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#332 Alex West - SEAL Team 6 Operator on Crashing a Black Hawk Into Bin Laden's Backyard

The Shawn Ryan Show4h 35m

Alex West, a retired Navy SEAL who led the assault team during Operation Neptune Spear (the Bin Laden raid), discusses his 20-year military career, 15 combat deployments, the psychological toll of war, his founding of One More Wave nonprofit for wounded veterans, and his journey to becoming a mental health therapist specializing in trauma and advocating for psychedelic-assisted treatments like Ibogaine.

Summary

Alex West grew up in Africa (Lesotho and Cairo, Egypt) as the son of a Vietnam War veteran struggling with PTSD and alcoholism. His father's unprocessed trauma deeply influenced him, leading to a lifelong passion for mental health advocacy. West joined the Navy at 17, graduated BUD/S at 18, and became the youngest operator ever to attend Green Team selection at 23—a deliberate experiment to test whether younger SEALs could maximize their potential through earlier Dev Group entry. He served in SEAL Team 3 and Red Squadron across 15 deployments from 2001-2013, participating in the Afghan invasion, Iraq operations, and crucially, Operation Neptune Spear in May 2011. During that mission, West's helicopter crashed upon insertion into the compound, causing herniated discs but allowing him to reach the building. He was the assault team leader who led the initial breach and cleared rooms, ultimately reaching the third floor where Bin Laden was killed. The raid was tactically complex: only 38 minutes to complete the mission, extreme weight restrictions preventing adequate ammunition, and the constant threat of Pakistani F-16s. West witnessed trauma firsthand—killing a pregnant woman and her husband in a firefight while an 8-year-old daughter watched, an incident that haunted him for years. Just months after the Bin Laden raid's triumph, his best friend Rob Reeves and 29 other SEALs were killed when Extortion 17 was shot down in August 2011, plunging West into severe depression and suicidal ideation. During his final deployment in 2013, West came close to suicide while holding his rifle in Jalalabad until a Taliban attack on the base interrupted him. After medical evaluation revealed traumatic brain injuries, PTSD, and major depressive disorder, West transitioned out of active duty in 2014. While volunteering at a surf clinic for wounded veterans, he founded One More Wave in 2015 after witnessing amputees' transformations in the ocean. The organization has now distributed 800+ adaptive surfboards and grants to veterans across eight chapters nationwide, becoming the world's largest provider of adaptive surfboards for injured veterans. West credits One More Wave with saving his life by giving him purpose. Later, facing persistent suicidal ideation and failed traditional treatments, West traveled to Costa Rica in 2020 for Ibogaine treatment through Mission Within, which dramatically resolved his alcohol cravings after six and a half years of sobriety. He then pursued graduate education in mental health therapy, becoming a licensed clinician in Nashville. He now specializes in trauma treatment using EMDR, clinical hypnosis, and narrative therapy, treating approximately 25% military/first responder clients to manage counter-transference. West has become an ambassador for Americans for Ibogaine and Tennesseans for Ibogaine, advocating for FDA-approved clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapies for addiction, PTSD, and traumatic brain injury, having played a key role in passing the Hope Treatment Act in Tennessee.

About this episode

Alex West is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL who served 20 years, completed 15 combat deployments, including 13 with DEVGRU, and served as an assault team leader during Operation Neptune Spear. After years of combat, personal loss, and the Extortion 17 tragedy, he confronted the psychological toll of service, found a path toward healing, founded One More Wave, and became a mental health therapist focused on trauma and recovery. Privacy Isn't Paranoia. It's Protection. Download Glacier - https://srs.site/glacierapp Website - https://theglacierapp.com Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: Get 10% off at https://tecovas.com/SRS when you sign up for email and texts. See site for details. If you have an iPhone, go to https://ladder.fit/SRS to take a quick quiz and get a free 7-day trial with no credit card required, plus $10 off your first month if you join. Go to https://rorra.com/SRS for an exclusive discount on the Rorra Countertop System and tap into clean water today. Try Amazon Music Unlimited for music, podcasts, and audiobooks all in one app. Your subscription now includes access to audiobooks. https://music.amazon.com Upgrade your eyewear for summer at https://roka.com and use code SRS for 20% off sitewide at checkout. Alex West Links: Website - https://alexwest.com Americans for Ibogaine - https://www.americansforibogaine.org One More Wave - https://onemorewave.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/alexwestimpact X - https://x.com/alexwestimpact LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-west TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@alexwestimpact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Key Insights

  • West's father, a Vietnam vet, never processed his trauma and drank heavily throughout West's childhood, causing West to serve as an emotional support figure for his father by age 12, establishing early patterns of caregiving and mental health awareness.
  • West deliberately ditched his pistol and limited himself to four magazines before the Bin Laden raid due to extreme weight restrictions from flying deep into Pakistani airspace, representing the mission's razor-thin operational margins.
  • During the Bin Laden raid, West's helicopter crashed 30 seconds after insertion due to rotor wash hitting the compound's 20-foot concrete walls, causing a violent 45-degree spin that herniated discs in multiple operators' backs but didn't prevent mission completion.
  • West shot a pregnant woman through her forearm as she shielded her husband (a courier) in a firefight, and the ricochet killed her as well; she gave birth to the baby immediately after dying, an incident West has processed through plant medicine experiences where he apologized to her spirit.
  • West was chosen for the Bin Laden raid specifically as an assault team leader despite having the least seniority in his role, making him responsible for securing the back entrance and leading intelligence gathering under a 38-minute operational deadline.
  • The Bin Laden raid occurred in May 2011, but just three months later in August, Extortion 17—carrying 30 Navy SEALs including West's best friend Rob Reeves—was shot down by Taliban forces, creating an immediate trauma juxtaposition of triumph and devastating loss.
  • West experienced suicidal ideation while sitting in Jalalabad with his loaded rifle to his head, considering whether to shoot his forehead or mouth, until a Taliban attack on the base interrupted him and forced him to man defensive positions instead.
  • West's Green Team class was deliberately split into assault and mobility pipelines, with West spending 10 months in selection (versus the typical 7) because he was part of an experimental two-year cohort tasked with learning both assault and ground/waterborne mobility.
  • West was shot in a firefight with Taliban in 2005 in Ramadi alongside Delta Force operators, and his mentor Bob Horgan was killed by machine gun fire after repeatedly warning West to move back, an act West later attributed to Horgan sensing danger through intuition.
  • West's closest mentors at Dev Group were Lou Langless (killed in Extortion 17) and Bob Horgan (killed in Ramadi 2005), and he continues to sense their spiritual presence guiding him, particularly feeling their support when he doubts himself.
  • The medical evaluation after West's final deployment revealed scar tissue in his brain from multiple traumatic brain injuries accumulated across 15 deployments, diagnosed alongside PTSD, major depressive disorder, and suicidal ideation.
  • West founded One More Wave after purchasing a nonprofit instruction book ('How to Start a Non-Profit for Dummies') at a Borders bookstore, growing it from intended single boards into the world's largest adaptive surfboard organization with 800+ grants distributed.
  • West's Ibogaine treatment in Costa Rica in 2020 eliminated his alcohol cravings after a decade-long struggle with drinking that paralleled his accumulating combat trauma, which he attributes to the psychedelic's neurological reset rather than willpower alone.
  • West deliberately limits his therapy practice to 25% military/first responder clients because counter-transference—absorbing clients' combat trauma—is psychologically overwhelming for him, despite believing this is his highest calling.
  • West argues that Americans should support FDA clinical trials for Ibogaine and psychedelics not just for anecdotal veteran success stories but to create legal treatment pathways for average citizens with opioid addiction and PTSD who lack access to overseas programs.

Topics

Operation Neptune Spear and the Bin Laden raidChildhood trauma and father's Vietnam PTSDNavy SEAL training and Green Team selectionCombat deployments in Afghanistan and IraqExtortion 17 and loss of teammatesSuicidal ideation and mental health crisisOne More Wave nonprofit for wounded veteransMental health therapy and clinical practiceIbogaine treatment for addiction and PTSDPsychedelic-assisted therapy advocacy

Transcript

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