In this episode Carlos Mendez, a former Navy medic, sniper, and point man who is now a leadership instructor at Echelon Front discusses his leadership journey, highlighting the challenges and skill sets involved in each role. Listen in as we delve into topics such as navigation skills, the importance of resilience and discipline, the balance between humility and confidence in leadership, and Carlos’ transition from the military to a career in finance.
Carlos is a former Navy SEAL who started his Naval career as a medic with the Marines where he completed two deployments. Upon his completion of BUD/s he was assigned to SEAL Team One where he served as the medic, primary sniper, and point man and completed deployments to Southeast Asia, Iraq, Central America, and Afghanistan.
Carlos then served under Jocko as the lead instructor in charge of teaching Close Quarter Combat for the all the West Coast SEAL Teams. During his time there, Carlos was chosen for the prestigious Seaman to Admiral program through which the SEAL Teams cut the member away to complete their undergrad degree and come back as an officer. Former recipients of this award include Jocko Willink and Jonny Kim.
After completing his undergrad degree in finance at the University of San Diego, Carlos came back to complete two more deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as the Assistant Officer in Charge and the Officer in Charge at both SEAL Team Three and Special Reconnaissance Team One. Carlos finished his Naval career as the Executive Officer for SEAL Training command. After separating from the service and before joining Echelon Front, Carlos completed his MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA and worked as an investment banker.
You can learn more about Carlos and his work at: https://echelonfront.com/
