Danny R. McKnight (born April 9, 1951) is an American retired

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

who served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He is best known for his role as commander of the 3rd Battalion,

75th Ranger Regiment The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as the United States Army Rangers, Army Rangers, is the United States Army Special Operations Command's premier light infantry and direct-action raid force. The 75th Ranger Regiment is also part of Joint S ...

in the Battle of Mogadishu. His participation in the battle was also heavily portrayed in the film '' Black Hawk Down'', where his role was played by

Tom Sizemore Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. (; November 29, 1961 – March 3, 2023) was an American actor. Born in Detroit, he started his career with supporting appearances in '' Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), '' Lock Up'' (1989), and '' Blue Steel'' (19 ...

Early life

Danny R. McKnight was born in

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

, on April 9, 1951. His family later moved to

Rockledge, Florida Rockledge is the oldest city in Brevard County, Florida. The city's population was 27,678 at the 2020 Census, up from 24,926 at the 2010 United States Census, and is part of the Palm Bay−Melbourne− Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

, in 1959. McKnight graduated from

Cocoa High School Cocoa High School is high school located in Cocoa, Florida, and is part of the Brevard Public Schools District. The principal is Ms. C. Denise Stewart . History Cocoa High was constructed in 1917. It was a two-story reinforced concrete buil ...

in 1969 and

Brevard Community College Brevard may refer to: People * Aleshia Brevard (1937–2017), American author and actress * Caroline Mays Brevard (1860–1920), American historian * John Brevard, American artist * Joseph Brevard (1760–1821), American soldier and politicia ...

(now ''Eastern Florida State College'') in 1971.

Early military career

It was during his undergraduate studies where McKnight's military career began to take shape. He was recognized as a distinguished military graduate by

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

in 1973, shortly after earning his bachelor's degree in management. He eventually went on to complete the

Basic Officer Leaders Course The Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC) is a two-phased training course designed to commission officers and prepare them for service in the United States Army. Prospective officers complete Phase I (BOLC A) as either a cadet (United States Military ...

and graduated from the

United States Army Airborne School The United States Army Airborne School—widely known as Jump School—conducts the basic paratrooper (military parachutist) training for the United States Armed Forces. It is operated by the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 507th Infantry Regiment ( ...

and

Ranger School The Ranger School is a 62-day United States Army small unit tactics and leadership course that develops functional skills directly related to units whose mission is to engage the enemy in close combat and direct fire battles. Ranger training w ...

. In 1985, he earned his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in higher education from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

while being simultaneously assigned as an assistant professor of military science in the university's

Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based officer tr ...

department.

Overseas deployments

In 1989, McKnight was deployed to

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

as part of the

United States invasion of Panama The United States invaded Panama in mid-December 1989 during the presidency of George H. W. Bush. The purpose of the invasion was to depose the '' de facto'' ruler of Panama, General Manuel Noriega, who was wanted by U.S. authorities for rack ...

. McKnight was deployed again in 1993 to

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

. During this time, he served as

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment as part of a

special operations Special operations or special ops are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment." Special operations ma ...

detachment tasked with peacekeeping operations on behalf of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

security forces. It had already been the second United Nations intervention in the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War (; ) is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed ...

at the time of McKnight's deployment. Situations in Mogadishu eventually devolved and escalated, resulting in the Battle of Mogadishu. McKnight participated in the battle by commanding the 450 soldiers of the 75th Ranger Regiment and leading the coalition convoy through the city. He sustained injuries in the neck and arm during the battle.

Awards and decorations

COL McKnight's awards include:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKnight, Danny 1951 births United States Army colonels Members of the United States Army Special Forces Living people

Early life

Early military career

Overseas deployments

Awards and decorations

See also

References