Follow your favourite podcasts, listen offline and in the car with CarPlay and Android Auto, and always pick up where you left off. Free to try.
Ben Milligan, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, Bronze Star recipient, and author of By Water Beneath the Walls: The Rise of the Navy SEALs, joins School of War to discuss the origins and evolution of one of America's most storied special operations forces. How did the Navy SEALs grow out of the Underwater Demolition Teams of World War II? What does it take to become a SEAL? How did the Vietnam War shape the institution into the force we know today? And what role should the SEALs play as the U.S. military shifts its focus from the war on terror to great power competition?
02:10 – Why Ben Became a SEAL
03:34 – Joining Before 9/11
05:17 – Inside BUD/S
09:17 – Who Makes It Through?
11:26 – What Elite Training Builds
14:29 – The Origins of the SEALs
23:18 – The Origins of UDT
27:10 – Korea Changes the Mission
38:06 – Birth of the SEALs
43:36 – Vietnam Transforms the SEALs
47:33 – The Capture-Kill Raid
49:50 – Lessons for the War on Terror
54:36 – Great Power Competition
56:13 – What Makes Special Operations "Special"?
59:31 – The Future of the SEALs
This episode of School of War is brought to you by Maven Smart System, the builder platform for the American warfighter, fielded across the force and live on the frontline today. Learn more at palantir.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
