Michael J. 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
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
pilot, and ran unsuccessfully in the
Republican primary for the
2022 United States Senate election in Alabama
The 2022 United States Senate election in Alabama was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Alabama. Incumbent Senator Richard Shelby was first elected in 1986 and re-elected in 1992 ...
.
Durant was a member of the
160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), abbreviated as 160th SOAR (A), is a special operations force of the United States Army that provides helicopter aviation support for special operations forces. Its missions have include ...
(Night Stalkers) as a
Chief Warrant Officer 3. He retired from the U.S. Army as a Chief Warrant Officer 4
Blackhawk helicopter
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ( ...
Master Aviator in the 160th SOAR after participating in combat operations
Prime Chance,
Just Cause, and
Desert Storm
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases ...
, and also
Gothic Serpent, in which he was briefly held
prisoner
A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...
in 1993 after a
raid
Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to:
Attack
* Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground
* Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business
* Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...
in
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...
.
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
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in ...
. He also became politically active as a member of the
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
* Republican Party (Liberia)
*Republican Party ...
.
Early life and military training
Durant was born on July 23, 1961, in
Berlin, New Hampshire
Berlin ( ) is a city along the Androscoggin River in Coös County in northern New Hampshire, United States. It is the northernmost city in New Hampshire. The population was 9,425 at the 2020 census, down from 10,051 at the 2010 census.
It ...
,
the son of Leon Durant and Louise (nee Boucher). He enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 1979; after completing
basic training
Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique deman ...
, he attended the
Defense Language Institute
The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other ...
. He was assigned to the 470th Military Intelligence Group at
Fort Clayton
Fort Clayton was a United States Army base in the former Panama Canal Zone, later part of the Republic of Panama.
Base
Fort Clayton was located northwest of Balboa, Panama, with the Panama Canal located nearby. It closed in 1999 pursuant ...
in
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
as a
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
voice intercept operator. Durant finished
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...
flight training at
Fort Rucker
Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located primarily in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training installation for U.S. Army Aviators and ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = " Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...
.
During
flight school, he flew the
TH-55 trainer and
UH-1
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helico ...
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...
s.
U.S. Army service
![Michael Durant speaks to officers at Tyndall Air Force Base](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Michael_Durant_speaks_to_officers_at_Tyndall_Air_Force_Base.jpg)
In November 1983, Durant was promoted to Warrant Officer 1, following completion of the UH-60 Blackhawk Aviators Qualification Course, and was assigned to the 377th Medical Evacuation Company in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. Durant flew over 150 medical evacuation missions in the UH-1 and
UH-60
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ( ...
helicopters by 1985. He later moved to the 101st (Division) Aviation Battalion at
Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Divi ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
. While serving as a Chief Warrant Officer 2, he took the
flight instructor
A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...
'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
Prime Chance,
Just Cause and
Operation Desert Storm
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
, where he was the first U.S. helicopter pilot to shoot at a
SCUD
A Scud missile is one of a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was exported widely to both Second and Third World countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name attached to the m ...
missile
In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket ...
launcher.
"Black Hawk Down" incident
During
Operation Gothic Serpent
Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted in Mogadishu, Somalia, by an United States, American force code-named ''Task Force Ranger'' during the Somali Civil War in 1993. The primary objective of the operation was to capture ...
in Somalia, Durant was the pilot of helicopter "Super Six Four". His was the second
MH-60L
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift Utility helicopter, utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transpo ...
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
The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Th ...
, 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
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...
in his back and a
compound fracture
A bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, Fx, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a '' ...
of his left femur.
Two
Delta Force
The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), referred to variously as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), Army Compartmented Elements (ACE), "The Unit", or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Task Fo ...
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
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...
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
Mohamed Farrah Hassan Aidid ( so, Maxamed Faarax Xasan Caydiid; ar, محمد فرح حسن عيديد; 15 December 1934 – 1 August 1996) was a Somali general and diplomat.
Educated in both Rome and Moscow, he served as a chief in the Italian ...
, though he was shot in his arm by an intruding militia member. Aidid then released Durant and a
Nigerian
Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...
soldier who had been captured previously into the custody of the
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
.
After being freed, and recovering at
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, 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 goggles
A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The dev ...
.
Durant's military service awards include the
Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation.
Examples include:
*Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action
* Distinguishe ...
,
Distinguished Flying Cross with
Oak Leaf Cluster
An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a speci ...
,
Bronze Star
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
W ...
with
Valor Device,
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
,
Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include:
* Meritorious Civilian Service Award
*Meritorious Service Me ...
, three
Air Medal
The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.
Criteria
The Air Medal was establish ...
s and the
Prisoner of War Medal
The Prisoner of War Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on 8 November 1985. The United States Code citation for the POW Medal statute is .
The ...
, among others.
Business ventures and writing
After his retirement, Durant moved to Alabama
and began offering seminars to military personnel about helicopter maneuvering and
Combat Search and Rescue
Combat search and rescue (CSAR) are search and rescue operations that are carried out during war that are within or near combat zones.
A CSAR mission may be carried out by a task force of helicopters, ground-attack aircraft, aerial refueling ...
(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
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
degree in professional aeronautics and a
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
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
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in ...
, in 2008.
The company's clients include the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
, the
U.S. Marine Corps and
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
, 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
Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Em ...
.
Political career
Early activities
Durant became involved in politics after his retirement from the military; as a
Republican, he served on the presidential campaigns of
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
and
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, both times in a veterans' leadership role.
In July 2008, Durant criticized then-presidential candidate
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
for having cancelled a planned trip to LRMC near
Ramstein Air Base
Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also ...
where he had intended, while in Europe, to visit American casualties of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Durant said he thought this was inappropriate for a potential commander in chief.
Scott Gration
Jonathan Scott Gration (born 1951) is a former United States Air Force officer who worked as a policy advisor to President Barack Obama.
Born in Illinois, Gration then grew up in Central and East Africa with his missionary parents. He studied at ...
, a retired two-star Air Force general who advised the Obama campaign, said in a response that Obama "did not want to see our wounded warriors perceived as a campaign event when his visit was to show his appreciation for our troops and decided instead not to go."
In 2011, Durant gave a speech to the
U.S. Army War College
The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military officer ...
, during which he mentioned the opinion that "disarming the population," like what had been done in
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...
, would be "a pretty good step toward law and order" in U.S. cities. The comments re-emerged during Durant's campaign for the U.S. Senate; the campaign of primary opponent
Katie Britt
Katie Elizabeth Britt (née Boyd; born February 2, 1982) is an American attorney, businesswoman, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Alabama since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Britt is the first woman to b ...
charged that Durant's worldview was "not conservative." Durant claimed that media outlets had mischaracterized and taken his statements out of context. In an interview with radio host
Phil Williams, Durant stated, "I'm not condoning it. In fact, I'm arguing against it, that it really isn't a smart tactic – certainly not when you're outnumbered like we were there."
2022 U.S. Senate candidacy
In September 2021, media speculation arose regarding a possible run for U.S. Senate by Durant.
He officially launched a campaign for the office on October 19, 2021, running to replace retiring incumbent Senator
Richard Shelby
Richard Craig Shelby (born May 6, 1934) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Alabama. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 as a Democrat who later switched to the Republican Party in 1994, h ...
in
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
. A late entry to the race, Durant positioned himself as a political outsider and supporter of former President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, outlining an "Alabama First" campaign tour. Durant was supported by the More Perfect Union
political action committee, which supports the formation of a caucus of centrist senators.
By March 2022, Durant began to lead in polls against the two major opposing candidates in the Republican primary, Shelby's former Chief of Staff
Katie Britt
Katie Elizabeth Britt (née Boyd; born February 2, 1982) is an American attorney, businesswoman, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Alabama since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Britt is the first woman to b ...
and Representative
Mo Brooks
Morris Jackson "Mo" Brooks Jr. (born April 29, 1954) is an American attorney and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. His district was based in Huntsville and stretches across the northern fifth of the stat ...
. Durant's lead expanded after Brooks was un-endorsed by Trump. That same month, Durant expressed in interviews that he believed President
Joe Biden was "not rightfully elected" in the
2020 presidential election
This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*5 January:
**C ...
and that he would not have voted to certify the election results, as well as support for removing Biden from office.
In April 2022, the Alabama Republican Party proposed a series of televised debates between Durant, Britt and Brooks. Durant's campaign did not agree to participate in these debates, and declined to comment when asked about the debates. Britt, Brooks, and other political analysts such as
Quin Hillyer
Richard Quin Edmonson Hillyer (born March 16, 1964) is an American conservative newspaper columnist and writer.
He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for the United States House of Representatives from Alabama's 1st congressional di ...
and
Steve Flowers criticized Durant for an apparent refusal to debate. Brooks said that Durant "has the public policy chops of a snail," while Britt questioned if Durant had "something to hide." Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl stated that the debates were unlikely to occur without Durant's participation. Durant broke the silence on the debates on April 21, 2022, stating that he was open to debating but also cited scheduling issues with his own campaign schedule. Durant then officially declined the proposed dates for the debates later that month, shuttering the plans for the debate series.
Durant began to slip in polls around May, in the weeks before the primary election. Durant was the subject of multiple negative attack ads that contributed to a rising unfavorable rating among voters in polls. Additionally, Durant was the subject of speculation that he did not actually live in Alabama, which ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called "a false claim." Durant's views on immigration also attracted attention shortly before the primary; he claimed in a radio interview that increased legal immigration was "
America First" while also touting that he was "the toughest on illegal immigration." On the night of the primary on May 24, Durant conceded the election after incoming results showed him in third place behind Britt and Brooks. Although there was media speculation that Durant would endorse Brooks after losing a spot in the runoff, in June, Durant officially declined to endorse Brooks or Britt, lambasting the political process and the two remaining candidates. Durant also stated that his campaign would be his last foray into politics, blaming his loss on "blatant" untrue attack ads.
Personal life
Durant and his wife, Lisa (who is also a former Army aviator), reside in
Madison, Alabama
Madison is a city located primarily in Madison County, near the northern border of the U.S. state of Alabama. Madison extends west into neighboring Limestone County. The city is included in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area, the second-largest ...
. They have six children and three grandchildren.
Durant's previous marriage to his first wife, Lorrie, ended in divorce; Durant later stated that his handling of the media attention he received in the wake of the "Black Hawk Down" incident "probably was a contributing factor" to the divorce.
Works
#
#
Awards and decorations
Durant's awards include:
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durant, Michael
1961 births
American Master Army Aviators
American prisoners of war
Battle of Mogadishu (1993)
Candidates in the 2022 United States Senate elections
Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University alumni
Living people
New Hampshire Republicans
People from Berlin, New Hampshire
People from Madison, Alabama
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
United States Army officers