I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

But I will bear true faith and allegiance to the sea that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.

So help me God, so help me God.

So help me God.

Welcome to the oath. I'm Chuck Rosenberg and I am honored to be your host for another thoughtful conversation with a fascinating guest.

It is not an overstatement to call our guest on the oath this week, a legend.

William McRaven retired from the U.S. Navy as a four-star admiral, as the commander of the United States Special Operations Command, and as the longest-serving Navy seal in the history of our country.

Bill McRaven was involved in planning and implementing some of the most important operations in the long and distinguished history of our military's special forces.

Those operations included the capture of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the rescue of Captain Phillips from Somali pirates, and the operation to capture or kill Usama bin Laden.

But Bill's story is not just about high-profile successes. It is also about struggle and loss, about truth and honor, and about humility and second chances.

It is about a deep reverence for the country, for public service, and for the men and women who serve our country, often at great personal risk and sacrifice.

Bill McRaven, welcome to the oath.

Thanks, good to be here.

Appreciate that you're making some time for us.

Yeah, my pleasure.

I'm going to start when you were a kid, because your very first operation ever was Operation volcano, and I was hoping you would tell us about that.

About 10 years old, my father was an Air Force officer, and we were living on Medina Air Force Base, which was a little annex to the major Air Force Base called Lacklunt in San Antonio.

And a budding up to the base housing area was a very, very large ammunition storage depot.

And of course, this is back in the 60s.

And as a 10-year-old kid, of course, you need to go explore them.

Of course you do.

And of course, this was also the era of James Bond and the man from Uncle, and I spy, and so when you're growing up, I had the sense that everything was a little bit of a mission.

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