I watched Black Hawk Down again yesterday and I noticed something odd in the credits (please this is not a movie question hence it is not posted in Cafe Society).
Of the 19 men who died 16 were of sergeant rank or higher. This to me seems somewhat skewed. I would have expected most of the KIAs to be privates as there are more privates than any other rank. Anybody know why this is so? There were around 120 men in action that day so to even have that many sergeants seems quite high.
Delta Force was involved in that action, and you need to be fairly senior to make it into that section of the service. Rangers also have tougher admission standards, and they probably have a higher reinlistment rate than the normal Army average, which would mean a top-heavy unit. That being said, I agree the numbers seem to be skewed high.
US Army sergeants are the kind of people who will lead by example into danger when it’s time to rescue others. That tends to lead to higher casualties.
I second UncleBill. Ranger units, by virtue of the fact you cannot just “join up”, tend to be more senior. Considering that Delta tends to be made up of former Ranger, Spec Ops, etc., then that unit also would naturally skew towards Senior NCO types as well.
I think it’s actually that any applicants for Special Forces have to hold the rank of Sergeant or higher to apply. Since Delta Force is an even more elite sub-set of the Special Forces, then it stands to reason that they would tend to be more senior than the rest.
Also, helicopter pilots are generally Warrant Officers, and aircrew tends to be NCOs as well. A big piece of the killed in Mogadishu were either aircrew of some sort or Delta Force soldiers.
Moreover, any enlisted rank from E-5 to E-9 contains the word ‘sergeant’: Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Sergeant First Class / First Sergeant, Master Sergeant, Sergeant Major / Command Sergeant Major.
Private, E-1, and Private First Class, E-2, are the only two ranks containing that word. And you’re not an E-1 or E-2 for very long.
Nitpick to Bricker: the Army uses “Private” for E1 and E2 (abbreviated PV1 and PV2) and Private First Class for E3 (what the Marines call a Lance Corporal).
How embarrassing. I may have to lose a finger myself.
Your correction is gratefully accepted. That was wrong of me to go from hazy memory and not check my facts.
And while I’m at it, I’ll correct a typo of mine: Master Sergeant and First Sergeant are both E-8s.
When I was on Active duty you had to be a Spec 4/Corporal before you could even try to get into the Rangers. I think SF only takes SGT’s and above.
sylphishone, interesting you are in AZ, since Pat Tillman went from boot camp through all the required schools into the Rangers in rather short order. Do you know if he had a contrcat to get E-4, or if that rank rule is no longer in effect?