“Rick Kaiser was a legend in the SEAL Teams for his courage, his leadership and his unparalleled professionalism. Read this book and you will know why!” — Admiral William McRaven, Navy SEAL and author of Make Your Bed and Sea Stories

A compelling look at US Navy SEALs through a true-to-life lens focused on the triumphs and challenges of the elite warriors of the Special Forces community. Master Chief (SEAL) Rick Kaiser (Ret.) captures over 45 years of events in and around the SEAL Teams. It is not a blood-and-guts portrayal of battlefield victories and losses, but an authentic view of how things are done in the Teams. The SEALs truly are silent professionals and the most memorable stories often don’t feature combat but are the moments that shape these exceptional warriors.

A Silver Star recipient for his leadership during the battle of Mogadishu—“Black Hawk Down”—and a prominent member of both SEAL Team TWO and SEAL Team Six, Rick has been recognized throughout his career for his courage, commitment, and fortitude. Continuing to serve the SEALs as Chief Operating Officer of the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum, Rick is the perfect person to tell the Navy SEAL story the way it really is, sharing the life and leadership lessons he learned along the way.

• Cover page
• Title page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• The U.S. Navy SEAL Ethos
• 1 Prologue
• 2 Hold the Standard
• 3 There Are Two Ways to Do Things—the Right Way and Again
• 4 Worn but Not Worn Out
• 5 No Matter How Bad You Have It, It Can Always Be Worse
• 6 Keep Moving Forward
• 7 Plan Your Dive, Dive Your Plan
• 8 Better to Be Lucky than Good
• 9 If You Are Going to Cheat, Don’t
• 10 If You Can Dish It Out, You Better Be Able to Take It
• 11 When Life Hands You Lemons, Make a Drink
• 12 NAVY—Never Again Volunteer Yourself
• 13 Swim Buddy
• 14 We Ain’t Afraid of No Ghosts
• 15 When All Else Fails, Go to the Water
• 16 Boring until It Isn’t
• 17 Everybody Works for Somebody
• 18 Risk and Reward
• 19 Understand the Game before Getting on the Field
• 20 Trust Your Gut
• 21 Never Say Never
• 22 Don’t Judge a SEAL by His Cover
• 23 Think before Hitting Send
• 24 Listen to Your People
• 25 Make a Plan
• 26 Learn from Mistakes and Grow
• 27 It Never Hurts to Have Another Set of Eyes
• 28 Love / Hate
• 29 Stand for Something or Die for Nothing
• 30 Never Be Afraid to Try Something New
• 31 Doing the Right Thing Regardless of How It Looks
• Epilogue