In Memorium

Imagine you're a 30 something highly trained professional.  Throughout your military career, you've worked hard to be the best you can be at everything you do.  You've been through all of the Army's toughest training, and have ascended to the pinnacle of the Special Operations Forces pyramid with an assignment to be a sniper in Delta Force. 

You've deployed all over the world for both training and combat, and you're tasked with providing sniper support to a routine snatch and grab operation in some third world shithole.  Absolutely routine, same op as you've done a number of times in the past few months.

Then the world falls in. 

First, one American helicopter is shot down, and then another falls from the sky.  A search and rescue team is able to make it to the first helicopter, but the crew of the second crashed bird is alone and thousands of pissed off natives are converging on it.

You ask permission to leave the relative safety of your helicopter to assist the downed crew several times, and eventually convince command to let you go.  You and your buddy grab what weapons and ammo you have and make for the crash site.  You evac the crew from the helicopter and defend them from the barbarian horde that is breathing down your neck.  Between you and your partner, you kill 24 of the enemy and wound a great number more.  Then your partner gets hit and goes down.  You grab his weapon and give it to the survivor of the crash to defend himself with, and return to the fight.  Eventually you're hit too, and your bodies are dragged through the streets for all the world to see on CNN.

17 years ago tomorrow the Battle of Mogadishu started.  By the time it was over, 19 Americans were dead and 83 were wounded, including SFC Randall Shughart and MSG Gary Gordon.  These two Delta Force snipers threw themselves into the teeth of a Somali mob to protect men they probably never met.  In doing so, they probably saved the life of the one survivor of the crash, Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant, but gave their own lives in the effort.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  John 15:13