350 Page Update

All throughout the night Little Birds (fast attack helicopters) did gun runs on the growing mobs around the scene of the first crash. The shooting had all but stopped when darkness fell, though it did seem to let up a little. Many of the original assault force could hear the large rescue convoy making its way toward them. They could track its progress because it lit up the sky around it with explosions and muzzle flashes.

Meanwhile in a small dark room in Mogadishu, Michael Durant awoke to find himself chained to a floor. He suddenly heard the sounds of gunfire seeming to grow louder and nearer. At first he was afraid then he recognized the sound of the big American guns and thought rescue was near. The convoy kept moving though and the noise eventually died away. No one knew where he was.

Before the convoy had set out, the odd assortment of forces was working together for a plan. The Malaysian forces gave the convoy its armor and drivers for it and the 10th Mountain Division was preparing to roll out. For the Rangers who had been in the city earlier that day on the lost convoy, this was all taking too long. They need to move now, the said and were anxious to save their comrades stuck in the city.

Captain Steele, the Ranger commander, was in nearly constant contact with the JOC (Joint Operations Command) and kept asking when the convoy would get there. The answer was always any minute and the time kept passing by. The convoy was taking its time and lighting up everything in its path. Finally, some time later, the convoy arrived and the wounded were loaded onto APCs (Armor Personnel Carriers). All of the Rangers and Delta were ready to leave. While waiting the Delta operators who had been disappointed in the quality of the Army's elite Rangers were surprised by the 10th Mountain. These regular army soldiers seemed completely out of place in this combat zone. While the Delta and Rangers were shooting, the 10th Mountain were standing around talking to each other and laughing.

Eventually, the cockpit around the body of Cliff Wolcott was dismantled and pulled from the wreckage. After destroying the helicopter the force was ready to roll out. The 10th Mountain loaded back up on their armored vehicles and it was soon found that there was not enough room for the Rangers and Delta operators on board. So, the plan was for the original assault force to use the vehicles as cover and walk out. This plan quickly failed however, when the Malaysian drivers hit the gas and left those on foot stranded. So began what became known as the "Mogadishu Mile" the men, low on ammo, ran out of the city. They didn't stop to provide cover for each other. They just shot and ran at the same time.