Some men don’t just “retire”… they reinvent.
Command Sergeant Major (Ret.) Sean Keene joins me to talk about what happens when you leave Special Operations and have to rebuild identity, purpose, and standards in the civilian world.
What you’ll gain from this episode:
Why the 80% rule is the key to action when you don’t have perfect information
How to recover from failure without living in shame
What it means to know your triggers and lead yourself with discipline
Why standards matter and why “common sense” isn’t always common
How Sean went from elite missions… to mastering mezcal in Oaxaca
Command Sergeant Major (Ret.) Sean Keene spent more than three decades in Special Operations, serving across Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Central Africa, and Central/South America, and leading at the highest levels when the stakes were real and the margin for error was thin. But this conversation isn’t just about what he did in uniform… it’s about who you become when that chapter ends and you’re forced to redefine yourself without the mission, the rank, or the team structure you once lived by.
Sean opens up about the mindset that carried him through selection, injuries, and “never to return” failure then into an entirely new world as an apprentice mezcalero and founder of O’Kahan Agave. We talk about the 80% rule, emotionless correction, knowing your triggers, and why “common sense” in Special Operations doesn’t always translate in the civilian world. If you’re navigating change, chasing mastery, or learning to lead yourself when life doesn’t come with a perfect plan—this one will challenge you in the best way.
Military Abbreviated Bio:
Sean Keane is a retired Command Sergeant Major (CSM) with over 30 years of experience in the US Army Special Operations/Special Forces. Sean joined the FLARNG in April of 1990 as a Rep-63 and is one of the youngest Soldiers to complete the Special Forces Assessment and Selection and the Special Forces Qualification Course. Pre 9/11, Sean attended the Special Forces Underwater Operations Course, US Army Ranger School, conduct multiple Foreign Internal Defense (FID) operations through Central/South America, assigned to the Pentagon working directly for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and JSOC OPCEN and conducted another short tour as a guest Ranger Instructor for Phase 1 of the US Army Ranger School. CSM Keane has held the positions of Junior and Senior Weapons Sergeant and Team Sergeant on Special Forces Underwater Operations ODAs, Battalion Dive Officer, Special Forces Company SGM, AOB 2310 SGM, AOB CENTAM/SOCSOUTH SGM, Battalion CSM, Combating Transnational Organized Crime Task Force CSM/Senior Enlisted Leader, Special Operations Detachment-Central CSM, and most recently Special Operations Joint Task Force-Iraq/Syria Deputy Commanding General Senior Enlisted Leader/Special Operations Advisory Group SEL overseeing 2000 US and Coalition Special Operations Elements. CSM Keane conducted his first combat rotation into Afghanistan in 2003. Since then Sean has conducted multiple rotations to Afghanistan, Iraq/Syria, Central Africa and Central/South America. On his last rotation with the Special Operations Joint Task Force, CSM Keane found himself in the middle of the attack on the US Embassy Baghdad, the hasty EXFIL of the US Ambassador and all personnel, elimination of an Iranian General and the Iranian Ballistic Missile attack.
More about O’Kahan Agave:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/okahanagave
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/okahanagave
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@OKahanAgave
Reference video from interview: The Power of Why - Simon Sinek Ted Talk
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