Marjah Marine Infantry Squad Leader Ryan Rogers Part One

About this video

Ritland interviews Ryan Rogers, a former Marine Corps infantry veteran who served nearly 11 years and received a Navy Cross with V device for actions in Afghanistan. Rogers discusses his journey from witnessing 9/11 as a high school sophomore to enlisting in the Marines, his training pipeline through FAST company, and his perspective on current foreign policy issues including Ukraine and Israel. The conversation covers the psychological toll of combat leadership, losing men under his command, and the visible difference in combat veterans.

Key takeaways

• Rogers attributes his decision to serve to witnessing 9/11 in high school, describing how seeing Americans jump from the towers fundamentally changed him and redirected him from baseball to military service
• According to Rogers, combat veterans who have traded rounds with the enemy carry a visible difference in their eyes and awareness that distinguishes them from those who haven’t experienced direct combat
• Rogers emphasizes that after losing men in combat, leaders must immediately return to mission with no time for grieving—picking up remains, putting friends in bags, and going out again the next day

Episode details: published January 22, 2024 · 43.6K views · 1:35:52 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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