WEBVTT - Honoring Fallen Soldiers with Patrick Nelson 0:00:03.160 --> 0:00:05.320 That time you got home from a week of double 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:09.479 shifts and your dog didn't recognize you. Let's go. He 0:00:09.640 --> 0:00:11.559 hates me? Hates me? Do you want to treat? You 0:00:11.640 --> 0:00:14.840 want to treat? Oh? You knew it was time for 0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:19.360 something new. Let's job it up at career Builder. You 0:00:19.360 --> 0:00:22.120 can find jobs with the work life balance and salary 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:25.400 you want, plus build a resume and apply to multiple 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:29.080 jobs in just one click. Start your search at CareerBuilder 0:00:29.160 --> 0:00:32.639 dot com. Still living in twenty twenty one and manually 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:34.800 taking notes, there is a better way start the new 0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:38.160 year with auto dot ai automatically get meeting notes. 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Please 0:01:19.600 --> 0:01:23.399 be advised the following episode contains references to violence and 0:01:23.520 --> 0:01:32.280 may not be suitable for all listeners. This is Bets 0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:35.600 you Should Know, a podcast from iHeartRadio celebrating the many 0:01:35.600 --> 0:01:37.679 who have selflessly put their lives on the line to 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:40.880 serve their country in the armed forces. Every Veterans Day, 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:43.640 we as a country honor and commemorate the people who 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:46.200 fight for our freedom and defend our country. And in 0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:49.280 this four part series, you'll hear from these individuals as 0:01:49.280 --> 0:01:52.360 they share their unique experiences in the military and the 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:54.800 lessons they learned that carried them into their new roles 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:58.040 in civilian life. In this episode, I'm talking to retired 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:02.880 Staff Sergeant Patrick Nelson of the Army National Guard. At first, 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:06.280 Patrick decided to attend boot camp to escape a difficult 0:02:06.280 --> 0:02:08.800 home life, But a few years later, he dropped out 0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:11.280 of a community college two days after nine to eleven 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:14.800 and went active duty with the National Guard. Patrick eventually 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:18.440 retired from the Army and transitioned out of active duty. Today, 0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:21.000 he speaks to groups across the country, sharing stories of 0:02:21.000 --> 0:02:23.799 a service and telling audience is about the inspiring men 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:29.520 and women he served with whom we lost overseas. Hey, Patrick, 0:02:29.560 --> 0:02:31.400 how are you? Hey? I'm good, Bobby. How are you doing? 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:33.560 Pretty good? Good to talk to you. Where you live 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:36.760 right now? Where are you? I am in Elk River, Minnesota, 0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:40.080 which is just a suburb of the Minneapolis Saint Paul area. 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:42.320 So is it freezing cold up there right now? Or 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:46.640 almost getting in? No, it's pretty cold. We're expected to 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:50.639 get five to seven inches of snow today, so we're 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:53.080 in the middle of it right now. Fall has passed 0:02:53.080 --> 0:02:55.880 the spy and we've shifted into winter. I am not 0:02:56.000 --> 0:02:58.080 lying to you here, I'm looking because I'm in Nashville 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:00.960 right now and it is seven eight degrees right now. 0:03:00.960 --> 0:03:05.760 It could not be nice. Nice. So you enlisted in 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:08.400 the military in what year? Well? I first enlisted in 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:12.360 the Minnesota Army National Guard in February of two thousand, 0:03:12.360 --> 0:03:14.840 while I was a junior in high school. Well, why, 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:17.640 as a junior in high school did you feel that 0:03:17.800 --> 0:03:20.840 it was the right time for you to get involved? Well, Bobby, 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:25.000 I didn't have the greatest childhood growing up. It certainly 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:27.720 could have been worse. But I heard a bunch of 0:03:27.760 --> 0:03:29.840 guys from my high school we're joining and they said 0:03:30.520 --> 0:03:33.040 They're going to send us down to Oklahoma for basic 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:37.520 training for the entire summer, and I was like, what 0:03:41.840 --> 0:03:43.760 I want to get out of here? Count me in 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:48.440 And I signed up, really not knowing what to expect, 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:52.440 but just wanting to take a break from the situation 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:56.680 back home. You went to Oklahoma for basic first, right, 0:03:56.680 --> 0:03:59.440 and what was that experience like for you? That's correct, 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:04.480 it was, yeah, Basic training Fort Sill, Oklahoma. It was interesting. 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:07.040 I think it's everything that you would think it would be. 0:04:07.880 --> 0:04:10.400 I had a fun time because I was there with 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:12.680 a bunch of buddies from high school, so I think 0:04:12.720 --> 0:04:16.200 that probably made it a lot easier and I got 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:20.000 to do some things that I've never done before, similar 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:22.600 to your story. You know, I had a very rough 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:25.120 childhood growing up. You know, my mom was an addict. 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:27.839 I never knew my dad kind of had to figure 0:04:27.839 --> 0:04:30.480 out situations. And you know, it's it's wild how we 0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:33.000 have to find other places to go to get a 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:38.280 feeling of involvement, sometimes love, sometimes a feeling of just accomplishment. 0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:41.400 And mine was you know, church and performing, you know 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:44.320 for me, And it's awesome that yours was the military. 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:46.960 And so you're a junior in high school, you're going 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:49.640 through basic When did you go this is gonna be 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:52.880 something I know I'm going to do for a long time. Yeah, well, 0:04:52.920 --> 0:04:55.080 so you know, I got back in, you know, started 0:04:55.120 --> 0:04:58.240 my senior year of high school, had zero direction with 0:04:58.600 --> 0:05:01.440 what I was going to do in life. I didn't 0:05:01.440 --> 0:05:04.400 have the family support that said, here, you should you 0:05:04.680 --> 0:05:08.080 visit these colleges. Here, let me help you fill out 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:12.039 these forms and applications. It was basically just me navigating 0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:15.679 things on my own. And after I graduated high school 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:20.200 and I barely graduated again, there's a lot of similarity 0:05:20.240 --> 0:05:22.640 between our stories because you know, I saw drugs in 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:24.760 the house, my mother arrested. I did not know my 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:27.160 biological father growing up. I didn't meet him till three 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:29.520 years ago, which is an even more interesting story, and 0:05:29.560 --> 0:05:32.200 he's a wonderful man. But yeah, I had no idea 0:05:32.240 --> 0:05:34.000 what I said to do. I had to go back 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:38.880 to Oklahoma again for my advanced training, and then I 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:41.800 came back and I enrolled in a community college in 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:45.880 west central Minnesota, and three weeks into my first semester, 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:50.440 I was skipping classes already. It's you safe to say 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:53.120 that I wasn't going to find a lot of success 0:05:53.800 --> 0:05:57.159 in college, but then that Tuesday in September, all of 0:05:57.160 --> 0:06:02.240 our lives changed. And as I watched on TV, just 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:07.880 like everybody else, I felt those same feelings of helplessness, sorrow, anger, 0:06:08.720 --> 0:06:11.400 And two days after the attacks, I went and visited 0:06:11.440 --> 0:06:15.719 the recruiter's office and asked to go active duty Army. 0:06:16.600 --> 0:06:19.200 I knew that the military is going to be doing 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:21.880 something in response to this, and I knew that the 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:24.960 active duty obviously would be the ones going first, and 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:29.479 driven by all those patriotic feelings and emotions I wanted 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:32.479 to be. I wanted to be part of it. You know, 0:06:32.520 --> 0:06:35.760 when looking at you getting in January two thousand and 0:06:35.760 --> 0:06:38.279 two and you talk about nine to eleven and just 0:06:38.839 --> 0:06:42.400 listening to how as a student you weren't as disciplined 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:44.560 as you would like to be. Why do you think 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:47.600 you felt like you wanted to get into what is 0:06:48.320 --> 0:06:52.760 probably the most disciplined area you can go into, which 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:54.400 is the military. Why did you feel like that was 0:06:54.480 --> 0:06:57.440 right for you? Yeah, that's a great question. I think 0:06:57.520 --> 0:07:00.680 a lot of it boiled down to grow up. I 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:02.479 feel like I had a lot of self awareness. I 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:07.359 understood my lot in life, how people viewed me. But 0:07:07.480 --> 0:07:10.320 at the same time, I also had friends who had 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:13.880 very you know, what i'd call normal families and normal 0:07:14.000 --> 0:07:18.320 family experiences, and I really craved that and wanted that 0:07:18.960 --> 0:07:21.960 and would try to surround myself with those type of people. 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:25.760 So I learned at a very early age the importance 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:28.520 of surrounding yourself with the right people, and I knew 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:31.040 that I would get that in the military. So you 0:07:31.120 --> 0:07:34.680 specialized as a filled artillery cannon crew member, you gotta 0:07:34.720 --> 0:07:38.320 help me. What does that job entail? That job entails 0:07:38.320 --> 0:07:43.680 shooting a howitzer cannon and so specifically I was on 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:48.080 a one oh five millimeter howitzer cannon, so I was 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:51.320 a paratrooper and so it's something that can be parachuted 0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:54.400 out of the back of an airplane, that can be 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:58.200 sling loaded underneath a helicopter. So it's a very agile 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:02.040 artillery piece where we can shooting, move and get the 0:08:02.120 --> 0:08:05.600 job done. So from when you first start training until 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:09.400 you're actually active with it, what is that training process 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:13.600 that sounds extremely intense? Yeah, it's it's pretty intense. You know, 0:08:13.680 --> 0:08:18.200 in basic training and your advanced individual training, it's really 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:21.360 just sort of introducing you to the military because you 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:24.239 really don't learn the most until you're at your unit. 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:27.480 And so when I finally was able to get active 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:29.920 duty in January two thousand and two, I first got 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:34.720 sent to this unit in Germany, which was a rocket brigade, 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:37.960 so they fired rockets. I was used to shooting cannons, 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:43.960 and so they gave me the position of the colonel's driver. 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:47.040 Now I didn't drop out of college after nine to 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:50.360 eleven to drive the colonel and make sure his coffee 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:54.079 was hot. I happened to be at a training exercise 0:08:54.559 --> 0:08:57.040 one day we were in Germany, and I saw these 0:08:57.040 --> 0:09:00.600 guys parachuting out of the back of helicopters and I 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:03.120 pointed up to my first startant, to a standing next 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:04.679 to me. I said, that's the stuff that I want 0:09:04.720 --> 0:09:08.040 to do, and he had the right connections. With the 0:09:08.240 --> 0:09:11.440 help of a lot of paperwork, I got reassigned down 0:09:11.480 --> 0:09:15.480 to the one seventy third Airborne Brigade based out of Vicenza, Italy. 0:09:16.280 --> 0:09:18.360 So you're a guy that grows up in a small 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:21.360 town in Minnesota, you're in Oklahoma doing basic and all 0:09:21.360 --> 0:09:24.480 of a sudden, you're all around the world. You're in Germany, 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:26.520 you're in Italy, What's I mean, That's got to be 0:09:26.559 --> 0:09:29.240 a bit of a culture shock to you. Huh. Absolutely 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:36.439 huge culture shock, but such an amazing opportunity for myself 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:39.120 just to have that exposure. And just I mean, even 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:41.080 in the military alone, even if I would have been 0:09:41.080 --> 0:09:44.520 stationed in the States, it's a blender full of people, 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:46.240 and it was just such a pleasure and joy to 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:51.280 be able to serve with such a diverse group. But 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:56.119 as fulfilling as the experience was, Patrick faced major adversity 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:58.640 while deployed. In two thousand and five, he was stationed 0:09:58.840 --> 0:10:02.560 at a forward operating base along the Pakistani border, serving 0:10:02.559 --> 0:10:06.000 as fire support for a special forces team. It was 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:09.199 here alongside the Pakistani border that everything changed in an 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:14.040 instant for Patrick. It was June, which meant fighting season 0:10:14.160 --> 0:10:16.439 was starting to pick up. Things were starting to get 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:20.120 pretty busy, so we needed some more ammunition. I went 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:23.439 over to help that other section that day because they 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:25.960 had a sergeant leaving on R and R, so I 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:29.040 was gonna basically backfill his position while he was gone. 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:31.079 And so as I heard the sound of the Chinook 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:34.480 helicopter approaching, I hopped in a humby with my good 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:37.640 friend Luke and then just as we're about to pull 0:10:37.679 --> 0:10:40.520 away to drive out to the landing zone, my soldier 0:10:40.760 --> 0:10:42.920 hopped in the back. Now he was supposed to be 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:46.400 back with our section, So I turned around and I 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:47.920 was about to yell at him, but I thought, for 0:10:47.960 --> 0:10:50.760 a second, you know what I value that kind of 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:53.160 work ethic. He wants to come lift some heavy boxes 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:57.760 in this heat out here, that's great. Our section can 0:10:57.800 --> 0:11:00.360 no problem handle the job without the both of us. 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:03.240 But then I realized he didn't have his helmet on, 0:11:03.520 --> 0:11:07.960 and Bobby I literally opened my mouth, But then I 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:10.719 realized I didn't have mine on either, and it's kind 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:12.480 of hard for me to say something if I'm not 0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:14.840 doing the right thing. So we got out to the 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:17.880 landing zone. The Chinook landed, and a group of ten 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:20.600 of us stepped to the side of the aircraft so 0:11:20.640 --> 0:11:23.120 they could take the machine gun off the back ramp. 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:26.160 My platoon sergeant he handed me a piece of paper 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:29.600 with some serial numbers items we are expecting. The rotor 0:11:29.640 --> 0:11:32.400 blades are turning, it's kicking up dust. You can't hear 0:11:32.440 --> 0:11:35.480 anybody talk. And I grabbed the piece of paper and 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:38.880 I turned around to ground guide. My buddy Luke and 0:11:38.960 --> 0:11:40.800 the hum vied to gi him a little bit closer 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:42.760 to the back of the helicopter, so it's a little 0:11:42.800 --> 0:11:45.800 shorter distance to load the ammunition. And the next thing 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:50.600 I remember, I'm just picked up and I'm slammed to 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:57.559 the ground, unsure what happened. I look up and you know, 0:11:57.640 --> 0:12:01.600 I see bodies laying everywhere. I see blood, and I 0:12:01.640 --> 0:12:04.400 initially thought maybe one of the engines on the helicopter 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:09.320 had possibly exploded. The helicopter powered down, and then I 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:12.240 heard that distinct sound of an incoming one oh seven 0:12:12.280 --> 0:12:15.560 millimeter rocket and I got up in a dove underneath 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:19.960 the humby for cover as more rockets impacted around us, 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:23.280 And as soon as the barrage ended, I crawled out 0:12:23.360 --> 0:12:27.319 from underneath and I started running back to the soldiers 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:29.720 that were still on the ground, really unsure of what 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:32.600 I was going to find. And as I was running, 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:35.760 a marine that was on our base training Afghan National 0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:37.920 Army soldiers had yelled to me that I'd been hit, 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:41.000 and up until that point and it felt any pain. 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:43.439 But I turned my head and looked at the back 0:12:43.440 --> 0:12:45.559 of my uniform and it was shredded and blood was 0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:47.880 point out, and it was at that moment the pain 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:50.000 really hit me. So they brought us to the small 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:54.280 Afghan clinic that was within our forward operating base and 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:57.160 was ran by an Afghan doctor, and so it was 0:12:57.200 --> 0:13:01.680 a mass casualty situation, and my wounds were very minor 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:04.880 compared to everybody else. I took some shrapnel to the back, 0:13:05.200 --> 0:13:08.040 nothing too serious, had a piece of still stick an otomy. 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:10.719 One of the Special Forces guys came by with his 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:13.560 little leatherman tool, whipped out his plyers and pulled it out. 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:17.720 That was pretty interesting. And I got bandaged up, and 0:13:17.760 --> 0:13:19.680 I started looking around and see who else was hurt. 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:22.920 And I saw a supply sergeant that was recently attached 0:13:22.960 --> 0:13:26.520 to us from a National Guard unit out of Massachusetts, 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:29.280 and he's laying on this elevated stretcher, and the local 0:13:29.360 --> 0:13:33.120 Afghan doctor, who is like five feet two inches is 0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:37.439 standing on this red melt crate performing CPR. So I 0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:40.320 kind of do a quick lap around the clinic trying 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:43.040 to see who else is hurt, how bad, and I 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:45.080 come back around it. It couldn't have been more than 0:13:45.160 --> 0:13:48.600 forty five seconds, and they're zipping Michael up into a 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:56.360 body bag and I find my way into a small 0:13:56.480 --> 0:13:58.960 room in the back of the clinic there, and that's 0:13:58.960 --> 0:14:01.680 where I see my soldiering Manuel Hernandez, laying on a table. 0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:05.400 His head is bandaged. A few people are working on him, 0:14:06.360 --> 0:14:08.679 but I could see his chest rise and fall, so 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:10.920 I knew that he was breathing, and I grabbed his hand. 0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:15.120 I said, hey, everything's going to be okay. Medivac helicopters arrived. 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:19.920 They brought us to forward surgical teams in the region. 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:23.560 They removed several pieces of shrapnel from my back, left 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:27.320 a few souvenirs in there for me, bandaged me up, 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:30.000 sent me back out to the landing zone for another 0:14:30.080 --> 0:14:35.640 helicopter ride to Bogger Mayorfield for some further advanced medical care. 0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:38.880 And it was as I was waiting there, my commander 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:41.360 approached me and asked me how I was doing, and 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:44.240 I told him I was going to be fine, And 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:47.080 of course I asked, I said, well, how's Hernandez And 0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:48.640 he looked at me said He's going to be okay, 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:53.280 And you know, I just felt such relief. And he 0:14:53.400 --> 0:14:56.360 turned to walk away, and he got about three or 0:14:56.360 --> 0:15:00.640 four steps and he turned around in tier were rolling 0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:02.720 down his cheeks and he said I'm sorry that I lied. 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:10.640 Hernandez didn't make it, and I dropped to my knees 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:17.880 and I just lost it. He died because I didn't 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:22.400 have the courage to speak up, because I wasn't doing 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:29.000 the right thing. And that was something that haunted me 0:15:29.040 --> 0:15:32.320 for a long time as I finished my military career 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:36.040 and even as I transitioned into the civilian world. You know, 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:39.400 I tried to drink it away. I tried to wash 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:44.920 it away with pills. But I've learned over time it's 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:46.960 such a cliche. I can't change the past, but I 0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:49.560 can influence the future. And so I've learned that I 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:53.080 can take that story. I can take my failure. I 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:56.680 can take the sacrifice of Emmanuel and Michael and other 0:15:56.720 --> 0:15:59.160 friends of mine that I've lost in combat, and I 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:02.760 can share them with others to inspire them. And so 0:16:02.800 --> 0:16:05.880 I've really found a purpose and being able to share 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:08.760 my story with others and also just let them know 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:11.440 about these these brave men that I had the honor 0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:14.600 of serving with. Well, first, i'd like to thank you 0:16:14.640 --> 0:16:17.320 for sharing that part of your story. I know that 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:20.200 you were extremely vulnerable to tell that, and that so 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:22.880 many people are going to benefit from you just sharing 0:16:22.880 --> 0:16:25.160 what you've gone through, because people have and we'll go 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:27.520 through very similar things. So first before we move on 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:29.360 to the next part and some other questions that for me, 0:16:29.400 --> 0:16:32.640 I would just like to thank you for spending those 0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:38.920 few minutes talking about that with me. After spending nearly 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:41.480 seven years as a paratrooper in the US Army and 0:16:41.640 --> 0:16:45.360 completing three combat deployments in various leadership positions, earning a 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:48.280 Bronze Star and Purple Heart, Patrick turned us focus to 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:54.720 helping others. Being able to place yourself up in somebody 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:57.680 else's shoes and see things from their perspective is something 0:16:57.720 --> 0:16:59.680 we need so much more of in this world that 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:03.560 we're living in today. And so I'm able to take 0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:06.439 that story and just it one. It connects me with 0:17:06.480 --> 0:17:09.320 other people, like you said, who've had maybe not the 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:13.600 same obviously tragedies being blown up by a rocket, but 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:19.800 people who've experienced grief or people who've experienced loss, and 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:24.720 just attempting to be a role model for them to 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:28.639 show them that, yes, it still impacts me, it still hurts, 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:31.160 but I can do something about it as far as 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:35.359 sharing that story and influencing others. And you know, in February. 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:38.520 I lost my job, like a lot of people did, 0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:40.760 and now I am making a go of it on 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:45.040 my own, trying to be a speaker to share my story, 0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:47.840 and I will talk to anybody that will sit down 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:52.000 and listen. It has made me very purpose driven. When 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:54.720 I was in the military, or rather when I signed up, 0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:58.760 I signed up for all those patriotic reasons, but when 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:02.440 I was in it was just another job. We woke 0:18:02.520 --> 0:18:04.159 up a little bit earlier than most people, and we 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:08.320 took extended business trips. But just like somebody might be 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:10.880 an insurance salesman, I was a soldier. I didn't think 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:13.960 about that patriotic stuff. And it wasn't until I got 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:19.000 out that I reflected on my experiences and realize I 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:22.719 was part of something so much bigger than myself. I 0:18:22.760 --> 0:18:26.000 tried for a long time thinking I had to replicate 0:18:26.080 --> 0:18:30.080 that exact purpose, which I quickly learned that I never 0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:32.200 was going to be able to do. But I have 0:18:32.320 --> 0:18:36.240 found a purpose again and just being able to inspire others, 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:40.400 to help them realize that they can impact those around them, 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:46.000 because sometimes the smallest access service have the biggest impact, 0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:50.159 and you may never know unless you speak up or 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:53.320 talk to somebody or reach out. You just never know 0:18:53.440 --> 0:18:56.800 the impact that you could have on somebody's life. Whenever 0:18:56.840 --> 0:18:59.720 you transition into civilian life, did you have a clear 0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:02.600 path that you knew that you would follow getting back 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:06.000 and what was that transition like for you. I knew 0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:09.359 before I got out that I needed to have a plan. 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:13.280 I saw a lot of soldiers leave the military without 0:19:13.280 --> 0:19:16.480 a plan and say, you know what, I'm going to 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:18.080 take a couple months off, then I'm going to go 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:21.320 to college. I'm gonna use my benefits. And I never 0:19:21.359 --> 0:19:23.639 saw him do it. While I was in Afghanistan on 0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:27.719 my last deployment, which was fifteen months long, I had 0:19:27.760 --> 0:19:32.520 already received one scholarship, a Horatio alger military scholar. I 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:35.240 had been accepted into college. I had signed a lease 0:19:35.400 --> 0:19:38.560 on an apartment in the city that I was moving to. 0:19:38.840 --> 0:19:40.680 I knew that I had to have things in place, 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:43.960 so when I got out, I was ready to rock 0:19:44.000 --> 0:19:46.120 and roll and again even though I had a plan, 0:19:46.200 --> 0:19:51.080 though it wasn't wasn't always easy. I didn't expect the 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:55.720 challenges that I faced with the PTSC symptoms that came 0:19:55.800 --> 0:20:00.720 up and the challenges that I had with my reliance 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:02.800 on prescription pills. So I got out and I had 0:20:02.840 --> 0:20:06.520 two surgeries related to my wounds. I was on Viking 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:10.159 in a morphine for five years. I didn't go anywhere 0:20:10.200 --> 0:20:12.680 without a bunch of pills in my pocket. It took 0:20:12.720 --> 0:20:14.520 me a long time to realize that I even had 0:20:14.520 --> 0:20:19.760 a problem. The pills, the drugs, the alcohol, they only 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:22.800 act as accelerants for any type of PTSD challenges you 0:20:22.920 --> 0:20:27.880 might have. So having to overcome that was tough, and 0:20:27.920 --> 0:20:31.320 so I think still having that foundation of the plan 0:20:32.440 --> 0:20:36.600 really was able to help keep me on a path 0:20:36.720 --> 0:20:41.040 which wasn't always straight. But then also having my girlfriend 0:20:41.080 --> 0:20:43.760 at the time who is now my wife, and again 0:20:43.840 --> 0:20:47.359 understanding the importance of surrounding myself with people who have 0:20:47.400 --> 0:20:50.840 your best interests in mind, not yes men or yes women, right, 0:20:51.080 --> 0:20:52.960 people who are not going to tell you what you 0:20:53.000 --> 0:20:55.320 want to hear, but obviously what you need to hear. 0:20:56.040 --> 0:20:57.359 Two thousand and eight, I think you go back and 0:20:57.400 --> 0:21:00.760 get your degree, But what inspires you to do that? Yeah, again, 0:21:01.240 --> 0:21:03.280 kind of really goes back to the tough childhood that 0:21:03.359 --> 0:21:05.960 I had. People didn't look at me growing up, and 0:21:06.000 --> 0:21:07.479 I'm sure it might have been the same for you. 0:21:07.560 --> 0:21:09.919 Bobby saying, man, that kid's going to go places someday 0:21:09.920 --> 0:21:13.560 and do some great things. And it really was driven 0:21:13.600 --> 0:21:17.280 by the sense of wanting to overcome the stereotypes and 0:21:17.320 --> 0:21:21.280 the statistics and have a sense of achievement. After I 0:21:21.320 --> 0:21:23.399 got wounded in the military, I got METAVACT out of 0:21:23.440 --> 0:21:26.879 there and I was gone for three weeks. A fellow 0:21:26.920 --> 0:21:30.120 soldier my unit by the name of Greg Trent, had 0:21:30.119 --> 0:21:33.439 a conversation with me, and Greg was able to sneak 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:35.439 me on a helicopter flight to get back there with 0:21:35.480 --> 0:21:39.439 my soldiers. Unfortunately, Greg was killed in twenty twelve in 0:21:39.440 --> 0:21:44.600 Afghanistan while operating with his Special Forces team. But Greg 0:21:44.600 --> 0:21:46.439 got me back out there. I couldn't go out on 0:21:46.480 --> 0:21:49.720 any missions. But we're working with the Special Forces. We're 0:21:49.760 --> 0:21:53.280 working with the Seals, which meant we had bigger budgets, 0:21:53.280 --> 0:21:56.320 which meant we had satellites, which meant we had fast Internet. 0:21:56.359 --> 0:22:00.280 So I started plugging away at online college classes while 0:22:00.280 --> 0:22:02.360 I'm in a mud hut in the middle of nowhere, Afghanistan. 0:22:02.720 --> 0:22:04.640 And so I finished two years of college classes while 0:22:04.640 --> 0:22:08.520 I was in just because I wanted to challenge myself 0:22:08.600 --> 0:22:12.160 and accomplish something improve people wrong, and so I got 0:22:12.200 --> 0:22:15.560 out December two thousand and eight. January two thousand and nine, 0:22:15.640 --> 0:22:17.440 I was sitting in the college classroom with a bunch 0:22:17.480 --> 0:22:20.199 eighteen nineteen year old kids, and you know, I was 0:22:20.240 --> 0:22:22.399 twenty six at the time. I felt like I was 0:22:22.440 --> 0:22:26.360 that kind of old weird man on campus. But twenty 0:22:26.400 --> 0:22:29.959 six is still pretty young, you know. I double majored, 0:22:30.000 --> 0:22:32.560 I went got that master's degree, and then, you know, 0:22:32.640 --> 0:22:35.879