The transcription that follows is the direct speech as told in the video…
June 1st 2011 Kajaki Afghanistan two teams comprised the Marines and Afghan uniformed police are high atop an elevated piece of terrain known as the shrine this one we were together had key personnel machine gunners and corpsman our medical personnel we affectionately call them doc and we were checking our gear making sure all of our comm was up and running I got a radio check with higher over in headquarters worked the boom light that was attached to my earpiece radio check with first team leader we were good another day at the office and we made our way down that hillside through the Adobe compounds now to cross the river bed into the fields were farmers all day for the past two weeks essentially had been pulling roots and shopping down poppies leaving behind little pencil thin stalks first team had made their way up through the knee-high drying piles of poppy there was shaken hands with farmers and as they advanced they began to move out of the village or excuse me out of the field into the village it was right around that time where I looked up and I saw my machine gunners I saw my corpsman my doc when I glanced up at team one and boom they disappeared into a cloud of smoke break break break Cheyenne brimstone this is Cheyenne two just received idea impact 10 potential casualties stand by for SAP number Roger standing by and I listened for first team leader please give us the sitrep Cheyenne Roger just stand by please stand by and finally a crackle through the smoke Corvina and I look at doc taking the name with its med bag ready and I’m not honey runs in the cloud doc had no idea what he was gonna encounter in there he just knew an eye Edie went off he knew he had the Med Bank and the training and he knew that he could add value to that situation no matter what in the difficult times in life the only way to get through that situation is to add value add value in the difficult times and you’ll see that value turn into a moment of triumph because only a year before that explosion took place I was dealing with a personal I ad an explosion which took place in my heart see I wasn’t given the privilege of a giant magnificent explosion for everybody to know that I had been blown to smithereens I was alone experiencing isolation anxiety anger depression guilt I was alone it was only a year before this when I was an instructor in Quantico a comment Marshman ship instructor training young lieutenants how to shoot that I felt the lowest of my low I’d already been on two combat tours to Ramadi Iraq my friends my brothers for down downrange fighting and I drank a little too heavy and it weighed on the marriage and we got a divorce she took the kids I was suffering from a personal illness and I actually lost my billet my job in the Marine Corps from being an instructor had to do something else and I felt alone it was the only person in the world who could possibly be going through that right I was the only person the world who’s ever lost a loved one the only one who’s ever been divorced the only one who’s ever been separated from our children the only one who has experienced a personal illness or job loss do you know what these are the five common stressors that we would experience I wasn’t alone these are the five common IEDs that we will all potentially have to face and it was at that moment that I realized that I was in and I ID I was spinning out of control that was on the merry-go-round my legs flinging out of the air I had no idea what was going on and maybe you’ve experienced a similar feeling so tell me what’s your ID maybe a loss of a loved one a divorce separation we share in those similar experiences I found other people who are sharing in those similar experiences but when drunks get together with drunks they get drunker I needed to find people of similar values that same good ordered lead erection that I had to be able to channel it for me it’s simple love of life love of family love of country I needed to find people who were my family not necessarily my blood and maybe you can relate to this as well we have family members don’t we that are not necessarily our blood relatives friends advisors mentors who inspire and lift you up you family and in that moment of crisis when you’re on the merry-go-round they’re the ones who are slowing it down whoa whoa whoa we’ve seen this happen before we share in your values focus on what you can control at the moment focus on what you can control family you can be open and honest with them they’re the ones who are going to help you they’re going to help you develop your strengths so long as you’re open and honest about your weaknesses when you come together as a family in the United the ability to talk openly we share those similar values but strengths are also associated with weaknesses there’s a balance there I’ll give you an example for instance I’m strong of intellect I’m pretty intelligent guy by that same token impostor syndrome insecurity like standing in front of the mirror getting ready for a TED talk like really marine you’re a grunt what are you doing up here you’re right I am a grunt and physically strong you’re right I am a grunt and I carried around heavy stuff on my back which means my back gives out every once a while see I’m physically strong but that weakness is there and heart empathy I feel for other people in pain I really do my heart goes out to those people but by that same token I’m easily taken advantage of who else has a no solicitor sign on their front door anybody else it’s not because I mean it’s because I probably will take that magazine subscription for 1095 five-year monthly recurring payments yeah why not let’s do it I feel for your brother you got any pencils to see that’s the thing when you’re together as a family those values we lift each other up or strong when we need to be strong in our moments of weakness because oh IEDs will go off in life they do and in that moment the only thing to do is to add value to the situation that’s how you’re going to get through because in that ie d-doc had no idea what he was gonna do just the Med Bank and training none of us did he went running into that smoke and he immediately started treating one of the wounded Marines that was down first fireteam corpsman was already treating one first team leader work in the scenario the situation Afghan uniform police were punched out on the perimeter our machine gunners were in place the landing zone was swept I was relaying everything from my ear mic over to higher and we had helicopters coming in and everybody was adding value to that situation sounds simple doesn’t it it’s extremely difficult because that machine gunner right over there he was the roommate of our brother bleeding on the dirt and all he wanted to do was leave his gun and go screaming across the battlefield to help his friend but he didn’t because that wouldn’t add value in the moments of difficulty the only way to make it through is to add value to the situation and we put those two wounded Marines on helicopters and they flew away and we continued to patrol for another four months and finally at 3 a.m. on a foggy night we got home to Camp Pendleton and our loved ones and those two Marines were waiting for us I watched everybody pack all their gear up climb in the car and take off the last time I led Marines six months later I was out of the Corps becoming an entrepreneur I was a Marine veteran who had evolved and I was suffering through isolation anxiety anger depression guilt and IAD went off but there are others with similar experiences the same core belief value good orderly Direction who wanted to leverage their strength to fill in my weakness other people who could add value now you might be thinking to yourself I’m divorced my kids are gone I know because mine are I’m not the best father in the world but when we’re together over those I try to be the very best dad I can that’s how you add value and I challenge you I challenge all of us let’s add value to the situation see when I got out I wanted to become an entrepreneur and I saw others as I said fellow veterans and I met them at Entrepreneurship bootcamp for veterans and bunker labs we collaborate with one another to work together to build a new future to change the world again IDs will go off in life and people will die but I challenge you in the difficult times add value to that situation add value to every situation you encounter you’ll be amazed at what happens when you do thank you