[Lonesome in Massachussets]

>>The CO of that unit should be relieved of command.

Only if you believe what you read in the papers. Linda Cruz could be the pen name for Jason Blair. It's my understanding that they got lost and ambushed by Iraqi irregulars, "militia", since the Iraqi Regular Army isn't worth a picture (sic) of warm urine. The result was approximately 500 milliMogadishu, on the DiGenova scale.

Surrounded by a numerically superior force firing from cover, they eventually ran of ammunition and were all killed or captured. These things will happen when you get separated and isolated, especially lightly armed support troops. If all or many of their weapons were so poorly maintained they failed to operate, the commander should be court-martialed for gross dereliction of duty. If one confused unit made a wrong turn, as units will inevitably do, they need to take some lessons learned and move on.

[colorado tanker]

One account I read said that the CO's GPS locator was not working and he had not been issued a map for this area. The same account said he passed a stationary Marine unit outside the town. Maybe its just me, but if I had a support unit before passing through a combat unit my reaction would be to take a break and look up that Marine CO just to be sure I was where I was supposed to be.

[Fudd]

The CO of that unit should be relieved of command.

Only if you believe what you read in the papers. Linda Cruz could be the pen name for Jason Blair. It's my understanding that they got lost and ambushed by Iraqi irregulars...

The account I heard (ABC, 20/20?) was that the unit made a wrong turn, passed a Marine unit at one end of a bridge, and drove on into hostile territory at the other side of the river. They drove on through town unmolested: it was only then the CO realized the navigational error. At this point, IMHO, all is still forgiveable. Been driving all night, it's now dawn, people are tired, mistakes happen.

However, the CO decides to drive back through the town to return to the supply line. Meanwhile, the town has woken up to the fact that U.S. troops are nearby, and the Army unit gets slammed. The decision to run back through the gauntlet was the worst choice from a decidedly poor set of alternatives.