By Rob Shaul
Recently retired Green Beret Sergeant Major, Todd Wilhite, and The North Face Global Team member, Mike Wolfe, are both completing 2-week focused mentorships at Strong Swift Durable.
Todd retired after 25 years of US Army service in September. Over 22 years of that time was in the Special Forces and includes six combat deployments to Afghanistan, and military training and exchange programs with 17 countries in the Middle East, Central Asia, Europe and Africa. During his team years Todd won 4 Bronze Stars, and the Legion of Merit.
After his 16 years of team time, Todd served as a senior enlisted leader and advisor to Senior Level Leadership at SOCOM, and downrange (Afghanistan) as an operations leader for a combined Army and Navy SOF Task Force. He finished his career as a Senior Instructor at the Joint Special Operations University at McDill AFB, Florida. He’s currently in graduate school working toward his MBA.
I’ve known Todd for several years – he actually brought me in to teach my first programming course at McDill AFB and we’ve stayed in touch and worked together since then. His work for us includes strategic planning for our evolving Military Athlete Institute, advising us on current military-focused education courses, military-focused business development, and water confidence instruction.
I first met Mike Wolfe through our past work with The North Face. Mike’s known for his elite ultra running victories and accomplishments that include winning The North Face Endurance Challenge in San Francisco, the Way Too Cool 50km and second place finishes at the Western States 100, and Ultra Tail du Mont Blanc.
However, Mike is complete mountain athlete who’s resume extends beyond running to high level alpine and ice climbing, full on exploratory expeditions, and focused backcountry hunting. Having grown up in the mountains of Montana, Mike’s running career evolved from a love of exploring the wilderness as opposed to a track and field background.
In addition to being a professional athlete, Mike has a law degree and is a practicing attorney in Missoula, Montana. Mike’s spending his two weeks developing strategy and initiatives for the Mountain Athlete Institute.