The AH-6 Little Birds saved the Rangers on the ground. Small, agile, armed with rocket pods and door-mounted miniguns, the 160th SOAR gunships flew low over the fight through the night of October 3 and into October 4, engaging positions ground troops couldn't reach or see. What made the strikes work was the man on the radio. Ranger RTOs — radio-telephone operators — talked the gunships onto targets one grid square, one street corner, one rooftop at a time. When ammunition ran low and Somali militia pressed the perimeter, the Little Birds' fire on the RTO's call was often what held the crash site until morning.

The two-figure set catches the moment mid-transmission. The RTO kneels with his handset cupped to his ear against the noise of the fight, PRC-119 SINCGARS radio on his back with the whip antenna extended, M16A2 propped on the ground beside him. His overwatch partner stands beside him with M16A2 raised, scanning for threats while the call goes out — an RTO fights with one hand on the radio, meaning someone else has to cover him. Both wear three-color desert combat uniform, tactical vests, and Kevlar helmets with cover and ballistic goggles. Pair the set with an M1025 Humvee as the vehicle-mounted relay, with the Ranger NCO Shouting Orders giving him the message, or with the Ranger Fire Team as the element the call is meant to support.

King & Country model BHD001. 1/30 scale (approximately 60mm), matte-painted metal. Two-piece set: kneeling Ranger radio-telephone operator with SINCGARS field radio, and standing Ranger providing overwatch with M16A2 rifle, on sculpted groundwork bases. Boxed.