John Collins’ Raw Journey Through the SEAL K9 Program and a Heartbreaking Deployment Betrayal | Ep. 251 | Pt. 3

Mike Drop

Mike Ritland

Society & Culture, Documentary, Politics, News

4.9 • 6.3K Ratings

🗓️ 7 August 2025

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the powerful and emotional conclusion of Episode 251 of the Mike Drop Podcast, host Mike Ritland sits down with former Navy SEAL John Collins for a raw and unfiltered exploration of his time in the SEAL Teams’ K9 program. This episode dives deep into John’s experiences with two unforgettable military working dogs, Tyson and Duke, whose alpha personalities and unrelenting drive left lasting scars—both physical and emotional. John recounts the intense challenges of training these formidable canines, including a chaotic encounter with Tyson that tested his resilience as a handler. The conversation takes a somber turn as John shares the heartbreaking story of Tyson’s death in a 2017 firefight in Iraq, a loss that hit hard and set the stage for a frustrating deployment experience marked by resistance and betrayal from within his own ranks. From navigating Navy politics and leadership failures to his eventual decision to leave the SEAL Teams after nearly 12 years, John reflects on the toll of service and the struggle to find purpose in civilian life. With candid insights into military culture, the evolving role of drones in warfare, and advice for the next generation of SEALs, this episode is a gripping testament to the bonds forged with K9 partners and the challenges of transitioning from warrior to civilian. Don’t miss this unforgettable finale to John Collins’ story, filled with heart, grit, and hard-earned wisdom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:27.7	slash setup uh is there a story or a few stories from your entire time there that that are
0:35.2	memorable that are worth sharing?
0:40.5	So, yeah.
0:43.6	So I got paired with Tyson.
0:44.8	Was he there when you were there?
0:48.1	No, but he was the one that ended up losing his life, right?
0:48.4	Yeah.
0:50.0	So he was my dog.
0:59.0	Mike, I forget his last name. He had him before, so it was like Mike and Tyson, and he really wanted that dog. When we were going through, the whole deal was if you get a brand new dog, you know, when that dog retires, you get first dibs on him.
1:09.0	And to me that's fair and it's since
1:12.8	changed and I I'm not a fan of it but anyway Mike ended up being one of the one
1:21.6	of the team guys that was over there when I was going through the training and
1:26.6	because I went through like three dogs like
1:29.1	raff got retired um then I got a new dog and I went to the buy you know just to kind of see how
1:37.5	it went down and uh they picked this dog and his name was in the book and he was awesome i was like this dog's the
1:46.0	shit and he's fun and he's playful but he's got a strong bite he's got good odor detection
1:51.7	like everything he wanted the dog but he had bad hips and it's like so he got washed out and then i got
	...

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