Mike Durant – Black Hawk Down: The Untold Story of Gary Gordon & Randy Shughart | SRS #259

Mike Durant is a retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 and Master Black Hawk pilot with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Night Stalkers). Inspired by his father, a First Sergeant in the Army National Guard, and a family friend’s helicopter flight, Durant enlisted in 1979. After studying Spanish at the Defense Language Institute and serving as a voice intercept operator in Panama, he graduated from flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama, becoming a Warrant Officer in 1983. He flew over 150 medical evacuation missions in South Korea with the 377th Medical Evacuation Company and later served as an instructor pilot with the 101st Aviation Battalion. Joining the elite 160th SOAR in 1988, Durant flew in Operations Prime Chance, Just Cause, Desert Storm, and Restore Hope. During the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu (Operation Gothic Serpent), his MH-60 Black Hawk was shot down, leaving him severely injured and held captive by Somali militia for 11 days. Despite doctors’ doubts, he recovered, ran the 1995 Marine Corps Marathon, and returned to duty, retiring in 2001. Mike's awards include: Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross (second award), Bronze Star w/ Valor device, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal w/ Valor device (third award), Army Commendation Medal (fourth award), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Prisoner of War Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with Bronze Arrowhead Device (second award), Southwest Asia Service Medal w/ Bronze Service Star, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (2nd Award), United Nations Medal, United Nations Medal-Operations in Somalia, Kuwait Liberation Medal-Government of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait Liberation Medal-Government of Kuwait, Master Aviator Badge, and Air Assault Badge. In 2008, Durant founded Pinnacle Solutions in Huntsville, Alabama, a defense contracting firm specializing in military training simulators and veteran employment. He co-authored In the Company of Heroes, focusing on survival and leadership. He also led veterans’ efforts for George W. Bush’s 2004 and John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaigns. He ran in the 2022 Republican primary for Alabama U.S. Senate. Married to Lisa, raising a blended family with six children, Durant enjoys mountain climbing, skiing, hockey, watersports, and running. Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkoujZQZatbqy4KGcgjpVxQ/join Shawn Ryan Show Links SUBSCRIBE: http://www.youtube.com/@ShawnRyanShow Sign up: https://shawnryanshow.com/pages/newsletter Support the Show: https://www.patreon.com/VigilanceElite Download Free Content: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lF-8_5jwRc5eAhzDkqqCOp-6yvd05vAw?usp=sharing Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shawn-ryan-show/id1492492083 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5eodRZd3qR9VT1ip1wI7xQ?si=59f9d106e56a4509 Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shawnryanshow Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawnryanshow/ Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shawnryanshow/ Follow on Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/@shawnryanshow Follow on X: https://twitter.com/ShawnRyanShow SRS Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4pqo9Uoh0WuUKxw0BmaK1yrg9Kd7E4lk #vigilanceelite #shawnryanshow Mike Durant Links: LI - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-durant-14a0157 Book - https://a.co/d/9OB6ujI SOWF - https://specialops.org/sowf-home-mobile Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: Receive 30% off your first subscription order. Go to https://armra.com/SRS or enter SRS to get 30% off your first subscription order. Right now, you can try Aura free for 14 days when you visit http://aura.com/SRS Our listeners get 10% off at https://BetterHelp.com/SRS. Head to http://DRINKAG1.com/SRS you’ll get the welcome kit, a Morning Person hat, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2, and a AG1 Flavor Sampler. 00:00 Welcome and Introduction 02:00 Background and Black Hawk Down 17:01 Becoming a Pilot and Joining 160th SOAR 31:57 Low-Level Flying and Team Coordination 54:06 Special Forces Rotation and Armed Black Hawk 01:03:43 Panama: Operation Just Cause 01:10:38 Combat Reflections and Noriega’s Capture 01:33:54 Desert Storm and Delta’s Scud Missions 01:45:33 Gun Malfunctions and Fixes 01:52:49 Somalia: Conflict and Deployment 02:19:00 Urban Warfare and Target Capture 02:27:03 Mission Six and Black Hawk Down 03:00:48 Crash, Survival, and Rescue Attempts 03:15:00 Capture, Interrogation, and Healing 03:49:14 Hotel Nowhere and Red Cross Visit 04:06:20 Release Negotiations and UN Arrival 04:28:43 Surgeries, Clinton Call, and Ceremony 04:33:52 Reflections on Media and Politics 04:58:32 Special Ops Warrior Foundation 05:10:25 Final Thoughts and Farewell