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

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) is a Baptist seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It was created in 1950 to meet a need in the SBC's East Coast region.William H. Bra ...

; 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 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 ...

Ranger 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 of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

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 ...

(

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-Man ...

) and in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

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-Man ...

. Struecker has co-authored five published books.Books > Jeff Strueker
, www.amazon.com; retrieved December 2010 Struecker was portrayed by

Brian Van Holt Brian Van Holt (born July 6, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Bo and Vincent Sinclair in ''House of Wax (2005 film), House of Wax'' and List of Cougar Town characters#Bobby Cobb, Bobby Cobb on the TV series ''Cougar Town' ...

in the 2001 film '' Black Hawk Down.'' 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 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 positions ranging from Ranger Reconnaissance

specialist A specialist is someone who is an expert in, or devoted to, some specific branch of study or research. Specialist may also refer to: Occupations * Specialist (rank), military rank ** Specialist (Singapore) * Specialist officer, military rank in ...

to platoon sergeant. He would go on to win the

Best Ranger Competition The David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition is an annual competition held in Fort Benning, Georgia, hosted by the United States Army Infantry School, Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade. It is a two-person team competition where competitors ...

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. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

(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 Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

and squad leader assigned to

Task Force Ranger Task may refer to: * Task (computing), a unit of execution or homeworks * Task (language instruction) refers to a certain type of activity used in language instructional design * Task (project management), an activity that needs to be accomplis ...

as a part of the

. He led the 3-vehicle convoy that returned, through intense fire, wounded Ranger Private Todd Blackburn to base. Struecker was awarded the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

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 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

. 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 overse ...

s, 2nd Infantry Regiment

DUI Driving under the influence (DUI) is the crime of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while one is impaired from doing so safely by the effect of either alcohol (see drunk driving) or some other drug, whether recreational or ...

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 (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

and became its lead pastor in April 2014 and resigned the position in May 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 A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

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 Battl ...

relived the battle as they drove through the

Bakaara Market The Bakaaraha Market () 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 the reign of Mohamed ...

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 Wake and Franklin 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, up from 30,117 in ...

, a Master of Divinity Degree from the

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, and a Bachelor of Science Degree and Associate of Science Degree from

Troy State University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. It was one ...

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