GORUCK Tough++ - Battle of Mogadishu Custom 3-4 Oct 2019

Our Squadron

I've gotten a lot of questions about GORUCK and these "crazy events" I keep doing, so I thought it might be time to dust off the old blog and write another race report or in this case, an AAR. This one will be SUPER long, just like the event but there's no other way to do it justice.

Background to set the stage for those unfamiliar:
RUCK•ING [VERB] // Walking with a weighted rucksack (aka backpack). It implies action, energy, and purpose. Rucking requires strength, endurance, and character -- and builds it, too.*

GORUCK Founded by a Green Beret, GORUCK is an American brand with Special Forces roots. Excellence, toughness, and adaptability are the pillars of our way of life, which influence how we do, what we do.*

GORUCK EVENTS ALWAYS A TEAM EVENT, NEVER A RACE.

Based on Special Forces training, your class is led from start to finish by a Special Forces Cadre. His job is to test your limits, push you beyond them, and build your class into a team. There are no cash prizes at the finish. All you earn is a 2x3 inch patch and the respect of everyone to your left and right.*

*Visit www.goruck.com for more info

Severn River Hydro burpees

Last year, I was looking for a new challenge. After years of doing endurance events, cycling, running and triathlon and after having Paxton I realized training for 3 sports and raising a tiny human along with the demands of my job was just no longer enjoyable. I felt like I needed something new. I had seen some random rumblings of this thing called GORUCK, but didn't really know anyone who did these types of events regularly.  Even after looking at the website, I still wasn't sure what I was getting into but decided I was going to train for a light (6 hour event) and give it a go. In November of 2018, I participated in my first event lead by Cadre Belman, a Delta Force Operator. His event was shadowed by Cadre Igor, who had just finished the tough event the night before and Cadre Chris. It was everything I had hoped for. Lots of coupons (random weights including water jugs, sandbags, logs, etc), hydro burpees in the Severn river and some training from Cadre Chris on how to escape certain situations and how to execute a sleeper hold! We got to endex (the end of the event) and I got my patch. I was hooked. Fast forward past 2 more lights and a tough (12 hour event starting at 9pm) and I signed up to do Cadre Igor's custom event in Detroit in honor of the Battle of Mogadishu.

Battle of Mogadishu - 3-4 October 1993

If this isn't ringing any bells, then think "Blackhawk Down". Yes, the movie based on the actual battle. The custom event was to run the same exact timeline as the battle, from 1500 on 3 Oct to approximately 0800 on 4 Oct and was being run by Cadre Igor, Delta Force Operator, F team who was part of the mission in 1993. He was also assisted by Cadre L DB a Green Beret. 

Disclaimer: This event was 19 hours. I flew in on a 0845 flight from Baltimore and returned home on a 1255 flight the next day. I spent a total of 26 hours on the ground in Detroit 19 of them were part of the event. My memory is a bit foggy, so I'll do my best to recount some of the major parts in the general order of when they occurred.

1455 - We arrived at the start point and did our typical admin process. Then Cadres broke us up into troop 1 and 2, within each troop we had 3 teams of 4 and one team of 5. I was part of troop 2, Echo team. Each troop had the following coupons, a 4' log (telephone pole), 2 120* pound sandbags, 1 80* pound sandbag, 2 60* pound sandbags and 1 40* pound sandbag. Note the * after each weight, that's intentional. It seems pretty standard that in GORUCK events both weight and distance are somewhat subjective. I can tell you most of the sandbags were MUCH heavier than their declared weight. Kind of like the weight listed on my license, go figure. That's 480* pounds per 17 person team, including the required weight you had in your ruck (20 if you weigh <150 and 30 otherwise, plus water, food and gear). Then we had the team items; 1 American flag, 2 Battle of Mogadishu flags, 1 Ranger tab (25* pounds) and a random heavy and awkward green bag that we assumed was a litter (spoiler, it was not. Thank goodness!).

Tunnel of Love

3 Oct 1993

1500 - We sang the national anthem and then Cadre began to tell us his experiences on the mid-afternoon of 3 Oct 1993. Then we got the code word that the mission was a go. IRENE! We sang American the Beautiful. We then had a team competition, the "tunnel of love" to determine which troop would get the honor of carrying the American flag and leading the squadron during our first movement. Tunnel of love is always fun when you're on the shorter end like me. When some of the bigger guys come through, they literally picked me off my feet as they tried to crawl through.

1532 - We moved out on our first and longest movement, 5 miles to another park. Each troop was required to be responsible for their own weights. Troop 2 was in the lead which meant carrying the American flag, the Battle of Mogadishu flag and the Ranger tab. We also had the miscellaneous green bag, which we should've handed off to troop 1 but we would figure that out later.

1620 - Super 6-1 was hit by an RPG. We stopped our movement and Cadre shared what had happened up to this point. Two clan leaders were captured along with 21 others in the first 30 minutes, but there was confusion with the convoy that was to pick them up. Once Super 6-1 went down, the mission changed and it was imperative that the crash site be secured.

A little playground PT

We arrived at the final point on our movement behind our time hack. We had significant challenges in the first 2 miles moving coupons and keeping a descent pace. As we spent more time together, we began figuring out how to effectively work as a team, but it would take a bit longer for us to figure it out. We got more of the timeline and then got in some work doing the UBRR (upper body round robin). Push-ups (4ct), sit-ups (4ct), pull-ups, dips. We also did overhead presses, thrusters and flutter kicks. All in reps of 19 to honor the 19 lives lost in this battle. After a few minutes for bio breaks and to refuel we were on the move again.

1640 - The convoy is lost and Super 6-4 is also hit by an RPG and goes down. Mike Durant is the pilot, and would later be captured and released due to the heroic efforts by Shughart and Gordan. 

We are on the move to another location and once the sunsets my memory starts to become foggy as to how many movements we did and for how long. I know they ranged from 1.7 - 3.5 miles but I couldn't tell you how many we did. In total we moved about 24-27 miles through the entire event. Along the way, the challenge becomes rotating the coupons as they get heavy while continuing to move forward and keep the formation as tight as possible. 

At one of our stops we begin sharing biographies of the soldiers lost in this battle. Each person was assigned someone and in groups we shared their stories, their successes and the legacy they left behind. I shared my bio much later into the event, just as the sun was about to rise, but for flow I'll share it now. Amy and I both were assigned SPC James Cavaco or Vaco as he was known. We carried his name on a patch on our rucks throughout the event. Amy shared his life and military details. He was a weapons specialist that grew up in Massachusetts, who found his meaning when he joined the military and in particular special operations. I shared a few personal stories which included the fact that he liked to play guitar in a rock band, so we celebrated his life by playing "Big Gun" which was released by AC/DC earlier in 1993. Vaco was quoted by his mother as saying, "I can't believe I get paid to do this!" and with that statement we challenged our fellow teammates to find their purpose and passion in life and by doing so, honor those that can no longer pursue theirs.

Fast roping!

At some point around midnight (damn clock in the gym) we found a local crossfit gym to do some "training". Cadre decided to teach us two of the skills needed by Delta Force, fast roping and CQB (close-quarters battle) or clearing a room in a 4 person team. Both Cadre demonstrated how to fast rope from both a standing (not typical in their birds) and seated position and spoke about how dropping from 90+ feet is not nearly as fun as our 8-10 foot practice runs. After a few rounds on the ropes, we them moved on to CQB. Remember that mysterious green bag that we thought was a litter? It was a bag of guns! Not real guns, but training guns for this next session. I've literally never been so happy to see a bag of fire arms in my life because it meant no litter and no Randall (those who did D-Day tough know what I mean). For the rest of you, Randall was an 180lb dummy we had to carry for 12 hours at another event. No one wanted to carry Randall. Anyway, I digress. Cadre showed us how to move as a team of four into a room and clear it. Some teams managed to look like they knew what they were doing and others looked like a bunch of kids who were playing soldier in the backyard. But we had fun and got to do some team building without weight! Back into the night we went on our next movement.

2323 - A new rescue convoy composed of two companies of 10th Mt. Division troops along with the remainder of Task Force Ranger, Pakistani tanks and Malaysian armored vehicles moves out to bring back the remaining 99 men. 

It's pitch black, pretty damn cold with a low around 52 and still super wet from the rain earlier in the day. Cadre decides this is a great time to quiz us on our knowledge of the battle. And these aren't just softball lob questions, they make you think when your brain is just wanting to shut down.

We managed to squeak out 2/3 and were rewarded with losing a sandbag. But you would think that was simple.......apparently not, as we didn't do it right and were later appropriately punished. So, this is where it starts to get really tough. It's dark, you have no idea if it's 2000 or 0400, you're tired, the weights seem to get heavier and occasionally there's an "avocado". Avocado was Amy and I's code word if someone was being a giant a--hole. I will say, we only had one or two moments and then it was over and that's to be expected at any event. It's dark, people are tired and cold and what do the Cadre do? They find the biggest, steepest, wettest hill and design a troop and team challenge. Troop 1 versus troop 2, winner gets an unnamed reward and loser will likely get some PT. Within

each troop we had 3 groups of 4 and one of 5. Each group had to take a turn carrying one of the 120 pound sandbags up the hill and then reverse bear crawling back down. The next team would bear crawl up and bring the sand bag down and so on until each team went up and down twice. First troop to finish, won. Troop 2 did not win this one. I'm pretty sure our punishment was 19 4ct push ups in the soggy grass, but it's all a blur at this point. Hooah!

4 Oct 1993

0155 - Rescue convoy reaches the second crash site and they continue to try to remove Wocott's body from the downed bird. This would take several hours and a true testament to living the Ranger Creed, "I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy". 

Goodbye Karen!

At this point we have made a few more movements and are slowly moving forward with slightly less weight but still the majority of our coupons intact. We come to our next stop and share a few more bios and talk about the hours that Delta Force and the Rangers spent waiting for help to arrive. Cadre had a brilliant idea. Each troop had a 4' telephone pole that we had been carrying since 1500 yesterday. As a troop, each team member would have 10 strikes of an axe on the log. The team that got through the log the fastest in 10 minutes won. Troop 2 chopped right through our log with 3 minutes remaining, troop 1 was not far behind. Being the losers, they had a choice to make; carry the 2 pieces of log back to the start point OR do PT of the Cadres choosing. They wisely chose PT. 19 8ct manmakers, then we all "returned" the logs to nature under a giant tree.

0530 - Vehicles begin to move out of Mogadishu, while several Rangers and Delta Force were still on foot. This is what is referred to as the Mog mile. The soldiers ran by foot to a rendezvous point and were then brought to the Pakistani stadium.

Our final movement was about 4* miles. We knew the end was in sight but it was a long movement after a long event and it was a struggle. No one really wanted to be under a coupon, everyone struggled to put one foot in front of the other, but everyone pitched in when they could, carried a little, carried a lot, carried for a few minutes or a mile. The team pulled together and we made it to the end point.

As Cadre gave us a recap, we shared the final bio of SPC Matt Rierson who was killed 2 days later in a mortar attack taking the final count of lives lost to 19. As is typical GORUCK fashion, we grabbed a beer and toasted those we were there to honor and our teammates. Cadre shared that when they got to the Pakistani stadium they were fed, rice, hummus and pita so we shared in some hummus and pita as well. It was the best damn hummus I've had yet!

Endex 4 Oct 0900

19 hours

Troop 2

Recap - First, it was an honor to be able to do this event. To listen to both Cadre's stories; Cadre Igor's from the Battle of Mogadishu and Cadre L DB's from Operation Restore Hope, really makes you think about how can I, as a civilian, contribute to making our world a better place. To literally walk the timeline of the battle and think of what it must have been like to be pinned down, unsure of if/when help would arrive as your friends are wounded and dying around you, really makes you get out of your own head. When you're tired and sore and just over carrying an 80* pound sandbag, the reality that those men went through is enough to shut down your pity party and make you get back to work. 

I walk into every event with self-doubt because no matter how fit and ready you are, these events will push you to your limit. I was well prepared for our miles and PT. I didn't feel as confident when it came to the coupons. But these are team events, you do what you can do, you improvise and you work your ass off. If you're the person who rolls in knowing they can carry 80* pounds the entire time, guess what, you'll be under that 80* and then probably the 120* and doing other things because that's what the team needs. If you can't carry a 120, then you're sharing it with someone or you're

carrying something smaller for a bit longer. Whatever you think you're prepared for, you'll be pushed beyond that to support your team. I love being pushed beyond what my mind thinks I can do and that's why I'll keep coming back to these events, because no matter what you think you can do, you WILL do more.

Thank you to Dean organizing so this event could happen. Thank you to Echo for being the best damn group. Sean, Bruce and Brent you guys are AMAZING! Thank you to Troop 2 for working together and crushing it. Thank you to the whole squadron for making this event incredible. Thank you to Cadre L DB for your sense of humor in your stories and for not only telling us to get our act together but helping us get there. Last but not least, thank you Cadre Igor for sharing your story of Mogadishu, the stories of your fallen brothers and for pushing us to do more

and be more everyday. 

2 Challenges if you've made it this far:

1 - Find your passion. What would you do all day every day if you were able? Because there are many men and women out there that pursued that passion for our country and are now no longer with us.

2 - Be an American worth fighting for.