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A lot of military stories get polished into highlight reels. We wanted the version that still has grit under the fingernails. I’m joined by Mike Keevil, a retired Recon Marine who served through multiple wars and carried those lessons into training, instruction, and the long process of figuring out who you are when the mission changes.

We dig into identity and the facades we build in different environments: peer versus coach, instructor versus friend, leader versus the person who quietly doubts himself. Mike tells the early moments where leadership found him anyway, including being pulled forward in Marine Corps boot camp, and how a drive for standards can push people to grow while also boxing them in.

Then the story takes a hard turn. Mike explains how he signed up as a cook while chasing a chef dream, realized he wanted something different, and volunteered for Iraq through mortuary affairs. He describes body recovery, processing personal effects, and why photos and keepsakes can hit harder than gore. Those experiences became the catalyst for a brutal, methodical reinvention: Olympic pool training in gear, retaking the ASVAB to meet recon requirements, and grinding through reconnaissance indoctrination where the fear of falling behind never goes away.

We close with combat decision making as it really feels: not always fast, often slow, confusing, and unforgiving, including immediate action drills like the Australian peel and a firefight where a simple grenade mistake changes everything. This is part one of a two-part series, with part two picking up on decision making, strategy, and what comes next.

Subscribe for part two, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review if the conversation hits home.

Follow Mike on IG: https://youtube.com/@40kdirtbags?si=1tI6DVHZRXORe0CT

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@40kdirtbags?si=1tI6DVHZRXORe0CT

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