Honoring America’s Soldiers Means Never Deploying Them Unless Necessary

The lessons we can learn from Black Hawk Down and the Battle of Mogadishu remain relevant today as we contemplate intervention in Venezuela.

The month of May has two special days for our men and women in uniform: Armed Forces Day, when we recognize those currently serving, and Memorial Day, when we honor America’s fallen heroes. On the third Saturday in May, some will tip their hat and say, “Thank you for your service,” and on the final Monday in May, some will attend ceremonies at local cemeteries.

There is, however, something more important we all can do this month for our men and women in uniform: pledge that we will hold our political leaders accountable to never again deploy America’s armed forces into hostile environments without adequate force levels and resources.

Operation Desert Storm is a textbook example of political leaders following this pledge, and the battle best known as Black Hawk Down is an example of our political leaders (and those who elected them) failing in this pledge. As the former chairman of the Department of Military Strategy and Operations at the National War College, I am well aware of many examples of such successes and failures, but none more top of mind than the Battle of Mogadishu in October 1993.

I spent the past 15 months working on a documentary film, “Black Hawk Down: The Untold Story.” As I began the research in January 2018, I realized that many Americans would have little knowledge of this battle that occurred a quarter of a century ago. I began the film with a brief history.

Read the rest from Randall Larsen HERE at The Federalist.

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