The Mogadishu Mile refers to a route that was run by American Rangers and Delta Force soldiers from a helicopter crash site to an appointed rally point held by the 10th Mountain Division on National Street during the Battle of Mogadishu on October 4, 1993. The Americans involved were part of Task Force Ranger, an attempt to eradicate Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Originally they were supposed to take cover by running alongside a convoy of Humvees and armored personnel carriers, however when the convoy misunderstood that the vehicles were needed for cover, they left them and the soldiers were forced to run without support and with very little ammunition.
The Mogadishu Mile began at 0542 and ended when all the troops exfiltrated to the rendezvous point and were loaded into APCs and Humvees, reaching either the Pakistani Stadium or the Airport by 0630. During the run, the convoy and in particular the soldiers on foot were attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire, wounding several soldiers including Sgt. Ramaglia. Many soldiers experienced sleep deprivation and dehydration.
