Army Ranger Details The Battle From Black Hawk Down And How Netflix Got It Right

There are a handful of battles across the history of the military that transcend the military and become lore for the American public at large. The Battle of Mogadishu aka Black Hawk Down is one of those battles. It is crazy to think the movie is 24 years old this year and I realize that some younger folks might not have seen it but if you were coming of age in the 90s and early aughts then you know it for sure. Josh Hartnett was one of those dudes - in seemingly every movie, cover of magazines, and a Hollywood A lister. So when there's a movie poster with him front and center, most people were going to see the movie. 

Columbia. Shutterstock Images.

It's not just one of my favorite war movies of all time, it's one of my favorite movies period. 

When Netflix dropped a 3 part documentary about the battle I was all over it. 

One of the main people featured in the documentary was then First Lieutenant Larry Perino from the 75th Ranger Regiment. His interviews really stuck out to me. A quick google let me know that COL (R) Perino revealed he was a 1990 West Point grad so I knew I had to grab him for Bold American. 

We had an awesome conversation that goes into detail about the training leading up to the battle, the battle itself, and the years since he left Mogadishu. It was especially cool when he talks about what Ridley Scott said to him at the movie premier back in 2001. 

I've now had the pleasure of speaking with two men who fought in that battle - SGM (R) Matt Eversmann and now COL (R) Larry Perino. What's interesting is that as I've pointed out before, because it's a movie and you have to combine certain people to make a succinct story, not everyone gets their name on a character. It was cool to hear how COL Perino's actions were folded into Josh Hartnett's character and also his story of meeting Hartnett at the premier. 

It was a fun one today that also included some other topics floating around the country but I have to point out one glaring omission - the leaked text messages from the Secretary of Defense regarding military actions across the globe. That came out after we recorded so we will pick it up. next week once more information is shared.

DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE!