Mulligan Brothers Interviews Surviving the Battle of Mogadishu | Delta Force Operator Tom Satterly on Black Hawk Down, Overcoming PTSD & More
Oct 11, 2025
Tom Satterly, an ex-Delta Force operator with two decades in special operations, shares his harrowing experiences during the Battle of Mogadishu and the invisible battles with PTSD that followed. Alongside him is his wife, Jen Satterly, founder of the All Secure Foundation, who sheds light on the challenges faced by families affected by trauma. They discuss their journey through healing, the importance of vulnerability, and how they now help others rebuild their lives while tackling the stigma surrounding mental health in the military.
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Mogadishu: When Training Met Chaos
- Tom described arriving in Mogadishu during the Battle of Mogadishu and the chaos of thousands of rounds flying down the street.
- He says survival felt like luck and he once “gave up” that night, which marked the start of long-term effects on his life.
Keep Climbing—Make Progress Self-Directed
- Build skills by continuously seeking harder challenges and new schools rather than remaining comfortable.
- Use incremental, self-driven improvement every day instead of external direction.
Train Under Stress Not Just For Accuracy
- Elite units rehearse stress by combining physical exertion and precise shooting drills to outperform pure marksmen.
- Training under high heart-rate, breathing and time pressure makes operators reliable in real combat.
