...I would like to see a follow-up story regarding the side of the Somalians.How many dead? How many wounded? Of the dead, how many children? How many old people? How many defenceless civilians? How many soldiers? How many women? And under what circumstances were they killed?...

I think you owe the public the Somalians side PBS. I have respect for your sence of balance so don't disappoint me on this one....

Supposedly your main mission was to capture Adeed and with all your military technology and training you failed to capture him.Doesn't this say something about the military sophistication of the General and his army and the lack of intelligence and military sophistication on our part. What's your view? Be honest! Didn't we actually run away from Somalia?...

[When you went to Somalia] Did you know anything about the history of the Somalia people? Were you familiar with their great culture? Did you know anything about their political and economic systems?...

KENI THOMAS: If you are attempting to allude to some terrible injustice done because women and children were part of the 1000 plus causualties suffered I have this in response to you and your soap box. Taking a life down the sights of a rifle is something you have to carry with you for life. And it's not easy to know that some of those lives were women and boys.

But when you've seen the face of a teenage boy lifting an AK47 towards you or made the decision to pull the trigger on a woman running into an alley with an RPG under her arm, then you can come talk to me and ask me to "Be honest" about the justification of woman and children as casualties. Perhaps one should instead question the morality of that "great culture" you spoke of for putting their woman and children out on the street to fight. And, yes, I do feel lives could have been spared had the warlord leaderhip of Aidid and his militia been more judicious.

As for your comments that PBS owes you the Somali side of the story, I ask you this. Were you watching the same show as the rest of us? They did an outstanding job of interviewing both Somali militia leaders and civilian family members affected by the fight.

Perhaps you yourself should take a closer look at the current political and economic system which you grilled us about. Mogadishu is run by warring facations and thugs. There's no economic system, no education and no political structure to speak of. For a westerner to show up there in the first place is a huge risk. Camera crews have to be escorted by armed guards. Less than ideal situations for the in depth interview you feel PBS owes you.

Respectfully,

Keni Thomas

Your bravery and willingness to sacrifice your lives for the sake of your comrades makes me proud to be your fellow citizen and an American. I know you and your comrades went through hell. I know you are highly trained, one of the US Army's elite forces. But by the nature of the operation, once the operation changed from that of arresting the warlord at the hotel to an effort to rescue the occupants of the downed helicopter, I had the sense that it was tactically impromtu, a hurried run through the labyrinthine streets of the city. Surely, somewhere in the course of your training at the Infantry School, contingencies such as the rescue of trapped soliders in an urban setting or in the jungle would have to have been explored tactically. Or not?...
-- Bill Masters

KENI THOMAS: With all due respect, what tactics do you need to discuss when a crowd of hundred armed Somalis are racing down parallel streets to overrun and desecrate your buddies lying in a helicopter crash just five blocks away? Sua sponte.

Directed at Keni Thomas: ... I have several questions if you don't mind. First, you seemed the most 'adjusted' when talking about what happened. Did you suffer from post traumatic stress syndrome, and if so, was the military very supportive of getting help for all of you? Do you still have or did you ever have to deal anger-issues because of what happened, or intense frustration afterwards? In your own mind, did you always 'know' you would get out alive, or how did you stay focused under such chaos? Did you feel 'natural' survival instincts played a more important role in your survival, or belief in the military, and training you had received?...
-- carolyn taisey

KENI THOMAS: In combat and during any difficult and dangerous training you make it through and remain confident by relying on training. Your absolute faith in your men, your training and the equipment is what you lean on for assurance of success. You know you have better resources and better training than any force in the world. So if you do what you're taught, do the right thing, then you'll make it. Of course, this is not always the case, I know. And you struggle with it afterwards. Why not me? My friends did everything right. Why did they get hit and not me?

This is why you carry with you for the rest of your life, a nagging sense of guilt. That you made it out when others did not. That they are not here to share the pride you feel for having been a part of something so important. That's why I think it's important to tell the story to whoever shows an interest. I want them to know about the men who died that day fighting in support of your government's policies. It does not bother me so much that the policies in retrospect were flawed. What is important is that we remember to ask ourselves as Americans, "Where would be as a country without the dedication of a Joyce, Ruiz, Pilla, Cavaco, Smith, Kowalewski, Shugart or Wolcott? Where would we be?"

... how did you feel about the press' and governmental reaction to the event and the aftermath? did this in some way resolve in you the intention to so fully share with us your story? how, in your opinion, could this have been avoided?
-- libby glover

KENI THOMAS: I remember listening to the radio in Dec 93 when I was back home. And they were asking listeners to call in and tell them the most memorable moments of 93. I heard about Michael Jordan retiring. I heard about Michael Jackson getting in trouble. I even heard about the crumbling of the Soviet Union. But not one person mentioned the battle that took place in Mogadishu where there were 18 American soldiers killed, 78 wounded and over 1000 Somali casualties. I felt frustrated and a little disheartened that America didn't care.

But I realized later that they just weren't informed. Very little was known because the media had long since pulled out of volatile Mogadishu. The government wasn't releasing much and frankly still hasn't. There is video footage of that day that would give America an amazing first hand account of some of the heroics that took place. Like the helicopter pilots who landed their bird in an alley and fought off oncoming enemy with side arms in order to rescue crash victims. It's an incredible witness to the values of courage, honor and commitment to duty . Surely these are things good that all Americans could see without compromising military tactics.

Even when the Congressional hearings took place very little was publicized. I fully understand classified information and sensitive material. But I did not understand why the military would not want to share this story of a great military victory-regardless of the flawed policy that put us there.

Even today it baffles me why the current decision makers at the Ranger Regiment would not allow some of the active duty Somalia veterans to go in fornt of the camera. Guys like Matt Eversman, and Nick Strusic are so incredibly well spoken and have important and insightful accounts to tell. Besides, they are the ones still out there serving every day. The endless hours of training and devotion takes a special kind of fortitude. I believe they deserve the same recognition for their part if not more so. Surely, the Regimental staff feels this is an important battle in the long and colorful history of the 75th Ranger Rgmt and is a story worth telling America.

I believe that it was last year's newspaper series Blackhawk Down by Mark Bowden in the Phlladelphia Enquirer that really stirred the press and renewed interest in the historic relevance of 3 Oct 93. I have told Mark that many of us had rarely spoken of the matter with any one much less amongst ourselves. The articles, his interviews, and the public's reaction was very therapeutic. It gave a sense of validity to what we had done so long ago in a surreal memory. It made it OK to talk about it. Perhaps this was an important event that America should know about. Even if it did no more good that to make us deal with the vast mix of emotions we were keeping inside.

And now with the outstanding job of PBS, even more people finally know throughout America. Your responses have been so heartfelt and gracious and I'm certain will inspire us all to make our life a purposeful existence. And more importantly will serve as positive motivation for those Rangers still out there training in the rain, wet, tired and hungry. Stay motivated. America appreciates you.

I feel that the program was a great production. It was put together very well and covered all details pretty well, except one...

How did these "elite" people eventually get out of the crash site the next morning?

Please, as with every network production done on this story, some mention does need to be brought to 2-14 INF (10th MTN) and what they did to help bring American soldiers home.... It is awful odd how the Rangers/Delta captured 18 Somalis and 2-14 Inf (Ft. Drum) helped to pull the Rangers/Delta out. You all need to tell me how come there is NO mention of how you exfil'd. 2-14 Inf did you justice that night. I admit that the Rangers are high-speed, but give credit to those who helped you. Rangers may have captured worthless Somalis. 2-14 saved valuable US soldier's lives. This may be a foreign subject to the civilians, but you "rangers" had better recognize...
-- Jim Guelzow

I hope your use of the word "elite" wasn't meant to be in sarcasm, as if those men were not worthy of the title because we called upon your unit for help. I have said it repeatedly and you will not find a different opinion within the Ranger Rgmt. Do not think for a second that those of us on the ground were less than grateful for what you did. We had casualties that badly needed medical assistance. If not for your efforts and the accompanying Malaysians and Pakistanis, getting those men out on our own would have been terrible. Need I remind you the reason we stayed all night was not because we were trapped. It was because we had a pilot we could not get from the wreckage. And we weren't going to leave him. I'm sorry the media has not given you and the 10th MTN the recognition you deserve for your part in the battle. I know you took casualties too. But there is no cause for you to slyly belittle the men you came to help. Perhaps yours was not the 10th MTN uniform I hugged that next morning at the stadium as I said "thank you" with tears in my eyes. We are grateful, and that you should always know.

Have any of you had problems after returning from Mogadishu? I disagree with Mr. Thomas when he said that the men who were killed did not die in vain. I think that the military was in a situation they could not win....
-- anonymous

KENI THOMAS: The psychiatrists tell us that PTSD is caused by an overflow of endorphines at the time of combat. It causes a chemical imbalance which they say you never fully recover from. This imbalance, if left undealt with, will continue to resurface in ways unique to the individual. For some it's a quick temper or a perceived lack of compassion. But you learn to recognize when your reactions are becoming irrationally emotional. And you keep yourself focused and quell the frustration or aggression rising within. In fact, some of us are so good at handling it, you'd never know it was there. That's what I like to think, anyway.

I respect your opinion on the futility of our mission. However, I will always maintain that not one of those men who died did so in vain. Those men fought not for a political agenda or cause, but died while fighting to protect and suppport their fellow comrades. There is no nobler a cause.

Some of us are alive today because others died fighting to keep us alive. If you say their efforts were in vain, then you have invalidated all that we as soldiers hold as absolute. Sense of duty and commitment drives us, courage and honor inspire us. Never shall I fail my comrade. These are words to live and die by.

... What thoughts you have of the pilots who flew during the firefight? also, [do you know anything about the] whereabouts of Pete Nethery?
-- Frank Borghese

KENI THOMAS: I havn't heard from Nethery since I left Battalion for another assignment. Pete was my M60 gunner and was shot in the arm behind the gun once we had taken up a position in the perimeter around the crash. When I got to him Doc Strauss had already pulled him from the line of fire and was working on the wound. "Sgt is it bad?" I looked at Strauss who just sort of calmly shrugged. "Looks pretty nasty, Pete. Does it hurt?" "Damn right it hurts. They better send me home for this " and then he said something I'll always remember because it seemed so out of context. "hey Sgt, I believe in God" I smiled and half laughed. "It's OK, Pete, He believes in you, too." As for the pilots of Task Force Ranger that flew all night to protect us, they are my heroes.

There has been press about the development of "smart" weapons for the military specifically for use in peacekeeping and related mission creep. For instance, large speakers on APCs could broadcast low frequency sounds that cause nausua to people in surround areas. Weapons involving heat and sleeping gases are also available. Do the Rangers think that perhaps weapons like these should have been used (if ever available) to incapacitate locals during military action?
-- Matthew Lewis

KENI THOMAS: What if there were a gas that could put the enemy to sleep and incapacitate his troops before I arrived on the scene to apprehend him? Would I want to use it? What do you think?

It seemed apparent to me in watching tonight's program that the sight of your units movments above Mogadishu must have been a frightening and imposing site to the locals. In retrospect, do you think that a lower profile in the weeks previous to the battle might have helped to prevent the ambush?
-- Tim Pray

KENI THOMAS: Strategic surprise was lost the moment we stepped into country. So in order to maintain an element of tactical surprise and quick strike capability, it was deemed necessary to keep the Somali militia at a guess as to when we would strike. We had flown so many flights over Mogadishu that most people on the ground hardly took notice. In fact, even two minutes out from the raid as the first bird did a dry gun run over the target people on the ground seemed anything but alarmed. Remeber, this particular raid was the seventh such mission. I believe we kept them guessing as to "when" we would strike. It was the "how" that they caught on to.

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