Editing Michael Durant (section)

==U.S. Army service==
[[File:Michael Durant is presented the Honorable Order of St. Michael.jpg|thumb|Durant presented with the Honorable Order of St. Michael in 2001]]
[[File:Michael Durant speaks to officers at Tyndall Air Force Base.jpg|thumb|Durant speaks to officers at [[Tyndall Air Force Base]] in 2002]] 
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 Black Hawk|UH-60]] helicopters by 1985. 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 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 [[Operation Prime Chance|Prime Chance]], [[Operation Just Cause|Just Cause]] and [[Gulf War|Operation Desert Storm]], where he was the first U.S. helicopter pilot to shoot at a [[SCUD]] [[missile]] launcher.<ref name="UCSB" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.au.af.mil/au/goe/eagle_bios/2005/durant_2005.html|title=ACSC GOE: Michael J. Durant 2005 Biography|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126083736/http://www.au.af.mil/au/goe/eagle_bios/2005/durant_2005.html|date=2005|archivedate=November 26, 2007}}</ref>

==="Black Hawk Down" incident===
During [[Operation Gothic Serpent]] in Somalia, Durant was the pilot of helicopter "Super Six Four.” His was the second of two [[UH-60 Black Hawk|MH-60L]] Black Hawk helicopters to crash during the [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Battle of Mogadishu]] on October 3, 1993. After his helicopter was hit on the tail by an [[RPG-7]], it crashed about a mile southwest of the operation's target.<ref>{{cite book|title= The battle of Mogadishu: first-hand accounts from the men of Task Force Ranger|url= https://archive.org/details/battleofmogadish00ever|url-access= registration|first=Matt|last= Eversmann|page=[https://archive.org/details/battleofmogadish00ever/page/36 36]|publisher =Presidio Press|year= 2005 |isbn=978-0-345-45966-4 }}</ref>

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 [[Bone fracture|compound fracture]] of his left femur.<ref name="CNN">{{Cite web|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0201/27/lklw.00.html|title=Encore Presentation: 1993 Interview With Michael Durant|work=CNN: Larry King Weekend|date=January 27, 2002|accessdate=March 31, 2022|archive-date=October 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006210116/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0201/27/lklw.00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Three [[Delta Force]] snipers, [[Gary Gordon|MSG Gary Gordon]], [[Randy Shughart|SFC Randy Shughart]] and MSG Brad Halling had been providing suppressive fire from the air at hostile Somalis who were converging on the crash site. All three volunteered for insertion onto the ground to protect the crew and join Durant in fighting off the advancing Somalis, although Halling took over the Blackhawk's minigun after a crew chief was injured before permission was granted and only Gordon and Shugart were inserted. 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.<ref name=willbanks>{{cite book|title=America's Heroes: Medal of Honor Recipients from the Civil War to Afghanistan |first=James H.|last=Willbanks |page=308|publisher= ABC-CLIO|year=2011 |isbn= 978-1-59884-393-4  }}</ref>

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]].<ref name="CNN"/>

After being freed, and recovering at [[Landstuhl Regional Medical Center]] (LRMC) in [[Germany]], Durant resumed flying with the 160th SOAR. He retired from the Army in 2001 with more than 3,700 flight hours, over 1,400 of which were flown with [[Night vision device|night vision goggles]].<ref>{{cite book|title= A History of Army Aviation: From Its Beginnings to the War on Terror|first=James|last= Williams|page=373|publisher =iUniverse|year= 2005 |isbn=978-0-595-36608-8 }}</ref>

Durant's military service awards include the [[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Distinguished Service Medal]], [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] with [[Oak leaf cluster|Oak Leaf Cluster]], [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]] with [[Valor device|Valor Device]], [[Purple Heart]], [[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]], three [[Air Medal]]s and the [[Prisoner of War Medal]], among others.<ref name="joinsAL" />