SEAL Team Eight Sniper Sam Mackey

About this video

Mike Ritland interviews Sam Mackey, a former Navy SEAL with 20 years of service including seven deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia. Mackey recounts his path from troubled teenager to SEAL Teams, detailing his time at SEAL Team 8, his challenging experience in sniper school, and combat operations in Iraq. The conversation also covers Mackey’s post-service role as CEO of outdoor lifestyle company Outsider, his personal routines, and his views on hunting and boxing.

Key takeaways

• Mackey attributes his SEAL career trajectory to his first platoon experience, describing it as foundational and staffed with exceptional mentors during active wartime operations
• According to Mackey, sniper school (particularly stalking exercises) was more stressful than combat itself due to the high stakes of the coveted qualification and pressure to perform as a new team member
• Mackey describes his Iraq deployment experiences with SEAL Team 8 conducting direct action missions in Baghdad, including his first combat engagement and working alongside Delta Force on separate mission sets

Episode details: published March 10, 2024 · 54.7K views · 2:12:11 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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