Jeffery Dean Struecker (March 7, 1969)Curriculum Vitae
,

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Wake Forest, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. in Wake Forest, North Carolina. It was created in 1950 to meet a need in ...

; retrieved June 2018Congressional Record 107th Congress (2001–2002)
, thomas.loc.gov; retrieved February 2011 is an American author, pastor, and former

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

Ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

who was involved in the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993.Kelly, Clint
"Facing Fear"
, HomeLife Magazine, March 2007'Black Hawk Down' hero urges Gator Bowl teams to trust Christ
, www.gofbw.com; retrieved December 2010 He also participated in the 1989

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...

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 ...

(

Operation Just Cause 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 ...

) and in

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

during

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 ...

. Struecker has co-authored five published books.Books > Jeff Strueker
, www.amazon.com; retrieved December 2010 Struecker was portrayed by American actor Brian Van Holt in the 2001 film, '' Black Hawk Down,'' and in 2017, he was inducted into the Army Ranger Hall of Fame.

Enlisted service

Enlisted in the

in September 1987 at the age of 18, Struecker served ten years in the 75th Ranger Regiment in positions ranging from Ranger Reconnaissance specialist to

platoon sergeant In many militaries, a platoon sergeant is the senior enlisted member of a platoon, who advises and supports the platoon's commanding officer in leading the unit. Singapore In the Singapore Armed Forces, a platoon sergeant serves as the bridge ...

. He would go on to win the Best Ranger Competition in 1996 with partner SPC Isaac Gmazel.Best Ranger Competition – Previous Winners
www.army.mil; retrieved December 2010 Struecker was also recognized in 1998 with the United States Army

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in al ...

(ROTC) Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.Struecker...Joins Staff at Local Church
www.ledger-enquirer.com; retrieved January 2011

Battle of Mogadishu

In the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, Struecker was a 24-year-old sergeant and squad leader assigned to

Task Force Ranger Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted in Mogadishu, Somalia, by an American force code-named ''Task Force Ranger'' during the Somali Civil War in 1993. The primary objective of the operation was to capture Mohamed Farra ...

as a part of the 75th Ranger Regiment. He led the 3-vehicle convoy that returned, through intense fire, wounded Ranger Private Todd Blackburn to base. Struecker was awarded the Silver Star for his actions in Mogadishu."Ft. Benning Soldiers Awarded Silver Stars for Serving in Battle of Mogadishu"
, www.wtvm.com; retrieved October 2021 In the film based on the battle, '' Black Hawk Down'', Struecker is portrayed by Brian Van Holt.Brian Van Holt Credits
, www.tvguide.com; retrieved December 2010

Commissioned service

After his enlisted service ended in April 2000, Struecker went on to graduate from seminary and became commissioned as a chaplain.Jeff Strueker
, www.bhpublishinggroup.com; retrieved December 2010 As chaplain, Struecker served multiple tours in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. Struecker's final military assignment was chaplain with the Regimental Special Troops Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment. Struecker retired from active military service at the end of January 2011.

Awards and decorations

*Struecker has also earned six

Overseas Service Bar An Overseas Service Bar is an insignia worn by United States Army soldiers on the Army Service Uniform, and previously on the Army Green (Class A) and the Army Blue (Dress Blue) uniforms, that indicates the recipient has served six months overseas ...

s, 2nd Infantry Regiment DUI and Thai Parachutist Wings as well as other foreign wings and one unidentified fourragère.Chaplain (Maj.) Jeff Struecker to speak...
, www.ledger-enquirer.com; retrieved January 7, 2011

Post-military career

Immediately following his retirement from the military, Struecker joined the staff of Calvary Baptist Church in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

and became its lead pastor in April 2014 and resigned the position in May of 2019.Wilhite Ending 40 Years at Calvary Baptist Church
, www.ledger-enquirer.com; retrieved May 2014 Struecker then founded 2 Cities Church in Columbus, Georgia, where he is currently the lead pastor. Struecker has also continued to author books and he speaks regularly to audiences across the United States about his experiences and about his Christian faith.A List of Evangelistic Speakers
www.godsquad.com; retrieved December 2010

Return to Mogadishu

In March 2013 Struecker returned to Mogadishu with a film crew to shoot a short film ''Return to Mogadishu: Remembering Black Hawk Down'' which debuted in October 2013 on the 20th anniversary of the battle. Struecker and fellow veteran-turned-country singer

Keni Thomas Kenneth Mervyn Thomas (born July 1, 1965) is an American country music singer and former United States Army Ranger. Thomas was deployed in support of Operation Restore Hope as a member of Task Force Ranger in Somalia, and served in the Battle ...

relived the battle as they drove through the

Bakaara Market The Bakaaraha Market ( so, Suuqa Bakaaraha) is an open market in Mogadishu, Somalia. It is the largest in the nation. The name ''Bakaaraha'' is derived from the Somali word for grain silo or storage, . The market was created in late 1972 during th ...

in armored vehicles and visited the Wolcott crash site.

Education and personal life

Struecker earned the Doctor of Philosophy from

Wake Forest, North Carolina Wake Forest is a town in Franklin, Granville and Wake counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina; located almost entirely in Wake County, it lies just north of the state capital, Raleigh. At the 2020 census, the population was 47,601. That ...

, a Master of Divinity Degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, and a Bachelor of Science Degree and Associate of Science Degree from Troy State University in

Troy, Alabama Troy is a city in and the county seat of Pike County, Alabama, United States. It was formally incorporated on February 4, 1843. Between 1763 and 1783, the area where Troy sits was part of the colony of British West Florida.The Economy of Bri ...

. He is married to his wife Dawn and has five children.

Published books

* ''The Road To Unafraid: How the Army's Top Ranger Faced Fear and Found Courage through Black Hawk Down and Beyond'' (2006) * ''Certain Jeopardy'' (2009) * ''Blaze of Glory: A Novel'' (2010) * ''Fallen Angel: A Novel'' (2011) * ''Hide and Seek: A Novel'' (2012) * ''Start Here'' (2021) ISBN 978-1736799109

References

External links

Jeff Struecker's home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Struecker, Jeff 1969 births Living people 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American religious writers Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army personnel of the Gulf War United States Army personnel of the Iraq War United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) People from Fort Dodge, Iowa People from Columbus, Georgia Southern Baptist ministers Battle of Mogadishu (1993) United States Army chaplains United States Army Rangers Novelists from Iowa Writers from Columbus, Georgia Troy University alumni Southern Baptist Theological Seminary alumni 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state) 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers