"We all came to peace with it -- if I die here, I die here. But I'm not going to let it happen to the guys around me. That's what it became about. We weren't fighting for the flag, or the nation or freedom. I wasn't even thinking about my family. All I thought about was that I wasn't going to let anything happen to the guy on my left and the guy on my right."
– U.S. Army Ranger Keni Thomas, Task Force Ranger
Commemorate 30 years since the battle in Somalia that resulted in the ultimate sacrifice of 18 U.S. servicemen, including two Delta Force snipers who were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. This Challenge honors the men of Task Force Ranger (3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment; 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta; and 10th Mountain Division) their courage and sacrifice on 3/4 October 1993 to achieve mission success, albeit at great cost. Expect a history lesson and a timeline re-enactment of the mission that inspired Black Hawk Down.
Raised in Texas, Kevin is a Green Beret with over 20 years of service in the United States Army. Kevin served on multiple combat deployments and has led Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Southeast Asia. Out of service and living in the Pacific Northwest, Kevin enjoys spending time and keeping active with family and friends. Kevin continues to serve the military community through non-profit and private sector roles, assisting them in building better post-military lives.