Mitch was also a Navy SEAL who taught hand-to-hand combat while in the service. This was also referenced briefly in the season three two-part episode "Shattered." As a SEAL, Mitch went on at least two operations, one of which he could not talk about. He also had a commanding officer named "Junkyard" who said that Mitch "was never good at taking orders and never knew when to quit." The operations hinted at in "Baywatch Hawaii" do not match the timeline of the original "Baywatch", thus creating a continuity error in the writing. Mitch was shown to have a care-free, cavalier attitude towards his work as a SEAL, starkly contrasting the character's attitude towards the work and profession of a lifeguard.