52 pages • 1 hour read
Mark BowdenBlack Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1999A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Key Figures
Staff Sergeant Matt Eversmann
Eversmann is the leader of Chalk Four. Put in charge of the 12 men by default, he is eager to prove himself in combat, like most of the men. By the mid-point of the battle, Eversmann is exhausted and frightened. He can no longer remember why he was so anxious to experience combat. His appetite for fighting changes so drastically during the 14 hours of fighting that he begins to question the purpose of being in Somalia.
Sergeant First Class Mike Howe
Howe is the leader of the Delta unit in the raid. He is a lethal fighter and is proud to be a Delta operator. Howe scorns lower-echelon military men and has little patience for the Rangers. He often feels as if he has to act as a babysitter for troops without Delta training. His attitude often puts him in conflict with other leaders, such as Mike Steele. Howe is an example of the friction that can exist even between groups and leaders who are committed to the same goals. Even among a group of brave, macho, skilled fighting men, he stands out as particularly aggressive and even arrogant. This creates morale and loyalty with his own men, but causes some of the Rangers, and other leaders, to feel disrespected.
Captain Mike Steele
Steele is tough, respected, and beloved by his men, and he believes that discipline and adherence to military regulations are what make an army efficient. He dislikes the attitude of the Delta operators, who do not have to operate within traditional rules. He does not see his conflicts with Howe as being a matter of the Rangers having less training than the D-Boys, but as Howe and his men being arrogant and condescending. Steele attributes many problems during the fight to a breakdown of discipline. He is also humble enough to admit his own mistakes, such as his decision to forbid the men to bring their night vision goggles. After the fight, he will blame his decision for many of them deaths and injuries suffered by his team. He worries over mistakes he may have made during the mission and harbors guilt.
Warrant Officer Mike Durant
Durant is the pilot of the second downed Black Hawk. He is a brave man and a member of the Night Stalkers, an elite group of pilots known for their courage, risk-taking, skill, and tenacity in a battle. When the mercenaries capture him, he shows himself to be an empathic and skilled captive, using the chance to bond with Firimbi and learn more about the Somali culture. Durant is a fighter but shows a different type of bravery after his capture. His calm, even when he knows that the mob may mutilate him, is a reminder of the temperament required of the pilots. He can see the American intrusion from the perspective of the terrorized Somalis but is too loyal to question the merit of his leadership’s plans.
Major General William F. Garrison
Garrison is the commander of Task Force Ranger. He is a distinguished veteran of two tours of duty in Vietnam. While fighting in Southeast Asia, he helped create and run the Phoenix program. With his teams, his job was to identify, pursue, and kill the leaders of Viet Cong villages. Garrison is well respected and is horrified by the events of the Battle of Mogadishu. He is loyal to his men, but also shows himself to be susceptible to political pressure. He succumbs to the administration’s demands that he produce results in Mogadishu, which leads him to approve of the daytime raid. His decision begins the mission that leads to such carnage, and he is aware that he bears much of the responsibility for what ensues.
