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

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 - Intro
2:10 - Best thing about being a pastor
3:55 - Favorite childhood memory
4:50 - Last book
7:50 - First three hours of the day
8:40 - Distance running and mountain biking
10:10 - Raising awareness on veterans suicide
13:25 - Growing Up Divorced
26:00 - Training to become an Army Ranger
28:00 - Panama invasion
35:30 - Carnage in the Gulf War
39:30 - One of the worst things he saw in Desert Storm
41:30 - Leading up to Somalia
45:00 - First days in Somalia
50:30 - Being a combat leader in this type of environment
55:30 - Black Hawk Down
58:10 - Reviewing the Film
1:01:00 - Timeline of the 18-hour firefight
1:05:30 - Most intense firefight of his life
1:06:30 - Black Hawks shot down
1:09:00 - UN Armor arrives
1:10:30 - Funny moments during the fight
1:13:00 - Sun comes up
1:16:30 - Zombie tactics
1:20:00 - What the movie got wrong
1:25:30 - Number of dead
1:28:00 - After the fight
1:30:00 - Combat stops in Somalia
1:32:00 - Stick with the fight until you win
1:33:00 - After Somalia
1:36:30 - Silver Star
1:39:00 - Joining the ministry
1:40:00 - Becoming an Army Chaplain
1:41:30 - Theology school
1:44:00 - History of Christianity
1:50:30 - Violence among denominations
1:57:00 - What is it like to be a chaplain in combat?
1:59:00 - Firefights as a chaplain
2:02:00 - Fears of starting a holy war
2:04:00 - Casualty Notification
2:06:40 - Perspectives on everyday problems
2:08:00 - Other veterans that are chaplains
2:10:00 - Requirements to be a chaplain
2:13:00 - Confidentiality as a chaplain
2:14:30 - Why does God let bad things happen?
2:16:00 - Families taking out their pain
2:17:30 - Poor leadership
2:20:30 - Wrapping up

Support Jeff Struecker:

Website: www.jeffstrucker.com
Podcast - Unbeatable with Jeff Struecker: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Kh6usOFkjXlaLn9efHe6n?si=bdddbeed58524a7b
YouTube: www.youtube.com/jeffstruecker
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pastorjeffstruecker
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jeffstruecker

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