Rd. 2 | Surviving the Largest Naval Special Warfare Combat Operation | Mike Drop | Navy SEAL | Gifted K-9 Trainer | Warrior Dog Foundation - Mike Ritland

Combat Story

Ryan Fugit

History

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 25 November 2023

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

🎙️ Today's Combat Story: Training Dogs for SEAL Teams and Founding the Warrior Dog Foundation🎙️

Today we have the second portion of a two-part crossover Combat Story with former Navy SEAL, NY Times Best-Selling Author, Trikos Founder, and founder of the Warrior Dog Foundation: Mike Ritland. Many will, of course, know Mike as the host of the long-running Mike Drop podcast. I traveled out to Texas to interview Mike in-person and then he returned the favor.

For those who missed part one, Mike described growing up in Iowa and, while still undersized, was bullied at school and had to sit in the same class as his attackers. He vowed to never let that happen again and immersed himself in a Karate Kid-like experience in the martial arts studying under an old school sensei who helped send him on his path to the Teams. In the Teams, Mike would largest operation in the history of Naval Special Warfare when SEAL Team 3

Mike would contract an illness that would take him out of the door-kicking side of the teams but also allowed him to follow a passion training dogs for west coast SEAL teams. He followed this path to build a successful business in Trikos training working dogs for clients and creating the Warrior Dog Foundation, among other ventures.

Mike has done so much to find purpose and continue serving after hanging up the uniform in a way that will, undoubtedly, be motivating to people seeking their own purpose and next chapter. With that, please enjoy this episode with Mike Ritland.

👇 Show Notes:

00:00 - Introduction
01:04 - Guest Profile: Mike Ritland
02:09 - Interview Begins
02:14 - Background of Navy Seal Dogs book
3:55 - Aftermath of Oil Rig Operation
13:36 - New Mission Cycles
15:52 - Gulf War Veterans for Iraq War
20:36 - First Leave and Becoming a K-9 Trainer
25:54 - Contracting Fungal Lung Infection
30:36 - Interest in K-9 Handling
32:51 - Mentors and Experience in K-9 Training
43:19 - Human and Dog Psycology
50:03 - Proudest Accomplishment
53:53 - Biases Against Former Warrior Dogs
57:16 - Sentimental Items
58:11 - Would You Do It All Again?
01:01:04 - Downtime
01:08:05 - Listener comments and shout outs

🔗 Find Ryan Online:

- Ryan’s Linktree https://linktr.ee/combatstory
- Merch https://www.bonfire.com/store/combats...
- Instagram @combatstory https://www.instagram.com/combatstory
- Facebook @combatstoryofficial https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial
- Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial
- Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus
- Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle

🔗 Find Mike Online:

- Warrior Dog Foundation https://warriordogfoundation.org/about-us/

- Navy SEAL Dogs: My Tale of Training Canines for Combat https://www.amazon.com/Navy-SEAL-Dogs-Training-Canines/dp/1250049695
- Mike Drop Podcast https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNZR15cy3w1fzGXgI5oy5aA

Transcript

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0:00.0	I wasn't even really in the mental capacity to even think about it.
0:06.2	And for most of that time, I mean, it was kind of like a combination of having polio
0:11.3	and mono at the same time.
0:13.0	I slept for, you know, 20, 21 hours a day, the few hours a day that I was awake.
0:18.6	It was like the day after hell week.
0:20.8	That's how I felt.
0:21.8	I would exhausted and mentally drained, where it was all I could do to get out of bed.
0:25.7	It's in the rear view.
0:26.7	There's nothing I can do about it, you know.
0:28.1	And one of my favorite addages is don't trip over shit in the rear view mirror.
0:32.7	Welcome to Combat Story.
0:33.7	I'm Ryan Fugit, and I serve Warzone tours as an Army attack helicopter pilot and CIA officer
0:38.7	over a 15-year career.
0:40.5	I'm fascinated by the experiences of the elite in combat.
0:44.0	On this show, I interview some of the best to understand what combat felt like on their
0:48.2	front lines.
0:49.4	This is Combat Story.
0:51.0	Today, we have the second portion of a two-part crossover combat story with former Navy
0:55.2	SEAL, New York Times best-selling author, Trichos Founder, and Founder of the Warrior
0:59.6	Dog Foundation, Mike Rilland.
1:01.7	Many will, of course, know Mike as the host of the long-running Mike Drop podcast.
1:05.7	I traveled out to Texas to interview Mike in person, and he returned the favor.
	...

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