01
Leadership
Setting a standard the team can actually see. Holding it when it's inconvenient. The boring stuff that decides who follows you.
My Story
How I got here.
The Short Version
Sixteen years on SEAL Teams.
Now I talk for a living.
I joined the Navy in 1996, made it through BUD/S, and spent the next sixteen years on SEAL Teams Two, Four and Six. Along the way I ran more than 400 combat missions.
Some of those missions ended up in the news. The one most people ask about is Neptune Spear - the night we went into Abbottabad. Before that there was the rescue of Captain Phillips from the Maersk Alabama. Most of the others you've never heard of, and that's how it should be.
I retired in 2012 and started telling the stories I was allowed to tell. What I learned pretty quickly is that the lessons translate. The preparation, the team standard, how you make a call when you don't have all the information - that's the same job whether you're stacked outside a door or running a company.
“The standard isn't something you set on a slide. It's what the person next to you sees you do when nobody's watching.”
16
Years on SEAL Teams
400+
Combat Missions
12+
Deployments
52+
Awards & Decorations
The Long Version
How I got here.
- 1996
Enlisted
Left Butte, Montana at nineteen and joined the Navy with one goal - qualify for the SEALs.
- 2004
Selected for DEVGRU
Made it into the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. People know it as SEAL Team Six.
- 2009
Maersk Alabama
Served as lead jumper on the operation that brought Captain Phillips home from Somali pirates.
- 2011
Neptune Spear
Part of the team that went into Abbottabad and ended the search for the world's most wanted man.
- 2012
Honorable Discharge
Hung it up after sixteen years and 400+ missions. Co-founded the Special Operators Transition Foundation to help guys make the same move.
- Today
On Stage
Speaking to companies and teams around the world. Bestselling author of The Operator. Founder of The Operators Collective.
What I Talk About
Lessons, not war stories.
02
Preparation
The fight is won in the months before the door opens. If you wait for the moment to get serious, you've already lost.
03
Decisions
Making a call with bad information, less time than you'd like, and people watching. That's the job - yours and mine.
04
Never Quit
Discipline over time, when you're tired and uncertain. The only easy day was yesterday - we mean it.
Career Highlights
Elite Operations Experience.
01
400+ Missions
Over 400 combat missions across Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and global theaters of war.
02
16 Years Service
Sixteen years on SEAL Teams Two, Four and Six - the Navy's most elite counterterrorism units.
03
52+ Decorations
Including two Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars with Valor, and three Presidential Unit Citations.
Honors & Recognition
Military Decorations.
01Two Silver Stars
02Four Bronze Stars with Valor
03Joint Service Commendation Medal with Valor
04Navy Commendation Medal with Valor
05Three Combat Action Ribbons
06Three Presidential Unit Citations
Let's Talk
Want me on
your stage?
Tell me about your event - the audience, the theme, what you want them walking out with. We'll go from there.