JSOC Operator Clint Emerson Talks Survival, Defeating Bad Guys, and Assassinating Heads of State

Clint Emerson and I go back. Way back. We were roommates on my first deployment with SEAL Team 3, Golf platoon, and managed to mostly stay out of trouble….

Clint was also a close friend of Glen Doherty’s, and we were both hit pretty hard with his death in Libya. Glen just wasn’t supposed to go.

I had an opportunity to interview Clint before his upcoming book tour to promote the release of his first book, “100 Deadly Skills.” Enjoy.

Brandon: If you had to choose one word to describe your service in the SEAL teams, JSOC, and elsewhere we can’t mention, what would it be?

​Clint: Unbelievable.

I’ve read your book “100 Deadly Skills” cover-to-cover, and it’s bad ass, man. I also ordered a couple for my two boys, too. What was the inspiration behind the book?

​My motivators were bad guys—lone wolves—inspired terrorists and hackers. I want good people to be more offensive, more violent, and take more ownership of their personal security. ​When people hear the word survival, thoughts of sparking flint to make fire, building shelters from tree limbs, and fishing with shoelaces pop into mind. These are great skills, but they do not match the skills needed to survive current threats. Our natural-born instincts are not good enough; we have to arm ourselves with a higher level of education beyond setting snares with fishing line. Survival skills for today include cyber threat awareness, active-shooter response, civil unrest, and violent action against terrorists. ​”100 Deadly Skills” prepares you for today’s threats.​

3. Any advice to aspiring SEALs or SOF candidates out there (or their parents!)?

After 20-plus years of service, the lessons I’ve learned are substantial. If I had to narrow it down to a couple ​pieces of advice, they’d probably go something like this:

1. Train how you fight, fight how you train—on and off the battlefield. You have to do more than just read this article; you have to implement thoughts and skills into your daily routine, turn skills into habits. Being an operator or operative is a lifestyle, not a deployment or a beard.
2. Being “advanced” is all about doing the “simple” really fucking good.​ ​Keep it simple. Be good at simple. If you overcomplicate it, then the odds are it won’t work. Be good at simple and you’ll end up far more advanced than your adversary.

What do you have planned in the way of signings once the book hits shelves October 13th?

​Right now, I plan to sign at most of the bases in Texas, the Barnes and Noble in Dallas, and the Spy Museum in D.C. More signing opportunities are starting to pop up. All dates and locations will be announced via @100deadlyskills social media platforms.​

If you could be president for a day, what are the top three things you would do?

One day, that’s it?

Approve a fixed national tax rate of 13.8 percent across the board—citizens, non-citizens, and business entities—with the ultimate goal of destroying the IRS.

That and approve head-of-state assassinations. Whether we use it or not, the approval will scare the shit out of all our adversaries.

Finally, I’d call up Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, and say, “Go for it!”

If there was one thing you could change about U.S. SOCOM what would it be?

​I’m not sure I would change anything. It commands the most advanced components within DOD. Its ability to act swiftly is bogged down by governing bodies up the chain of command. If I were going to change anything, I would change the inefficiencies that plague it.

Can you tell our readers a little bit more about your current business, Escape the Wolf?

We bridge the gap between crisis and the unknown with preemptive security solutions. We empower organizations with custom policies, procedures, and workforce education that mitigate threats, decrease exposure to crisis, and increase survivability. We want you to be more confident, more aware, and ultimately, more secure.

If there was one thing you could tell people to do in their everyday lives regarding being more prepared for the dangers of the world, what would it be?

​Stop being so complacent. Yes, it’s human nature to become complacent because we fall victim to routine. Make security a habit. Look at seat belts for example: We put them on without thought multiple times a day. Why? Because there’s a consequence—an annoying beeping from the car, a $250 ticket, or worse, death in a car accident. We are faced with the possibility of horrible consequence every day. If you start thinking about the consequences inflicted by active shooters, cyber attacks, and civil unrest, complacency won’t be an issue.

Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. We’re looking forward to having you on the SOFREP podcast soon. What’s next with writing and your current business?

​Thanks for the push! Not sure what I’ll do next. Let’s see how this first book goes!​