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When the incident that spawned a book and movie known as "Blackhawk Down" happened, I was in Hong Kong doing what Marines do. That is wandering around from bar to bar enjoying myself. Less than a week later, I was in Somalia. The failure in Somalia as a military action and the failure of the mission that involved the Blackhawk helicopter are two different issues.

We watched the films of the mission nonstop on the way to Africa. The Rangers did what should have been done. The higher planning made the mistake on that one. They didn't anticipate how hard it is to move through the streets of a major city in the middle of a civil war. Once the helicopter was shot down (by an RPG that you could buy for less than $80 in Somalia), it became a rally point for the warring factions.

The total loss of human life from that mission is staggering considering it was small arms fighting. We lost around 18 soldiers, but the Somali casualties were enormous. They grew even more when you added more Marine and Army combat units.

The overall failure of the Somalia incident is a bit broader. We stepped in to help the U.N., then tried to leave. We got pulled back into a situation that was utter chaos. On one hand we are fighting combatants from several rival factions, while on the other we are guarding U.N. food and medical supplies.

The warlords were taking these supplies for their own use instead of the people. This is what I did. We were the armed escort to make sure these supplies of food and medicine got to there intended recipients. This is easier said than done. There wasn't really a clear cut mission objective on the grand scheme. Revenge for the Rangers that were killed fueled a lot of the soldiers, but you can't use that as a reason on CNN.

It seems to be a repeating pattern in the latter part of the 20th century and start if the 21st. We continue to go into conflicts with no reasonable mission statement. Without that, how do you know when the mission is finished? We do it over and over again. Like Iraq, our presence in Somalia didn't seem to change much. There is still suffering and instability in the country. We need to reevaluate what our military is suppose to be used for.

Learn more about this author, T. Scott Randolph.
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