CWO4 Mike Durant jumps into Ala. senate race

CWO4 Mike Durant (ret)

Mike Durant, one of the pilots of the downed Black Hawks from the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, has entered the race for the Republican nomination for US Senate in next year’s mid-term. Durant, who has never held political office, is joining a crowded field currently led by Rep Mo Brooks (R-AL).

Durant’s Army career saw him spend 13 of his 22 years of service as an aviator with the Army’s elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (160th SOAR). At the time of his retirement as a chief warrant officer 4 he had logged 3,700 hours flight time with an astonishing 1,400 of those at night while wearing night vision goggles.

As a member of SOAR, Durant participated in Operation Prime Chance, Operation Just Cause, and during Operation Desert Storm was the first American helicopter pilot to fire on a SCUD missile. Two years later he was piloting “Super Six Four” over Somalia when they were hit by an RPG and downed. He was subsequently captured, the only survivor of the crashes, and held for 11 days. His combat awards and decorations include three Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Bronze Star for valor, a Purple Heart, and four Air Medals.

Jeff LPH 3 sends in the Army Times article on Durant’s announcement;

Mike Durant, best known as the helicopter pilot shot down and held prisoner in the 1993 “Black Hawk Down” incident, is joining the U.S. Senate race in Alabama.

Durant, now the founder and president of an aerospace company in Huntsville, announced his campaign Tuesday. He joins a crowded GOP field vying for the Republican nomination to the seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby.

“Between ridiculous vaccine mandates, trillions in spending, and constant assaults on innocent life and the 2nd Amendment, it’s clear that we need to mobilize people from outside of politics to step forward and serve,” Durant said.

Like other Republicans in the race, Durant expressed his admiration for former President Donald Trump.

“President Trump showed us what’s possible when outsiders step forward and take on the insiders and the politicians. I’ve spent my life either in service to my nation or focused on growing a successful business in Alabama. I’m not going to sit idly by while Joe Biden and the career politicians wreck the country I love. I’m signing up for one more tour of duty. I’m running for U.S. Senate,” Durant said.

Category: Army, Politics, Real Soldiers, Veterans in politics, Veterans in the news