Born and raised in Boston, MA, Dr. Withem is from the east coast. He spent his childhood working summers on his dad’s commercial lobster fishing boat in the waters of New England. This work was very arduous and helped him develop a strong work ethic: which applied to his military service where he volunteered with the Navy and opted to undergo the military’s hardest physical and mental training. Dr. Withem was the youngest member of his BUD/S class training for the elite Navy SEAL Teams. BUD/S is an acronym for Basic Underwater Demolitions/SEAL training.
A week after he graduated from that training 911 occurred and Dr. Withem was sent to a SEAL Team to be deployed in Africa and Europe. As part of the team Dr. Withem was tasked with various missions utilizing the full range of SEAL tactics from Sea, Air, and Land as the SEAL acronym implies. Dr. Withem was tasked to serve as secret service for former President George Bush during his tour.
Returning from deployment Dr. Withem took his experience and moved on to pursue studies in Marine Biology at the University of California in Santa Barbara (UCSB) earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Ecology Evolution and Marine Biology in 2009.