Mykel Hawke

Mykel Hawke (born November 29, 1965) is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces officer, best known for his role in the Discovery Channel series Man, Woman, Wild, where he co-starred with his wife, Ruth England, a British television presenter and actress. He is currently working for the Travel Channel. He is also the author of several books, most recently Hawke's Green Beret Survival Manual.

Mykel Hawke currently resides in New Orleans, Louisiana, has two sons and two grandchildren from a previous marriage of 12 years; he has one son, born in London, England, from his marriage to Ruth England of 8 years.

Early life and career
Mykel Hawke was born in Fort Knox, Kentucky on November 29, 1965; as an "Army brat," he grew up primarily in the southeast, moving frequently. He married Ruth England in 2005 and they currently reside in New Orleans, Louisiana, with their son.

Education
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from New York University and a Master of Science degree in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. A combat veteran, Hawke served as an enlisted soldier and later as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Special Forces ("Green Berets"), attaining the rank of captain. He fought rebels and trained UN peacekeepers in war-torn Africa and did combat search and rescue missions during the drug war in Colombia. He has been awarded black belts in Aikido and Judo.

Career
His first television job was on season seven of MTV's Road Rules, 1998, where he first played the good guy who trained the kids to recover their kidnapped chihuahua and then later played the bad guy on Snake Island, taking the cast down one-by-one. He was also one of four survival experts featured in the Discovery Channel's short-lived series, Science of Survival. In episode 2, "Escape from the Amazon", Mykel spends three days in the Amazon, reducing his survival gear each successive day. Later, he continued in the showbiz industry with various jobs such as a security and medic for shows like Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami and Fox Reality Channel's Paradise Hotel 2, which he also appeared in.

Military service
Mykel joined the US Army in 1982. He served on active duty for a total of 12 years; he also served in the Reserves and Guard for another 12 years. He was a Sergeant First Class (E-7) before he took a commission as an Officer, 18A. He held three Enlisted, Special Forces Military Occupational Skills (MOS):


 * Special Forces Medic, 18D
 * Special Forces Communicator, 18E
 * Special Forces Intelligence Operations, 18F

Mykel received pay for three languages, the maximum number authorized. He retired in 2011 from the U.S. Army Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Man, Woman, Wild (2010-2012)
The show featured Hawke and his wife, Ruth, as they had to survive for a half week with limited supplies in wild and inhospitable locations around the world.

One Man Army (2011-2012)
Hawke also hosted the Discovery Channel show, One Man Army, in which personnel from backgrounds such as special operations, military, law enforcement, and extreme sports, competed in three areas of speed, strength, and intelligence to win prize money.

Elite Tactical Unit (2013)
The Outdoor Channel aired a program entitled Elite Tactical Unit: SWAT In the show, Hawke serves as host while 14 real-life SWAT professionals compete in weekly team elimination challenges.

Lost Survivors (current)
The Travel Channel is now airing a new series entitled Lost Survivors in which Mykel and wife, Ruth England Hawke, find themselves in remote areas around the world with minimal supplies and few clues as to their actual whereabouts. The couple must then rely on instinct, expertise, and the strength of each other to effect rescue.

Other endeavors
Mykel and Ruth appeared as guest judges on Bravo's Top Chef Masters where they judged dishes created using insects as the primary ingredient. Hawke also appeared as a judge on Food Network's second season premiere of Extreme Chef.

Mykel appeared as a survivalist instructor in season 5 episode 7 of The Simple Life, 2007.

Hawke appeared in the UK Channel 4 series Tool Academy episode 5, 2011.

Hawke also appeared as part of the helicopter rescue team in the 2009 reality television series Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment.

Hawke also was a survival director in Bizarre Foods Survival Special.

Hawke left TOPS Knives in 2012, who produced the popular Hawke Hellion and Elite signature knives, and started the Hawke Brand of survival knives and products in 2013. His new "Hawke Brand," created in 2014, will expand to Lady Hawke, Baby Hawke; Hawke Family and Hawke-approved products.

Hawke made his first film appearance in the live-action film Dirty Sanchez: The Movie. The film centers around the Dirty Sanchez TV series, in which the crew performs dangerous stunts in connection to the 7 Deadly Sins. For the sin Gluttony, the Dirty Sanchez crew spend four days in the Mexican desert without food and drink. Hawke serves as their mentor during this time, forcing them to carry out various survival techniques, such as killing and cooking live animals and drinking their own urine.

Hawke established a combat medic school in Azerbaijan.

Hawke is a proud supporter of The Green Beret Foundation and The Silent Heroes Organization. With wife, Ruth, he is also a partner in Survival Life. In 2014, Hawke established Community Sentinels, a charity to help Vets integrate with community through preparedness.