Chris Klaftenegger was a special operations medic in two different military branches, and he has been to selection courses in the US Navy, Marines, and Air Force. 

He began his career as a SARC - a Special Amphibious Recon Corpsman at 1st Recon Battalion. 

After that, he transferred to a reserve unit of the Air Force and went through selection and training to become a Pararescueman, also known as a PJ. 

He also attended countless other schools, ranging from the Coast Guard’s Advanced Rescue Swimmer school to avalanche and tactical structural collapse search and rescue schools. 

Chris then worked in private security as an emergency response medic, personal security specialist, and medical instructor. 

Following that, he transitioned to the world of business and technology. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Onyx Industries, a company of former special operators making intelligent unmanned systems and airborne solutions for the defense industry. 

In this episode, we talk about Chris' career, his experiences in various selection courses, and his time as a Marine Recon instructor. 

We're splitting this conversation into two parts and will run the second half in a few days. 

Time Stamps: 

00:00:22 Intro to Chris Klaftenegger
00:01:26 Military Journey
00:08:44 BUD/S vs BRC
00:12:08 Learning to Regulate
00:18:58 Recon and PJ Community Differences
00:20:30 Evolution of Combat Medicine
00:27:32 Recon Instructor
00:36:32 Weakest Person in the Class
00:40:05 Sponsor
00:40:57 Common Signals of the "X Factor"
00:44:01 Selection is More Than Finding the Best Exercisers
00:46:50 Outro