Introduction
An overview of the history of Somalia and the reasons for the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers. Here we'll take a look at the Somali National Alliance, the main combatants faced by Task Force Ranger and discuss their targets, the leaders of the SNA and the Habr Gidr clan including Mohammed Farah Aided. We will also examine the military capabilities of the SNA and Habr Gidr and look at possible links to Usama bin Laden and al Qaeda (a former Delta officer has confirmed to the author that later intelligence confirmed the presence of a number of foreign jihadists in the city, near the site of the battle).

Gothic Serpent and Task Force Ranger
This chapter will examine the raising of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Task Force later named Task Force Ranger and what led to its formation. The organisation of the Task Force itself will then be examined in some depth, profiling each of the units that made up the force. We will also discuss in detail the three operational packages that were developed and the controversial question of why the option lacking AC-130 gunships and armoured vehicles was ultimately selected.

This chapter will also look at the relevance of the Task Force Ranger model as it pertained to later war criminal hunts in the Balkans and how it led to the formation of Task Force Dagger and Sword in Afghanistan, later Task Forces in Iraq and even today in the form of the classified Task Force 27 operating in Syria hunting Islamic State high value targets. Gothic Serpent was the first successful modern SOF man-hunt, something which has since become a specialty of these units. We will recognise Task Force Ranger's role in that development.

The Day of Battle
What was the mission? Surprisingly many people still think the target of the October 3 raid was Farah Aided himself but it was in fact two of his lieutenants - the actual haul was greater as the Task Force captured all of the participants at a key SNA meeting. We will look at the objective and how the Task Force planned for the operation.

This chapter will examine the 'templates' used in previous missions and how and why a particular 'template' was selected. This also gives us an opportunity to discuss the tactics that would be employed on the day and the contingencies put in place with regard to casualty extraction or actions on the downing of a helicopter.

We will detail the exact composition of both the helicopter assault force that assaulted the target building and the ground assault force that arrived by Humvee to extract the assaulters and their prisoners.

Finally we will examine exactly how the first minutes of the mission unfolded on the dusty streets of Mogadishu. The misconception that the injury sustained by a young Ranger falling form a fast rope was the thread that began to unravel the mission will be discussed and the fact that such early casualties were planned for, and expected.

Helo Down
Even the downing of the first helicopter had been planned for and that response swung quickly into action. This chapter will look at how that planning translated into securing that first crash site, stabilizing the wounded and establishing defensive strongpoints to give the CSAR team time to cut the fallen pilot from the wreckage. This chapter will also cover the heroics of the Little Bird pilot who landed his helicopter in the direct line of fire to evacuate a seriously wounded Delta operator and one of the aircrew.

The chapter will look at the crude Somali anti-aircraft measures that nonetheless worked and the influence of those previously mentioned al Qaeda types on these techniques. We will briefly look at similar insurgent tactics to place the Somali methods in context. I will further examine how at this point the SNA's rather rudimentary command and control kicked in, sending mobs of militia accompanied by civilians to the crash site.

This chapter will consider this use of civilians both as shields and as combatants (including the previously unreported detail of children who attacked Rangers with machetes and women who acted as assistant gunners for RPG teams). Although a very dark topic, such tactics have been seen in insurgencies both before and since. We will examine their use in Mogadishu and the terrible decisions forced upon the men of Task Force Ranger.

We will also take a deep dive into the world of CSAR and the PJ and examine their unique role and how they contributed to the survival of the downed aircrew (including the previously unreported fact that a majority of the CSAR team were shot and wounded as they fast roped into the crash site).

The Second Crash Site
This chapter will look at the events surrounding the loss of the second helicopter- the event that truly did unravel the mission. The Task Force had simply not planned for a second helicopter downing. We will document the exact circumstances of the shoot-down, aiming to use the words of pilot Mike Durant to dramatically describe the horror of the crash and immediate aftermath.

The chapter will include an account of the Rangers and Delta operators who tried to reach the second crash site on foot and the intervention of the Little Bird gunships that tried to hold back the enemy until a rescue mission could be mounted. This chapter will provide previously unreported detail on the decision to insert the two Delta snipers to secure the second crash site, what they said and how this was accomplished (although superbly confident, the two operators knew they were the aircrew's last and only chance of survival).

We will reconstruct the battle around the so-called Durant crash site as much as possible, telling the story of the snipers who battled against incredible odds to keep the downed crew alive but who ultimately fell under the weight of fire from hundreds of Somali militia. Finally we will cover the brutal tale of Durant's capture at the hands of the militia and miraculous survival.

The Lost Convoy
The ground convoy extracting the prisoners was turned around and sent through a series of ambushes and roadblocks in a desperate attempt to reach the first crash site and then the second. With delays in providing visual intelligence from aircraft overhead, the convoy was gradually (and literally) shot apart with a number of Rangers wounded and killed (the majority of the prisoners were also killed by Somali fire).

This chapter will provide a minute by minute account of the fate of the convoy as it attempted to reach the crashed helicopters and then finally its journey back to the Task Force base where, battered and bloodied, it resupplied and re-manned with more Rangers and headed back out to try and fight their way through. I aim to include gripping first person detail from the commander of the convoy, Ranger Colonel Danny McKnight.

We will also detail the exact vehicles employed by the convoy and how they fared under intense enemy fire, detailing the weapons systems employed on the Humvees and their effectiveness in the urban environment along with the impact of the lack of armour on the Humvees.

The Rescue
Leave No Man Behind- what is the basis of this oft-mentioned phrase and what does it mean to real SOF operators? In this chapter we will examine this in detail using the words of a retired Delta officer who was on the ground. Were the Task Force right in exposing their force to further risk by staying at the first crash site to recover the pilot's body?

I will document the constant close combat experienced by the Task Force as they held the perimeter overnight- small groups of militia would mount attacks that often saw the Rangers engaging at point blank range as the CSAR team struggled to free the pilot's body. We will examine the several aborted rescue missions as a combined UN and US convoy, eventually including tanks and APCs, were fought back as they attempted to relive Task Force Ranger.

Finally we look at the eventual extraction with the UN vehicles and the infamous Mogadishu Mile. The reality of the Mogadishu Mile was even worse than that portrayed on screen in the movie, with a small band of Delta operators and Rangers effectively left behind. Only a courageous Ranger platoon commander who led a small Humvee convoy back into the city saved these men. Quotations from one of the Ranger participants in the Mogadishu Mile graphically describe this section.

Durant
This chapter will look at Durant's eleven days in captivity, held by the SNA. It will include the numerous rescue missions that were launched and document the conditions of his captivity including the infamous video that he was forced to record (a still from which became perhaps the most famous Time Magazine cover of recent times). We will also compare his capture and treatment with other US military prisoners such as pilots in North Vietnam including Senator John McCain and the controversial figure of Bowe Bergdahl.

The Impact and the Aftermath
Along with the physical and psychological effects of the battle on the participants, this chapter will examine the changes that were made to SOF weapons, equipment and training as a direct result of the battle. For instance, major improvements in battlefield first aid training within the Ranger Regiment and the innovation of Quick Clot, CAT tourniquets and similar frontline medical equipment has meant that the lives of countless Rangers were subsequently saved on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

We will look at the advances in tactics that the Day of the Ranger brought upon the US SOF community. As one Delta operator noted “We trained for another Mogadishu for the next ten years”. How did these tactics assist, perhaps inadvertently, in preparing SOF for the War on Terror? What was the effect of Mogadishu on the establishment of Advance Force Operations and similar undercover reconnaissance efforts? How did it change the way SOF snipers were employed?

The battle also had a profound effect on US foreign policy that lasted beyond 9/11. One major effect was a new found reluctance to place US forces in harm's way, a fact that even bin Laden commented upon. This chapter will examine how even today a reluctance against deploying without sufficient CSAR cover has hampered American SOF and look at the impact of this on operations in Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. We will also look at the criticism of President Bill Clinton and then Defense Secretary Les Aspin and judge exactly what, if any, criticism is warranted.