He Was In SEAL Team 5 During 9/11… Then THIS Happened

About this video

A former Navy SEAL recounts his career progression through SEAL Team 5, including deployments during and after 9/11, primarily conducting maritime interdiction operations in the Gulf. He discusses leadership principles he observed from senior enlisted and officers, his decision to leave the military to support his family, and his difficult 7-8 year transition to civilian life. He describes eventually finding purpose by founding Trident Response Group after Hurricane Katrina and starting Carry the Load to honor fallen service members’ families.

Key takeaways

• The guest conducted maritime interdiction operations (MIOs) in the Gulf during his CENTCOM deployment, describing them as chess matches involving high-speed ship takedowns before vessels could reach Iranian waters.
• The guest identifies conviction and selflessness as the defining traits of great leaders, arguing that adversity reveals whether someone’s purpose is merely opinion or true conviction.
• The guest describes his post-military transition as the most lonely and lost period of his life, taking 7-8 years to find direction through entrepreneurship and veteran-focused companies like Trident Response Group and Carry the Load.
• The guest argues that teams share purpose but tribes are bound by conviction, with the difference revealed when adversity strikes and separates those with opinions from those with true commitment.

Episode details: published April 8, 2026 · 6.6K views · 29:44 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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