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

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

er, and retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

officer who served in the

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

and is a former member of SEAL Team 3. He is also on the Board of Directors for San Diego FC. Willink's military service includes combat actions in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, 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 co ...

against the Iraqi insurgents in

Ramadi Ramadi ( ''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 which shares borders with Syri ...

. Willink was honored with the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

and

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

for his service. He achieved the rank of lieutenant commander. 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 practitioner Echo Charles, called the ''Jocko Podcast''. He holds a B.A. in English from the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University ...

Early life

John Gretton Willink Jr. was born on September 8, 1971, in

Torrington, Connecticut Torrington is the most populated municipality and largest city in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, and the Northwest Hills Planning Region, Connecticut, Northwest Hills Planning Region. It is also the core city of Greater Torringto ...

. He has two siblings. Jocko played soccer in high school.

Military career

Willink wanted to be in the military from an early age, and he enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 19. 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 his trident 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 United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main funct ...

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 rank, enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a Commission (document), commission as Commissioned officer, officers in the armed forces of a country. H ...

and served as a platoon commander. Willink completed multiple deployments to Asia, the Middle East and Europe. During

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

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, Michael Monsoor, Jonny Kim, Kevin Lacz, Ryan "Biggles" Job, JP Dinnell, Tony Eafrati, Jason Hogan and Chris Kyle. 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. The firm hosts conferences and seminars to teach leadership skills. He and Babin also co-authored the leadership manual ''Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win''. 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 coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

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

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

' book '' Tools of Titans''.

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. Since then, Willink has been a prominent figure in the sport, has competed against big names such as Jeff Monson and has taught many grapplers. Willink promoted his own daughter to blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in September 2022.

Writing

Willink has authored numerous fiction and nonfiction books. His 2015 book ''Extreme Ownership'' has been on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller List, and was praised by critics. The book teaches leadership lessons using examples of real-world missions and combat encounters. In 2017, he published ''Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual'', which is a collection of healthy living routines and mindsets for productivity. He authored the children's book series the ''Way of the Warrior Kid'', which is intended to present the life lessons Willink received from SEAL training in a way that is digestible and applicable for children. The ''Way of the Warrior Kid'' is being adapted into a feature film starring

Chris Pratt Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14.1billion worldwide, making him the fifth-highest-grossing film star of all time. Pratt was named by ''Time'' as one of t ...

and scripted by Will Staples.

Podcast

After appearing on the

s of

Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American podcaster, Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC color commentator, comedian, actor, and former television host. He hosts The Joe Rogan Experience, ''The Joe Rogan Experience'', which is o ...

, 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, determinism, neuroscience, meditation ...

to publicize his book, Willink decided to start his own weekly podcast, ''The Jocko Podcast''. On December 28, 2015, Willink launched the podcast on YouTube with an accompanying website. His YouTube channel currently has 1.8 million subscribers. Willink films the podcast from his studio in San Diego.

Personal life

Jocko is married to Hellene Willink. They have four children and live in

. Willink is of Dutch descent.

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'' (2017–2022)

# ''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'' (2020) () # ''Way of the Warrior Kid 5: Letters to Uncle Jake'' (2022) ()

Awards and decorations

References

External links

*
Jocko PodcastThe Unravelling
with Jocko Willink and Darryl Cooper
Echelon FrontVictory MMA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willink, Jocko Living people 1971 births 20th-century American naval officers 21st-century American naval officers American military podcasters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American writers Brazilian jiu-jitsu trainers Military personnel from Connecticut People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Torrington, Connecticut Recipients of the Humanitarian Service Medal Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Silver Star San Diego FC owners United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) United States Navy personnel of the Iraq War United States Navy SEALs personnel University of San Diego alumni