Eric Frohardt - DEVGRU Gold Squadron Sniper and Assaulter | SRS #313
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Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Eric Frohardt's upbringing on an Iowa farm, raising corn, soybeans, and hogs, instilled a hard work ethic that proved invaluable for his military career.
- ❖His decision to join the Navy SEALs was a spontaneous, almost impulsive, choice made after watching 'G.I. Jane' and being challenged by a friend.
- ❖Frohardt rigorously trained for BUD/S using an outdated 'warning order' PDF, performing two-mile swims, calisthenics, and long runs daily while still working on the farm.
- ❖During BUD/S Hell Week, he suffered from an undiagnosed kidney stone, compounded by laxatives given for a misdiagnosis of IBS, making the experience exceptionally brutal.
- ❖BUD/S success is not predictable by appearance, measurable stats, or pedigree; it's about 'a guy's heart, drive, determination, and resilience' revealed over time.
- ❖His first deployment to Guam in August 2001 was abruptly redirected to the Middle East following the 9/11 attacks, shifting from training exercises to real-world non-compliant ship boardings.
Insights
1Farm Work as a Forge for Resilience
Frohardt attributes his ability to endure SEAL training, including Hell Week, to the intense physical labor and responsibility learned on his family's hog, corn, and soybean farm. He states that some farm days were harder than SEAL training.
I learned so much on that farm and it helped shape me and it like honestly it forged me. It like it helped me make it through buds... I had days in Buds that were easier than days on the farm. Like, I had farm days that were harder than SEAL training.
2Unpredictability of Success in Elite Selection
Success in BUD/S cannot be predicted by physical appearance, athletic metrics, or prior achievements (pedigree). Many top athletes fail, while individuals with less impressive backgrounds succeed, highlighting the importance of 'heart' and inner drive.
If you just took this long like this big panoramic photo and I gave you a Sharpie... circle the 19 people that are going to make it through based on appearances. Like, you wouldn't have circled me... you wouldn't have chosen half the people that made it... because you can't really judge someone by their appear like in that role.
3The Power of Parental Encouragement
His father's immediate and strong encouragement upon hearing his decision to become a Navy SEAL was a powerful motivator, reinforcing his commitment to a difficult path.
He just looks at me... 'Okay, well, like I really think you'll be one of the few that makes it through and you'll be good at that. I'm excited for you, son.' And to have that like that encouragement... was just like, you know, so powerful.
49/11's Impact on Military Purpose
Frohardt joined the Navy for a 'selfish pursuit' to prove himself, but the 9/11 attacks fundamentally shifted his perspective, transforming his motivation to serving his country.
I will be the first to say it was a like we can get into this later, but it was a selfish pursuit. After 911, that all changes like because now I'm like, oh, I'm serving my country, but I joined the Navy to go prove that I could go do something.
5First Deployment: Non-Compliant Shipboardings
During his first deployment as a new guy, Frohardt was thrust into challenging roles, including a lead climber on a 20-foot caving ladder onto a ship steaming into Iranian waters, with a grappling hook precariously placed. Another mission involved boarding a heavily laden oil tanker, where he used an oxygen torch to breach reinforced steel while the ship was sinking and he was experiencing electric shocks from his equipment in knee-deep water.
Recounts a lead climber's handgun getting stuck, forcing him to take over a 20+ foot climb on a caving ladder with an unsecured grappling hook. Later, describes using a torch on a heavily laden oil tanker, running out of oxygen, and experiencing voltage from his equipment in knee-deep water as the ship moved into Iranian waters.
6Sniper School Challenges: Kidney Stone and Valley Fever
Frohardt attended sniper school immediately after a deployment, experiencing severe side pain from an undiagnosed kidney stone. He took a critical 'unknown distance' test while on Vicodin, achieving the top score due to extreme relaxation. He also contracted Valley Fever, a fungal infection from dust in Kolinga, which led to significant weight loss and illness, and medically retired other operators.
Describes post-deployment leave being sniper school, experiencing side pain, being given Vicodin, and taking the UKD test while 'high' on it. Mentions losing a kidney later due to the stone and contracting Valley Fever at Kolinga, which caused severe illness and led to the SEAL teams no longer training there.
7DEVGRU Culture: High Standards and Constant Pressure
Transitioning to DEVGRU meant starting over as a new guy, but with significantly more resources, better gear, and a culture of extreme self-reliance and continuous performance. Frohardt notes the higher age and maturity of operators, and the expectation that one's 'rent is due daily' – meaning constant performance is required to maintain a spot, with regular attrition for safety or performance failures.
Compares Seal Team 5 to DEVGRU, highlighting 'your own shooting range,' 'gym that takes you up to altitude,' and keeping guns in personal cages. States 'you don't buy a spot there, you rent it and that rent is due daily.' Mentions people are 'regularly booted for performance or usually it's safety.'
8Super Bowl Sunday Firefight: 15 Suicide Bombers
During a Super Bowl Sunday mission in Iraq, Frohardt's team targeted an HVT in a compound where intelligence indicated suicide vests. His element encountered 15 individuals wearing suicide vests, several of whom detonated themselves while charging the team. Frohardt engaged a suicide bomber at close range, whose vest failed to detonate, then entered a room where he was immediately ambushed by a barricaded shooter, narrowly surviving a close-quarters gunfight.
Recounts a mission on Super Bowl Sunday 2008 in Iraq targeting an HVT. Describes 15 people wearing suicide vests, several detonating. Details engaging a suicide bomber at close range, whose vest failed. Describes entering a room and being 'three yards away from four yards away from a guy who's behind a barricade and he's spraying me.'
9Faith and Regret: The Witness vs. The Lawyer
Following the deaths of teammates Mike and Nate, Frohardt's teammate Louie questioned him about his faith. Frohardt, fearing he didn't have all the answers, avoided the discussion. This became a profound regret after Louie died two nights later in a building explosion. Frohardt now emphasizes the importance of being a 'witness' to one's faith rather than an 'expert lawyer,' and dedicates an hour daily to prayer, Bible reading, and journaling, which he believes enhances all aspects of his life.
Describes Louie asking about his beliefs after Mike and Nate died. Expresses regret for not sharing his faith, stating he 'didn't have all the answers' and 'changed the subject.' Quotes a pastor: 'we don't need to be lawyers, we need to be witnesses.' Details his daily practice of prayer, Bible reading, and journaling.
10Unexpected Medical Retirement Due to Bureaucratic Oversight
Eric Frohardt's military career ended abruptly due to a non-deployable waiver he signed in 2002 after losing a kidney. This waiver, signed while he was under the influence of morphine, prohibited him from deploying. However, the Navy only discovered this oversight years later when he was awarded a Purple Heart for combat injuries, leading to his forced medical retirement despite his desire to continue serving.
Frohardt recounts signing a waiver in 2002 to stay in the military after losing a kidney, unaware it was a non-deployable waiver. He then deployed immediately and four more times with DEVGRU. The Bureau of Navy Medicine discovered this when processing his Purple Heart, leading to his medical retirement.
11Post-Military Identity Crisis and Finding New Purpose
Upon leaving the Navy, Frohardt experienced the hardest period of his life, characterized by a loss of purpose, financial instability, and the absence of his team. His identity was deeply intertwined with being a Navy SEAL, leading to a profound sense of loss when that was taken away. He eventually redefined his purpose through faith, focusing on being a good husband and father.
Frohardt describes the first couple of years post-Navy as the hardest period, losing his purpose, struggling to find a job, missing his team, and realizing his identity was 'incorrectly wrapped up in that trident.' He found purpose by becoming a good husband and father, aided by faith practices.
12Faith and Spiritual Practice as a Foundation for Resilience
Frohardt attributes his ability to cope with severe combat trauma and avoid typical PTSD symptoms like nightmares and brain fog to his strong faith. He developed a consistent daily routine of reading the Bible, prayer, and journaling, which he credits with providing mental clarity, energy, and a sense of peace.
Frohardt states he has 'none of' the typical operator syndrome issues or nightmares, attributing it to his faith. He details his daily routine of reading the Bible, praying, and journaling, which he started in 2012, and how it provides him with energy and strength.
13'Voluntold' into Elite Climbing and Mountaineering
Despite minimal prior experience, Frohardt was designated a lead climber in DEVGRU based on his physical fitness (ability to do 30+ pull-ups). This led to an accelerated training regimen, culminating in a three-day ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite, followed by expeditions to Denali and Aconcagua, showcasing the rapid skill acquisition and extreme challenges faced by elite operators.
Frohardt recounts being asked 'How many pull-ups can you do?' and then being told, 'You're going to be a climber.' He details having only eight days of rock climbing experience before his first training day on El Capitan, and then climbing it over three days, sleeping on a porta-ledge 800 feet off the ground.
Bottom Line
Brain issues can arise from repeated parachute jumps, not just IEDs or concussions, due to the opening shock of the parachute, especially with higher-altitude, less porous chutes used for quicker deployment.
This highlights an often-overlooked source of traumatic brain injury in military personnel, suggesting a broader scope for understanding and mitigating long-term neurological impacts beyond direct combat incidents.
Research into parachute design modifications or specific pre/post-jump protocols could help reduce the cumulative brain stress on paratroopers and special operations forces.
The DEVGRU experience is described as a 'burning Ferris wheel' – a highly dangerous and demanding environment that operators willingly join, knowing they will get 'burnt' and 'ground out' but still desiring the challenge.
This vivid analogy captures the intense, self-sacrificing, and almost addictive nature of elite special operations, where the allure of extreme challenge outweighs the known risks and inevitable personal cost.
Understanding this psychological pull is key for recruitment, retention, and post-service transition programs, as it speaks to a deep-seated drive that is difficult to replicate in civilian life.
Opportunities
Hybrid Gun Range and Firearms Training Center
Establish a gun range that combines a retail gun store, rental lanes, and comprehensive firearms training, specifically allowing advanced techniques like rapid fire and drawing from a holster, which are often restricted at standard ranges. This caters to self-defense practitioners and enthusiasts seeking realistic training.
Remote-First Global Fitness Certification & Training Organization
Develop a fitness organization focused on specific training methodologies (e.g., kettlebells, bodyweight) that operates with a geographically distributed team and global instructor network. Leverage remote work tools to manage international licensing, events, and instructor development across multiple continents.
Specialized Operations & Culture Consulting for Diverse Industries
Offer consulting services to companies across various sectors (e.g., real estate, energy, beverage) focused on standardizing operations and fostering a high-performance culture. This leverages military leadership and problem-solving skills, applying 'horizontal' principles across 'vertical' business units.
Key Concepts
Clarity and Willingness
To achieve a goal, one must have crystal clear understanding of the goal and what it will take to succeed, coupled with the unwavering willingness to do whatever is necessary. Lack of either leads to failure.
Resilience (Return to Baseline)
The ability to bounce back from setbacks, failures, and extreme adversity is critical. No matter how skilled, individuals will fall and be brought low, and the capacity to return to a functional baseline is key to enduring prolonged challenges.
100/100 Marriage Commitment
Instead of viewing marriage as a 50/50 split of effort, both partners commit 100% of themselves, giving all they have rather than expecting an equal division of labor or responsibility. This fosters selflessness and mutual support.
Rent is Due Daily
In an elite environment like DEVGRU, one's position is not permanently earned but must be re-earned every day through continuous high performance, adherence to standards, and constant self-improvement. Failure to do so results in removal.
Fall to Your Level of Preparation
In high-stakes situations, individuals do not 'rise to the occasion' but rather revert to the level of their training and preparation. This emphasizes the critical importance of rigorous, continuous training and humility to acknowledge the need for constant improvement.
The 'Base Hit' Approach to Career Transition
Inspired by Jordan Peterson, this model suggests that after a significant life change (like military separation), the goal shouldn't be to find the 'ultimate' perfect job immediately. Instead, aim for a 'base hit' – a solid, achievable first step. This movement forward opens one's 'aperture' to new opportunities and insights, allowing for a more informed and organic path to a fulfilling career, rather than being paralyzed by planning.
Lessons
- Cultivate a strong work ethic through challenging experiences, as it builds fundamental resilience applicable to any demanding field.
- Define your goals with 'crystal clear' clarity and commit fully to the 'willingness' to do whatever is required to achieve them.
- Recognize that true potential and resilience are often hidden, not immediately apparent through superficial metrics or past achievements.
- Cultivate extreme resilience: Frohardt's ability to push through severe pain and illness during critical training highlights the importance of mental toughness and physical endurance in high-pressure environments.
- Prioritize continuous self-improvement: The 'rent is due daily' mentality at DEVGRU underscores that mastery is an ongoing process, requiring constant training, humility, and a relentless pursuit of excellence.
- Invest in your relationships with 100% effort: Frohardt's advice for a successful marriage, giving '100/100' rather than 50/50, can be applied to all significant relationships, emphasizing selflessness and complete commitment.
- Embrace and share your core beliefs: Frohardt's regret about not sharing his faith earlier highlights the importance of living authentically and being a 'witness' to what you believe, rather than fearing a lack of expertise.
- Dedicate time to spiritual and mental well-being: Frohardt's daily practice of prayer, Bible reading, and journaling provides clarity, strength, and improved performance across all life aspects; consider incorporating a similar routine.
- If possible, take a deliberate 'decompression' period (a month or two) after leaving intense environments like the military to process experiences and mentally transition before diving into a new career.
- Adopt a 'base hit' mentality for your first post-transition job: focus on getting a solid, achievable role rather than waiting for the 'ultimate' career. This forward momentum will open new opportunities and clarify your path.
- Implement a daily spiritual practice (e.g., 10-minute Bible reading, prayer, journaling) to cultivate inner peace, mental clarity, and sustained energy, which can significantly outweigh the perceived time sacrifice.
- Actively seek out opportunities and embrace problem-solving in civilian life; don't 'wallow' or 'brood.' Leverage military-honed skills like hustling, learning, and communication to create your own path if traditional jobs aren't immediately available.
Notable Moments
Spontaneous decision to join the Navy SEALs after watching 'G.I. Jane' and being challenged by a friend.
Illustrates how pivotal life decisions can stem from unexpected, almost trivial, moments combined with a desire to prove oneself.
Enduring BUD/S Hell Week with a misdiagnosed kidney stone and severe diarrhea, exacerbated by laxatives.
Highlights an extreme example of mental and physical fortitude, pushing through immense pain and discomfort under a critical misdiagnosis, demonstrating an extraordinary will to not quit.
First lead climb on a non-compliant ship steaming into Iranian waters, with a precarious grappling hook.
This was a high-stakes, physically demanding task for a new operator, highlighting immediate exposure to extreme danger and responsibility.
Completing sniper school while battling an undiagnosed kidney stone and Valley Fever, and scoring highest on a UKD test while on Vicodin.
Illustrates extreme resilience and the physical toll of elite training, where severe medical conditions can be overlooked or pushed through due to mission focus.
Losing a kidney after sniper school due to a long-standing kidney stone, and signing a waiver on morphine to stay in the military.
Demonstrates Frohardt's unwavering commitment to service despite severe personal health crises, and the unique challenges military personnel face regarding medical waivers.
Encountering 15 suicide bombers during a Super Bowl Sunday mission in Iraq, leading to multiple detonations and a close-quarters gunfight.
This mission exemplifies the unpredictable and extreme lethality of combat, requiring immediate, life-or-death decisions against a determined enemy.
A bullet grazing his head and cutting his hair during a mission in Afghanistan, just hours after learning he was having a daughter.
A visceral reminder of how close operators come to death, and the profound emotional impact of such near-misses, especially when tied to personal milestones.
Regretting not sharing his faith with teammate Louie, who died two nights later in a building explosion.
A deeply personal reflection on the importance of faith and open communication, especially in high-risk environments, and the lasting impact of missed opportunities.
Frohardt's DEVGRU assault team was decimated by an IED, resulting in severe injuries to multiple teammates, including double compound femur fractures and pelvic fractures, while he sustained a severe concussion.
This highlights the extreme dangers and immediate, life-altering consequences faced by elite special operations units in combat, and Frohardt's relative 'luck' in not being more severely injured.
Frohardt was medically retired from the Navy due to a non-deployable waiver he signed in 2002 while high on morphine, a bureaucratic detail only discovered by Navy Medicine after he was awarded a Purple Heart for combat injuries years later.
This illustrates a significant bureaucratic failure within the military that led to the abrupt end of an elite operator's career, highlighting systemic issues in tracking medical waivers and personnel deployability.
Despite only having eight days of prior rock climbing experience, Frohardt was 'voluntold' into becoming a lead climber for DEVGRU and subsequently climbed El Capitan in Yosemite over three days, sleeping on a porta-ledge 800 feet off the ground.
This exemplifies the extreme adaptability, physical prowess, and mental fortitude expected and cultivated within elite special operations units, where individuals are pushed to master highly specialized and dangerous skills rapidly.
Frohardt describes going from a gunfight on the last night of a deployment to holding his child at a Panera in Virginia Beach 36 hours later, without time to even clean his gear.
This vividly portrays the lack of decompression time for special operations forces, emphasizing the immediate and jarring transition from high-intensity combat to civilian family life, and the psychological impact of such rapid shifts.
Quotes
"Sometimes the person you become in pursuit of a goal is the actual like you didn't know it at the time but that's the reward."
"There's no quick way to measure a like a guy's heart or or what they're what they're willing and able to do, their drive, their determination, their their resilience."
"When I failed at something, it's either I wasn't like crystal clear on what not just what I wanted to do, but what it would take, like I wasn't 100% clear on what I'm doing and what it will take to succeed, or I wasn't willing."
"Take the test or go home. You can always come back next year."
"You don't buy a spot there, you rent it and that rent is due daily."
"We don't rise to the occasion, you fall to your level of preparation."
"In those instances we don't need to be lawyers, we need to be witnesses."
"I was afraid to run into a room full of al-Qaeda for the flag that I wore on my shoulder, but I was afraid to share my faith for that cross I wore underneath my body armor."
"You're not afraid of death for your own s. You're just afraid of leaving them behind."
"My entire assault team gets sent home like from one houseborn IED and then Louie dies. Sorry, not Eddie. I keep saying that. Louie. Um, forgive me Eddie. I did not mean your name. Um but Louie dies and um it was just nights after you know Mike and Nate."
"I don't have this... I mean we all have whatever PTSD or whatever they call it now. I hear about people that struggle to fall asleep and, you know, have brain fog and all the operator syndrome stuff. And I I have none of it. Like I don't even have nightmares about what I saw or what I did. And I attribute that to my faith."
"I didn't know that that was a non-deployable waiver. Are you [__] serious? I immediately deployed right after it. And then I did four more at Dev Group. Um, and it wasn't until I got hurt in combat that the Bureau of Navy Medicine found out because they had to sign off on my Purple Heart and they showed up at the command."
"I didn't know my purpose anymore. Um I didn't have a way to make a living. like I couldn't find a job so I had to like just start one like um I didn't have my team around me um the camaraderie with my teammates and then most of all like I like incorrectly my identity was wrapped up in that trident."
"The ninth time in my life that I've ever even worn a sit harness is a training day on LCAP. The 10th time in my life that I wear it on real rock. On real rock is day one on LCAP. Day one. And we climb it in three days. Spending two nights on portal edges on the side of it."
"Your first job getting out of the military might not be your ultimate thing. Like just take a base hit. You can't like... Get the get the base hit."
Q&A
Recent Questions
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