Navy SEALs: The Untold Stories - Season 1 Episode 3 -

January 1991: Civil wars tear apart the African country of Somalia. Along with American nationals, foreign diplomats and civilians take shelter in the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu. The American Ambassador makes a frantic call to Washington, DC for rescue. The warlords of Somalia have little regard for civilians or diplomatic privilege. The SEAL team, along with a contingent of Marines, leaves the USS Guam in a troop transport helicopter. To reach Mogadishu, the chopper flies over the Indian Ocean in the dead of night. Screaming in at 170 knots, the chopper swoops in only feet above rooftop levels in the African city, avoiding anti-aircraft repellents. As the rescue team reaches the U.S. Embassy they are greeted with rifle fire and rocket-propelled grenades. They see armed rebels climbing the walls of the embassy. The chopper is positioned to sweep the assault away, the rotor wash blowing the men and their ladders as if they were paper. The helicopter lands on the embassy lawn. While the Marines secure the compound perimeter, the SEALs enter the embassy and kill two invading rebels. For one harrowing night, under enemy fire and with no hope of reinforcements, the SEAL team maintains a fierce vigil on the embassy roof, holding back rebel forces until all the hostages are evacuated. The SEALs leave what little protection the embassy offered to rescue an American family trapped outside the compound. They overcame attacks from the warring rebels and get the family safely back to the embassy. In the end, when the last helicopter safely lifts off the embassy grounds, 281 diplomats and civilians are airlifted to freedom. Not one life – hostage or soldier – has been lost.