Michael John Durant[1] (born July 23, 1961) is an American veteran, former pilot, businessman, author, and political candidate.

He was involved in the "Black Hawk Down" incident while serving as a U.S. Army pilot,[2] and ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for the 2022 United States Senate election in Alabama.

He retired from the U.S. Army as a Chief Warrant Officer 4 Blackhawk helicopter Master Aviator in the 160th SOAR after participating in combat operations Prime Chance, Just Cause, and Desert Storm, and also Gothic Serpent, in which he was held prisoner for 11 days in 1993 after a raid in Somalia.

Following his retirement from the military in 2001, Durant published a book detailing his experiences, was involved in public speaking engagements and founded an engineering company in Huntsville, Alabama.

[7] In November 1983, Durant was promoted to Warrant Officer 1, following completion of the UH-60 Black Hawk Aviators Qualification Course, and was assigned to the 377th Medical Evacuation Company in Seoul, South Korea.

During much of his imprisonment, he was personally protected and cared for by Abdullahi "Firimbi" Hassan, a physician and propaganda minister to Somali General Mohamed Farrah Aidid, though he was shot in his arm by an intruding militia member.

[10] After being freed, and recovering at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Germany, Durant resumed flying with the 160th SOAR.

[13] After his retirement, Durant moved to Alabama[13] and began offering seminars to military personnel about helicopter maneuvering and Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) operations.

[17] Durant became involved in politics after his retirement from the military; as a Republican, he served on the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush in 2004 and John McCain in 2008, both times in a veterans' leadership role.

[16] In July 2008, Durant criticized then-presidential candidate Barack Obama for having cancelled a planned trip to LRMC near Ramstein Air Base where he had intended, while in Europe, to visit American casualties of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

"[19] In 2011, Durant gave a speech to the U.S. Army War College, during which he mentioned the opinion that "disarming the population," like what had been done in Somalia, would be "a pretty good step toward law and order" in U.S. cities.

[16] He officially launched a campaign for the office on October 19, 2021, running to replace retiring incumbent senator Richard Shelby in 2022.

[22] A late entry to the race, Durant positioned himself as a political outsider and supporter of former president Donald Trump, outlining an "Alabama First" campaign tour.

[24] By March 2022, Durant began to lead in polls against the two major opposing candidates in the Republican primary, Shelby's former Chief of Staff Katie Britt and Representative Mo Brooks.

Britt, Brooks, and other political analysts such as Quin Hillyer and Steve Flowers criticized Durant for an apparent refusal to debate.