Ep. 63 • Dave Swarts • A Navy SEAL's Long Road Home. 🔱🇺🇸

On this episode of the Liberty Risk Podcast, the boys sit down with Dave Swarts. Some people have one defining chapter in their life, Dave seems to have had about six. Before becoming a Navy SEAL, he was collecting DUIs, assault charges, and enough waiver requests to make joining the military an adventure all by itself. Then came BUD/S, deployments at multiple SEAL Teams, leadership roles, raising a family, NCIS investigations, building businesses, and eventually figuring out what life looks like after the military. The challenges changed. The process didn't. Along the way, Dave shares stories from Iraq, Afghanistan, and the fight against ISIS, including the recovery of an American pilot's remains nearly a decade after he was lost, serving alongside legendary Team Guys like Mike Day, and navigating some of the highest highs and lowest lows of a life spent in service. But some of the most memorable parts of this conversation have nothing to do with combat. We get into fatherhood, losing parents, building a family while constantly leaving home, getting older, starting over, and the realization that success starts to look a little different with every chapter of life. We also get into: • Growing up, screwing up, and finding a path forward • BUD/S, Team life, and lessons learned the hard way • Iraq, Afghanistan, and the realities of twenty years at war • Bringing an American service member home after nearly a decade • Leadership, investigations, and protecting your reputation • Marriage, fatherhood, and balancing service with family • Building Red Watch, Dirty Frogs, and life after the military • Purpose, identity, and finding the next mountain to climb Same Liberty Risk format - engaging conversations, dark humor, plenty of side quests, and the kind of perspective that only comes from someone who's lived through a few different versions of life. This one felt less like a military interview and more like sitting around with an old friend who's finally had enough time to figure out what really mattered through all of it. This one isn't really about being a Navy SEAL, it's  about the challenges we all go through in this crazy game called life. 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ Come check out our Patreon Community! 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ Here you can get exclusive access to the behind the scenes action, the hidden conversations between breaks, a private community chat, and LOTS more, including discounts on Liberty Risk merch as well as some of our partner brands. Come check it out and join the conversation! https://www.patreon.com/LibertyRisk    Get to know more about Dave at the links below! ✖️ Dave's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/davidswarts249  ✖️ Dirty Frog's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dirty_frogs  ✖️ Red Watch Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/red_watch    Liberty Risk Hosts: ✖️ Ryan Williams - https://www.instagram.com/invictus5326 ✖️ Kevin Kent - https://www.instagram.com/therealkevinkent ✖️ Nick Betts - https://www.instagram.com/n_betts   Liberty Risk Podcast Sponsored by: ✖️ Bulkhead Energy Drink - https://www.bulkheadenergy.com  ✖️ Liberty Risk Merch - https://www.liberty-risk.com/collections/shop-all ✖️ Industry Threadworks (screen printing apparel) - https://www.industrythreadworks.com ✖️ Archive 3PL (fulfillment for E-com brands) - https://archive3pl.com ✖️ Krupto Strategic Media - https://kruptostrategicmedia.com ✖️ K-Squared Advising - https://www.k-squared.cc