Aug. 28, 2026

Gus Gusentine || A Navy SEAL Commander on Faith, War, and Identity

Gus Gusentine || A Navy SEAL Commander on Faith, War, and Identity
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A Navy SEAL commander on identity, faith, and why we fight the wars we fight.

Captain Robert "Gus" Gusentine spent nearly 30 years in the Navy, commanding SEAL Team 10 and leading special operations forces from the Philippines to the Pacific. He joins Corey to talk about faith, painting, moral injury, and what it means to defend your identity without losing your soul.


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Key Takeaways:

Identity is the last citadel of the soul. Gus argues that when you back someone into a corner over their identity, there's nowhere left for the conversation to go. That's why wars of religion cut so deep.

Faith and religion aren't the same fight. Drawing on a mentor's line, "we never go to war over faith, we always go to war over religion," Gus distinguishes belief itself from the practice and politics built around it.

Moral injury outlasts the battlefield. Gus and Corey discuss what happens when service members carry out orders that conflict with their conscience, and why caring for that wound is a command responsibility.

Art forces you to see differently. Gus talks about painting as a discipline that trained his eye long before it trained his hand, and how that same habit of seeing applies to leadership and writing.


About Our Guest:

Captain Robert "Gus" Gusentine served nearly 30 years in the Navy, including as an exchange officer with Germany's Kamphschwimmer Company, commander of SEAL Team 10, operations chief (J3) for Special Operations Command Pacific, and commander of Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines. After retiring in 2014, he led the Strategic Leaders International course at the Naval Special Warfare Schoolhouse, teaching senior military officers and diplomats from around the world. He is also a painter and writes on Substack alongside Roger Herbert.


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