The Rise of the Navy SEALs, with Ben Milligan

By The Free Press | Created at 2026-07-24 12:13:37 | Updated at 2026-08-02 19:03:30 1 week ago

The history of the Navy SEALs reveals not only how they were built but also how they must continue to evolve.

Ben Milligan, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, Bronze Star recipient, and author of By Water Beneath the Walls: The Rise of the Navy SEALs, joins School of War to discuss the origins and evolution of one of America’s most storied special operations forces. How did the Navy SEALs grow out of the Underwater Demolition Teams of World War II? What does it take to become a SEAL? How did the Vietnam War shape the institution into the force we know today? And what role should the SEALs play as the U.S. military shifts its focus from the War on Terror to great power competition?

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