Paul Randal Howe (born 1959) is an American former

Delta Force The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), also known as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) as Task Force Green, is a Special operation forces, special operat ...

soldier. He participated in the special operations rescue at the

Battle of Mogadishu (1993) The Battle of Mogadishu (), also known as the Black Hawk Down Incident, was part of Operation Gothic Serpent. It was fought on 3–4 October 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, between forces of the United States—supported by UNOSOM II—against S ...

which led to the book '' Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War'' and the ''Black Hawk Down'' film. He is a firearms instructor and

counterterrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and Intelligence agency, intelligence ...

expert who trains people in high-risk operations. His company is called CSAT-Combat Shooting and Tactics. He is the author of three books about leadership.

Military career

Howe served 20 years in the U.S. Army. He held the rank of

Master Sergeant A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries. Israel Defense Forces The (abbreviated "", master sergeant) is a non-commissioned officer () rank in the Israel Defense Force ...

and was a member of Delta Force. For ten of those years he was involved in special operations. He fought in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu. His experiences in Mogadishu were portrayed in the film ''Black Hawk Down''. Howe provided much of the information about Delta Force operations for the writing of the 1999 book: ''Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War''. He was the leader of the assault team that went in to rescue Army Rangers and Delta Force members in Mogadishu.

Mark Bowden Mark Bowden (; born 1951) is an American journalist and writer. He is a former national correspondent and longtime contributor to ''The Atlantic''. Bowden is best known for his book ''Black Hawk Down (book), Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern W ...

met with Howe in 1997 about writing the book after clearing it with Howe's commanding officer. Howe was first to arrive on the scene of the downed

Black Hawk helicopter The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift military utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted a design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS) ...

. Other Delta Force members were also consulted for the book, but they did not allow the use of their real names. Howe has faced some criticism for allowing Bowden to use his real name.

Career

In 2000 Howe graduated with an MIS (Masters of Interdisciplinary Studies) from

Stephen F. Austin State University Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU or SFA) is a public university in Nacogdoches, Texas, in the United States. Named after Stephen F. Austin, one of the founders of Texas, SFA was founded as a teachers college in 1923 and built on part ...

. After his 20-year military career Howe became an instructor specializing in high-risk training for law enforcement. He works as a professional instructor and runs Combat Shooting & Tactics (CSAT) which is a training facility in

Nacogdoches, Texas Nacogdoches ( ) is a city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Stephen F. Austin State University is located in Nacogdoches and special ...

. He started the company in 2000. When the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

occurred in 2001 there was a demand for counterterrorism instruction. Howe served as an instructor for a counterterrorism company: The HALO Corporation International. The company employed former military special forces members as instructors. Howe taught hostage rescue and firearms training. Howe also focuses on hostage rescue when training law enforcement and

SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

teams.

Personal life

Howe is married to Constance "Connie" (née Beckwith), a former Army Reserve major and the daughter of Delta Force founder, Col.

Charles Alvin Beckwith Charles Alvin Beckwith (22 January 1929 – 13 June 1994) was a career Special Forces (United States Army), United States Army Special Forces officer best remembered for creating Delta Force, the premier counter terrorism, counterterrorism ...

. His daughter,

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

Technical Sergeant Mary Howe (Now Daniell), is an aerial gunner with the

4th Special Operations Squadron The 4th Special Operations Squadron is part of the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It operates Lockheed AC-130J aircraft providing special operations capabilities. Mission The squadron (aviation), squadron plans, prepare ...

. He lives and works in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Paul Howe signature firearms

* LWRC International M6A1-S 5.56 CSAT EVO 1.0 Paul Howe Limited Edition *

Wilson Combat Wilson Combat is a custom pistol manufacturer located in Berryville, Arkansas, that specializes in customizing and manufacturing M1911A1s. First started under the name "Wilson's Gun Shop" in 1977, Bill Wilson started his new gunsmith business in ...

Paul Howe G19 *Wilson Combat The Paul Howe Tactical Carbine

Books

* * *

Popular Culture

Actor

William Fichtner William Edward Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. Born in New York, he started his career with supporting appearances in '' Virtuosity'' (1994), ''Heat'' and '' Strange Days'' (both 1995). A prolific character actor in film, ...

played as SFC Jeff Sanderson in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down. Jeff Sanderson was based on Paul R. Howe.

References

External links

The Battle of The Black Sea: MSG Paul Howe's Untold Story of Black Hawk DownPaul Howe biographyArchived
{{DEFAULTSORT:HOWE, PAUL R. 1959 births Living people Stephen F. Austin State University alumni Military personnel from Texas Delta Force Battle of Mogadishu (1993) Members of the United States Army Special Forces