Do you remember the moment that you wanted to be a pharmacist? Perhaps it came from seeing family members work in the sector, or from enjoying chemistry at school. 

But for one US pharmacist, his inspiration to join the sector came from some harrowing experiences he witnessed during his time in the US Army. 

Norm Hooten’s first career started in 1980 when he joined the US Army and worked up to becoming a master sergeant. 

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During his first stint in the army until he retired in August 2001, Hooten fought in the infamous October 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, events which later formed the basis for the film Black Hawk Down.

The battle saw the end of US military intervention in Somalia after it had entered the country in 1991 to help protect the distribution of food aid. 

But the Battle of Mogadishu became known worldwide because of the images that followed the mission as the bodies of dead American soldiers were dragged through the streets after two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down. 

‘Hoot’ inspiration 

The incident was turned into a book before Ridley Scott directed a 2001 film titled ‘Black Hawk Down’ which dramatised the mission.  

It featured actors Ewan McGregor and Jason Isaacs, as well as Eric Bana who plays ‘Hoot’ which is partly based on Hooten. 

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Speaking to The Resilient Life Podcast in April, Hooten said “my character was really a kind of amalgamation of several guys”. 

“I spent most of my time primarily on the target building on the first crash site,” he said. 

“There was a lot of stuff going on. There were many different battles playing at the same time, so the movie did a pretty good job of trying to roll all those into a two-hour movie.” 

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Hooten said he lost all his friends in the Battle of Mogadishu which became “the second hardest day of my life”.  

“The hardest day of my life was coming home and facing their families and seeing what it did to them.” 

Prescription opioid issues 

After choosing to retire in August 2001, he initially had “no idea what I was going to do” but his wife, who was a pharmacist at the time, suggested he join her in the pharmacy sector. 

Hooten said: “I never even dreamed of doing it but she convinced me to do it. I went to Campbell University School of Pharmacy in August 2001 and then a month later, 9/11 happened.  

“I got recalled to the army and that put that on hold for a long time.” 

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But it was during his second stint in the army where Hooten witnessed his peers struggle that made him want to make the most out of retraining as a pharmacist once he left the army. 

Hooten trained people who went to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan and he “saw a lot of special operations guys that were coming through there who have serious substance use issues, primarily with prescription opioids”. 

“A lot of them had evolved into illicit drug use because they couldn't get access to the prescription drugs. It really troubled me.” 

From pharmacy to whiskey and cigars 

After the second time leaving the army, Hooten went back to pharmacy school in 2012 at the age of 52. 

After graduating, he did two residencies that focused on PTSD, chronic pain management and substance use disorders. 

Read more: ‘Everyone’s got a story’: meet the pharmacist who became a filmmaker 

“Many of the guys that I saw with these issues were close friends of mine, guys that I would never have suspected of it.” 

Hooten went on to work as a pharmacist for the Department of Veteran Affairs. However, he has since stepped into another new career after co-founding a whiskey and cigar company.