The Frontline, March 1, 2001 Page: 7 of 14
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Thursday, March 1, 2001 TEEFRONTLINE 7A
HUNTER AM SESpecial Ops aviators train actors for 'Black Hawk Down'
USASOC Public AffairsFORT BRAGG, N.C. - On Oct. 3-4, 1993, while deployed
to Mogadishu, Somalia, U. S. Army Special Operations
Command soldiers fought their bloodiest battle in decades. Two
Black Hawk helicopters crashed, and 18 USASOC soldiers were
killed before it was all over. The events of those two days - the
actions of Task Force Ranger and the Battle of Mogadishu are
now being made into a movie, "Black Hawk Down."
Recently, actors for the movie traveled to Fort Benning, Ga.,
Fort Bragg, N.C. and Fort Campbell Ky., where they trained with
Special Operations Forces to add realism to their roles.
At Fort Bragg, the daunting task of training actors with no mil-
itary experience was given to the 7th Special Forces Group
(Airborne). Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat course
instructors teach combat operations in urban environments, much
like the conditions encountered by Task Force Ranger in Somalia.
Actors who trained at Fort Bragg included Bill Fichtner, who
will take the part of Master Sgt. Paul Howe, Eric Bana will play
Master Sgt. John "Mace" Macejunas and Nikolaj Waldau will
portray Sgt. 1st Class Gary Gordon.
First the actors received detailed instruction on the proper han-
dling and operation of weapons used by the soldiers in Somalia.
Sergeant 1st Class Chris Young, a marksmanship instructor,
focused more on technique than hitting targets. He instructed the
actors to shoot with both eyes open.
"It's a combat proven technique," he said. "The guy that
taught me how to shoot was John Macejunas."
After a morning of dry-fire, they moved from the classroom to
the range where the actors fired both rifles and pistols.
Next, Sgt. 1st Class Sander Kinsall led breaching training, or
entering locked or obstructed doorways or windows using explo-
sives., Kinsall showed the actors the proper and safe way to con-
struct charges and firing systems that blow doors or destroy door
locks while causing minimal damage to room interiors.
On the third day of training, the actors moved on to close quar-
ter's battles - entering and clearing a building of possible
threats. Hour upon hour the actors lined up - or stacked - out-
side a room, entered a door and moved to a specified corner of the
room engaging targets within their sector of responsibility. The
instructors constantly reinforced learning by shooting questions
at the actors.
"Where should the brass fall," asked Kinsall?
"Outside the door," the actors responded.
"What are the principles of CQB?" asked Kinsall.
"Speed, surprise and violence of action," said Bano.
The final day of the actors' training culminated at Fort Bragg's
Military Operations in Urban Terrain site, a cinderblock mock
village. There, the Special Forces soldiers demonstrated move-
ment through a city that poses threats at every turn.
Fichtner, Bana and Waldau fought their way against an oppos-
ing force using simulated ammunitions through the mock city to
a fictional helicopter crash site.
At Fort Benning, 1st Sgt. James Hardy, Ranger Training
Detachment commandant, has a personal interest in the project.
His goal was to ensure the 21 actors playing the Rangers had a
good understanding of the Ranger mentality and way of life and
how events played out in Mogadishu those two days. Hardy was
a team leader there and had been on several missions before being
called home on an emergency. Although hq didn't fight in the
Oct. 3-4 battle, his soldiers did, and several died there.
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Actor Ron Eldard, who plays Chie Warrant Ohicer Mvi
Down," adjusts his flight helmet before taking a spin
MH-60 flight simulator.
When designing the training, they selected topics, "we felt
were the most significant in making an impression on these actors
on what a Ranger actually is and what a Ranger does," explained
Hardy and Sgt. 1st Class Martin Barreras, RTD assistant com-
mandant.
Ranger instructors taught classes from general military knowl-
edge - how to wear the uniform and customs and courtesies -
up to advanced marksmanship skills and flowing through and
clearing buildings. The actors discussed the Ranger Creed and the
Ranger history. They learned hand-to-hand combative tech-
niques, how to tie knots and how to use radios. Actors playing
medics worked with Ranger medics in combat scenarios. Task
Force Ranger veterans talked about their experiences with the
actors. On the fourth day of training, they fired M16-A2 rifles
and squad automatic weapons.
While at Benning, the actors wore desert-camouflaged uni-
forms and nametags with their Ranger characters. They displayed
the proper courtesies to each other. They moved like a military
unit, with the character's rank establishing who was the squad
leader and so on.
Barreras said there were two reasons for the intense Ranger
orientation. The first was so the actors would get an understand-
ing of how it feels to be in a Ranger unit and secondly, he hoped
it would carry over to the movie.
"I want them to remember the sense of teamwork that is inher-ike Durant in the upnumig .iovie
LiidGi CiclVVI(
in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment's
ent to a Ranger organization and the amount of attention to detail
that's required from every individual that is part of that team. I
hope that once the filming begins and ... the movies does come
out, there's a positive impression or impact on the moviegoers on
who a Ranger actually is and what a Ranger does," explained
Hardy.
"The more information and techniques we can provide these
guys the better they can portray what happened over there. You
can see a difference in their conduct each day. It's progressive.
They don't know anything about being a soldier. We're giving
them everything - how to be a soldier, a Ranger and a leader -
all in five days."
Ewan McGregor, who plays a Ranger clerk in the movie, said,
"Being here, and training with the Rangers has been fantastic,
invaluable."
He said there is no way the group could have bonded so well
and learned to work as a team if they met on the set for the first
time. McGregor enjoyed shooting live rounds at the range as well
as the final physical training they did. On the last day, the actors
participated in combat-focused PT.
"I don't enjoy huge amounts of physical exertion, but when we
finished the Friday morning PT through the woods carrying the
stretchers and everything, I was pumped up. It really locked us
together as a team," McGregor said.
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The Frontline, March 1, 2001, newspaper, March 1, 2001; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth887973/m1/7/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting National WASP WWII Museum.