This episode is brought to you by 4Patriots Survival Food Kits.The kits are compact, sturdy, water-resistant, and stack easily. They have different delicious breakfasts, lunches, dinners. You can make these meals in less than 20 minutes. Just add boiling water, simmer, and serve. Go to 4Patriots.com and use code COMBAT to get 10% off.

Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more! ======= Today we have a fascinating Combat Story from Matt Stevens, a Troop and Squadron Commander in Naval Special Warfare Development Group or DEVGRU, the unit many know from the Bin Laden raid and the Captain Phillips rescue. 

After tours with SEAL Teams 4 and 8 and one rotation with a SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) unit, Matt successfully assessed for and was accepted into DEVGRU. He and his Troop deployed to Afghanistan immediately following 9/11 and supported efforts in the south of the country, on the “giving end” of things as Matt so aptly describes it. 

Matt was, unfortunately, intimately involved in the aftermath of Operation Red Wings in 2005 while serving as a DEVGRU Squadron Commander that included all the tactical and political challenges that come with that leadership role.

Today, Matt is the CEO of The Honor Foundation, a non-profit that helps elite warriors like himself successfully transition out of the military and into a civilian career. Part of the process for veterans in the program is how to manage your identity post-military, which so many of us struggle with, and Matt shares some of the tactics the Honor Foundation uses to help in this effort.

I hope you enjoy this front row seat to stories from a leader in one of the elite Tier 1 elements of our military as much as I did. 

 

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Show Notes: 00:00 - Intro  00:45 - Guest Introduction (Matt Stevens) 02:00 - Interview begins 02:07 - Missions after 9/11 09:20 - Lobbying to get mission sets 12:03 - The Honor Foundation 18:49 - 4Patriots 20:07 - Childhood 23:59 - Deciding to join the Military 29:12 - Playing the clarinet 31:30 - Deciding to go the SEALs route 34:29 - Working alongside older Veterans 36:09 - Welcoming as a Junior Officer to SEAL team 38:51 - Jump to DEVGRU 46:22 - Measuring up to the competition 47:39 - Family reaction to going DEVGRU  48:44 - First mission set in Afghanistan  55:07 - Difference between training and live Ops at night 58:30 - Operation Red Wings  01:16:39 - Moral during Operation Red Wings  01:25:44 - Leadership position complications 01:29:32 - Experience with high ranking officials 01:31:24 - Advice for identity after service 01:44:39 - Sentimental Items 01:45:21 - Would you do it all again 01:47:01 - Final thoughts 01:47:12 -  Listener comments and shout outs