He Shot Me in the D*ck During SEAL Training… And I Couldn’t Even Flinch

About this video

A former Navy SEAL recounts his experiences at SEAL Team Five from 2002 to 2007, including hazing rituals like naked sim round drills where new guys had to shoot each other. He describes two deployments: a 2005 Iraq deployment conducting approximately 124 direct action missions over six months, mostly finding empty targets, and a Philippines deployment working with Filipino Navy SEALs against insurgent groups. The guest reflects on how young SEALs focus on executing their job rather than questioning the broader political context of their missions.

Key takeaways

• The guest describes hazing as a new SEAL Team Five member, including naked sim round draws where new guys would shoot each other from 10 yards away.
• During his first Iraq deployment in summer 2005, the guest’s platoon conducted approximately 124 direct action missions over six months, though most were ‘dry holes’ with little resistance and outdated intelligence.
• The guest admits he didn’t think about the bigger political picture during deployments as a young operator, focusing instead on being ’the best little new guy’ and executing his role.
• In the Philippines, the guest worked with a small four-man element alongside Filipino Navy SEALs (Navsog) against Abu Sayyaf and MILF insurgents in remote locations.

Episode details: published October 12, 2025 · 15.3K views · 13:13 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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