Welcome back to the Team Room. Today, former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland talks about the unspoken understanding that special operations forces operators from various allied countries have with one another. It's come to be referred to as the "bro nod," the momentary eye contact and slight nodding of the head given when a fellow warrior is sporting, for example, the sword and wings … [Read more...] about Inside the Team Room: Former SEAL Mike Ritland Discusses the International Brotherhood of Special Operations Forces
Search Results for: Mike Ritland
Inside the Team Room: Former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland Discusses How He Unsuccessfully Tried to Avoid Initiation Hazing
Ah...the good old days. Former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland talks about how he was away at a military school when the rest of the SEALs he was training with received their initiation hazing. For two weeks after returning, he tried to avoid the inevitable, sleeping under Humvees and trying to blend into the crowd. In the end, he still received his "hurricane in the mouth," saying that … [Read more...] about Inside the Team Room: Former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland Discusses How He Unsuccessfully Tried to Avoid Initiation Hazing
Inside the Team Room: Navy SEAL Mike Ritland Explains Why it is Best To Stay in the Boat and Off the Rocks at BUD/S
In this episode of Inside the Team Room, former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland explains how he is knocked out of a Zodiac boat off San Clemente Island in the pitch black of night and is trapped between the heavy boat and jagged rocks. He thinks he has met his end when Brandon, still on the boat, feels something bumping up from underneath. It's Mike trying to free himself. Brandon jumps … [Read more...] about Inside the Team Room: Navy SEAL Mike Ritland Explains Why it is Best To Stay in the Boat and Off the Rocks at BUD/S
Navy SEAL Dog Training Tips for Dog Owners Everywhere: “Team Dog” By Mike Ritland
Mike Ritland and I go way back, to when we were young SEAL training candidates, and then later at SEAL Team 3. It's been great to watch him develop into one of the world's best dog trainers, having honed his skills as an elite K9 trainer for some of the top military units in the world, some we won't discuss. The point is, he's taken his Special Operations dog handling and … [Read more...] about Navy SEAL Dog Training Tips for Dog Owners Everywhere: “Team Dog” By Mike Ritland
SOFREP Unfiltered: Brandon Webb Interviews Fellow SEALs in the Team Room
Man, are you in for a treat. In this funny and engaging video, Brandon sits down with fellow Navy SEALs Drago, Mike Ritland, and Shane Hiatt in the SOFREP hanger Team Room where they discuss everything from how they joined the Teams to how living on a boat in coastal California is akin to living in a trailer park anywhere else. Plenty of drinking and cussing pepper the … [Read more...] about SOFREP Unfiltered: Brandon Webb Interviews Fellow SEALs in the Team Room
Belgian Malinois: The Preferred SEAL Dog
Preferred dog of the SEAL Teams for good reason. Belgian Shepherds like the Malinois are medium-sized dogs that hail from the Sheepdog family. That’s right an actual “Sheep Dog”. Bred primarily to be working dogs these K-9s found their way into service and have been operating at the highest levels within Special Operations commands. Bred for function over fashion these dogs … [Read more...] about Belgian Malinois: The Preferred SEAL Dog
Watch: Inside the Team Room—Navy SEALs: Examining the Navy SEAL Ethos
During this last episode of "Inside the Team Room: Navy SEALs," Mike Ritland makes the point, "Either you can or you can't" when it comes to the Navy SEAL ethos and SEALs telling their side of the story. You either live in a free country or you don't. The Navy SEAL ethos is gray and open to interpretation, hardly black and white, which can cause disagreements in regards to … [Read more...] about Watch: Inside the Team Room—Navy SEALs: Examining the Navy SEAL Ethos
A Pirate Looks at 50: Navy SEAL turned Entrepreneur, Brandon Webb’s, Life Lessons on Resilience, Success, and Positivity
I've lost a lot of friends and teammates in my twenties, so many that death is no stranger to me. It's why I also live my life to the maximum and have very few bucket list items left. This month I lost two more friends, one to cancer and one dropped dead on a run. Turning 50 feels a bit like rounding Cape Horn in a storm. The wind and spray is in your face, the seas are … [Read more...] about A Pirate Looks at 50: Navy SEAL turned Entrepreneur, Brandon Webb’s, Life Lessons on Resilience, Success, and Positivity
Inside the Team Room: Brandon Webb’s ‘Why I Joined the Navy’ Story
In this episode of SOFREP's video series "The Team Room," you're in for a real treat. SOFREP founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief Brandon Webb talks about how he got his first job on a scuba diving boat as a 12-year-old, a self-described "Jacques Cousteau adventure." By the age of 15, he had almost a thousand logged scuba dives. During one particularly harrowing dive at age 13, he … [Read more...] about Inside the Team Room: Brandon Webb’s ‘Why I Joined the Navy’ Story
SOFREP Anniversary! Top Podcast Interviews From our Archives
More than 600 episodes in, our SOFREP radio had humble beginnings. We were a ragtag team with a mission to empower the military and veteran community with conversations that matter to us. So, as we celebrate our 10th anniversary, here are the top podcast episodes we published during our first years. EP 63: Brandon Webb Guest-Hosts “The Wilkow Majority” Sirius XM Patriot … [Read more...] about SOFREP Anniversary! Top Podcast Interviews From our Archives
Navy SEAL Sniper JT and his Faithful Labrador Hawkeye
In 2005, long after Matt Axelson and the Luttrell brothers had graduated Jon Tumilson came through our course. JT, we called him. My first conversation with JT happened in my office, which by this time was not underground in the Coronado bunker but in an aboveground building in another location. I had called JT in to let him know that I wanted him to be the class leader for … [Read more...] about Navy SEAL Sniper JT and his Faithful Labrador Hawkeye
They Can’t Hear you Scream at “The Rock,” Graduating Navy SEAL
The last phase of SEAL training takes place far off the California coast on an island called, San Clemente, or "The Rock," as it's lovingly known to insiders. Instructors joke (although it's not funny to students) that nobody can hear you scream on "The Rock" and there couldn't be a truer statement. There would be plenty of screaming, more who quit and a few more who washed … [Read more...] about They Can’t Hear you Scream at “The Rock,” Graduating Navy SEAL