Got Blown Up, Eventually Lost His Leg But Still Tried Out For Delta (Twice) | Ep. 297

About this video

Jay Collins, former Green Beret and current Florida Lieutenant Governor, recounts his military career spanning 23 years in Army Special Forces. Collins describes his unconventional path from growing up on a Montana farm to selection for SF, including multiple deployments to South America and Afghanistan. He details the firefight at Firebase Anaconda where he was shot in the arm, an injury that eventually led to losing his leg, and discusses his transition to politics in Florida.

Key takeaways

• Collins was raised by his grandparents on a Montana farm after being born to a 16-year-old mother, and lost the farm during the Carter years due to drought and financial difficulties
• Collins initially joined the Army as an intelligence specialist in 1996, worked in Korea and the UK, then attended SF selection in 2002 after witnessing SOF operators at CENTCOM during the early war on terror
• Collins recounts operations at Firebase Anaconda in Afghanistan, which he describes as poorly positioned with mountains surrounding it and one way in and out, where he was shot in the arm during an escalating firefight

Episode details: published June 23, 2026 · 19.6K views · 3:17:58 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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