WEBVTT - Eight Seconds in Afghanistan: The Quick Heroism of Florent Groberg 0:00:17.140 --> 0:00:24.700 Pushkin. Hey, everyone is Jarrel Martinez. Before we get into 0:00:24.741 --> 0:00:26.820 this episode, I wanted to let you know that you 0:00:26.861 --> 0:00:29.661 can listen to the entire season of Medal of Honor 0:00:29.981 --> 0:00:33.780 right now ad free with Pushkin Plus. Get all our 0:00:33.821 --> 0:00:37.741 incredible stories of courage with a Pushkin Plus subscription. Sign 0:00:37.861 --> 0:00:40.061 up and save on the Medal of Honor show page 0:00:40.101 --> 0:00:43.981 on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin dot fm, slash Plus. 0:00:44.461 --> 0:00:48.341 Use the code twenty five for twenty five percent off 0:00:48.381 --> 0:00:52.301 an annual subscription. Okay, now to the episode. 0:00:52.340 --> 0:00:54.741 Since the dawn of time, running has been an act 0:00:54.781 --> 0:00:58.861 of escape. People ran to evade wild animals, to flee 0:00:58.901 --> 0:01:02.381 from warring tribes. Even in the modern world, we run 0:01:02.421 --> 0:01:05.101 to get away from things, the stresses of the job, 0:01:05.340 --> 0:01:09.181 the confinement of our apartments, the bang of trailing bloodhounds. 0:01:09.661 --> 0:01:11.821 But what you're about to hear is a story about 0:01:11.821 --> 0:01:15.981 someone who did the exact opposite. He defied the thousands 0:01:15.981 --> 0:01:18.821 of years of primal wiring telling us to run from 0:01:18.941 --> 0:01:23.301 danger and instead ran towards it, sprinted into harm's way 0:01:23.461 --> 0:01:27.021 without thinking to help another. I'm excited to share this 0:01:27.101 --> 0:01:28.981 story with you. Thanks for listening. 0:01:30.941 --> 0:01:32.700 Have you ever had a feeling in your gut that 0:01:32.821 --> 0:01:37.981 something was off, a sense of quiet that doesn't feel right, 0:01:38.821 --> 0:01:41.221 a movement at the edge of your vision that seems 0:01:41.301 --> 0:01:45.301 out of place, or just a weird vibration in the air. 0:01:46.420 --> 0:01:48.461 Florent Groberg had that feeling. 0:01:49.341 --> 0:01:54.221 I know there's something wrong, There's something that I can't 0:01:54.661 --> 0:01:55.781 put my finger on about it. 0:01:55.781 --> 0:01:58.821 I just don't like it. 0:01:58.821 --> 0:02:01.661 It was August eighth, twenty twelve, and Flow was in 0:02:01.661 --> 0:02:05.300 the Kunar province of Afghanistan. He was in charge of 0:02:05.301 --> 0:02:08.901 security for a colonel and other army officials. He and 0:02:08.941 --> 0:02:11.421 his team were escorting this group of VIP through a 0:02:11.461 --> 0:02:15.180 small city towards a meeting with local leaders. Flow was 0:02:15.221 --> 0:02:18.300 twenty nine, a dark haired, dark eyed guy, just shy, 0:02:18.381 --> 0:02:21.181 is six feet tall. He done walks like this one 0:02:21.181 --> 0:02:24.861 for months. It was his job to be on high alert, 0:02:25.461 --> 0:02:30.741 scanning everyone and everything. The air was hot and dry. 0:02:31.301 --> 0:02:34.301 The dusty road curved along a river which shimmered in 0:02:34.341 --> 0:02:39.181 the morning light. Rugged mountains loomed in the distance. The 0:02:39.221 --> 0:02:42.141 meeting wasn't far away, a little over half a mile, 0:02:42.741 --> 0:02:45.181 but as the group walked the sun baked streets, it 0:02:45.261 --> 0:02:49.221 felt like the air was crackling with tension. The team 0:02:49.301 --> 0:02:52.221 moved away from the river. Following the road through town, 0:02:52.901 --> 0:02:56.581 they passed run down buildings and abandoned cars, groups of 0:02:56.621 --> 0:03:00.541 people shopping and walking, and then Flow saw a young 0:03:00.581 --> 0:03:04.501 man dressed in black traditional clothes heading in their direction. 0:03:05.541 --> 0:03:09.461 That's normal, it was a busy city, a busy day. 0:03:10.061 --> 0:03:14.381 But this guy was walking backwards and he was getting closer. 0:03:15.181 --> 0:03:18.781 He just was out of place. I remember thinking, where 0:03:18.781 --> 0:03:19.621 did you come from? 0:03:20.141 --> 0:03:23.781 What is going on here? And at that point everything changes. 0:03:24.301 --> 0:03:28.261 The young man turned and faced them, and Flora Groberg 0:03:28.501 --> 0:03:34.421 began to run. I'm j R. Martinez and this is 0:03:34.541 --> 0:03:38.461 Medal of Honor Stories of Courage. The Medal of Honor 0:03:38.541 --> 0:03:41.821 is the highest military decoration in the United States. It's 0:03:41.861 --> 0:03:45.021 awarded for gallantry and bravery and combat at the risk 0:03:45.101 --> 0:03:48.501 of life, above and beyond the call of duty. Each 0:03:48.581 --> 0:03:50.781 candidate must be approved all the way up the chain 0:03:50.821 --> 0:03:54.101 of command, from the supervisory officer in the field to 0:03:54.141 --> 0:03:57.661 the White House. This show is about those heroes, what 0:03:57.701 --> 0:04:00.581 they did, what it meant, and what their stories tell 0:04:00.661 --> 0:04:05.261 us about the nature of courage and sacrifice. Flow Groberg's 0:04:05.261 --> 0:04:08.221 action in Afghanistan is a classic Medal of Honor story. 0:04:08.861 --> 0:04:11.901 Incredible bravery, a decision to put his life on the 0:04:11.941 --> 0:04:15.941 line and check this out. It all took place in 0:04:16.141 --> 0:04:20.781 just eight seconds. But there's another thing about Flow. He 0:04:20.901 --> 0:04:24.781 was a super talented runner, a Division I college athlete. 0:04:25.341 --> 0:04:28.861 He could run a mile in a little over four minutes. 0:04:30.141 --> 0:04:32.821 I can only do that in my car. But why 0:04:32.821 --> 0:04:36.981 does that matter? Hear me out? There's something really inspiring 0:04:37.101 --> 0:04:40.461 about elite runners. Some of it comes from how they're built, 0:04:40.861 --> 0:04:45.381 how their bodies consume oxygen, their stamina, their leg muscles. 0:04:46.101 --> 0:04:48.821 You could be borne with the raw materials to be fast, 0:04:49.581 --> 0:04:52.861 but you won't get fast. You won't reach that potential 0:04:53.261 --> 0:04:57.580 without work, a grinding focus to push your body harder, 0:04:58.181 --> 0:05:01.741 do the reps, take the strides, go further than you 0:05:01.821 --> 0:05:05.541 think you possibly can. Listen. I've done a lot of 0:05:05.581 --> 0:05:08.581 distance running, and there's plenty of times where the body 0:05:08.621 --> 0:05:11.741 tells the mind okay, let's just quit now. But you 0:05:11.821 --> 0:05:15.101 make it through the pain and you keep going. You 0:05:15.221 --> 0:05:18.981 keep the promise you made to yourself. That's how you 0:05:19.021 --> 0:05:22.380 get as fast as Flow grow Berg, and that speed 0:05:22.901 --> 0:05:37.341 would be the difference between life and death. Even though 0:05:37.341 --> 0:05:41.221 he would become a decorated American soldier. Flow Groberg was 0:05:41.301 --> 0:05:44.621 actually born in France. He was raised in a suburb 0:05:44.741 --> 0:05:48.381 of Paris to a mom from Algeria and a biological dad. 0:05:48.501 --> 0:05:52.421 He never knew. He adored his mom. They were super close, 0:05:53.101 --> 0:05:55.941 but there were two men who really shaped him growing up. 0:05:57.221 --> 0:06:00.341 The first was his uncle, Abdu. Flow's mom had a 0:06:00.381 --> 0:06:03.661 big Muslim family back in Algeria, and she took Flow 0:06:03.741 --> 0:06:06.901 to visit them often. Flow and her brother, Abdu had 0:06:06.941 --> 0:06:07.901 a tight bond. 0:06:08.621 --> 0:06:11.581 Everybody has that one individual that did drawn to and 0:06:11.581 --> 0:06:13.341 they want to be around him, and that's what I 0:06:13.501 --> 0:06:15.461 was towards this man. I just thought he was just 0:06:16.181 --> 0:06:17.621 as a kid, I thought he was incredible. 0:06:18.581 --> 0:06:21.861 Abdu was an he mom, a Muslim cleric, and he 0:06:21.941 --> 0:06:25.301 taught Flow about the things that meant the most to him, 0:06:25.341 --> 0:06:29.181 doing good, standing up for what's right. The other man 0:06:29.221 --> 0:06:32.621 in Flow's life was his stepfather, Larry. Larry met Flow 0:06:32.621 --> 0:06:35.700 when he was three and instantly became his dad. 0:06:36.501 --> 0:06:39.301 He took me in as his son, even though I 0:06:39.421 --> 0:06:43.421 wasn't his blood Swedish background, so he looked completely different 0:06:43.421 --> 0:06:43.661 than me. 0:06:43.861 --> 0:06:45.101 You know, he's about sixty. 0:06:44.781 --> 0:06:48.701 Two, blonde, green eyes, so people were always confused when 0:06:48.701 --> 0:06:51.221 I said, Hey, that's my dad. He gave me his name, 0:06:51.301 --> 0:06:52.941 and he taught me how to be the person that 0:06:52.981 --> 0:06:55.221 I am today. He just taught me how to be 0:06:55.221 --> 0:06:57.781 a good person, because he's a great person. Probably the 0:06:57.781 --> 0:06:59.541 most important part about him is that he was always 0:06:59.581 --> 0:07:01.861 there for me. If there's a hero that I have, 0:07:02.261 --> 0:07:03.141 it's going to be him. 0:07:04.501 --> 0:07:07.341 Larry was American, and when Flow was eleven, the family 0:07:07.381 --> 0:07:11.581 moved to the States. Flow was psyched. It was hard 0:07:11.581 --> 0:07:14.661 to learn the language at first, but he stepped up fast. 0:07:15.221 --> 0:07:18.621 They lived in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside of Washington, d c. 0:07:19.541 --> 0:07:20.861 By the time I was in high school, I was 0:07:20.941 --> 0:07:23.141 bought in. I was sold I knew at that point 0:07:23.141 --> 0:07:25.181 that I would rather stay in the United States one 0:07:25.221 --> 0:07:27.461 hundred times out one hundred over going back to France. 0:07:28.421 --> 0:07:32.181 Flow became a naturalized citizen, but in the meantime, life 0:07:32.221 --> 0:07:36.741 for his family in Algeria had gotten incredibly hard. A 0:07:36.821 --> 0:07:41.541 radical Islamist group known as the GIA was terrorizing innocent civilians, 0:07:42.021 --> 0:07:44.941 and so Flow's uncle Abdu changed this path. 0:07:45.781 --> 0:07:49.501 When these terrorists came in, he left his role as 0:07:49.541 --> 0:07:51.061 an e mom and he joined the army. 0:07:51.781 --> 0:07:51.941 Now. 0:07:52.021 --> 0:07:54.341 During the cease fire in February nineteen ninety six, he 0:07:54.421 --> 0:07:54.781 was shot. 0:07:54.901 --> 0:07:55.621 He was beheaded. 0:07:55.821 --> 0:07:57.461 He was dismembered, and he was putting a box he 0:07:57.541 --> 0:08:02.021 sent back to my grandfather, warning that anybody that defires 0:08:02.141 --> 0:08:04.941 their beliefs, they would be killed. 0:08:06.301 --> 0:08:09.301 Flow was twelve when Larry sat him down and told 0:08:09.381 --> 0:08:09.941 him the news. 0:08:11.341 --> 0:08:14.221 My reaction was just anger, and I went into my room. 0:08:14.261 --> 0:08:16.221 I picked up all my toys that I had collected 0:08:16.221 --> 0:08:18.701 over the years on my Gi Joe's, and I put 0:08:18.701 --> 0:08:20.501 them in a bag and I took them to the trash. 0:08:21.061 --> 0:08:23.941 That's the last time I played with toys pretending to 0:08:23.941 --> 0:08:24.541 be military. 0:08:25.181 --> 0:08:27.501 The next time I would pretend to be military, I 0:08:27.501 --> 0:08:30.261 would actually be military and wear the uniform myself. 0:08:32.180 --> 0:08:34.861 He made a promise to himself he would join the 0:08:34.981 --> 0:08:39.461 United States Army. At first, he considered enlisting right after 0:08:39.540 --> 0:08:42.501 high school, but then he discovered that he could run, 0:08:43.101 --> 0:08:47.141 I mean really run. He was among the best distance 0:08:47.221 --> 0:08:49.780 runners in the state, and he was recruited to the 0:08:49.780 --> 0:08:52.661 cross country and track teams at the University of Maryland. 0:08:53.460 --> 0:08:55.901 He was a great team player, fast on his own, 0:08:56.261 --> 0:08:59.741 but even faster when he was running a relay, passing 0:08:59.741 --> 0:09:03.501 the baton to a member of his squad. Competitive running 0:09:03.621 --> 0:09:07.141 is all about grit, and Flow knew that every long 0:09:07.300 --> 0:09:11.141 training day, every hill workout could shave a second or 0:09:11.180 --> 0:09:16.420 two office times. But then nine to eleven happened and 0:09:16.501 --> 0:09:18.300 Flow's life shifted again. 0:09:19.540 --> 0:09:21.540 I remember being very emotional, just like the rest of 0:09:21.580 --> 0:09:27.300 this country was very angry, confused, and in disbelief. I 0:09:27.341 --> 0:09:29.660 remember having comes to my father telling him, I'm going 0:09:29.700 --> 0:09:30.940 to drop out of school and I'm going to go 0:09:31.021 --> 0:09:32.580 join the units's army. I'm going to come an army 0:09:32.621 --> 0:09:35.821 ranger because i want to find, fix, and destroy these individuals. 0:09:36.300 --> 0:09:37.701 I want to be a part of the solution. 0:09:39.221 --> 0:09:41.701 But his father wasn't having it. Flow had made a 0:09:41.741 --> 0:09:45.261 commitment to his school and to his running teams, and 0:09:45.300 --> 0:09:48.980 his dad reminded Flow, Grobergs don't quit. 0:09:49.940 --> 0:09:52.700 When you start something, you finish it. That's what Grobergs do. 0:09:54.221 --> 0:09:57.341 Because if you find an excuse to quit and drop 0:09:57.381 --> 0:10:00.420 out of school because you are angry at the fact 0:10:00.420 --> 0:10:03.780 that he's individuals that this to our country, you will 0:10:03.780 --> 0:10:06.420 always find an excuse to quit everything that you. 0:10:06.420 --> 0:10:07.101 Start in life. 0:10:08.300 --> 0:10:10.501 If you quit now, you will quit on the army, 0:10:10.621 --> 0:10:12.901 you quit on yourself, you will quit in relationships, you 0:10:12.901 --> 0:10:16.141 will quit in everything you start. But if you learn 0:10:16.861 --> 0:10:20.141 to push on and accomplish whatever task that you started. 0:10:20.780 --> 0:10:23.101 No long run, you will be successful. 0:10:25.501 --> 0:10:29.181 So Flow stayed in school. He got even faster, but 0:10:29.261 --> 0:10:32.701 as soon as he graduated, he began sprinting towards his 0:10:32.820 --> 0:10:36.021 dream of joining the army. But he hit a hurdle 0:10:36.180 --> 0:10:38.780 right out of the gate. In order to get the 0:10:38.780 --> 0:10:41.940 security clearance to become an army officer, he had to 0:10:41.981 --> 0:10:45.741 renounce his French citizenship. He was happy to do it, 0:10:46.460 --> 0:10:49.981 but the paperwork took more than a year. Once that 0:10:50.101 --> 0:10:52.501 was behind him, he went to officer training and then 0:10:52.621 --> 0:10:56.340 Ranger School, one of the toughest programs in the military. 0:10:57.141 --> 0:10:59.460 I remember being at Basic training and we would be 0:10:59.540 --> 0:11:01.820 on runs and the drill sergeant would lead us in 0:11:01.861 --> 0:11:05.821 these cadences about being a ranger and Airborne. Have so 0:11:05.981 --> 0:11:09.820 much respect for those guys that go through that program. 0:11:09.940 --> 0:11:13.181 And here's a crazy thing. Remember Sal Junta from last season. 0:11:13.861 --> 0:11:17.660 Flow was in Ranger school with Eric Gayaddo, the sergeant 0:11:17.700 --> 0:11:21.381 who was on that hill in Afghanistan with Sal. When 0:11:21.420 --> 0:11:24.341 Flow was feeling like he couldn't hack it, Gayadado kept 0:11:24.420 --> 0:11:28.460 him going. They both made it through. Of the three 0:11:28.621 --> 0:11:32.741 hundred plus soldiers in his original Ranger school class, only 0:11:32.861 --> 0:11:36.940 sixty nine of them graduated, and by two thousand and nine, 0:11:37.341 --> 0:11:40.981 Flow was in Afghanistan. He was a lieutenant, which meant 0:11:41.021 --> 0:11:42.980 he was leading troops for the first time. 0:11:43.861 --> 0:11:45.981 I wanted to go out there and fight for what 0:11:46.021 --> 0:11:46.540 I believed in. 0:11:46.940 --> 0:11:49.300 But when I got there and someone told me, hey, 0:11:49.420 --> 0:11:51.580 by the way, you're in charge of twenty four lives. 0:11:51.621 --> 0:11:53.461 Make the right decisions and make sure that you're right 0:11:53.501 --> 0:11:55.501 type of leader for these men, because their lives are 0:11:55.501 --> 0:11:56.101 in your hands. 0:11:56.300 --> 0:11:57.541 That changed the whole ballgame. 0:11:58.141 --> 0:12:01.821 It was no longer about me, It was about them, 0:12:01.981 --> 0:12:03.540 and it was about accomplish in a mission. 0:12:05.501 --> 0:12:07.860 They were stationed near the border with Pakistan and a 0:12:07.940 --> 0:12:11.500 valley controlled by the Taliban. The action was really lentless 0:12:11.540 --> 0:12:16.221 and lethal. His tour was two hundred and seventeen days long, 0:12:16.621 --> 0:12:20.141 and during that timeframe his platoon engaged with the enemy 0:12:20.221 --> 0:12:26.021 more than two hundred times. That deployment ended then in 0:12:26.060 --> 0:12:30.021 February of twenty twelve, less than two years later, he 0:12:30.141 --> 0:12:33.660 was back in Afghanistan. By now he was a first 0:12:33.660 --> 0:12:38.420 lieutenant assigned to the fourth Infantry Brigade Combat Team. His 0:12:38.540 --> 0:12:41.660 job was to coordinate all air and ground movements for 0:12:41.780 --> 0:12:44.901 Colonel James Mingus as he traveled the country for high 0:12:44.981 --> 0:12:47.300 level meetings with Afghan leaders. 0:12:47.981 --> 0:12:48.940 The job was simple. 0:12:49.700 --> 0:12:53.101 I organized travels around a different forty five outstations and 0:12:53.141 --> 0:12:56.421 five provinces for the boss, and once we got on station, 0:12:57.180 --> 0:12:59.460 I ran his security. 0:13:00.101 --> 0:13:02.580 When they walked to meetings, Flow and his men would 0:13:02.621 --> 0:13:06.340 surround Mingus and any other VIPs in a diamond formation. 0:13:07.261 --> 0:13:11.221 Their only job was to protect them, literally using their 0:13:11.221 --> 0:13:15.381 bodies as human shields. They were always escorted by a 0:13:15.420 --> 0:13:18.901 perimeter team of US soldiers. If they were attacked or 0:13:18.940 --> 0:13:22.860 in danger, that escort team would stay behind and fight. 0:13:23.780 --> 0:13:26.901 In case we took fire from the enemy, my job 0:13:27.101 --> 0:13:29.581 was to collapse in diamond take them to safety while 0:13:29.621 --> 0:13:32.421 the twelve to fifteen escort all fought the enemy and 0:13:32.540 --> 0:13:36.021 allow us to maneuver out of the engagement area. 0:13:37.060 --> 0:13:39.740 So for six months, this was the easiest job in 0:13:39.780 --> 0:13:40.100 the world. 0:13:40.141 --> 0:13:42.820 I got to see Afghanistan from a completely different perspective, 0:13:42.901 --> 0:13:45.301 and I got to see the bigger picture, and I 0:13:45.341 --> 0:13:45.780 loved it. 0:13:49.021 --> 0:13:52.741 Then came August eighth. Flow had just gotten the news 0:13:53.261 --> 0:13:56.861 he was approved for promotion. It would be his very 0:13:56.940 --> 0:14:00.581 first day as a captain in the army, but it 0:14:00.580 --> 0:14:20.581 would also be the worst day of his life. For 0:14:20.661 --> 0:14:24.781 Flora Groberg, august A, twenty twelve started out the way 0:14:24.821 --> 0:14:28.181 he was expecting. Busy, but not crazy. 0:14:28.861 --> 0:14:31.741 We were going to the Kunat Provincial Security meeting. It 0:14:31.781 --> 0:14:34.501 happened every once at ten o'clock for years. 0:14:35.221 --> 0:14:37.861 That day Flow and his team would be protecting more 0:14:37.901 --> 0:14:41.741 than just Colonel Mingus. There were extra high ranking officers 0:14:41.781 --> 0:14:46.021 in the group, two battalion commanders, two brigade commanders, two 0:14:46.061 --> 0:14:51.221 sergeant majors, and an Afghan National Army general, plus a 0:14:51.301 --> 0:14:55.701 State Department diplomat and a Foreign Service officer from USAID. 0:14:58.061 --> 0:15:01.341 One of the sergeant majors was Kevin Griffin. Flow and 0:15:01.381 --> 0:15:05.501 Griffin were really close. He was Flow's mentor. He had 0:15:05.541 --> 0:15:11.701 a huge presence, confident but caring, plus incredible experience six 0:15:11.781 --> 0:15:15.581 combat deployments to four different war zones. He had a 0:15:15.580 --> 0:15:19.220 wife and two kids waiting for him stateside. Another of 0:15:19.261 --> 0:15:22.501 the group was Major David Gray, an Air Force officer 0:15:22.541 --> 0:15:26.021 who Flow also knew well. Biggest smile in the world 0:15:27.101 --> 0:15:30.740 with him was Major Tom Kennedy. He'd been in Afghanistan 0:15:30.781 --> 0:15:33.661 for less than two weeks, but he was an elite soldier. 0:15:34.460 --> 0:15:38.421 Both of those men had families too. The group landed 0:15:38.421 --> 0:15:42.261 at Ford Operating based FIAS and Assadabad, and right away 0:15:42.741 --> 0:15:44.261 things were off. 0:15:45.941 --> 0:15:46.821 When we got there. 0:15:47.621 --> 0:15:51.021 That outer security element that I always requested for, it 0:15:51.101 --> 0:15:54.461 wasn't there. They had left fifteen minutes prior, and I 0:15:54.460 --> 0:15:57.301 guess they had walked through our route and cleared it, 0:15:57.621 --> 0:16:01.821 but they didn't secure it. By secure, I mean they left. 0:16:02.021 --> 0:16:06.261 It's one on one, right rule, one on one. Once 0:16:06.301 --> 0:16:08.781 you clear an area, if you leave, it is no 0:16:08.861 --> 0:16:09.421 longer clear. 0:16:11.261 --> 0:16:14.580 Flow and his team were only supposed to protect the VIPs. 0:16:15.261 --> 0:16:17.941 If anything bad happened, they would take them to safety, 0:16:18.580 --> 0:16:21.501 not fight the enemy. That role was supposed to be 0:16:21.541 --> 0:16:25.501 for the perimeter team. But now there wasn't a perimeter team, 0:16:26.061 --> 0:16:29.781 not really. Where there were usually twelve to fifteen US 0:16:29.821 --> 0:16:34.621 soldiers today there were just two plus an American contractor. 0:16:35.621 --> 0:16:38.861 Flow and his guys would have to play offense and defense. 0:16:39.821 --> 0:16:42.421 And so I took in some Afghan National Army that 0:16:42.460 --> 0:16:44.301 were stationed at the base, and I put him up 0:16:44.341 --> 0:16:46.220 front of my patrol and I sped them out a 0:16:46.261 --> 0:16:49.141 little bit, and I switched the way we were configured 0:16:49.460 --> 0:16:50.941 for the first time in six months. 0:16:51.101 --> 0:16:52.501 I just didn't feel comfortable. 0:16:53.061 --> 0:16:54.821 I think part of it is I had so much 0:16:54.901 --> 0:16:58.740 leadership in this patrol and such little security that in 0:16:58.781 --> 0:17:00.381 the back of my head, I'm like, I don't like this. 0:17:02.501 --> 0:17:05.621 Flow positioned himself at the very top of the diamond. 0:17:06.021 --> 0:17:09.340 He was usually at the rear. The VIPs would be 0:17:09.341 --> 0:17:12.941 in the middle, except for Sarte Major Kevin Griffin. He 0:17:13.141 --> 0:17:16.340 saw what Flow was up against and he insisted on 0:17:16.381 --> 0:17:19.021 going to the back of the formation to help with 0:17:19.021 --> 0:17:22.181 the rear guard. The Afghan soldiers would be at the 0:17:22.341 --> 0:17:25.741 very top in front of the diamond. That way, Flow 0:17:25.781 --> 0:17:28.741 and his men could keep their eyes on them too, 0:17:28.901 --> 0:17:33.621 not that they didn't trust them, but things were dicey. 0:17:33.701 --> 0:17:36.661 They started their walkthrough with Sadabad. It was about one 0:17:36.661 --> 0:17:39.821 thousand meters to the Governor's compound where the meeting was 0:17:39.861 --> 0:17:43.221 being held. The road traveled along the side of a 0:17:43.301 --> 0:17:46.340 river and then it curved in towards town and a 0:17:46.341 --> 0:17:47.141 small bridge. 0:17:48.181 --> 0:17:50.901 As we maneuver through, everything was going well for about 0:17:50.901 --> 0:17:54.181 seven hundre years. We're about to reach that bridge when 0:17:54.901 --> 0:17:59.181 two motorcycles come from in front of us and they're 0:17:59.181 --> 0:18:02.901 going fast. We're going kind of looking forward, thinking like 0:18:02.941 --> 0:18:06.661 what the heck African National Army guy a point of 0:18:06.661 --> 0:18:09.541 our patrol did a heck of a job. Raiser's rifle 0:18:09.621 --> 0:18:12.461 started screaming at the guy. Guys dumped their bikes and 0:18:12.461 --> 0:18:15.781 started running away. Now that guy on Afgan National Army 0:18:15.861 --> 0:18:16.621 started chasing. 0:18:16.421 --> 0:18:20.701 Them, Flow in his team instantly raised their own rifles. 0:18:20.981 --> 0:18:26.141 The motorcycles had them spooted, and suddenly Flow noticed something else. 0:18:26.941 --> 0:18:30.261 We had a structures who are left and a kid 0:18:30.581 --> 0:18:32.781 walked out a structure when the motorcycles were coming. 0:18:33.741 --> 0:18:37.421 The kid, in his late teens or early twenties, was 0:18:37.541 --> 0:18:41.661 dressed in flowing black clothes. He sort of stumbled out 0:18:41.661 --> 0:18:45.581 of the building, almost as if he was drunk. Normally, 0:18:45.901 --> 0:18:49.861 the escort team would have stopped him, but today there 0:18:49.981 --> 0:18:51.261 was no escort. 0:18:52.061 --> 0:18:55.701 And he was walking backwards pallel to our patrol. It 0:18:55.741 --> 0:18:57.741 looked suspicious. Obviously he's a threat. 0:18:57.981 --> 0:19:00.421 Didn't see any weapon, But when he did a onet 0:19:00.421 --> 0:19:03.221 eighty and then another ninety degree turn and cut into 0:19:03.261 --> 0:19:04.981 our patrol, I knew at that point that there was 0:19:04.981 --> 0:19:07.421 something really fishy about what was going on, so I 0:19:07.461 --> 0:19:08.821 started yelling at him. 0:19:09.341 --> 0:19:11.701 The kid was just twenty or third thirty feet away, 0:19:12.101 --> 0:19:15.581 so without even really thinking about it, Flow started sprinting 0:19:15.981 --> 0:19:17.821 his runner's instincts kicked in. 0:19:18.541 --> 0:19:20.381 I went towards him as fast that I could. I 0:19:20.461 --> 0:19:22.981 yelled at him, no response. He never even looked at me. 0:19:23.781 --> 0:19:26.021 It only took a heartbeat for him to reach the kit, 0:19:26.381 --> 0:19:27.981 but it felt like an eternity. 0:19:28.861 --> 0:19:31.101 When I got to him, I hit him my rifle 0:19:31.301 --> 0:19:35.501 real hard across the chest, and I remember thinking, oh goodness, 0:19:35.541 --> 0:19:38.621 what is this? Is there something you know's what's on hand? 0:19:38.661 --> 0:19:40.341 So I let go of my rifle, which was slung 0:19:40.381 --> 0:19:42.821 to my kit, and I grabbed him by the chest. 0:19:43.701 --> 0:19:46.941 That's when I realized, okay, this is a suicide vest. 0:19:48.261 --> 0:19:50.941 Flow placed his hands on the guy's chest and started 0:19:50.981 --> 0:19:53.461 shoving him back away from the formation. 0:19:54.181 --> 0:19:56.741 I didn't care about my well being because I wanted 0:19:56.741 --> 0:19:59.061 to make sure he was far away as possible, as 0:19:59.141 --> 0:20:00.781 quickly as possible from everybody else. 0:20:01.821 --> 0:20:04.821 The suicide bomber had attached a fake right hand to 0:20:04.861 --> 0:20:07.501 the outside of his clothes to hide the fact that 0:20:07.581 --> 0:20:11.221 his right arm was actually tucked inside with his thumb 0:20:11.301 --> 0:20:14.340 pressing a trigger. All he had to do was release 0:20:14.421 --> 0:20:18.101 the button and the bomb would go off. By now, 0:20:18.301 --> 0:20:21.981 one of Flow's team members, Sergeant Andrew Mahoney, had run 0:20:22.021 --> 0:20:25.341 to Flow side. The two men pushed the bomber as 0:20:25.421 --> 0:20:27.981 hard as they could, trying to get him. 0:20:27.821 --> 0:20:30.541 Back, and so I just threw him as fire as 0:20:30.541 --> 0:20:34.421 I could, And when he landed at my feet, he detonated. 0:20:37.541 --> 0:20:41.781 A massive cloud of fire and dust and shrapnel filled 0:20:41.821 --> 0:20:46.580 the air. The explosion shook the city, but for a 0:20:46.581 --> 0:20:49.941 few moments, FLOW heard and felt nothing. 0:20:51.461 --> 0:20:54.621 Everything went black, and he threw me about twenty feet 0:20:54.981 --> 0:20:57.461 right side of the road. I've been waking up thinking 0:20:57.941 --> 0:21:04.141 what just happened. My head was just on fire, you know, spinning, 0:21:04.221 --> 0:21:07.661 And so I took my helmet. All the straps were loose, 0:21:07.741 --> 0:21:11.821 my helmet, took my pilmmet through it. We're looking at myself. 0:21:12.581 --> 0:21:15.581 There's blood everywhere and blood over myself. And I saw 0:21:15.621 --> 0:21:18.741 my leg. My foot's facing me. My fibula was sticking out. 0:21:19.141 --> 0:21:21.461 It felt like my leg was melting, but I couldn't 0:21:21.461 --> 0:21:23.581 feel anything. So I remember looking at my leg and thinking, oh, 0:21:23.621 --> 0:21:25.221 this is not good. Now. 0:21:25.261 --> 0:21:28.421 I remember closing my eyes coming back. Okay, this is 0:21:28.461 --> 0:21:30.101 not a dream, this is reality. I got hit. 0:21:31.581 --> 0:21:35.741 He knew one thing, a suicide bombing was usually part 0:21:35.861 --> 0:21:39.501 of a larger attack. More was probably coming. 0:21:40.501 --> 0:21:42.661 Started thinking all right, and I am in a kill 0:21:42.741 --> 0:21:44.301 zone and this is going to be followed up by 0:21:44.421 --> 0:21:46.501 a small arms fire. I was in that bush, so 0:21:46.541 --> 0:21:48.461 I remember looking for my rifle. I couldn't find my rifle. 0:21:48.741 --> 0:21:50.981 I took out my pistol. I made sure I had 0:21:50.981 --> 0:21:54.541 a round in the chamber, and I started dragging myself. 0:21:54.181 --> 0:21:59.381 Out, dragging himself across the dusty street, pistol in hand, 0:21:59.821 --> 0:22:03.181 still trying to do his job. But then out of 0:22:03.221 --> 0:22:06.221 the cloud of smoke, one of his sergeants came running. 0:22:06.661 --> 0:22:09.741 He dragged Flowed to a ditch to safety, and as 0:22:09.781 --> 0:22:12.421 the medic put a tourniquet around his leg, Flow could 0:22:12.581 --> 0:22:16.221 only think of one thing, the people he was there 0:22:16.261 --> 0:22:20.421 to protect, so he asked where they were. Colonel Mingus 0:22:20.501 --> 0:22:25.461 was safe, Okay, just a concussion. The Sergeant Major, Kevin Griffin, 0:22:26.061 --> 0:22:29.461 Flow's friend, his mentor, was gone. 0:22:30.981 --> 0:22:34.261 And that's when I got really, really angry, and I 0:22:34.301 --> 0:22:38.621 was just confused. How why no, I don't believe this. 0:22:38.781 --> 0:22:40.661 I need to see this. Get me out of his ditch, 0:22:41.261 --> 0:22:43.061 Get me up. I got a good leg, I can 0:22:43.101 --> 0:22:48.301 hop as I'm walking with them towards where Sar Major 0:22:48.381 --> 0:22:50.821 was at. There was a leg right here to the 0:22:50.901 --> 0:22:53.501 right it was just also blood everywhere, bodies, and I 0:22:53.541 --> 0:22:56.661 was just thinking, like, what the heck just happened? 0:22:57.741 --> 0:23:00.781 And when I got to SA Major, I. 0:23:00.741 --> 0:23:04.101 Noticed he wasn't alone, and he was laying there with 0:23:04.301 --> 0:23:08.581 Major Gray, Major Kennedy, and then one of the USAID individuals, 0:23:08.621 --> 0:23:10.340 Reggae a Delfata. 0:23:10.541 --> 0:23:13.141