ABOUT BLACKHAWK
AND MASTERS OF DEFENSE
BlackHawk®
was founded in 1993 by former Navy SEAL Mike Noell. BlackHawk's meticulous
obsession with quality has made it the ops gear of choice for Special
Operation units worldwide.
Mike Noell's US Navy experience provided him the inspiration
for the gear BlackHawk now manufactures. While operating 60 klicks inside
Northern Iraq, he had to hump a ton of gear by foot in an enemy minefield.
The pack failed, dumping his gear into the mine-ridden ground. If I
get out of this one alive, I will make this stuff the way it needs to
be built so none of my buddies have to go through this, he remarked
to a fellow operator. Upon entering the private sector, that's exactly
what he did, making gear and packs in a garage, and growing ever since.
As
a member of the SEALs Mike had served his country with distinction.
While still at Basic Underwater Demolition School/SEAL Training (BUD/S),
he was presented with the Honor Man award, given to the class¹s
top achiever in academics and physical field performance overall. He
was also given the Fire in the Gut award, an honor for exemplary effort
voted by his teammates, the first time in history that both awards went
to the same sailor. I think that's the best honor I'll ever receive,
he noted later, because it came from the guys I went through hell with
for 6 months in BUD/S Training. That meant a lot to me. Many of those
former classmates now use his gear in operations around the globe. With
a network of loyal dealers, BlackHawk continues to maintain its leadership
in the tactical industry.
