I Went Into Gaza With the IDF: Here's What I Saw

About this video

A guest recounts his military career trajectory from enlisting at age 17 through retirement around 2018. He describes progression from infantry and Ranger service through officer ranks, combat deployments to Iraq during the invasion and surge periods, staff assignments at the Pentagon and West Point, and eventual transition to independent research on modern urban warfare. The speaker (Ritland’s guest) emphasizes formative experiences including childhood hardship, command in Sadr City, and founding West Point’s Modern War Institute.

Key takeaways

• The guest attributes his refusal to quit in military service to childhood lessons from his single mother’s resilience during homelessness and poverty
• He describes evolving from tactical operator to strategic researcher through assignments including company command during the Iraq surge, Pentagon staff work, and academic roles at West Point
• The guest explains his current work as an independent researcher traveling to conflict zones, arguing the military has lost the practice of embedded observers documenting wars as they unfold

Episode details: published July 25, 2026 · 240.2K views · 29:29 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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