2012 BUSINESS PLANNER LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND The only survivor of the helicopter crash that inspired the movie “Black Hawk Down” explains that for a business to excel, all employees must be successful. BY DAN JACOBS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF he phrase “battle hardened” put on the ground. That helicopter is hit could have been invented for by rocket-propelled grenade, and though Michael Durant. damaged it is able to fi nish delivering its Durant was the lone survivor crew and head back to base. of the Battle of Mogadishu dur- “The commander wants me to orbit ing which his helicopter crashed the target, fl y around it so that I can use Tand he became a prisoner of Somalis. His our mini-guns, the guns on the side of story was retold in the 2001 movie “Black the aircraft to support the troops on the Hawk Down”. ground,” Durant says. “We made it around Durant was in Somalia during about three times.” At that point Durant’s October 1993 as part of Operation MH-60L Black Hawk helicopter, dubbed Restore Hope, a United Nations Super Six Four, is hit by its own rocket- effort to restore order to a country propelled grenade and goes down. ravaged by civil war and famine. “We came down so fast, spinning so While on a mission in Moga- violently I couldn’t see anything,” Durant dishu, a helicopter went down, recalls. “I could see brown earth, blue sky, killing the two pilots but spar- the horizon line. I was doing everything ing the fi ve men in the back I could to keep the thing upright. We of the vehicle. Durant piloted impacted on the wheels. That’s the only one of the Black Hawk heli- reason I’m still with you here, today. copters that responded to the “We hit so hard that my right femur crash. Unfortunately, Durant breaks off on the edge of the seat and my says, there was no good solution spine is crushed — not the disks — the to address that type of problem. bones actually crash into each other, and “The commander is forced to do the one of them crush 30%.” wrong thing,” Durant says. “He sends Remarkably every one of the crewmem- another helicopter in.” bers of his helicopter survived the crash. Durant and his team were fl ying in “However, we are in a very desper- the area while a third hovering helicopter ate situation,” Durant recalls. “We’re 96 LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT.NET Durant addressed eye socket. They throw an audience of RISE dirt in my face, wrap a rag (Responsible Industry for Sound Environ- around my head, pick me ment) attendees in up and start carrying me September in through the streets and Sarasota, Florida. take me into captivity.” Durant was released injured badly, we’re isolated and we’re surrounded. after 11 days of captivity, but not before he was It’s a matter of minutes before we’re overrun.” subsequently shot and forced to make a video Two Delta Force snipers riding in a helicopter confession, both of which are against all Interna- circling overhead saw that Durant and possibly tional protocols for treating prisoners of war. the others were alive and radioed operations Durant retold his story at last month’s RISE headquarters asking permission to “go in.” (Responsible Industry for Sound Environment) Durant explains operations initial reaction. annual conference at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in “Back at operations, they look at the situation Sarasota, FL. It was a long way from his time as a and they basically reach the conclusion that this prisoner of rebels in Mogadishu, Somalia. is not a survivable situation. We’re not going to allow them in.” The soldiers repeat the request to go in to LESSONS LEARNED attempt a rescue and are again denied. As the Durant’s story isn’t just riveting (to watch a two men see Somali forces closing in on the video of him telling the story go to: downed helicopter and their comrades, they make www.landscapemanagement.net/durant). The a third appeal, and the commander back at the story is also illustrative of what can go wrong operations center fi nally gives them permission. when leadership fails. DURANT’S “KEYS TO They’re dropped off and make their way along- “There is only one item I would say MISSION SUCCESS” side the helicopter. is not an A-plus on this mission: strategic 1. LEADERSHIP “The fi rst time I see them, they’re stand- resources,” Durant says. “And just that one ing next to me at the crash site,” Durant says. “I item causes this thing to unravel.” 2. RESOURCES › Personal think it’s over. There’s a reaction force that’s here, The commanders on the ground in Soma- › they’re going to load us up on vehicles, get us lia had requested tanks to support the various Organizational › Strategic home, patch us up and we’ll be fl ying again in a missions, but had been denied by those few months. What I didn’t realize was there was focusing more on budgets than battles. They 3. TACTICS only two of them. simply were not as familiar with the operation. › Military “It took the Somalis about 15 minutes to “So, when you think about leadership › Political overrun the site, even with the (two Delta Force and you think about responsibility, you think 4. TRAINING soldiers, Durant and the surviving crew members) about teamwork and you think about the › Flight “doing what we could to hold them off.” people behind the scenes — the ones who › Physical The brief battle continues until the Americans don’t have the glamour jobs, it has to include › Soldier run out of ammunition. At that point only Durant all of that. Everybody has to be successful › Cultural is still alive. And the Somalis take over the site. for the overall organization to be success- “I was absolutely convinced I was going to die,” ful. Everybody’s got to pull his weight. If 5. PLANNING Durant says. “I essentially played possum. What- decisions are made incorrectly at any point › Detailed planning ever they wanted to do, I let them do. They tried within the organization, yeah, you might get at all levels to rip my gear off; they were pulling my boots off. by for a while, but sooner or later, you will › Continuous As some point the femur goes outside the back of fail. Hopefully the results won’t be on the reassessment LM PHOTOS BY: DAN JACOBS my leg. They break my cheekbone, my nose, my scale they were in Somalia.” OCTOBER 2011 | LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT.NET 97.