Special Forces Selection vs Flight School: Which One's Harder?

About this video

A former Special Forces soldier turned Army helicopter pilot recounts his unexpected struggle with severe depression and suicidal ideation during and after flight school, despite successfully completing Green Beret selection. He describes how chronic stress from family life, flight school demands, and a toxic unit culture contributed to a mental health crisis that persisted for 5-6 years. The guest shares his experience seeking help from military behavioral health, which he found inadequate, and his eventual path to applying for the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment while still struggling mentally.

Key takeaways

• The guest found that flight school, combined with life stressors (two kids under two, both spouses on active duty), triggered severe depression and suicidal thoughts despite having successfully completed Special Forces selection and training.
• The guest recounts that military behavioral health provided minimal support after he disclosed suicidal ideation, releasing him with only one coping technique and no follow-up despite him stating it felt like ‘demons in his head.’
• The guest explains that his depression improved somewhat after making it to the 160th SOAR, attributing the improvement to finally having hope for his future and escaping a toxic unit culture, though the thoughts didn’t disappear entirely.
• The guest acknowledges in retrospect that if he had known an ODA pilot was experiencing what he was going through, he would have been uncomfortable flying with them, despite being confident at the time he wouldn’t endanger others.

Episode details: published April 9, 2026 · 4.3K views · 25:24 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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