Retired Col. Daniel Roper has been recognized by the Army Historical Foundation with a 2023 Distinguished Article Award for his article in ARMY magazine about the tough lessons learned from the Battle of Mogadishu 30 years ago in Somalia.

The article, “Message From Mogadishu: Memo Highlights Deadly Downfall of Mission Creep,” was published in the September 2023 issue of ARMY, the Association of the U.S. Army’s flagship publication. The article describes how the legacy of the battle made famous by the book and subsequent movie, Black Hawk Down, remains three decades later, and how its lessons are relevant today as the U.S. Army prepares for large-scale combat operations.

“The U.S. will encounter ambiguous conflicts during great-power competition. Military and civilian leaders must make a deliberate assessment of the nature of each situation to avoid incrementalism and mission creep,” Roper wrote. “It will be imperative to keep ends, ways, means and risks in proper proportion. Otherwise, the U.S. may find itself in a similar strategic situation as it did in Somalia, in which ‘getting out’ is the best of its bad choices.”

Roper is AUSA’s director of National Security Studies. A career artilleryman, he commanded at the battery, battalion and brigade levels, with his final assignment as director of the then-U.S. Army Counterinsurgency Center, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

A veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq, Roper is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and he has three master’s degrees, including one in nuclear physics from the Naval Postgraduate School and two in military art and science from the School of Advanced Military Studies.

The Army Historical Foundation preserves and promotes the history and heritage of the American soldier through historical educational, artistic and research programs. Its annual awards program recognizes articles that make a distinctive contribution to U.S. Army history.

To read Roper’s article, click here.