Business advisor and is countrily teaching as an adjunct professor of law at george town, university. Today hes with us as a moderator and friend of our keynote speaker so while mr. Carter makes his way to the stage, with its my pleasure to introduce captain gorber are born in paris. [applause] never a bad thing to be born in paris. And in 2001, a naturalized american citizen, after which he became flow bobary joined our army in 2008 and twice employed to afghanistan it was during his second gloiment that captain tackled a suspicious local man making his way toward one of our patrols setting off the mans suicide vest. Four dieded but many were spared as a result of his swift action. But captain spent three years in recovery. His book eight seconds of courage recounts early life in france truly tough army ranger training, and the courage that brought him to take the brave action that saved those many lives how can we thank a man who have own sense of responsible inspired him to take that action . Perhaps president obama had the right idea when in 2015 on veterans day he awarded our nation highest military honor the congressional egg e medal of honor seen prominently glade at your neckline to captain flow first immigrant to be so recognized since the vietnam war. Please join me [applause] wonderful. Many congratulations to you and thank you for being here with us. So its a real honor privilege to be here with you, and you know one of the things i took away from your book which i had the chapters to read this week was despite the medal, despite your incredible bravery youre also a pretty humble and down to earth guy. And theres this one story that i think crystallizes that, and maybe you could tell everyone about that day that you physical into the sewage. Sort of wow. Yeah. My first story in afghanistan, and were going, we had incredible great idea from a affair folks to create pass out cards, business cards to local afghan in different villages, and the point was if you saw taliban came into your village and anything, just call the number in back of it, or of this card and let us know. [laughter] this well go say 75 of them couldnt read so that was a problem. Definitely no uber app. But best part about this in hindsight is funny is that we put out translator cell phone numbers so what happened is, the locals figured oh o, well if we appear to be helping the americans that we call them and tell them that theresable here an he come they think were friends, then theyll [sound of gunfire] us you know fuel. Theyll build us retaining wall and build us a mosque so you know, heck theyre smart. So they called us one night and its that taliban is here so we took to a village to taliban was never there. What happened is instead it is pitch black dark im over here knocking on doors trying to figure out why enemy is and people are open the door mad at us because it is middle of the night and so nec thing you know i fall into the sewage but it is really someyouyou are eating so were g healthy and it was one with of the things that you know we flush a toilet it just kind of dump it in there thats where i fell in up to my chest. And i remember not realizing what i was in. Been smelling it and then seeing my guy as im asking for help no, sir, youre on your own. Youre walking back. [laughter] so they were serious too. It was a fight. It was a tougher fight than you know to get become on the truck for the tblg. As a civil former affair officer sometimes they have good ideas that was not within. And you have unusual story i think of all of the Army Officers and veterans i know your story how you came to the army unique and it is really striking tell us a bit about that. How did you come to be an army officer and why did you join . I joined because when i came to the United States i was 12 years old i didnt speak english. But i was adopted but larry my father, and we came here lived to the area when i went to high school at Walter High School and before boing to high school when i was 13 years old my uncle lived in north africa there we go. There we go. The gi arks came in late 5u8 and bringing radical islam to that part of the world that was a westernized mum country, and my uncle thought this was wrong and like many others he put on a uniform and fought these individuals, and then february of 1996 during the ceasefire he was shot he was beheaded dismembered from the back to my grandfather. And that was a testament of the evil that was happening in the world. But you know ilk ill be honest nobody was paying attention to it. I care compare what happened there and now and if we see killing 300 people we turn on the news like this is horrible and then we move on to kardashians right so it is this culture in a sense but if it happens at home on cnn and fox news you dont put on next 17 days but that bothered me sz a young child is fact that some source o of evil could be happening over there and nobody is talking about. But i remembered it. And when i became a u. S. Citizen, my catalyst was, obviously, 911 i was freshman in college, and here i was they killed many uncle attacked my family, and now here i am a nationalized citizen of this country and as soon as i get nationalized same individuals come in and create terror. My new adopted country so only one solution was to be part of the solution. And join the military. Were luckily you did did so you know, you dont just choose the army. You choose the hard part of the army within that the hardest part that have through your school. What are some of the formative experiences in the army that you write a lot about where are time in training now a lot a about your time in combat. What made you into the person that was there on august a 8th, 2012 . I think the person that made me that is is combination of the sequence of actions that happened in my life. Youve got to look at my father, my mother you have to look at my family and my peers you have to look at my High School Coach and track coaches you have to look at my time in training in military and so on training that i received while you know as platoon leader really man that surrounded me i think these experiences and sequence of actions allowed me to make a specific decision on august 8th, twelve which i believe major of my pierce would have made exact would have made as well. You talk about training in army and you know, i wrote my first chapter about one of the most significant experience in my life which was Ranger School. I kept hearing about Ranger School month and months prior to going through Ranger School when i chose infantry as a path of my military career and i never realized what it was until i got there, and its no joke. [laughter] for those who havent been to that, whats a ranger story . Well you know of 2 face of training up there three different phases you know, with and regards of two mre a day maybe two meals day you sleep average of a couple of hours a night youve got to carry a ruck sack that weighed possibly 100 pounds and over some serious terrain between georgia and florida. And while having a responsibility to lead men on surgeon missions and then be follow. And it was tough. You know, i had moments where we were death marched thats what we call it for 23 hours. You just keep going up and down and i had a heck of a story in that book, obviously, about what i lost equipment but i was dragging it but it kept falling thats how exhausted you you ar. But it changed my life because they call it Leadership School not because they want to see if youre tough itest person in the world thats not the point of it but physically you have stamina to sbd but it is about what will you do when youre hungry, youre starving literally, and youre dead tired. You havent slept more than five hours in three days. Youre carrying all of this weight and youre supposed to lead men and decisive action. What will you do . Also they watch you too when youre not in leadership position youre far away from everyone else pulling security. Are you going to pull security and have integrity when no and one is windchilling or go to sleep these are lings things you learn and i learned about migs and first of all if i choose between eating and sleeping, i eat. I had no idea that i would not guess sleep all day every day. Nope. When they give me that choice 25 minutes before next day starts, you get sleep or you can eat i ate. I was superhungry hungry ranger. I learned how to be effective leader in combat and i learned what the reality is behind you know utilizing every single asset in your platoon means every single individual and utilizing strength and understanding what their weaknesses are such as yours and combining those strengths while eliminating weaknesses as best as you can to be effective team. So lets go to afghanistan and 2012 when did you deploy and what was your job during second deployment of yours . So second deployment i was running personal security detail for the time colonel and what he owned was 45 different station in Eastern Province of afghanistan and five in toalings, and he was the man. It was an unbelievable tour seven days week i got to ride in chop helicopters i got to see beautiful parts of afghanistan and i got to meet incredible folks and most importantly i got to see afghanistan for a different permit of so i did it and this tours i was just provided security and i bot to see general on the mission as best i could. And so youre in this eastern part pa of afghanistan rugged country, mountains as tall as anywhere on the world and august 8th your mission to accompany boss for a meeting and take us forward from there. What happens . This was one of the meetings so this is my first tour. I was in same area of operation my first tour. Every wednesday 10 00 in the morning, governor of eastern advice wanted to run security meeting 30 minutes so, obviously, i wasnt tbing to take boss of that meeting every week or i wasnt going to he didnt want to go he made his own schedule i advised him on it. He didnt want the to go every week because they become a threat and we become a target. On august 8th, 2012 boss had a previous meeting with all of his leaders and next day we decided to, you know, fly out to the security meeting bits upon some of the conversation the night prier and they wanted to address that with the governor. We got there, i was supposed to have 12 escorts and they took call 19 minutes earlier that made the route unclear again so i had two commanders and afghan general two u. S. State department individuals, two majors which major grandma and kennedy and then my team of six include myself. And the enemy that summer had won model which was spectacular attack so they were kind of pushing away from the small attacks and they wanted to do Something Big so for that, you have to have a lot of patience to really pick your target accordingly, and when they saw us probably coming with that much brass they probably thought man this is christmas in july, in august, and they committed so they had two suicide bombers ready to tack us out so that day 700 meters into 1100 meter movement, i i they came at us with motorcycles, in front of our patrol. I had actually put Afghan National army up front. Ill be honest with you i did not trust them at the time to be behind us because we had too many green on blue up there. So i didnt know this group of folks i fought with incredible afghan soldier but yints know these guys so they were up front and i wanted them to make our peer patrol bigger to deter any potential threats and they did a heck of a onbecause when motorcycles kale to his patrol point guy, afghan soldier and rifles are screaming and forced to dismount and start running away but that was a diversion. That was the whole point thats exactly what they wanted and a man came out of the structure young 20 years old and clean shaven. Black man, and walking backwards identified him, thought, obviously, this guy is a threat didnt know what was wrong with him and where he come from and then he did a 180degree turn and then to my patrol prochghted me to leave my position and scream at hill while springting at him reached to him. Hit him, grabbed him realized that it he had a suicide vest on. And do whatever you can do at that point throw him as far away as quickly as a possible because you have to save the bomb. And so you doapght think about death you think about doing your job. And so i threw him. Same topic changing my goal are that deployment was to do the best ranger competition which you have to be pretty darren well fit to do so. Some of the best athletes and i was competing to make it there so i was lifting a lot and working out a lot. I was i looked good right i looked good. Well guess what, when i threw him he landed right at my feet made me think maybe i wasnt lifting enough bawtdz he went nowhere or o he was fng he wasnt big. Lets be honests he was not big i was bigger than him im not a big guy but straight down i kind of look back like man come on could have done better. But he landed chest first and he debt detonated so no matter what that man was going to die that day. Saw trigger go out and everything went black. Name inscribed on bracelet on your wrist youre wounded you wake up intermittently and you finally wake up in launch school and who is there not a soldier but a texting with him yesterday too. But you know most important before i get that. Lost four incredible american four great friends tour individuals that i would do everything in the world to bring back. Griffin, mr. Grey whereby major kennedy and dafata nowhere near the bomb and for some odd reason in the rule of law, in a way of life they were picked. And left our world which im im a Firm Believer that you know theyre out there looking over us and looking over me making sure theyre protecting me and protecting our families. But thats the craziest part of this whole story is fact that guy blew up at my feet and killed four others almost 30 feet away and doesnt make sense but it is the way that it is. But my injuries were there. But i woke up in launch school on all sorts of drugs at that point pretty sure i was you know, i had a pca allotted i was press every 15 minutes. And i see this this figure florchght me im like laying down. I look up and its got hair, everywhere hes talking to me saying hey, man, so proud to meet you. Youre a hero looking at this guy im thinking are you gite buy from korn . So rock band from the 90s and early 2000 freak on a leash are you Jonathon Davis hes like yeah, man. Im like why are you here . Where am i . [laughter] and that was one of the coolest experiences Jonathan Davis was actually going through a u. S. Tour at the time. And so he was out there you know visiting the troops. My goodness, i mean, i hadnt listened in a while at that point. Its a small world. Im telling you what, its a small world. Him and i were just texting. Literally just texting with him because he wants to do another uso tour, and im going this december with general dunford back to iraq and afghanistan and poland and other areas. So its been, its awesome. And so, you know, you go from being track star, army ranger, youre going to compete in best ranger, and youre pretty banged up. And youve got a journey ahead. Whats that like, and what are the hardest parts of that . I mean, im impressed when i meet wounded veterans and, you know, the grit theyve got, the perseverance, theyve got to keep going. Tell us about that journey. Well, ill be honest with you, it wasnt easy at first. I had pretty severe they called it milden concussion. I call it a pretty damn good mild concussion [laughter] because i couldnt remember, they used to brung bring these pictures of giraffes and lions, and theyll give you math equations. Literally tough math equations like how many quarters in a dollar, right . [laughter] id be like, look, i was never really good at math, i have no idea what to do now. [laughter] you got me. Is this, like, an s. A. T. Question . Theyre like, no. Whats one plus one . Thats a tough one. No, my brain wasnt working. I could look at the giraffe, and i knew what it was, right . Like internally, youre like i know what it is, but i just dont know what it is. For six weeks. Its pretty severe. So that was tough. And then you add oxis, morphine, iv benadryl for me to go to sleep at night, and then you close the door and turn the lights off, and my demons inside my head were playing a lot of games, you know . And they have a hell of a cocktail to support their mission. And so, you know, for months, months i was really struggling to the point where you contemplate suicide just because really youre so internally defeated, you have no reason to go on. It is incredible how you can feel that low. It is beyond depression. And so when i hear about the 20 veterans that take their lives every day, thats why i wear this ring, as a reminder. People ask the question, why . How . Guess what . No taliban, no alqaeda, no enemy has ever been as strong as my own demons in my head. Think about that. I actually had the best of the best on my side always, every time i went outside a wire to fight the enemy. I had no support system at the time, or so i thought, when i was fighting those demons at night. And its incredible what they can do. I completely underestimated it. I have friends that took their lives in the service i could not understand. They have everything going for them,ing right in and here i am in the same boat and thinking about the same outcomes. So that was tough. And honestly, i dont think i would have made it unless it was for the support or system i received, specifically travis mills which, you know, many of you if you remember anything about this, remember the name travis mills. I always like to say im going to make him a superstar, but hes been doing that for a long time. But hes a quadruple amputee. I got hit in april of 2012, and in november 2012 he walked into my room with four prosthetics and changed the course of my life in 13 minutes. 15 minutes. He was able to rewire me in a way i didnt think was possible by just listening to me and giving me some advice and also giving me a reality check. And i think thats what i need, for me. Everybodys got a trigger, and for me it was the reality check that i wasnt a failure because i had four People Killed under my watch, and i still had a purpose and a mission. And i couldnt get that through my head until he told me open up your eyes, stop being weak, youve got to see whats around you. There are guys with a lot worse injuries than you. I know its personal, but you have a responsibility for the rest of your life to earn the fact that youre still on this earth and honor your brothers that didnt come home and honor their families. So were going to go to question, but i want to ask one last one before we do. Now youre with the boeing company and youre helping serve and honor veterans the way you described. Tell us about what youre doing now and why thats so important to you. I made three great dec