Overview of The Shawn Ryan Show #313: Eric Frohardt
Eric Frohardt, a former Navy SEAL sniper, assaulter, and lead climber with SEAL Team 5 and DEVGRU’s Gold Squadron, shares his journey from a farm in rural Iowa to some of the most elite and dangerous units in the U.S. military. The conversation covers his childhood, his path into the SEAL Teams, brutal training and combat deployments, the loss of a kidney that eventually ended his military career, and the transition into business leadership, speaking, and faith-centered living. A major theme throughout the episode is how discipline, humility, resilience, and faith shaped his life before, during, and after service.
Early Life and the Road to the Navy SEALs
Small-town roots
- Grew up in Sac City, a small town in northwest Iowa.
- Raised on a working farm by a nurse mother and farmer father.
- Worked hard from an early age doing hogs, corn, soybeans, and general farm labor.
Sports and work ethic
- Played multiple sports growing up, especially football.
- Says farm life and football taught him toughness, accountability, and how to handle hard work.
- Credits his parents for instilling discipline, calmness, responsibility, and respect.
The moment he decided to become a SEAL
- Originally planned to pursue football and possibly FBI-related work.
- While watching G.I. Jane in college, he had a sudden realization that he wanted to become a Navy SEAL.
- Enlisted the next day, largely fueled by a mix of stubbornness, ambition, and a desire to prove himself.
BUD/S and SEAL Team 5
Training mindset
- Spent his pre-BUD/S summer training intensely on the farm:
- swimming,
- running,
- calisthenics,
- pull-ups built into barn rafters,
- improvised training equipment.
- Entered BUD/S with strong conditioning and a farm-built work ethic.
Hell Week and injury
- Describes Hell Week as brutally hard and personally complicated by severe pain he later believed was a kidney stone.
- At the time, it was misdiagnosed as constipation/IBS and treated with laxatives, making an already miserable experience worse.
- Still finished the training despite extreme discomfort.
SEAL Team 5 culture
- Joined SEAL Team 5 after training pipeline.
- Described Team 5 in the pre-9/11 era as more relaxed and “surf team” in culture compared to other teams.
- Met and worked closely with Eddie Penney during this period.
DEVGRU / Gold Squadron and Combat
Moving to DEVGRU
- Eventually screened and joined DEVGRU Gold Squadron.
- Describes DEVGRU as a much more senior, more mature, and more demanding environment.
- Emphasizes that at DEVGRU, competence alone wasn’t enough:
- humility,
- obsession with the craft,
- and helping others were equally important.
Life as a lead climber and sniper
- Became a lead climber almost by accident due to his pull-up ability and team needs.
- Ended up climbing major walls and peaks including:
- El Capitan,
- Denali,
- Aconcagua.
- Learned shipboard boarding, wall climbs, sniper work, CQB, and other specialized skills.
9/11 and the war
- Was deployed in Guam when 9/11 happened.
- The attack shifted the mission from a more routine deployment mindset to full wartime urgency.
- Ended up doing numerous shipboardings and combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Notable combat experiences
- Recounts several intense close-quarters operations:
- boarding moving ships in darkness,
- climbing under fire,
- engaging suicide-belt attackers,
- fighting house-to-house in Iraq.
- One of the most vivid stories involved:
- a Super Bowl Sunday raid,
- multiple enemy fighters detonating suicide vests,
- him shooting an attacker at extremely close range,
- and later losing teammates in the same operation.
Faith, Loss, and Perspective
The death of teammates
- Mentions the loss of teammates like Mike, Nate, and Louie Soprano.
- The emotional weight of those losses pushed him to wrestle more seriously with faith and mortality.
- Says one of his biggest regrets is not being more open about his faith earlier, especially with teammates who were asking deeper questions.
Faith became central after the military
- Says daily prayer, Bible reading, journaling, stillness, and walking prayers transformed his life.
- Believes his faith gives him:
- clarity,
- energy,
- peace,
- and resilience.
- Says he no longer fears death for himself as much as he fears leaving his wife and children behind.
What he learned from suffering
- His story repeatedly circles back to the idea that suffering can shape identity and purpose.
- He views his military experiences, injuries, and losses as part of God’s larger plan, even if he doesn’t fully understand it.
Injury, Medical Retirement, and Leaving the SEAL Teams
The kidney issue
- His recurring side pain was eventually correctly diagnosed as a kidney stone caused by scar tissue in his ureter.
- During surgery, doctors discovered the kidney had become nonfunctional and removed it.
- He had signed a waiver years earlier, not realizing it was a non-deployable waiver.
- That eventually came back to stop his career after his injury was discovered by Navy Medicine.
Forced out unexpectedly
- He was medically retired after years of continuing to deploy despite the waiver.
- Says leaving the SEAL Teams was harder than joining them.
- The hardest period of his life was not combat, but the post-Navy transition:
- no identity,
- no paycheck,
- no team,
- no clear purpose.
Life After the Military
Rebuilding identity
- Initially defined himself almost entirely by being a SEAL.
- Over time, rebuilt his life around being:
- a husband,
- father,
- Christian,
- leader,
- and servant.
Business and leadership roles
- Worked in security consulting, firearms training, fitness leadership, and corporate leadership roles.
- Helped run a gun range and later led StrongFirst, a kettlebell and fitness organization.
- Also worked for the NRA in education and training.
- Now serves as Chief Standards Officer at Goldenrod Companies in Omaha, helping standardize culture and operations across a real-estate-focused organization.
Speaking and mentorship
- Regularly speaks on:
- teamwork,
- elite performance,
- leadership,
- and transitioning from military to civilian life.
- His message to veterans:
- take a break if needed,
- don’t force the perfect next move,
- get a “base hit,” then keep moving forward.
Current Mission: Faith and Service
Kilimanjaro fundraiser
- He and his son are preparing to climb Kilimanjaro with a group to raise money for Global Partners in Hope.
- The nonprofit builds:
- water wells,
- and medical treatment facilities in underserved West African communities.
- Emphasizes that a relatively small amount of money can save lives and transform communities.
Core message
- Frohardt’s story is ultimately about more than combat:
- the value of humility,
- the necessity of discipline,
- the power of preparation,
- and the importance of faith and purpose.
- He repeatedly frames success not as achievement alone, but as who you become while pursuing hard things.
Key Takeaways
- Resilience is learned — often from hard places like farms, sports, and failure.
- Humility matters — the best operators are not just skilled; they’re teachable and service-oriented.
- Faith changed everything — especially after loss and transition.
- Identity must evolve — if your identity is only your job or title, losing it can be devastating.
- Purpose can be rebuilt — through family, service, leadership, and discipline.
Notable Insights
- “You don’t rise to the occasion; you fall to your level of preparation.”
- “It’s not 50/50 in marriage. It’s 100/100.”
- “We don’t need to be lawyers; we need to be witnesses” — about sharing faith.
- “The Navy gave me more than it took.”