Operation Restore Hope

On 5 December 1992, President George H.W. Bush started Unified Task Force, code named Operation Restore Hope, a mission to carry out United Nations Security Council Resolution 794 to create a protected environment for conducting humanitarian operations in southern Somalia. MSG Gordon and his C Squadron, 1st Special Forces Operation Detachment Teammates were part of Task Force Ranger, which included B Company, 3rd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment, 16 helicopters from the 160th Special Operation Aviation Regiment (SOAR), Navy SEALs from Naval Special Warfare Detachment Group (DEVGRU), and Air Force Pararescuemen, and Combat Controllers from the 24th Special Tactics Squadron.

On 21 September 1993, members of Task Force Ranger captured Somali National Alliance (SNA) leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid's financier Osman Ali Atto, when they intercepted a vehicle convoy transporting him out of Mogadishu. Four days later, on 25 September, Aidid's men shot down a Black Hawk with an RPG, at New Port, near Mogadishu, killing three crewmembers and creating a huge SNA psychological victory.