Special Forces Commander Mykel Hawke: Hero, Green Beret & Badass on His Childhood, Using Love & Hate as Motivation, and Why Survival Skills Matter
“The secret to life is to figure out what your weaknesses are and work around them and what your strengths are and work with them.” Mykel Hawke became a survivalist while still a child – in order to survive.
Born in 1965 in Fort Knox, Kentucky, Mykel spent 20 years in the US Army and attained the rank of Captain in the US Army Special Forces, known as the Green Berets. He held three Special Forces Military Operation Skills (MOS) including Special Forces Medic, Special Forces Communicator and Special Forces Intelligence Operations. In case it is not clear, Mykel was taught to be a killing machine and has been trained to survive any scenario.
He has trained UN Peacekeepers in Africa while fighting rebels and been active in search and rescue missions in Colombia during the drug war. He studied biology for his undergraduate degree and family counseling for his graduate degree.
Mykel has starred in over 50 TV shows as well as the programs he created including Man, Woman, Wild and One Man Army for Discovery Channel as well as Lost Survivors for Travel Channel and Elite Tactical Unit for Outdoor Channel. He has black belts in aikido and judo.
He has written books including but not limited to The Quick and Dirty Guide to Learning Language Fast, Hawke’s Green Beret Survival Manual, Hawke’s Special Forces Survival Handbook: The Guide to Getting Out Alive and Family Survival Guide: The Best Ways For Families to Prepare, Train, Pack and Survive Everything, which you can check out on his website mykelhawke.com
Every year, he works as a judge at the International Warrior Competition in Amman, Jordan in addition to being a Professor of Survival at the American Survival Guide University in Florida.
Caitlin Arnould is talking to Mykel today to learn more about how he survived a rough childhood and what inspired him to become one of the most accomplished and famous survivalists on the globe. Was he driven on by ambition to do his best or to be his best? After achieving so much, what drives him further on? What does life mean for him?
Learn more about Mykel and contact him directly on his website mykelhawke.com

Listen on:  
Hawke’s Green Beret Survival Manual
Hawke’s Special Forces Survival Handbook
Foraging for Survival: Edible Wild Plants of North America
Family Survival Guide
The Quick and Dirty Guide to Learning Languages Fast
Buy Hawke Brand products
Healing the Wounds charity
Gold Star Teen Adventures