[1][2] Montgomery used his own vehicle to shield the disabled tank, and – despite it also being hit by RPG fire – successfully commanded the evacuation of his wounded men, after which he led his soldiers in overrunning the PAVN positions.

[3] In 1993, Montgomery was designated deputy commander of United Nations Forces in Somalia under Turkish Gen. Çevik Bir, part of the UNOSOM II mission led by Admiral Jonathan Howe.

[8][9][10][11] The raid elicited such a strong reaction from Somalis that even forces loyal to Mohamed Farah Aidid's main rival, Ali Mahdi, began displaying open contempt for UNOSOM.

[16] In the middle of September 1993, due to the deteriorating situation in the country and out of what the Washington Post later described as a "pressing concern for the safety of his troops", Montgomery transmitted a classified and urgent request to the Pentagon for heavy armor.

[17] The request was denied by United States Secretary of Defense Les Aspin due to what Paul Greenberg would characterize as a politically motivated calculation designed to avoid causing "a stir in Congress".

[17][18] Ten days after Montgomery's appeal for tanks was rejected, during the Battle of Mogadishu 18 American soldiers were killed; their timely rescue was foiled by UNOSOM II's lack of armor.

Due to the extremely dangerous situation on the ground, Montgomery pressed to keep a significant U.S. force in Somalia through the final date of redeployment, emphasizing that the last element to depart should be "an Abrams tank with its gun tube pointed toward Mogadishu".

In the years following his retirement from active military service, Montgomery was involved in mentoring Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets at his alma mater, Indiana University, and also served on the board of trustees of the Command and General Staff College Foundation.