Silver screen features ship namesakes
Among the soldiers who fought heroically that fateful day, Oct. 3, 1993, are two Military Sealift Command ship namesakes.
The names of Army Master Sgt. Gary Ivan Gordon and Army Sgt. First Class Randall D. Shughart grace the bows of two large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships in the MSC surge sealift fleet.
Gordon and Shughart valiantly gave their lives for their fellow soldiers. The two men were part of an elite group of U.S. soldiers who made their way to Mogadishu, Somalia, to hunt down a warlord who was intercepting international food shipments intended for starving Somalis.
The plan was to drop in via helicopter, secure the area, storm the house and get out of dodge.
Two of the Black Hawk helicopters carrying the soldiers were shot down and swarmed by an angry mob. Gordon, the sniper team leader, and Shughart, a member of the sniper team, volunteered repeatedly to be inserted to protect the wounded personnel in the downed helicopters.
Gordon and Shughart were dropped about 100 meters south of the crash site. Armed only with long-range rifles and pistols, they made their way through the dense maze of shanties and shacks to the wounded soldiers. The two men immediately pulled the wounded crewmembers out of the aircraft, established a perimeter around the crash sight and placed themselves in the most vulnerable position. Both men traveled the perimeter protecting the crew until they depleted their ammunition.
Shughart was fatally wounded; Gordon returned to the wreckage, recovered a rifle with the last five rounds of ammunition and gave it to the wounded pilot with the final words "good luck."
Armed only with his pistol, Gordon continued to fight until he was fatally wounded.
These soldiers' extraordinary heroism saved the pilot's life. Both men received the Medal of Honor posthumously.
Originally commercial container ships, USNS Gordon and USNS Shughart were the first two LMSRs delivered to MSC. Gordon and Shughart were converted into self-sustaining roll-on, roll-off ships capable of loading and transporting combat equipment and combat support equipment.
The ability to efficiently move U.S. forces and military equipment enables the United States to defend and promote vital interests anywhere in the world. This is especially true as overseas bases continue to close. These ships provide strategic lift capabilities necessary to support the U.S. military in times of peace and war.
Upon initial delivery to MSC, USNS Gordon and USNS Shughart became part of MSC's Combat Prepositioning Force prepositioning U.S. Army equipment and supplies in the Indian Ocean and near the Persian Gulf. Currently, both ships are part of MSC's surge sealift force and maintained in four-day reduced operating status on the Gulf of Mexico and East Coast.
Military Sealift Command, the ocean transportation provider for the Department of Defense, operates about 110 noncombatant Navy ships.
MSC ship missions vary from the transport and afloat prepositioning of defense cargo; to underway replenishment and other direct support to Navy ships at sea; to at-sea data collection for the U.S. military and other U.S. government agencies.
(FROM MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS)
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