Black Hawk Down Major Jeff Struecker | Mike Ritland Podcast Episode 120

Mike Drop

Mike Ritland

Politics, Personal Journals, News, Society & Culture

4.9 • 6.5K Ratings

🗓️ 27 November 2022

⏱️ 143 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1993, U.S. Special Operations Forces were sent to Somalia to capture war criminal Mohamed Farrah Aidid - a mission made famous by the movie "Black Hawk Down". For many, the movie's a glimpse into what really happened - but for Jeff Struecker, it's merely a shadow of a memory he's been remembering for 29 years. Because Jeff Struecker was there during the Battle of Mogadishu, and he remembers everything. Frankly, between serving 23 years in the military, raising five kids, earning a PhD, authoring six books, hosting a podcast, and leading the fine members of his congregation every single Sunday morning, it's still difficult to forget. That's why he's sitting down with Mike to tell his side of the story - the real story - and get to the bottom of how it all happened. Chapters:0:00 - Intro2:10 - Best thing about being a pastor3:55 - Favorite childhood memory4:50 - Last book7:50 - First three hours of the day8:40 - Distance running and mountain biking10:10 - Raising awareness on veterans suicide13:25 - Growing Up Divorced26:00 - Training to become an Army Ranger28:00 - Panama invasion35:30 - Carnage in the Gulf War39:30 - One of the worst things he saw in Desert Storm41:30 - Leading up to Somalia45:00 - First days in Somalia50:30 - Being a combat leader in this type of environment55:30 - Black Hawk Down58:10 - Reviewing the Film1:01:00 - Timeline of the 18-hour firefight1:05:30 - Most intense firefight of his life1:06:30 - Black Hawks shot down1:09:00 - UN Armor arrives1:10:30 - Funny moments during the fight1:13:00 - Sun comes up1:16:30 - Zombie tactics1:20:00 - What the movie got wrong1:25:30 - Number of dead1:28:00 - After the fight1:30:00 - Combat stops in Somalia1:32:00 - Stick with the fight until you win1:33:00 - After Somalia1:36:30 - Silver Star1:39:00 - Joining the ministry1:40:00 - Becoming an Army Chaplain1:41:30 - Theology school1:44:00 - History of Christianity1:50:30 - Violence among denominations1:57:00 - What is it like to be a chaplain in combat?1:59:00 - Firefights as a chaplain2:02:00 - Fears of starting a holy war2:04:00 - Casualty Notification2:06:40 - Perspectives on everyday problems2:08:00 - Other veterans that are chaplains2:10:00 - Requirements to be a chaplain2:13:00 - Confidentiality as a chaplain2:14:30 - Why does God let bad things happen?2:16:00 - Families taking out their pain2:17:30 - Poor leadership2:20:30 - Wrapping upSupport Jeff Struecker: Website: www.jeffstrucker.comPodcast - Unbeatable with Jeff Struecker: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Kh6usOFkjXlaLn9efHe6n?si=bdddbeed58524a7bYouTube: www.youtube.com/jeffstrueckerFacebook: www.facebook.com/pastorjeffstrueckerInstagram: www.instagram.com/jeffstruecker------------Sponsors:MyBookieSign up at MyBookie, use my promo code MIKEDROP and you’ll instantly get a deposit bonus up to $1000!------------RayconRight now, Mike Drop listeners can get 15% off their Raycon order at Buyraycon.com/mikedrop. https://www.Buyraycon.com/mikedrop--------------Fueled by TeamDog | www.mikeritlandco.com |... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	And I remember looking down National Street. It's one of the only streets in
0:03.8	Somalia with a paved road. Now you are about to see something the public has
0:07.8	never seen before. I'm the last vehicle out and that street it's about 8.30
0:13.0	nine o'clock in the morning. It's glimmering. One of the most famous battles in
0:17.4	US history. It came to be known as Black Hawk Down. Like shining gold down the
0:23.6	entire street. A Black Hawk helicopter was shot down 18 Americans were killed.
0:29.2	I'm like, what on earth am I looking at right now? This town is nothing but dirt and sand and blood.
0:35.1	What am I seeing? This is Super 6 1. Moments after it was hit by a rocket propelled grenade.
0:41.3	And then it dawns on me. That's showcases. That's brass casing. This road is so full of brass
0:48.5	casings that it looks like the ticker tape parade in New York City. Every inch of the road is
0:56.1	sparkling from the sunlight from brass casing. We shot that much. I was thinking we shot that much ammo
1:03.7	tonight. That's insane.
1:13.4	Welcome to Mike Drop. The podcast where relevancy is irrelevant and we don't give a shit about your feelings.
1:20.0	Ladies and gentlemen, as always, it's both an honor and a pleasure to welcome my next guest to
1:26.3	the podcast. We spent 23 years total on active duty in the US Army, primarily with the third battalion,
1:34.0	75th Ranger Regiment. He's been in the invasion of Panama, the Battle of Mogadishu and Somalia,
1:39.8	and nine Afghanistan deployments and five Iraq deployments do the math on that. The guy has spent
1:46.9	more time in harm's way than half the people have been alive. He's both an author and a pastor.
1:54.0	So he's a man of the cloth that can read you your last rights and get you introduced to the man
1:58.7	upstairs. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the stage, Jeff Strucker. Man, it's good to be with you,
2:03.7	Mike. Did I pronounce your last name? It's long-you, Struker. But it's all good. Yeah, well, I screwed that
2:08.9	up already. Probably should have checked before we... I'm glad you're aware about it. Yeah, that's pretty
	...

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