Posted on 10/03/2018 4:49:18 AM PDT by fugazi
Today's post is in honor of the 19 soldiers who gave their lives on this day in 1993 during Operation GOTHIC SERPENT: Sgt. Cornell L. Houston Sr. and Pfc. James H. Martin Jr. of the 10th Mountain Division; SSgt. William D. Cleveland Jr., SSgt. Thomas J. Field, and CW4 Raymond A. Frank of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment's SUPER 64; CW3 Clinton P. Wolcott and CW3 Donovan L. Briley of SUPER 61; Cpl. James E. Smith, Spc. James M. Cavaco, Sgt. James C. Joyce, Cpl. Richard W. Kowalewski Jr., Sgt. Dominick M. Pilla, and Sgt. Lorenzo M. Ruiz of the 3rd Ranger Battalion; MSgt. Timothy L. Martin, SFC Earl R. Filmore Jr., SSgt. Daniel D. Busch, SFC Randy Shughart, and MSgt. Garry I. Gordon of 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta. (Delta's SFC Matthew L. Rierson is killed in action on 6 Oct., but is typically included among the battle's casualties)
1794: President George Washington calls on the governors of Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia to mobilize troops to put down the Whiskey Rebellion. Washington himself will lead the army - the only time a sitting president commands troops in the field. Henry "Light Horse" Lee, veteran of the American Revolution and father of Confederate general Robert E. Lee will also lead troops, and also participating in the campaign is Pvt. Meriwether Lewis, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
1912: Four Marine battalions - including one led by Maj. Smedley Butler - converge and assault the fortress atop the 500-ft. Coyotepe Hill. Nicaraguan rebel commander Gen. Benjamin Zeledón is killed during the battle, and the rebellion effectively ends once the Marines capture the city of León in two days.
Butler, a veteran of the Boxer Rebellion, Banana Wars, Mexican Revolution, and World War I, is the
(Excerpt) Read more at opslens.com ...
ping list
I own that movie on BlueRay. It’s actually an amazing story. The number of Americans that died completely needlessly is amazing.
It could have been so easily taken care of with a small tactical nuke in the first place, or perhaps a Moab. It would have killed a lot lest people on BOTH sides.
In return, we now have Somalians running amok in Minnesota and killing white women behind a badge.
Thanks again, BJ!
There are a lot of things that contributed to the staggering loss of life in Mogadishu 25 years ago. That day felt to me like 9/11 did years later, with footage of helicopters crashing and dead soldiers being desecrated. Horrible.
If our government is going to deploy men and women, then we damn well demand our rotten politicians give them the full support they need to accomplish a clearly defined mission with rules of engagement that enable them to prevail and survive. AC-130 gunships were withdrawn from the theater recently, and probably would have done more to protect the soldiers than anything. No offense, but I can’t imagine a situation where tactical nuclear weapons should be used - especially in a populated area, no matter how bad that population is. It opens a pandora’s box we probably wouldn’t be able to close.
Non-lethal teargas grenades would have been another great tool, but I seem to remember that the soldiers had to stop carrying their 40mm grenade launchers and strip the Mk19 grenade launchers from the Humvees. Restrictive ROE imposed on our troops have been hamstringing our men for over half a century. There was a lot of valor on the night of 3-4 Oct. 1993, and a lot of tragedy that could have been prevented.
I agree with all of your post.
My mention of tactical nukes was a bit of a troll. Sorry. I’m used to posting on liberal sites. :)
Smedley Butler? Well, War Is A Racket.
If I could have pets where I live, I would have two English Bulldogs. One would be named Smedley, and the other would be named Daly. Look up those two names.
This was horrible those poor men...
And, we can thank Bill Clinton and Les Aspen for refusing to send in backups. The same happened in Benghazi when Hillary and Obama refused to send in backups and we lost 4 great Americans, one being an Ambassador. Damn Clintons!!
Oh that was another Clinton/demonrat foreign policy jewel......pre Benghazi...
“Staggering loss of life” ?
In 82 days on Okinawa in WW2, there were 12,000 Americans killed and 50,000 wounded.
Could you please add me to the ping list.
Of course the massive scale of casualties during World War II outweighs today’s lower-intensity conflicts. But 19 dead Americans in one engagement is staggering. And many, many more Somalis died. Had the soldiers been armed with weapons and ROE that could have dispersed the crowd more effectively than what they had, Oct. 3 1993 would be just be another day and there are several kids that could have grown up with their father.
2010: 92 years after the end of World War I, Germany makes its last reparation payment demanded by the Treaty of Versailles.
Wow. The longest tax/fee I’ve seen is the 3% federal excise tax on long distance phone calls that was implemented in 1898 (!) to pay for the Spanish American war, and not repealed/cancelled until 2006.
https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/telecom/2006-05-25-phone-tax_x.htm
One of the most ugly events ever, caused by the pResident of the USA.
All klintons {including off-spring and grandchildren, should die and rot in shame}.
Hildabutchbitch is rotting away in plain sight, and every time I see the skank in public, I get a perverse rush, knowing she is one step closer to the FLAMES OF HELL.
I may have had one glass of smooth, 12 year old scotch too many for this rant, but if I get suspended for a couple of day, it's OK with me.
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