8 Missions a Day in Baghdad: Inside Blackwater’s Deadliest Years

About this video

Ritland interviews a guest who recounts his military journey from Marine Corps infantry through multiple deployments following 9/11, including responding to the USS Cole bombing, early operations in Afghanistan at Camp Rhino, and ultimately spending four years with Blackwater as a private military contractor in Iraq. The guest describes securing a Pakistani airfield, the harsh realities of early Afghanistan operations, and the high-risk diplomatic security missions he led in Iraq’s most dangerous periods.

Key takeaways

• The guest describes being present for the USS Cole bombing recovery in 2000, then deploying to Pakistan and Afghanistan immediately after 9/11 as part of early operations at Camp Rhino
• After struggling with ASVAB scores that prevented him from joining the SEALs, the guest joined Blackwater in 2004 and worked his way up from gunner positions to team leader commanding 30-man quick reaction forces
• According to the guest, Blackwater contractors operated under different rules than military units, responding as a ‘911 force’ to assist any U.S. or coalition forces in danger, with team leaders making life-and-death decisions without traditional military chain of command oversight

Episode details: published February 12, 2026 · 90.4K views · 30:12 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Stories told by Mike Ritland’s podcast guests are the guests’ own accounts, attributed to them — not independently verified. Commentary is Ritland’s, presented as his analysis.

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