On September 19, 2010, a bomb detonated beneath my feet. I was sent flying, felt my teeth rattle inside my skull, and heard shouts of “EOD is hit! EOD is down!” through my earpiece. Soon after that bomb went off, my men moved across the battlefield — which was almost guaranteed to be rigged with more improvised explosive devices (IED) — to get to me. One even added his own tourniquet, in addition to the two I carried, to my legs to keep me from bleeding out. A sniper, a medic and two riflemen carried my stretcher through a river in order to get me to a medevac helicopter. With no fear, they put everything on the line to save my life.
There are few people in this world who would willingly cross a literal minefield to save someone’s life, but those who would are almost always veterans. Why? Because veterans are badasses.
On Day 1, a recruit steps off the bus for basic training, knowing that the next few months will be hell. But it’s not about trying to make the recruits fail, it’s about proving that they can do incredibly hard things and overcome them and that they don’t shatter like a piece of glass. This is where Badass Training begins, and it works. Just ask any grunt in Sniper, Sapper, Pathfinder or Jump School; a Marine who’s completed the 54-hour Crucible; the sailor who finished Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training or the Airman who graduated from pararescue training. The training that service members go through is grueling, but it instills in them everything they need to be successful on the battlefield and in life: grit, honor and duty. Grit keeps us alive, honor keeps us human and duty drives us to accomplish the impossible.
Those traits are hardened on the battlefield. I spent over a dozen years in the Army, serving as a bomb technician (Explosive Ordnance Disposal/EOD) and alongside the 75th Ranger Regiment, and I saw it in action. I’ve seen pilots land the tail end of a Chinook helicopter on the side of a mountain. I’ve seen teams kick in doors while terrorists fired 7.62mm rounds in their face. I’ve worked alongside bomb techs as the tip of the spear, clearing dozens of IEDs for our brothers behind us. We served shoulder to shoulder — some on our first deployment, some on our fifteenth — all because we were committed to ending the terrorists who had attacked America. Just like those who served in Vietnam and Korea, or Europe or the Pacific theater, we saw a threat to democracy, and we took the fight to our enemies.
Army veteran and Rep. Brian Mast represents the 18th Congressional District of Florida.
Leaving the military doesn’t mean leaving our commitment to America behind. Those qualities — grit, honor and duty — stay with us, and our communities and our country are better for it. Veterans are the ones who step up when others want to run to safety. When thousands were stranded behind enemy lines in Afghanistan, retired Green Berets launched Operation Pineapple Express. When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his attack on a sovereign democracy, Special Operation veterans volunteered to train Ukrainian troops on the front lines.
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But you don’t have to look overseas for examples of our veterans continuing the fight; veterans run through walls for their fellow Americans every day. I could name dozens of veterans who have started nonprofits just in my area in Florida. George Brady founded Right Side Fishing in Jensen Beach to connect disabled veterans with fishing and boating excursions. Michael Durkee runs Wounded Warrior Relief Fund to provide emergency financial support to veterans in need. A former SEAL Team Six Commander, Rick Kaiser, runs the National Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce. Just like none of us signed up in order to get a pat on the back or a medal on our chest, none of these men do what they do for kudos or publicity, they do it because service is a way of life, and they wouldn’t want to live any other way.
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It’s Veterans Day, which I also like to call Badass Day, and it’s a great opportunity to thank those who have served, but I want to make sure folks know just what they’re saying ‘thank you’ for. From the moment they put on camo for the first time, soldiers, sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and Guardians are pushed to the limit and stop at nothing to make this country the best it can be. And that dedication becomes as natural as taking a breath. It stays with them throughout their entire life and inspires the next generation who is lucky enough to get to know the greatest group of badasses on earth.
