The Ranger Staff Sergeant (SSG) opened his daily Commanding General and Staff briefing with "Rangers lead the way, sir." Little did he know that soon he would be putting the Ranger's motto into practice.

During the "Battle of the Black Sea," the night of three to four October 1993, the Ranger SSG displayed the type of courage only seen in a dedicated Ranger.

While working in the war room as an intelligence analyst, the Ranger SSG wasted little time in responding to the call for volunteers to go into the intense fire fight that had pinned down approximately fifty personnel. A combat force had already been committed when the call for volunteers was made to the staff. During the first two hours of their twelve hour nightmare the SSG and four other Rangers found themselves leading the column of vehicles through the city's guerrilla strong points.

The convoy kept running into roadblocks and ambushes at every intersection as they attempted to move north. After driving into numerous roadblocks and ambush sites for over an hour, they came face to face with the battalion commander's column of the initial reinforcement force that was attempting to disengage and return to the airfield. They could not believe their eyes – seeing the vehicles riddled with bullets and pushing one damaged Hummer as it was not able to move on its own power. The vehicle was being used as a trailer to move personnel. Immediately, the SSG and his buddies moved around them to provide protection while they quickly transferred the passengers. Once all passengers were loaded the SSG's crew destroyed the Hummer in place and then provided rear security for the entire column as it returned to the airfield. Once again, they prepared to go back out. This time they would wait for over three hours for an international quick reaction contingent to be assembled. Again, the Rangers moved out, this time as part of a column made up of Malaysian armored personnel carriers (APCs), Pakistani tanks, and U.S. Hummers. Moving into the battle area they would spend the next seven hours recovering pinned down personnel. They were fired on from windows, rooftops, and other ambush sites as they attempted to provide timely and quick reinforcement. The Rangers initially fired high to avoid killing the women and children that were firing at them. As they approached the Black Sea area they were pinned down – now leaving them no choice but to shoot at anyone firing at them.

In all – 24 prisoners were moved into a safe area for further extraction by helicopter to the airfield. Having lost the cover of darkness the rescue force now moved on foot for two hours to avoid taking additional casualties. These casualties would have been the result of being vehicle mounted during daylight in a strong guerrilla environment. By the time the SSG finally returned to the airfield, six of his Ranger buddies were dead and seventy soldiers were wounded in what had become one of the fiercest urban battles in decades.

After a brief and well-deserved rest, the SSG once again found himself facing the horrors of war. As he was getting ready to come in for the Tactical Operations Center (TOC) night shift, a mortar round impacted near the hangar killing one and injuring twelve. He quickly ran to help the injured and placed a neck brace on a dying soldier. With his clothes still bloody from yet another casualty, he reported to the TOC to work his shift. The SSG is a truly dedicated Ranger – he was the only Ranger from the staff to participate in the battle and the only intelligence analyst that was in combat that night. He gave honor to the Ranger motto – "Rangers lead the way."

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page