BORTAC Spec Ops Marine Erin 'Jammer' Switzer - Part One | Mike Ritland Podcast Episode 145

About this video

Ritland interviews Aaron Schweitzer, a former Marine Recon operator who later spent 15 years with Customs and Border Patrol, 13 of those in the specialized BORTAC unit. Schweitzer shares his journey from playing college football to enlisting in the Marines at 24, his experiences in Recon including being stationed in Okinawa during 9/11, and touches on his current work. The conversation covers childhood in Kansas, boot camp, early military training, and his path into both the Marine Corps and later border patrol work.

Key takeaways

• Schweitzer attributes his decision to join the Marines at 24 to a pivotal moment when his college football coach gave him a disappointed look while Schweitzer was working valet parking, prompting him to pursue something more challenging
• According to Schweitzer, BORTAC operates at a high operational tempo that he describes as somewhere between a regular SWAT team and an Army Ranger regiment, handling border patrol work alongside high-risk warrants and multi-agency support
• Schweitzer recounts being stationed in Okinawa with Recon when 9/11 happened, describing how the team immediately prepared to deploy that night and how the event shifted the mindset from training as competition to recognizing the real-world relevance of their work

Episode details: published July 16, 2023 · 106.6K views · 1:26:09 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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