Update: The ceremony was covered here.

Each year a select few are chosen to be elevated to the Ranger Hall of Fame, and this year a local Georgia pastor has made the cut.

That pastor is Jeff Struecker (website) of Calvary Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia. He is also former Sgt Struecker, Army Ranger during the fight in Somalia immortalized in Black Hawk Down, who eventually became US Army Chaplain (Maj) Struecker. Struecker, then, is probably a rare theologian inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame.

A recent interview Struecker gave following the announcement is a fascinating read, and it opens with this:

[Struecker] sat down with Ledger-Enquirer senior reporter Chuck Williams to talk about his military career and his faith, two parts of his life that fit together like hand and glove.

“I never saw really a contradiction in being an effective warrior and a great door-kicker in the Ranger Regiment and a follower of Jesus,” Struecker said. “Still don’t. My faith gave me this sense of peace.”

Read more.

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