Jesse Ventura says the Navy SEALs have changed in a major way

Former governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura dropped by Business Insider to talk about his new book, "Jesse Ventura's Marijuana Manifesto."

A former Navy SEAL, Ventura said that he thinks the elite special forces unit has changed, but that he understands and acknowledges why this change has taken place.

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[GPuup]

He didn’t even talk about his encounter with the predator. A real profesional

[Grizz]

My brother was Navy SEAL in Vietnam but I didn't know it until after he died. I had heard rumors that he was and when I asked him he just said don't believe everything you hear and left it at that. At his funeral his Co spoke and told about his time in the seals to some extent. Boy were we surprised. Yep today's Navy seals is a different breed

[cugamer]

"In my day SEALs didn't talk about what went on in deployment."
* Dick Marcinko has left the chat

[janebeatty]

My Grandpa was Frogman in WWII & Korean War. You’re right...those sailors did not speak of their service much. Grandpa would say things in bits over the years until we figured it out.

[davidcooper]

The SEALs were always hush-hush operations, and no one outside their unit really knew who they were. For the last 15 yrs, we hear about them and their operations nearly every night. I guess the remaining hush-hush guys are Delta. You never hear about them, but they are there.

[c.galindo]

Unbelievable that tre SEALs are being paid so little with how dangerous their missions are.
That’s insane

[stevencomstock]

I was at Coronado in '83 for advanced training, my water survival instructor was a Viet Nam vet. Had the back of one thigh blown out by a B-40 rocket in an ambush, looked like a shark had took a bite out of it. Toughest man I ever knew, and like Ventura said, quiet professional.

[DennisTeti]

The one thing I agree on is that there’s definitely something lost. The allure or mysterious-ness. SEALs are something everyone knows about now. Kind of ruins the clandestine nature of the gig, IMO.

I remember a certain SEAL (named removed) talking about how he would just tell people he was a Navy Diver when asked what he did while in the service. Much simpler.

[careystuart]

Jesse is such an engaging, intelligent, articulate personality and did at one time have bigger arms than Arnold, he just didn't have time to bleed....

[thardracy]

So many war heroes in the comments. Thank you for your cervix.

[Im-a-machine]

And that's just the way it should be. Stay a quiet professional.

[markblasen]

I am also a veteran navy udt/ seal retired ...grad 1974 june. i also understand what Jesse is saying..the bud/s instructors use to weed out the glory hounds..We were thier to do our job, defend the US Constitution from foriegn and domestic enimies. just like any other military man .We were patriots not in it for the money. We earned 110 dollars more per month for hazard, para,and or comat .There was only about 666 of us at that time and Jesse, a true hero, is one of us ! Mark william richard Blasen. veteran navy udt/seal.

[MrLarrycastelot]

Anyone ever see the first Predator movie? It was awesome...

[MovieJunkieOfficial]

Jesus, I feel I've missed a few decades. I have not seen this man since 'I ain't got time to bleed'. Not at all what I thought he would look like now.

[mer_meh]

Jesse is so humble. He has only written like 3 books boasting about being a Navy Seal. Not to mention how humble it is to mention it every time he introduces himself. I wish more Navy Seals were like him, not just trying to use their background to make money...

[timothymcmanimon]

Theres a big difference between self promotion and just telling great stories and teaching great lessons that are really valuable to society

[vajraman]

The quiet professionals of today are Air Force PJ’s etc…and Marine Force Recon/Marine Raiders units.

[jimmydet]

He says I didn't write about it in my book! That's funny.

[Astinsan]

I agree with him.. wasn’t just the seals.. it was every part of the navy.. nobody talked about their service just the shenanigans that happened on r&r

[evanbrockway]

30, 000 a year? Lol... a 90k bonus, jump pay, dive pay, hazard duty pay, reenlistment bonuses, high advancement quotas. Not saying they don't deserve it buuuut they make some money.