Full Time Job –
November 11th 2018 – The mission was a success, but just as his men were preparing to leave, an American Blackhawk helicopter was hit. This was the infamous Black Hawk Down moment. Hooten and his team spent next 18 hours fighting their way to the crash site and securing the dead. “Not only were we rushing to get there,” Hooten said. “Every other hostile militiaman in that city was doing the same thing. We were going to go in and recover every person that went in if it took us forever to do so.” 18 Americans were killed and more than half of Hooten’s squadron was wounded in the fight. One of his teammates survived that battle, but lost another 20 years later – a battle to opioid addiction. His death changed Hooten’s life.
