." CW5 Wood concluded that while the mission suffered from mistakes and other problems, ultimately, U.S. military members were able to get their troops out of the war zone. "Everybody rose to the occasion for this one, both on the ground and in the air," he said. "In reality, this situation was so challenging it was bound to lead to the chaos that occurred."