Major Jeff Struecker, U.S. Army, Blackhawk Down, Panama, Afghanistan, Iraq

Retired U.S. Army Major Jeff Struecker served our nation in two very different capacities, both as an Army Ranger and as a chaplain. In this vivid and gripping oral history, Struecker shares his experiences in Operation Just Cause in Panama and in the Persian Gulf in the aftermath of Operation Desert Storm. He then walks us through his moment-by-moment memories of leading his task force to rescue the helicopter crews shot down in Mogadishu, Somalia. Immortalized in the book and movie, "Blackhawk Down," describes the impossible odds he and his men faced and how they re-engaged the enemy even though he was certain they would be killed.Struecker also explains how his harrowing service in Somalia led him to leave the Army and later return as a chaplain just months before 9/11. He shares fascinating insights from his 14 deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq and urges Americans to fully appreciate the incredible sacrifices that our service members and their families have given this country over the past 20 years.