Mark Divine

Mark Divine (born July 14, 1963) is an American author, podcaster, and retired Navy SEAL Commander.[1][2] His military service spans 20 years (1989–2011) where he oversaw various missions around the world including Asia Pacific, Africa, Bahrain, and Iraq[3] He retired at the rank of Commander in 2011.

Mark Divine
Birth nameMark D. Divine
Nickname(s)Cyborg
Born (1963-07-14) July 14, 1963
Utica, New York
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service1989–2011
Rank Commander
Commands held Naval Special Warfare Group One
SEAL Team ONE
SEAL Team THREE
SEAL Delivery Vehicle
Alma materColgate University
Spouse(s)Sandy Divine

Early life

Divine was born in Utica, New York and attended Colgate University (graduated 1985 with a degree in economics) while competing on the men's swim and crew teams.[4] Upon graduation, Divine joined PricewaterhouseCoopers (then Coopers & Lybrand) as a senior consultant while working towards a Master in Business Administration at the New York University Stern School of Business (graduated 1989) to become a Certified Public Accountant.[5] During the same time, Divine began a parallel journey into zen meditation and Seido karate under the training of Grandmaster Tadashi Nakamura, where he decided to change paths and pursue a career as a U.S. Navy SEAL Officer.[4][6][7]

Active duty (1989–1996)

After commissioning in the United States Navy in November 1989 through Officer Candidate School, Divine reported to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training in 1990 and graduated as the Honor Man of Class 170 (#1 ranked trainee; 19 graduated out of 185 starting candidates).[8] Following SEAL Qualification Training, Divine reported to SEAL Team THREE as an Assistant Platoon Commander and Platoon Commander. Following Team THREE, Divine served as the Operations Commander at SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE (SDVT-1) stationed in Hawaii.[6][9]

Reserves (1997–2011)

Divine later led various special operation mission in support of SEAL Team THREE as the executive officer at Reserve SEAL Team THREE (1996–1999). Divine was then promoted to lieutenant commander and was mobilized from the Reserves to lead a Naval Special Warfare-wide initiative requested by the Department of Defense for a proof of concept deployment conjunction with SEAL Team ONE to study the proposal to bring the U.S. Embassy into Special Operations Command as a combatant command.[4][8]

Divine was then contracted by Naval Special Warfare Group One to design and lead the final capstone certification exercises (CERTEX) for deploying SEAL squadrons. Later, Divine was hired by Naval Recruiting Command (NRC) to design and implement a nationwide mentoring program to increase the caliber of candidates entering the special operations pipeline.[5] In his final years of service, Divine commanded Reserve SEAL Team THREE and Reserve SEAL Team ONE by serving as the Executive Officer overseeing various deployments and missions. He retired at the rank of Commander (CDR) in 2011 after 20 years of service.[4]

Professional career

After transitioning to the Navy Reserves, Divine launched SEALFIT in 2007 to serve as an immersive academy to strengthen the caliber of SOF candidates entering the Special operations pipeline.[8][10][11] He later founded Unbeatable, LLC in 2014 as a sister company to SEALFIT to bring leadership development to the civilian population using his five-mountain[12] development training plan.[1][13][14] Divine has authored numerous personal development and leadership books (such as Unbeatable Mind, The Way of the SEAL, Staring Down the Wolf) throughout his professional career.[1][2][9] In addition, Divine launched the Courage Foundation in 2017 as a 501(c)(3) organization to increase awareness about veteran suicide by raising money through the completion of 22 million burpees (one million burpees for every veteran who commits suicide per day).[14][15] Divine surpassed his goal on November 11, 2020.[16]

Bibliography
  • Unbeatable Mind, about how to achieve 20x your potential in life. ISBN 978-1508730514
  • The Way of the SEAL, about developing Navy SEAL mental toughness and training discipline ISBN 978-1621454038
  • 8 Weeks to SEALFIT, teaches how to get in shape for SEAL training. ISBN 978-1250762177
  • Staring Down the Wolf: 7 Leadership Commitments that Forge Elite Teams, talks about the qualities that define successful teams. ISBN 978-1250231581
  • Kokoro Yoga, guidance for yoga practice. ISBN 978-1250067210

Awards and decorations

References
  1. Divine, M. "The Unbeatable Mind." San Diego, CA: US Tactical Inc (2015).
  2. Steale, Jeanette. "Focus: From Navy SEAL to entrepreneur." San Diego Union Tribune, 24 June 2016, www.sandiegouniontribune.com.
  3. Macaskill, Jon. "Navy SEAL Commander Mark Divine." Veteran's Path, 21 Nov. 2019, anchor.fm.
  4. Agresta, Mike. "Soldier of Fitness." Colgate News, 2014, news.colgate.edu/scene/2014/11/soldier-of-fitness.html.
  5. Hagner, Larry. "The Top 10 Most Inspiring Manly Mentors." The Good Dad Project, 1 Aug. 2016, gooddadproject.com.
  6. Andrew Sillitoe. 14 Aug. 2020, andrewsillitoe.com/.
  7. Ahmed, Will. "Podcast No. 59: Mark Divine, Former Navy SEAL Commander, Author, Entrepreneur." Whoop, Feb. 2020, www.whoop.com/thelocker/podcast-59-mark-divine-navy-seal-commander/.
  8. Weisz, Jeremy. "Shut Down by a Billion Dollar Company with Mark Divine Founder of SealFit." Inspired Insider, www.inspiredinsider.com.
  9. Divine, Mark, and Allyson Edelhertz Machate. The Way of the SEAL: Think like an elite warrior to lead and succeed. Penguin, 2013.
  10. Greenfield, Ben. "Potent Breathwork Tactics From A Navy SEAL Commander, Staring Down Your Wolf, Operating Calmly Under Stress & More With Mark Divine." Ben Greenfield Fitness, bengreenfieldfitness.com.
  11. SEALFIT. "About SEALFIT." SEALFIT, sealfit.com.
  12. Unbeatable Mind. "Five Mountain Development." Five Mountain Coaching, 5mountaincoaching.com/.
  13. Unbeatable Mind. "About Mark Divine." Unbeatable Mind, unbeatablemind.com/.
  14. Dube, Rob. "How This Elite Navy SEAL Found Strength and Success Through Mindfulness." Forbes, 24 June 2019, www.forbes.com.
  15. "Seeking the Military Suicide Solution Podcast, Episode 11: Mark Divine, retired Navy SEAL, author and entrepreneur.''" Military Times, Mar. 2020, www.militarytimes.com.
  16. Wood, Charles. "Jake Wood Talks Leadership And Team Rubicon." Unbeatable Mind, unbeatablemind.com.
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