Michael Durant

He was assigned to the 470th Military Intelligence Group at Fort Clayton in Panama as a Spanish voice intercept operator.

Durant finished helicopter flight training at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

During flight school, he flew the TH-55 trainer and UH-1 helicopters.

Michael John Durant (born July 23, 1961) is an American veteran, former pilot, businessman, author, and political candidate.

He was involved in the "Black Hawk Down" incident while serving as a U.S. Army pilot, and ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for the 2022 United States Senate election in Alabama.

Durant was born on July 23, 1961, in Berlin, New Hampshire, the son of Leon Durant and Louise (nee Boucher).

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 1979; after completing basic training, he attended the Defense Language Institute.

In November 1983, Durant was promoted to Warrant Officer 1, following completion of the UH-60 Black Hawk Aviators Qualification Course, and was assigned to the 377th Medical Evacuation Company in Seoul, South Korea.

Durant flew over 150 medical evacuation missions in the UH-1 and UH-60 helicopters by 1985.

Durant joined the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) on August 1, 1988.

Assigned to D Company, he performed duties as Flight Lead and Standardization Instructor Pilot.

He participated in combat operations Prime Chance, Just Cause and Operation Desert Storm, where he was the first U.S. helicopter pilot to shoot at a SCUD missile launcher.

He retired from the U.S. Army as a Chief Warrant Officer 4 Blackhawk helicopter Master Aviator in the 160th SOAR after participating in combat operations Prime Chance, Just Cause, and Desert Storm, and also Gothic Serpent, in which he was briefly held prisoner in 1993 after a raid in Somalia.

During Operation Gothic Serpent in Somalia, Durant was the pilot of helicopter "Super Six Four.” His was the second MH-60L of two Black Hawk helicopters to crash during the Battle of Mogadishu on October 3, 1993. After his helicopter was hit on the tail by a RPG-7, it crashed about a mile southwest of the operation's target.

Durant and his crew of three, Bill Cleveland, Ray Frank, and Tommy Field, were badly injured in the crash.

Durant suffered a crushed vertebra in his back and a compound fracture of his left femur.

Two Delta Force snipers, MSG Gary Gordon and SFC Randy Shughart, had been providing suppressive fire from the air at hostile Somalis who were converging on the crash site.

Both volunteered for insertion onto the ground to protect the crew and join Durant in fighting off the advancing Somalis.

The pair killed numerous Somalis before they ran out of ammunition.

They were soon overwhelmed and killed, after Cleveland, Frank and Field had died.

Both Gordon and Shughart received the Medal of Honor posthumously for their heroism in this action.

The hostile Somalis captured Durant, the sole American survivor, and held him captive for 11 days.

During much of his imprisonment, he was personally protected and cared for by Abdullahi "Firimbi" Hassan, a physician and propaganda minister to Somali General Mohamed Farrah Aidid, though he was shot in his arm by an intruding militia member.

Aidid then released Durant and a Nigerian soldier who had been captured previously into the custody of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Following his retirement from the military in 2001, Durant published a book detailing his experiences, was involved in public speaking engagements and founded an engineering company in Huntsville, Alabama.

He also became politically active as a member of the Republican Party.

He retired from the Army in 2001 with more than 3,700 flight hours, over 1,400 of which were flown with night vision goggles.

Durant's military service awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star with Valor Device, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, three Air Medals and the Prisoner of War Medal, among others.

After his retirement, Durant moved to Alabama and began offering seminars to military personnel about helicopter maneuvering and Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) operations.

Durant talks about the Somalia raid and the experiences he had while in captivity.

He spoke extensively with actor Ron Eldard, who portrayed him in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down, which depicts the events of the raid.

In 2003, Durant published a book, In the Company of Heroes, in which he chronicled his military career and his captivity.

Durant holds a BSc degree in professional aeronautics and a MBA degree in aviation management from the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Following his move to Alabama, he became owner, president and CEO of Pinnacle Solutions, an engineering services company based in Huntsville, Alabama, in 2008.

The company's clients include the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps and NASA, among others.

In December 2021, after the launch of his campaign for the U.S. Senate, Durant turned over control of Pinnacle Solutions to its employees via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

He later moved to the 101st (Division) Aviation Battalion at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

While serving as a Chief Warrant Officer 2, he took the flight instructor's pilot course and conducted air assault missions in the UH-60.

Durant was a member of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Night Stalkers) as a Chief Warrant Officer 3.

After being freed, and recovering at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Germany, Durant resumed flying with the 160th SOAR.