- 0:00:01 Introduction (Chapter 1)
- This scene begins with subtitles that reveal the current conflict unfolding in Somalia. The camera scans across images of starving people in a distraught country.
- 0:03:00 Food Arrives (Chapter 1)
- This scene shows food being delivered to the starving people of Somalia. Within minutes of its delivery Aidid’s militia shoot some of the starving citizens and claim the food as Aidid’s. Mr. Atto is captured after this and taken in for questioning.
- 0:09:40 Mogadishu Airport US Army Headquarters (Chapter 1)
- Blackburn has arrived for duty and is taken to his officer. Some of the men decide to go on a hunting expedition and shoot a pig, which is served for dinner. At dinner various things happen: one man is caught making fun of an officer, one man is drawing, some are playing chess, and Sergeant Eversmann is explaining his idealist view on the war to his buddies. As some men are watching TV, Beals has a seizure.
- 0:19:17 Sunday October Third (Chapter 1)
- This scene opens to a sunrise where people are praying at the beach. Sergeant Eversmann is given the responsibility of Chop leader because Beals is found to be epileptic and is going home.
- 0:20:40 The Plan (Chapter 2)
- A man spying for the US is lurking in Bakara Market watching for where Aidid’s meeting will take place. The US army gets together and discusses going after two tier-one personalities that will be present at Aidid’s meeting in Bakara market and go over the specific plan that will unfold there.
- 0:25:38 Ready To Go (Chapter 2)
- In this series of scenes Grimesy is told that he will be able to fight because of another soldier’s injury. Sergeant Eversmann gives the men on his chop crew a pep talk and tells them that he will be a good leader and they will be all right. The men get ready to go by packing up what they will need for the short battle and taking care of last-minute details like leaving a note in case they die.
- 0:29:40 X Marks the Spot (Chapter 3)
- At the Joint Operations Center, a taxi driver being used as a spy finds the location of the meeting. The men are briefed on the execution of the mission, which will take an estimated time of 30 minutes.
- 0:34:54 Irene (Chapter 4)
- The mission commences, and the troops take off for the city.
- 0:36:55 Early Warning System (Chapter 5)
- Citizens are aware of the movement of the Americans and take arms. The soldiers travel along the coastline and into the city. The citizens flee.
- 0:40:49 The Assault Begins (Chapter 6)
- Some of the copters touch down, and the soldiers enter the buildings near where the meeting is supposed to take place
- 0:43:11 Man Down (Chapter 7)
- Blackburn falls out of a Black Hawk and is seriously injured. Prisoners are then taken out of the building and put into the Humvee convoy. Soldiers transport Blackburn to the Humvee convoy.
- 0:49:10 KIA (Chapter 8)
- The Humvee convoy leaves through narrow streets. Sgt. Pilla is shot in the neck while firing the mounted gun on a Humvee.
- 0:50:50 Super Six One Down (Chapter 9)
- Missiles are fired at Super Six One Black Hawk. The tail is hit, and it crashes in the middle of town. A small group of soldiers go on a mission to find Super Six One and survivors. The Humvee convoy leaves without a few soldiers accounted for.
- 0:59:04 Chalk Four Advances (Chapter 10)
- Chalk Four is still six blocks away from crash site. Short scene with a mother and children in a house hiding for their lives. Three Humvees arrive at base with Blackburn and Sgt. Pilla in critical condition. Upon their arrival, the soldiers help the passengers on the Humvees.
- 1:04:02 Evacuating the Wounded (Chapter 11)
- U.S. forces move in to inspect and protect the crash site of the first downed Black Hawk helicopter, designated Super Six One.
- 1:06:56 The Roadblock (Chapter 12)
- The convoy rolls deeper into the city but encounters a roadblock and stops to secure the area. After a moment of fighting, the convoy continues on. Two soldiers left behind head for the crash site on their own, fighting off enemy forces.
- 1:10:46 Search & Rescue Team (Chapter 13)
- Another Black Hawk helicopter, Super Six Eight, flies in to aid the soldiers at the crash site, with the intent to rescue and administer medical aid. Super Six Eight retreats after sustaining damage, and another Black Hawk, Super Six Four, moves in.
- 1:12:22 Super Six Four Down (Chapter 14)
- In one of the movie’s most pivotal scenes, the second of two Black Hawk helicopters (Super Six Four) is shot down by enemy combatants. U.S. forces move through the city and wait for a rescue convoy to arrive. An angry mob advances on Super Six Four’s crash site, and the crew of Super Six Two insists on moving in to secure the second crash site.
- 1:24:45 The Lost Convoy (Chapter 15)
- McKnight’s convoy is still trying to make its way to the crash site. The roads are hostile, and almost everyone is being hit at least once. When a driver is hit with an RPG, they stop to regroup and talk things over. They are told to turn around, and they do so.
- 1:26:28 Two-man Rescue Squad (Chapter 16)
- Crash Site Two is getting hot, as hundreds of Somalis are running to it. Durant is the only survivor, and with a broken leg, he fends off a lot of the militia. After getting permission, two snipers, Gordon and Shughart are dropped in to help him. As this happens, the convoy is back at the original target and realizes too many are wounded to be of any good, so they go back to base. Eversmann’s men are demoralized when they hear this. As the snipers hold off the Somalis, Gordon is killed, and more militiamen come to the site. Garrison wants to get the 10th Mountain in to help the situation.
- 1:32:03 Crash Site Overrun (Chapter 17)
- More militia are coming to the crash site, and Shughart is shot many times and killed. The men stone his body and cheer at his death. Durant, now alone, runs out of ammunition and is choked and beaten by the militia. Aidid’s officer comes in and claims him alive. When the convoy arrives at base, the wounded are corralled along with the prisoners; Hoot’s convoy is blocked from entering the city, when trying to get back to the sites. He requests permission to continue on foot and does so. Tension is high, as the prayer time comes for the natives of the Mog. The three men that held the point find their way to the site and get in contact with Eversmann.
- 1:38:44 Sniper (Chapter 18)
- The three men attempt to get into Eversmann’s position, the first two make it, yet the third, Twombly, can’t. A sniper shoots his radio. Wanting to save his friend, Smith runs out to get him and is hit in the leg. It’s a bad wound, in the artery. Eversmann radios Captain Steele for a medevac, and the choppers cannot do it, because it’s “too hot.†Hoot and his squad find their way to crash site 2, to find it totally empty. They secure it by blowing up the Black Hawk. The Pakistani army says they need time to mobilize, because they were “not informed†initially.
- 1:43:58 Durant the Hostage (Chapter 19)
- Michael Durant wakes up to find that he has been taken hostage. He lays beaten and bloody on a cot as a Somali militiaman tries to work out some type of negotiation with him. Durant tells the man that he does not have the power to negotiate. The Somali man walks off disgusted, because, he tells Durant, in Somalia “killing is negotiation,†and he believes that since Durant has the power to kill he also has the power to negotiate. The scene ends as a Little Bird helicopter flies over the city telling Durant over a loud speaker that he will not be left behind.
- 1:45:59 Clamping the Artery (Chapter 20)
- The Chalk medic informs Eversmann that Smith’s femoral artery has been ruptured and receded inside of his leg. He needs Eversmann to help clamp it before Smith bleeds out. The two get hold of the artery, but it tears and recedes back into the leg before they can clamp it.
- 1:48:27 Night Battle (Chapter 21)
- Grimes makes coffee, opening the scene as the Somalis end their evening prayers and begin the attack. Hoot and three Rangers move through the city to link up with Chalk 4 and Eversmann. In route they kill some Somali militiamen and use an RPG launcher to take out an enemy position. General Garrison tells the troops they need to mark their positions with an IR strobe to prepare for helicopter gun runs. Col. McKnight takes his humvee convoy back into the city despite being told from higher that he is not needed. Smith dies from his injuries despite the medics’ best efforts. Eversmann doubts the decisions that he’s made so far, and Hoot reminds him that he cannot control who gets hit and who doesn’t.
- 1:57:26 Little Bird Attack (Chapter 22)
- Eversmann’s chalk is receiving heavy fire as the Little Birds prepare to make their gun runs. There is too much activity for the helicopter pilots to make their run without hitting friendly troops so they inform Eversmann that he needs to mark his location with an IR strobe. Eversmann’s first attempt fails so he has to run out into the courtyard while being protected by cover fire from his men to throw the strobe on the roof where the Somalis are firing from. His second attempt is successful, and the helicopters make their gun runs against the Somalis. Col. McKnight and the armored convoy arrive at Captain Steele’s position and inform Eversmann that they will be at their location in five minutes.
- 2:00:53 The Rescue Convoy Arrives (Chapter 23)
- The rescue convoy finally arrives; Sergeant Eversmann’s men begin to load the wounded and dead onto the trucks. The commanding officers decide that the Rangers will provide protection, and after they are out of the “Hot Zone,†they will get on the Humvees.
- 2:02:37 Removing Walcott’s Body (Chapter 24)
- The soldiers are dismantling the helicopter in order to remove the bodies of the pilots. Major General William Garrison tells the Lt. Colonel McKnight to do whatever he has to, that no one will be left behind.
- 2:03:31 Rolling Out (Chapter 25)
- As its name implies, this marks the arrival of the long-awaited UN convoy. Just when the soldiers think they are saved, however, they realize that there is not enough room for them in the vehicles, meaning that they will have to run alongside the vehicles, using them as cover. As the vehicles pull away, the soldiers find themselves under heavy fire from jeep-mounted machine guns. Towards the end of the scene (2:05:18), a Somali man is seen carrying the body of a small child, showing the tragic consequences of the engagement on both sides.
- 2:05:35 Running the Mogadishu Mile (Chapter 26)
- The scene begins with the soldiers’ continued run towards the Pakistani Stadium under heavy fire. At one point, a woman dashes out front of the troops. The men tell her to get down, and some soldiers chase her while others return fire at the Somalis. The woman picks up an assault rifle and prepares to shoot the Americans but is quickly gunned down (2:06:16). The troops press on, even though all are fatigued, one begins to vomit, and one collapses but is promptly helped up. A huge mob begins to form in the background behind the enemy jeeps, and both the crowd and the jeeps decide to halt the pursuit. Suddenly, children are seen running towards the soldiers, and a crowd of people cheer the soldiers as they approach the stadium.
- 2:08:20 Return to the Pakistan Stadium (Chapter 27)
- Once inside the stadium, the soldiers stop to rest. The bodies of the dead are laid out, and the wounded are carried off on stretchers. The soldiers gratefully drink the water that is brought to them and express to one another their gratitude that their comrades (or at least some of their comrades) made it out alive. General Garrison takes a walk around the hospital, where blood is freely flowing onto the floor. He grabs a cloth and attempts to mop up the blood, looking distraught (2:10:13). Ruiz tells Captain Steele “Don’t go back out without me,†while many of the soldiers prepare to head back out, even though they do not have to. As Hoot says when asked why he is going back, “Because there are still men out there†(2:11:47). The scene ends with the soldiers heading back off to the front.
- 2:13:00 American Heroes (Chapter 28)
- The scene opens with Somali children climbing on the wreckage of one of the American helicopters. Then, the scene cuts to Eversmann reflecting on the American role in the conflict while walking along the rows of dead. Finally, the scene displays, in text format, the total casualties, the names of those casualties, the aftermath of the Somali conflict, and what became of warlord Aidid and General Garrison. The film then cuts to the credits. Ruiz’s “death letter†is read in voice-over at the start of the final credits.
