Bill Rapier Reveals Why DEVGRU Selection Was Easier Than BUD/S

About this video

Former Navy SEAL recounts his career progression from SEAL Team 3 to Development Group (DEVGRU), including selection experiences, sniper training, and combat deployments across Iraq and Afghanistan from 2000-2012. The guest describes early post-9/11 operations, the evolution of tactics during sustained combat operations, differences between Iraqi and Afghan enemy fighters, and specific mission accounts including helicopter crashes, high-value target raids, and close combat encounters.

Key takeaways

• Ritland’s guest describes sniper school as harder than DEVGRU selection for him personally, failing stocks initially before passing on his second attempt by treating it as a game and improving camouflage techniques
• The guest recounts how Development Group operators were initially unprepared for sustained combat operations post-9/11, having trained for single high-value missions rather than nightly raids, requiring significant tactical evolution
• According to the guest, Afghan fighters demonstrated greater willingness to engage in combat than Iraqi fighters, though foreign fighters like Chechnyans were notably more skilled and dangerous than local Taliban
• The guest emphasizes the importance of tactical patience during the long war, describing decisions to withdraw and return another night rather than fighting through heavily defended positions for single targets

Episode details: published August 15, 2026 · 49.5K views · 34:06 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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