James Lechner - 75th Ranger's Most Detailed Account of Black Hawk Down | SRS #346

Lt. Col. James Lechner (Ret.) is a 27-year U.S. Army veteran and former Army Ranger whose deployments span Somalia, Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. As a young Ranger officer, he fought with Task Force Ranger in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, where he was wounded in combat and awarded the Purple Heart. He later served as deputy brigade commander during the Battle of Ramadi and held assignments with SOCOM and the CIA. Most recently, Lechner traveled to Ukraine—first as a war correspondent and later training and advising Ukrainian forces, including service with the International Legion. Today, he works in the drone and counter-drone defense space, serves as an adjunct professor of American and Military History at Liberty University, and is the author of With My Shield. Privacy Isn't Paranoia, It's Protection. Download the Glacier app today: https://theglacierapp.com Shawn Ryan Show Links SUBSCRIBE:    / @shawnryanshow   Sign up: https://shawnryanshow.com/pages/newsl... Support the Show:   / vigilanceelite   Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5eodRZd... Follow on TikTok:   / shawnryanshow   Follow on Instagram:   / shawnryanshow   Follow on Facebook:   / shawnryanshow   Follow on Snapchat:   / @shawnryanshow   Follow on X:   / shawnryanshow   SRS Podcast Playlist:    • Shawn Ryan Show   Join this channel to get access to perks:    / @shawnryanshow   #vigilanceelite #shawnryanshow James Lechner Links: Book: With My Shield - https://a.co/d/06aHhXRe Instagram -   / james.lechner   Facebook -   / james.lechner.2025   X - https://x.com/Lechner_jim Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/SRS. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Trustpilot rating as of 8/1/2026. Go to https://calderalab.com/SRS and use code SRS for 20% off your first order. Make the switch to Sundays for Dogs and get 50% off your first order at https://sundaysfordogs.com/SRS50 or use code SRS50 at checkout. Get started with Claude at https://claude.ai/srs Visit https://betterhelp.com/srs #ad 00:00:00 Early Life, The Citadel & Becoming an Army Ranger 00:18:46 The Road to Mogadishu & Joining Task Force Ranger 00:34:34 Early Missions in Somalia & Lessons Before October 3rd 00:51:09 Task Force Ranger & The Lead-Up to the Battle of Mogadishu 01:06:11 The Battle Begins - Assaulting the Target 01:21:31 Black Hawk Down & Fighting Toward the Crash Site 01:37:12 Lechner Gets Shot & Nearly Bleeds Out 01:52:15 Evacuation, Recovery & Rebuilding His Military Career 02:07:47 Iraq - Training & Leading the New Iraqi Army 02:23:09 Preparing for the Battle of Ramadi 02:40:05 Working With the CIA & Special Operations 02:55:34 War, Isolationism & America's Military Strategy 03:10:56 Ending the War in Ukraine & Confronting Russia