Ex-SEAL recalls beach survey mission off Somalia after Black Hawk Down
In a video from Mike Ritland, the channel sits down with a former SEAL Team 8 operator who walks through his path from a landlocked New Mexico upbringing into the Navy, BUDS training in 1990, and multiple deployments with the Amphibious Ready Group and carrier battle group. The conversation turns to an unplanned mission off the coast of Somalia in the days following the Black Hawk Down incident in Mogadishu.
Snapshot
The guest describes his third deployment with SEAL Team 8, which was cut short while half the platoon was skiing in the Swiss Alps and the other half was climbing across the border in Yugoslavia. The platoon was recalled to the ship and sent to the Somali coast within days of the Black Hawk Down battle to support a possible Marine landing.
Key points
- Background: The guest says he had never seen the ocean before checking into BUDS five days before his 19th birthday, and struggled with the mile-and-a-half run standard of the era.
- Platoon diverted: According to the guest, his platoon was pulled off climbing and skiing trips in Europe and sent toward Somalia roughly three to four days after the Black Hawk Down fighting.
- Beach survey mission: He describes conducting a beach survey near Mogadishu using laser depth-finding equipment from Zodiacs, to scout a potential Marine landing site.
- Shark-infested water: The guest recalls sharks "bow surfing" near the destroyer close to a meat processing plant that dumped waste into the ocean, a detail he says made the swim less appealing.
- No major incident: He says locals in a truck approached the team during the survey, but the mission ended without conflict, aside from some photos and tense moments.
Quick take
This is a firsthand, low-key account of how fast a routine Mediterranean deployment could turn into real-world tasking during the Somalia crisis, told by someone who was actually on the water. Mike Ritland lets his guest set the pace, and the result is a grounded look at a lesser-known footnote to the Black Hawk Down story.
Watch the full video: Mike Ritland