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F-35 Pilot Justin Lee and Navy SEAL Ron Montgomery talk about what it takes to be a SEAL in this edition of The Professionals Playbook

February 28, 2019
Justin Lee No Comments Interview, Military Aviation

Ron “Monty” Montgomery served as a US Navy SEAL for nearly 26 years. He served 16 years as an enlisted man before accepting a commission as a SEAL Warrant Officer.

After completing Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S) at the age of 18 he went on to SEAL Team Two where he was also a member of the East Coast Navy Parachute Team.

After his time in SEAL Team Two, Monty went back to BUD/S as an instructor, overseeing thousands of SEAL candidates.

Monty served in nearly all of the East coast SEAL teams throughout his career, though much of what he’s done remains classified. He spent a tour in the elite Navy SEAL Anti-Terrorism Team as well as as the Naval Security Coordination Team, known as REDCELL.

REDCELL’s mission was to demonstrate vulnerabilities of military bases and would regularly use false IDs, jump fences, barricade buildings, take hostages, kidnap high ranking officers, plant bombs near Air Force One, and sneak into nuclear submarines.

In this wide ranging conversation Monty goes into what it takes to survive BUD/S, what makes a great SEAL, what it feels like to jump out of a cargo jet flying at 30,000 feet and more.


About the Author

Justin Lee Justin Lee is an Air Force Fighter Pilot based out of Phoenix, AZ. He has 8 years of experience flying both the F-16 Falcon and F-35 Lightning II. In 2016 he was selected as Shaw Air Force Base’s Instructor pilot of the year. In 2017 he returned from Afghanistan where his squadron dropped the most ordnance since the opening days of the war in 2001. He has 4 Air Medals and 400 hours of Combat flight time. Content published under any other name does not reflect Lee's personal views or opinions, nor do Lee's opinions reflect that of the U.S. Air Force.

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