Knife-Forging SEAL Nomad Shane Hiatt Part Two | Mike Ritland Podcast Episode 164

About this video

Ritland and a former teammate, identified as Mike, recount their shared service history, including deployments to Iraq, training experiences, and personal anecdotes. They discuss moments from their time together including operations, a deployment to the Middle East following the USS Cole bombing, Ritland’s teammate’s Ironman training on deployment and injury during Navy pentathlon tryouts, and their perspectives on decision-making during early Iraq operations. The conversation emphasizes unit loyalty, calling out poor decisions, and the bond formed through shared hardship.

Key takeaways

• Ritland’s guest recounts refusing a dangerous mission in Iraq that would have sent their small team to secure a bridge—a mission that later required a Marine division and air support, validating their decision
• The guest describes training for and completing an Ironman triathlon (12:36 finish) during deployment by rigging a bike on a magnetic trainer in a confined space, then staying in New Zealand to earn his civilian skydiving certification
• Both recall that unit cohesion and protecting their teammates took priority over geopolitical objectives during combat deployments, with loyalty to the men they deployed with being the foremost concern

Episode details: published November 27, 2023 · 50.3K views · 2:02:37 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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