Admiral McRaven recalls talk with troops before Bin Laden raid: 'Just do your job'

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Admiral McRaven opens up about life and war in new book

Admiral William H. McRaven shares his new book 'Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations' on 'Fox & Friends.'

As a team of U.S. Navy Seals prepared to take down the mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks, Admiral William McRaven had some frank words for his troops.

While recalling that raid during an interview on "Fox & Friends," McRaven said he treated the raid like "any other mission." "What I told the guys was, 'look, it is going to be easy to get overcome by the moment but just do your job.'"

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He told Pete Hegseth that the raid felt different given that if former Al Qaeda leader Usama Bin Laden was in that Pakistani compound, his troops would be taking part in a "historic moment in terms of bringing justice to all those people that were killed in 9/11."

When Hegseth asked what kept the admiral going, he said the young men and women of the military.

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"If you spend time around the young men and women of the military, you can't help but be inspired by their courage, their heroism, their sacrifice ... all you got to do is spend a little time with them and you'll get the energy to do the job."

McRaven was promoting his book, "Sea Stories," which recounted details from his life of service. He received attention for his book "Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World."

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After Hegseth asked about raising good kids, McRaven praised milennials as the "next greatest generation."

"I'm probably the biggest fan of the milennials you'll ever meet and I think that surprises people," he said. "I hear this that the milennials are pampered and they're soft and they're entitled. I'm quick to tell people, 'then you never saw them in a firefight in Afghanistan' or 'you never saw them in a classroom in the University of Texas system trying to improve their life and the lives of their families."