Somalia Operations: Lessons Learned

The American mission in Somalia presented U.S. forces with a variety of difficult operational challenges as they tried to bring peace to a country ravaged by natural and man-made disasters. After initial success in the summer of 1993 in restoring order and saving thousands of lives. American soldiers clashed with Somali forces and were withdrawn in the spring of 1994. In the months that followed, we have studied what the Somalia experience can teach us about peace missions and learned how we might improve our capabilities across the spectrum of joint operations. The book represents the first time a new tool- the Joint Universal Lessons Learned System-is being used to evaluate an operation in its totality.