My 2nd of July 1993 in Mogadishu - A SF Operator at the Battle of Checkpoint Pasta #1002118

On 2 July 1993, the ITALFOR command in Somalia launched Operation "Canguro 11" in Haliwaa, a district in the northern part of Mogadishu, around the checkpoint the Italians called "Pasta." The operation was still under way when the neighborhood rose up. Within minutes the protest had turned into a battle, and after nine hours of fighting the Italian force was compelled to withdraw. It was the first engagement of its kind for the Italian armed forces since the end of the Second World War. This is the account of a special forces operator who fought there, and of what that day left behind: the decision to enlist in the Incursori, the effort to hold will and dignity above fear, the questions the experience raised about faith. Above all, it is written for the men who fell in that battle, so that their sacrifice is honored and their memory is not lost.