The BUD/S Experience From My POV

About this video

A former Navy SEAL recounts his experience going through BUD/S training and his first deployment to Baghdad, Iraq around 2007-2008. He describes BUD/S as living up to its reputation, with each person facing their own crucible moment, and notes that he checked into SEAL Team Four just as they returned from a deployment where they lost a teammate. He describes his first platoon’s strike force mission set in Baghdad, which involved direct action raids targeting bomb makers and financiers.

Key takeaways

• The guest argues that BUD/S lives up to its reputation and that each individual who makes it through faces at least one point that tests them to their absolute maximum
• The guest recounts checking into SEAL Team Four during a difficult time, as the team had just lost a member (Clarkie Swidler) on their previous deployment
• The guest describes his first deployment as a strike force operation in Baghdad (2007-2008), conducting nightly direct action missions targeting bomb makers and financiers with low casualty rates but high operational tempo

Episode details: published October 24, 2025 · 4.6K views · 10:25 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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