What do Navy SEALs think about fellow SEALs who cash in on the brand post-service? Well, bad news. THEY HAVE A GRAVESTONE/ROCK OF Shame at DEVGRU (Team 6 to the uninformed); they have a Grave Stone / Rock of Shame. You do something atrocious or sell out… your name is on it. You are subsequently banned from coming to the command ever again, including reunions.
Author: Jason Murray (Current Enterprise Architect, Former SEAL)
Circuit – sick of hearing “SEALs”
I know many of the guys who do the circuit (I will allow them to remain unnamed), and they disgust me. It has gotten to the point where I am sick of hearing “Seals.” It used to be a badge of honor (even if you’re quiet about it, it comes up…job interviews especially), but it’s gotten to a point where I feel it is borderline shameful—just a few guys ruining it all for the majority.
Jocko Willink
You know what, I will name one: Jocko Willink. He is famous for his stint at Team 3 as Commander of Bruiser—supposedly the most decorated of Iraq… blah, blah, blah. I knew him as an enlisted trainer at Team 1 when I was stationed there. He was a tool then, and he is a bigger tool now. His interviews with captions like “How a SEAL Thinks,” “Typical Personality of a SEAL,” “Epic Speech About Discipline from a Combat Proven SEAL,” “I Can Do Anything But Be in a Room With Kryptonite!” It makes me want to punch my monitor.
I do specialized work in Qatar (IT/Intelligence), and most of my comrades in the company where I work (but not on my project) are former DELTA guys. We bust each other’s balls all the time: me on them about the Army and them on me about Navy. It’s usually a pretty good quid pro quo, but the final dagger is ‘Jocko.’ I have no response when they pull out the Jocko card.
Look, people, we’re not that special. Yeah, training sucks. Yeah, lives are on the line. But it’s something like (guessing) how movie stars exist. From our angle, we only see clips of champagne and caviar (cue music from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous), but in the end, it’s a day-to-day job. You don’t feel special because you are surrounded by many people who have done exactly what you have.
Don’t idolize any of us
No big deal. Don’t look up to a Seal because they are a Seal. Some are great guys—most are great guys—but there are a fair amount of big-headed douches. Ask questions… sure. Buy a beer for em… sure (we are veterans, after all). But for God’s sake…do NOT revere or idolize any of us. We wipe our butts the same as anyone else. Some can fight…most cannot. Some can pick up women…most cannot. Some are smart…most are not (at least exceptionally high IQs).
I am not bashing my Brothers in Arms. I love them. I was one for crying out loud, not knocking anyone, just being realistic. Being disciplined, calm, and focused on warfare are incredibly admirable traits, so I don’t want to knock over the Seal Jenga tower completely. But, and most would agree, I do not nor will ever accept idolization. These guys are ruining it for us silent warriors. I only write this because I am sick and tired of this constant deification of Seals—usually perpetrated by a small group of Seals.
Do you want to be an elitist? Take care of your wives, girlfriends, kids, and family. Love them, respect them, do the daily grind. Pay your taxes. Help an old lady in need across the street. Donate to the needy. Assist at your church. Read your Bible. Pray diligently—whatever… that is, who deserves the pat on the back.
God bless friends.
P.S. Marcus Luttrell is clear (and Chris Kyle) because the Navy approached them about writing books. They didn’t seek it out. Big difference. Their names remain reasonable in the Teams.
* The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Spec Ops Magazine.
So that leaves the question, besides the faggots in the CIA, are there not any other military units out there that have never once for the light of day ever been written about, typed into an Internet forum, or ever have been completely unknown to the regular public ? Or is that what the CIA would be ? I would love to join a military unit that is completely ghost, since it seems that every last unit has been exploited at this point. Should I start by joining the Space Force perhaps ? Looking to join a shadow company, please and thank you. Getting tired of seeing sof units being exploited on garbage platforms like Instagram twitter fuckbook and tik tok. This is a national security emergency and a crackpot claim at best. Thank 21st social media for that. Kind of a joke to join the military nowadays if every last corner of it has already been exploited and publicized by subhumans by now. So normalized within our culture it’s accepted. I’ve heard they call them “TURDS” and that they “scrape the gold off the trident” and even sell fake Trident memorabilia for completing paid-out lackluster obstacle training events (im talking to you bonefrog) the world is truly doomed. Interviews, podcasts, Instagram photos with hashtags, books/movies are old news, and worst of all-trident selling fitness programs or commercialized products with the SEAL brand on it. It is truly depressing to see, and I’m just late to the party I guess. Will never change. Can’t even send the president a message cuz he wouldn’t even understand it. Sad world to live in. You should follow the lead of Russia and India. They have all banned for the most part social media amongst the military. Follow their lead. I’ll wait.
A former seal writing a published article sh*tting on former seals who went public…I see nothing wrong there.
I totally agree with this article. Seeing Jocko all over YouTube and the comments sections full of drooling idiots worshipping the guy are truly disgusting. Jocko is like the 25 year old loser that you see hanging around your high school and partying with kids that look up to him because they don’t know any better, and you’re utterly pissing in the wind when you point out the stupidity of their actions. How can you not see this guy for the douchebag that he is? With Jocko, you always get a mob shouting you down with, “You’re just jealous!”, “What have you done in your life?!”, and “Come back and talk your crap when you’ve spent a career jumping out of planes, swimming miles in the ocean to take out a terrorist stronghold, and taking out an entire division of baddies in a firefight with a 12-man squad!” OK, buddy. You haven’t done that, either, and bad behavior is bad behavior, I don’t need to justify my resume to identify garbage behavior. These guys act like worshipping at the altar of Jocko somehow makes them a cool member of the club. It’s a weird group-think that develops and anybody that steps out of that line has to be crushed. At the end of the day, it’s the same frat-boy mentality that worships the likes of Charlie Sheen and Hunter Moore. Guys like Jocko always attract the mentally-weak.
I was just a pit snipe on a carrier in the early 80’s. But 20 years later it came in handy when a guy claiming to be a SEAL, and having served with Team 2,had a picture of his platoon on the mantle of his crib.The uniforms got him busted.They were all Woodland, not a TS,or flower power cammie in the bunch.That twerps name is Art Moore, and this guy really needs help.
A bunch of d bags sucking each others dicks cause they passed a physically demanding course.
If you need everyone to recognize you and pay homage.. you’re a douche of the highest order