CW4(R) Michael Rutledge grew up in a small farming community in Illinois. At the age of 5, his father introduced him to flying by taking him into the skies in a 1942 WWII Boeing Stearman biplane. Along with the movie Top Gun, Civil Air Patrol, and his love for military history convinced him to pursue a path in aviation.

Mike served on Active Duty for nearly 30 years – with 12 years enlisted, 8 of which was served as a Navy SEAL with SEAL Team One; the remaining years as a Warrant Officer assigned to the “Night Stalkers” of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR).

Although Mike did not graduate from the United States Military Academy, he had an influential role in the West Point community. Before retiring back in May, he served his last remaining years in the military as the Commander of the 2nd Flight Detachment at West Point. In this episode, we cover Mike’s humble origins, his time as a Navy Seal and his transition to the Army as a pilot, as well as his unwavering passion to fly.

If you would like to learn more about what Michael is working on, please follow him at the links below:

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgrutledge/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/michael_g_rutledge/
Website: http://mentorsformilitary.com/

If you liked this video, check out the first woman to fly the AH-6 Little Bird for the 160th, CPT Lindsey Danilack:    • 010 Long Gray Lessons with Former USM...  

Time Stamps
00:00 Introduction
01:28 Childhood
02:26 Family Service
03:11 Prior to Enlisting
04:07 Passion for Flying
06:10 Learning about Navy Seals
07:45 BUD/S Training
09:20 Lessons on making it through BUD/S
10:32 First Assignment - Seal Team 1
11:39 Challenges
16:02 Rediscovery of Aviation
17:22 Signing up to be a Pilot
20:09 The journey to 160th SOAR
34:02 Life at 160th
36:19 16 combat deployments
39:46 Brotherhood
40:46 West Point Aviation Commander
43:10 Changes since being at West Point
47:03 Retirement / Next Chapter

My Equipment and Gear I use for all of my videos and live streams:
(Camera 1) Sony A7III: https://amzn.to/3kdST4F
(Camera 2) Sony A7RII: https://amzn.to/2FwTpvC
(Lens 1) Sony SEL35F14Z Distagon T FE 35mm f/1.4: https://amzn.to/3mfeqvC
(Lens 2) Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens: https://amzn.to/2DRhpsG
(Lens 3) ROKINON AF 18mm F2.8: https://amzn.to/3hqa29g
(Live Stream Microphone) Shure SM7B Microphone: https://amzn.to/33nUkGD
(Run and Gun Microphone) Rode VideoMic Pro+: https://amzn.to/3bN5718
(Lapel Microphone) Rode SmartLav+: https://amzn.to/3hnzBYG
RODE PSA 1Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/2FtEjHb
(Stabilizer) Zhiyun-Tech Crane v2: https://amzn.to/3ithHFq