What James Lechner has said about Battle of Mogadishu (1993)

Lechner says the task force wrongly concluded after the Atto raid that Somali fighters could not shoot down their helicopters.

“The other thing that we thought was they can't shoot us down. Our helicopters are moving too fast”

The Shawn Ryan Show: #346 James Lechner - Army Ranger Recounts the Battle of Mogadishu: Black Hawk Down (Oct 8, 2026) · Listen from 44:07

Lechner recounts choosing extra ammunition over night vision and water for the raid, a choice he later regretted.

“I would love to have had night vision in the fight that was coming, but that's the decision that I had to make”

The Shawn Ryan Show: #346 James Lechner - Army Ranger Recounts the Battle of Mogadishu: Black Hawk Down (Oct 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:04:26

Lechner says al-Qaeda fighters sent by Osama bin Laden taught Aidid's militia to modify RPGs for anti-aircraft use.

“taught him how to modify rocket-propelled grenades to be able to shoot up in the air”

The Shawn Ryan Show: #346 James Lechner - Army Ranger Recounts the Battle of Mogadishu: Black Hawk Down (Oct 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:18:03

Lechner says five Black Hawks were brought down by enemy fire that day, three of which crashed in friendly territory.

“that day they actually brought down five Black Hawks. And that's another thing that most people don't know”

The Shawn Ryan Show: #346 James Lechner - Army Ranger Recounts the Battle of Mogadishu: Black Hawk Down (Oct 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:30:31

Lechner says the mandated UHF radios were jammed by the downed helicopter's emergency beacon, forcing him to use a backup FM radio.

“It broadcasts on UHF and it Zed out and overrode and jammed our UHF radios”

The Shawn Ryan Show: #346 James Lechner - Army Ranger Recounts the Battle of Mogadishu: Black Hawk Down (Oct 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:36:45