Tom Satterly Revealed More About His Black Hawk Down Experience That’s Not In Netflix’s Documentary

Delta Force veteran Tom Satterly revealed insights into his experience on one of the most well-known military operations of all time in Netflix’s Surviving Black Hawk Down, but his book has an even more detailed wealth of information to explore. The three-part Netflix documentary has reignited interest in the Battle of Mogadishu, also known as the Black Hawk Down Incident, which was previously shown in the famous Ridley Scott movie of the same name. The battle took place in Somalia in 1993, but its effects have lingered with its participants for over three decades.

Tom Satterly is one of the docuseries’ interviewees, and his articulate, introspective, and brutally honest accounts are some of the most insightful the show has to offer. Luckily, for those who want to learn more about what Satterly’s life was like in the aftermath of being in a battle that saw hundreds killed, he published a book in 2019 with more on the matter. The memoir is titled All Secure: A Special Operations Soldier’s Fight to Survive on the Battlefield and the Homefront, and it offers a closer examination than even the biggest Surviving Black Hawk Down reveals.

Tom Satterly Talks About Mental Health Struggles After Black Hawk Down

Satterly’s Life Since The Battle Has Been An Emotional Challenge

In the Netflix documentary, Tom Satterly talks about his experience before and during the mission, but he only talks briefly about what it was like after. All Secure is more about the lasting psychological conflicts he’s lived with since the battle. Satterly retired from his duties with the military in 2010, and adjusting back to civilian life was an immense challenge after spending 25 years of his life being trained to kill without question. In the documentary, he talks about having to reckon with humanity in the midst of killing, but the effects lingered long after.

Satterly’s first-person perspective explores how his emotional health suffered, particularly in the years after retirement, and the steps he took to begin improving. This includes discussion regarding alcoholism, multiple failed marriages, post-traumatic stress, and contemplation of suicide. His journey is one of self-awareness and self-acceptance, learning to understand his triggers and developing strategies to break negative patterns in order to achieve internal happiness. Speaking with South in 2019, he described his process of “decommissioning that muscle memory and changing it into something else and rebuilding those nerve endings in your brain and connecting different pathways of happiness.”

Tom Paints His Wife As The Hero Of His Black Hawk Down Story

Jen Satterly Helped Provide Him With The Perspective Needed To Grow

War movies like Black Hawk Down may take a stance against violent conflict, but they also frequently take opportunities to paint soldiers as heroes. All Secure’s hero isn’t Tom Satterly; it’s his wife, Jen. Though Jen Satterly is still Tom’s partner in life and their foundation, the marriage described in the novel isn’t exactly a happily ever-after story. Tom describes how he struggled in the early days of his marriage and that the process was a continuous battle of falling and picking himself back up, though with the help of his caring wife.

Tom Satterly describes how his life perspective changed drastically through being inspired by his wife. After retiring, he found himself uncaring and unable to empathize with other people’s problems, but his wife led him by example, demonstrating what it means to help people and the profound impact that can have. The book may not describe the world’s most pristine marriage, but it certainly examines one that’s been built on a powerful foundation of support and mutual respect, a far more admirable feat.

All Secure Examines The Physical & Psychological Effects Of Post-Traumatic Stress

Tom Satterly Describes PTS As Being A Biological Conflict

Tom Satterly’s book examines PTS not purely as a mental illness but as a biological matter due to the effects of stress. He knows his audience, using young special ops students as an example, as eager young men who likely won’t be too engaged with learning about mental health issues. He’s adjusted his strategy to talk about the biological examples of witnessing violence and war, acknowledging that it isn’t a natural experience one should endure, hoping to avoid pushing his readers and students away by focusing too much on the emotional aspect.

In the interview, Satterly acknowledges the culture surrounding military men, saying that veterans, in particular, “love hearing that it’s biological, that it’s not their fault, that it’s not weakness.” Surviving Black Hawk Down tells a war story, and while All Secure isn’t without those tales of intensity and action, it’s more about the perspective he’s grown to have through self-reflection and a constant effort to improve.

Sources: South