The Shawn Ryan Show
#259 Mike Durant - 160th SOAR Pilot Who Survived Black Hawk Down and 11 Days as a POW
04 Dec 2025
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. 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 for free. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is discussed at the start of this section?
Mike Durant, welcome to the show. Thank you. Pleasure to be here. It's an honor to have you here. It's an honor to have you here. And just like I was telling you on the EDC segment, your name has been percolating around the studio, studios, for a couple of years now.
Do I owe somebody some money or something?
No, actually, after we interviewed Tom Satterly, your name kept coming up, kept coming up. And so I just...
really is man it's an honor to have you here and um i think this is um obviously a very important piece of american history that that i would i'm honored to be able to document so and um you know i don't know if this means much but uh you know the for me uh joining the seal teams and you know that whole other life that i did um you know that was
It was the Vietnam generation and you guys that motivated me to do that. It was the movies and the stories and, man.
Well, I've heard that a lot, actually. You know, I mean, I think the one universal emotion when people either watch Black Hawk Down or know what happened is anger, just frustration and wanting to do something about it. And I think that was... really what motivated a lot of people to say, look, you know, I want to get out there and try to help fix this.
You know, get into these organizations and go right these wrongs, I guess, because there were some wrongs here that, you know, it's pretty tough to get over. And I appreciate your service as well.
Thank you. Thank you. Well, everybody starts with an introduction here. Mike Durant. Retired Chief Warrant Officer IV and U.S. Army helicopter pilot who survived captivity in the 1993 Black Hawk Down incident during Operation Gothic Serpent in Mogadishu, Somalia. Although doctors said you would never fly again, you proved them wrong, returning to duty after recovery.
Removed a leg rod in 1995 to run the Marine Corps Marathon. Retired in 2001. Your awards include Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, and Distinguished Service Medal. Author of In Company of Heroes. Tried your hand at politics and ran as a Republican candidate for the US Senate seat in Alabama in 2022.
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Chapter 2: What challenges did Mike Durant face during his military career?
It's the same sort of process in your mind. Your life is about to end. And that's what I felt. He thought it was too close to 9-11 to even make any reference to it, so he didn't ever put it in there. But that was how I was trying to explain what this feeling was like. I'm screwed. I mean, I, I am literally it's, it's over, you know? And, uh, that, that was the most, you know, dynamic.
And then when they carry me through the streets, that was just a whole nother, uh, you know, it kind of happened again. I just thought there's no fricking way I can survive this. And, and somehow did. Man.
Well, I'm glad you did.
Well, I am too. You know, I, and I know my life is a gift. I, I, I had an uncle, and I have a couple friends that call me on the day I got released anniversary, not the day I got captured, to say happy birthday. Because in their mind, my second life begins then. And I know how lucky I am. I am lucky.
Damn, Mike.
Well, we'll get to all this stuff. But first, let's just start at the very beginning. Where did you grow up?
So I'm from New Hampshire. I grew up in a pretty small town. It was a paper mill town. Blue-collar folks, you know, just... Obviously for me, it's normal, right? It's like the way everybody else grew up, but it's probably not normal. I have great memories of it. You don't know what you don't know. To you, this is the same life that every other kid is experiencing. And I had great opportunities.
And when I think about it, all the things we did, I mean, we went hunting. We spent a lot of time camping in the summer. I played hockey. I played football. I've had a very brief and horrible career as a baseball player. Skied a lot. You know, just all these amazing activities that... Again, to me, this is just what everybody does, right? And I look back very fondly on my time there.
Most of our family lived around. So holidays, there'd be quite a few folks present. And a lot of smartassery, I guess I would call it, which is part of where part of my personality comes from, is At least the way my brain works is I'm almost always constantly trying to figure out how to make a joke out of something. How can I get a one-liner in here and there? I'm not a good joke teller.
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Chapter 3: What was the significance of the 160th SOAR's formation?
There's maybe one or two I can pull off, but like some people, it's like a different one every day. They just keep firing them. And that's just because of the people I was around. They were always trying to outdo each other with this one-liner. I mean, laughter's great, right? I mean, it's one of the things that makes life enjoyable.
So I always appreciated being around them, and it certainly had an effect on who I became. I did pretty good in school when I was young. But then I kind of lost motivation when I entered high school. Again, I don't know why. I don't know what affected me. I mean, I was still capable. I just didn't put the work in. I mean, I would just go to school and do the minimum.
We had divisions at the time, A division, B division, C division. I was in A division, but just barely because I just wasn't putting the work in. I didn't want to go to college. because I just didn't like school that much. And I didn't want to work in the mill, which is the main employer in the town I grew up in is a paper mill. Not there anymore. Thank you, unions.
But I knew I didn't want to work there. And what else could I do? And then this guy, who was a neighbor of ours and a place we went camping, He was an Army helicopter pilot, warrant officer. He also is in the Guard, though. And he had his own business where he owned a few airplanes and a couple helicopters. And I think I'm 14 at the time. And he asks if I'd like to work with him one summer.
And so I go work with him and get to go flying on a helicopter with him. He's since passed away. Joe Brigham's his name. We're over Mount Washington, which is the highest mountain in the Northeast. It's 6,280 feet. Feels like we're hovering. We're probably not hovering, but flying slowly enough where it feels like we're hovering. And we're in a glass bubble.
It's sort of an old-school helicopter, you know. And, I mean, I could just see it all around me, and I'm just in awe.
Wait, what's the glass bubble? It's the cockpit of the aircraft, you know, that vintage aircraft.
I thought you were talking about an air pocket or something.
No.
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Chapter 4: What challenges did Mike Durant face during long-range missions?
And without anybody telling them, one crew chief thought of, OK, here's the only variable in this equation, time. When we went to the range, we only had the bird running for like 15 minutes. But on these long-range missions, the bird's running for like two hours. I want to put power to the aircraft for two hours and see if anything happens.
And sure enough, a component in the freaking gun control box, powered up for a long period of time, was overheating and failing. And then it would cool off, and it would work. And I don't know what electronic component that is, if it's a resistor, a diode, or what the hell it is. So they went to freaking Radio Shack in Saudi Arabia. It's not really a Radio Shack, but a place like that.
Bought a new component, came back, put it in, fixed the problem.
Chapter 5: How did the crew handle mechanical failures in combat?
No way. And then the war's over. I never got to shoot again. Damn. But I did fire miniguns on a scud. And it was the first rounds in anger of the defensive arm penetrator.
Well, that's pretty bad. So I got that.
I got that to say. My last ordinance, by the way, that I did drop was a piss bottle I threw out of the aircraft before we crossed the border. At a scud? Yeah. Before we crossed the border. So anyway, that's my life leading up to Somalia. And this is peacetime army, you know? Yeah. All in a five-year period. Pretty cool. Just crazy.
You know, if you think about it, overwater combat, jungle combat, desert combat, and now urban combat in Somalia.
Yeah.
I want one more war story because, again, back to the you could be on a wall in a second. Again, me and Donovan flying. Again, this is a new aircraft, so we're developing task condition standards for various things that we do with it so that they will be something to evaluate people by in the future when the pilots come. And we did various things like simulate. You just got taken off a C-5.
You've got to put the aircraft back together, put all the weapons on, load them up, and shoot as fast as you can. Click. How long did that take? Okay, let's put a little fudge factor on there.
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Chapter 6: What led to the decision to send in ground forces during the mission?
Margin for error, let's just say it's 40 minutes. I don't remember what it was. Well, this time we're going to do a hide site, and we're going to go, which is essentially, you know, you fly in at night, camo everything up, sleep during the day. When it gets dark, you take the camo off, and then you go fly and hit the target.
So we do this, and we're going to go shoot at Fort Knox, which is about a two-hour flight. So I'm in the left seat this time. Donovan's in the right. And we got approval to roll in hot. We didn't have to clear the range, because we had eyes on the range before we got there, which is unusual.
Usually, range safety is going to want you to do a drive pass, but they let us live fire right out of the gate. So we roll in. Again, there's two daps. We're about to shoot. I'm flying. I pull the minigun trigger. And these freaking miniguns, the tracers are doing this in front of the aircraft. And I'm like, as soon as I saw it, I let off. I never even got close to shooting rockets.
And I said, that's the worst bore sight I've ever seen in my life. Because you have this little device that you set an aim point like on a hangar door out in front, and then you, because these weapons come on and off, right? And rocket pods, and you have to adjust them to where they're going to point at least close to what you're trying to shoot at. It's not an exact science.
At least it wasn't then. But this is way out of range here. And Donovan comes on there. Again, we're on night vision goggles. he says in his typical deadpan Donovan Briley way, Mike, we got a problem. And I'm like, what's up? And I start to feel something in my eyes and he puts his finger light up. So a finger light is just this little green LED light that we have.
So you can read stuff in the cockpit under your goggles and still maintain light discipline. And he puts it up there and there's bullet holes all through his cockpit. So the minigun, the bolt that's supposed to keep it from turning left and right, fell out on the way up. And when I pulled the trigger... Holy shit.
You would think the gun's gonna go this way because of the wind, but the barrel rotation caused it to go in. And we have these armor panels on the side of the cockpit. And we always put them forward because you just don't know. You're going to have some kind of weapon malfunction. Shit's going to go flying and take you out. So he had his armor panel forward.
I think the gun hit the armor panel and stopped. But it went in enough where bullet holes all through the cockpit, through his windshield. I mean, there's probably 10 bullet holes through the windshield. Missed his knee. By like two inches. Holy shit. 2,000 rounds a minute. So we land, we check the bird out. We had a medic with us because we live fire and we had a medic with us.
He's rinsing our eyes out because it was grass. What I felt in my eyes was shrapnel from the windshield and dust in the air, you know, just shards of glass. And everything felt okay. I don't think I got any real, you know, shards of glass in my eyes. And so I'm thinking, do we leave the bird here or can we fly it back? And I'm thinking about what's in the regulation.
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Chapter 7: What challenges did Mike Durant face during his captivity?
You're relying on locals to do different things, which we have to because we don't have the support a lot of times to do it all with green suitors or blue suitors or organic assets. Then they threw dirt in my face, and then they wrapped a rag around my head so I can't see, and they hoist me up in the air. Now, it's possible my femur goes out here. Again, I don't know.
And at that point, I'm being paraded around through the streets. So I'm like the living version of what they did with the bodies. They're celebrating. They shot down an aircraft. They killed Americans. Now they have an American. And they, I mean...
What are you hearing?
I'm hearing screaming. I always thought, and again, I can't see. So I felt like most of the loudest voices were female. I don't know if that's an accurate recollection, but that's what I recall. And then I'm getting hit. And I know if you kill...
a male in their family, that that is something that the women seek retribution for, reparations for, and maybe that's part of why they're hitting me, I don't know, right? But I know we kill a lot of people there, and rightfully so, they're attacking us. I mean, we're not killing people just because we want to, they're attacking us. I mean, we're essentially defending ourselves.
So anyway, I describe a moment, and I've said this from the beginning, I left my body. I mean, there's a scientific explanation for that, and there's a spiritual explanation for that. All I can tell you is it happened. I remember distinctly looking down and seeing myself being carried through the streets. And the pain went away. I mean, it was like, wow. That, thank God that's not me, you know?
Because that looks like that really sucks. And it only lasted a few seconds. And then bam, it is me. And that, the scientific explanation being your brain has a lot of capabilities that you'll never use. And one of them is it can trick itself if it's dealing with significant trauma. and try to figure out a way to tell you it's not real. That's the scientific explanation.
The spiritual explanation is I'm about to die and God sent you back. Don't know.
Yeah, you do.
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Chapter 8: How did Mike's experiences shape his views on survival and resilience?
I know I got a lot of people pulling for me that are up there.
Yeah, that's no shit.
My grandmother in particular. And you can't say no to her. So I'm back in the moment and they're carrying me through the streets and then they throw me on the ground and I'm trying to get sorted out. Just a bizarre little trivial thing. My desert tan flight suit is a two-piece, which looks kind of like BDUs, not a traditional Air Force-looking flight suit. And it's got really long pockets.
And what had happened was the pocket, I had a pocket knife in it, and the pocket flipped over. So if you reached in, you thought you were getting to the bottom of my pocket, but you weren't because it was flipped over. And they reached in there, they searched me, but they didn't see the pocket knife. So I had a pocket knife. What am I gonna do with it? I don't fricking know.
But I have a knife, okay? And I'm like looking at my situation and it's like, oh man, this is bad. And they're arguing amongst themselves. You could tell they didn't know what to do. They hadn't really planned this contingency. And they suddenly come back in the room and they hoist me up again.
and they run me out to a flat, like a truck with a big flat surface on the back, throw me on the back of that, throw a tarp over me and then get on the back of the truck. Cause you know, in these third world countries, right? If you can fit 50 people, you can fit 51 on the back of the thing and they all pile on.
And basically they don't want anyone to know, obviously American or Somali, that I am there. Now, according to Mark's research, what actually happened here is that the people that overrun the site are not Haber-Getter. They're some other clan. And they reached a deal, probably a monetary deal, with Adid to turn me over to him.
And the group that comes to get me to move to the second location is Adid's people, and that's why they moved me so quickly to another location. I don't know any of this is going on, but that is apparently what happened. So I moved by ground. I don't know where the hell we're going.
And they put me in a little octagonal room that had like some of the bricks higher up had like ventilation through them. So I could hear what's going on outside, but I couldn't see. The lower parts of the wall are solid. It's like a dirt, pea gravel kind of floor. No, it might have been concrete floor, but it's pea gravel outside, just like survival school, exactly the same way.
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