DEVGRU Officer Breaks Down SAS, SBS, JTF2 & Polish GROM

About this video

Ritland’s guest, a former SEAL officer who served at DEVGRU, discusses leadership differences between regular SEAL teams and tier-one units, where officers focus more on communications and asset coordination while senior enlisted handle tactical planning. He recounts his personal experience with the Extortion 17 tragedy, where many squadron teammates were killed, and describes working with foreign special operations units. The guest also reflects on leading through loss and managing a base attack in Jalalabad.

Key takeaways

• At tier-one units, the guest describes officers serving primarily as ground force commanders coordinating supporting assets and strategic communications, while senior enlisted manage tactical details
• The guest recounts the Extortion 17 tragedy, which killed many of his Gold Squadron teammates, describing his initial shutdown, the intervention by a troop chief who told him to refocus, and the unit’s strategy of staying busy to compartmentalize grief
• According to the guest, foreign special operations units like British SAS, Canadian JTF2, and Polish Grom matched U.S. caliber but lacked comparable budgets and supporting assets, with each having regional strengths developed from local operational experience

Episode details: published September 16, 2026 · 265.6K views · 22:27 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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