John Gretton "Jocko" Willink (born September 8, 1971) is an American author,

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

er, and retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

officer who served in the

Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sm ...

and is a former member of SEAL Team 3. Willink's military service includes combat actions in the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

, where he commanded SEAL Team 3's Task Unit Bruiser, the unit that fought in the

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

against the Iraqi insurgents in

Ramadi Ramadi ( ar, ٱلرَّمَادِي ''Ar-Ramādī''; also formerly rendered as ''Rumadiyah'' or ''Rumadiya'') is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad and west of Fallujah. It is the capital and largest city of Al Anbar Governorate w ...

. Willink was honored with the Silver Star and Bronze Star Medal for his service. He achieved the rank of

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

. Willink co-authored the books ''Extreme Ownership'' and ''The Dichotomy of Leadership'' (with fellow retired SEAL Leif Babin) and co-founded the management consulting firm Echelon Front, LLC. Willink hosts a weekly

with

Brazilian jiu jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

practitioner Echo Charles, called the ''Jocko Podcast''. He holds a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in English from the University of San Diego.

Military career

After Navy recruit training and Radioman (RM) "A" School training, Willink reported to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S) training at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. Willink graduated BUD/S class 177. Following SEAL tactical training (STT) and completion of six-month probationary period, he received the NEC 5326 as a combatant swimmer (SEAL), entitled to wear the SEAL insignia. Willink served eight years on active duty, as an enlisted

Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting s ...

with SEAL Team One and SEAL Team Two. Willink was part of the SEAL team that seized the Russian Tanker Volga-Neft-147 in the Gulf of Oman, which was carrying Iraqi oil in violation of a United Nations economic embargo. Willink earned his commission via

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...

and served as a platoon commander. Willink completed multiple deployments to Asia, the Middle East and Europe. During Operation Iraqi Freedom he deployed to the Iraqi city of

in 2006 with SEAL Team Three as commander of Task Unit Bruiser, which included Leif Babin, Seth "Stoner" Stone,

Marc Alan Lee Marc Alan Lee (March 20, 1978 – August 2, 2006) was a United States Navy SEAL. He was the first SEAL to lose his life in Operation Iraqi Freedom when he was killed in a fierce firefight while on patrol against insurgents in Ramadi. Lee wa ...

, Michael Monsoor,

Jonny Kim Jonathan Yong Kim (born 5 February 1984), also called Jonny Kim, is an American US Navy lieutenant commander (and former SEAL), physician, and NASA astronaut. Born and raised in California, Kim enlisted in the United States Navy in the early ...

, Kevin Lacz, Ryan "Biggles" Job, JP Dinnell, Tony Eafrati, Jason Hogan and

Chris Kyle Christopher Scott Kyle (April 8, 1974 – February 2, 2013) was a United States Navy SEAL sniper. He served four tours in the Iraq War and was awarded several commendations for acts of heroism and meritorious service in combat. He has over 150 c ...

. Willink also served as a Navy SEAL instructor during his career. He retired in October 2010 after 20 years of service.

Post-Navy career

After retiring from the Navy, Willink co-founded the leadership consulting firm Echelon Front along with Leif Babin, who served with him in the SEAL Teams. He and Babin also co-authored the leadership manual ''Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win''. After appearing on the

s of

Tim Ferriss Timothy Ferriss (born July 20, 1977) is an American entrepreneur, investor, author, podcaster, and lifestyle guru. He became well-known through his ''4-Hour'' self-help book series—including ''The 4-Hour Work Week'', ''The 4-Hour Body'', and '' ...

Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American UFC color commentator, podcaster, comedian, actor, and former television presenter. He hosts ''The Joe Rogan Experience'', a podcast in which he discusses current events, comedy, polit ...

, and

Sam Harris Samuel Benjamin Harris (born April 9, 1967) is an American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics ...

to publicize his book, Willink started his own weekly podcast, ''The Jocko Podcast''. In addition to his work in consulting and authorship, Willink instructs jiu-jitsu at Victory MMA & Fitness in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

and co-owns Origin USA, a company based in Farmington, Maine, which produces lifestyle apparel, nutrition supplements, and fitness equipment, as well as being one of the only manufacturers of jiu-jitsu gis in the United States. Willink has a chapter giving advice in

' book ''

Tools of Titans ''Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers'' (2016) is a self-help book by Timothy Ferriss, an American writer, educational activist, and entrepreneur. He interviewed more than 100 "wor ...

''.

Brazilian Jiu-jitsu career

Willink started Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Fabio Santos while in active service and continued training after retirement from the military. He obtained his black belt from

Dean Lister Dean Richard Lister (born February 13, 1976) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 2000 until 2015, he fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, and California-based promotion King of t ...

. Since then, Willink has been a prominent figure in the sport and has taught many grapplers. Willink promoted his own daughter to blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in September 2022. https://jitsmagazine.com/jocko-willink-promotes-daughter-to-bjj-blue-belt/

Bibliography

Adult nonfiction

* ''Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win'' (2015) () * ''Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual'' (2017) () * ''The Dichotomy of Leadership: Balancing the Challenges of Extreme Ownership to Lead and Win'' (2018) () * ''Leadership Strategy and Tactics: Field Manual'' (2020) () * ''The Code. The Evaluation. The Protocols: Striving to Become an Eminently Qualified Human'' (2020) ()

Adult fiction

* ''Final Spin: A Novel'' (2021) ()

Children's books

* ''Mikey and the Dragons'' (2018) ()

''Way of the Warrior Kid'' (2017–2021)

# ''The Way of the Warrior Kid'' (2017) () # ''Marc's Mission: Way of the Warrior Kid'' (2018) () # ''Way of the Warrior Kid 3: Where there's a Will... '' (2019) () # ''Way of the Warrior Kid 4: Field Manual'' (2021) ()

Awards and decorations

References

External links

*
Jocko Podcast

The Unravelling
with Jocko Willink and Darryl Cooper
Echelon Front

Victory MMA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willink, Jocko 1971 births Living people 20th-century American military personnel 21st-century American military personnel United States Navy personnel of the Iraq War United States Navy personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) United States Navy officers 21st-century American naval officers United States Navy SEALs personnel Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Humanitarian Service Medal American podcasters American people of Dutch descent American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu trainers People from Torrington, Connecticut Military personnel from Connecticut