Lesson #3 “Live your life like you are going to die tomorrow”

By: Kevin R. Flike

My teammate placed this hat on a stick to draw out Taliban fire.  Immediately after he exposed the hat, a member of the Taliban shot right through it.

I kept this picture of my wife and I in my grenade pouch.  When I pulled it out on the ridge line, I thought it was the last time I would see her.

 

Kevin R. Flike is currently a graduate student pursuing dual masters degrees from the MIT Sloan School of Management (MBA) and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (MPA) with an expected graduation date of spring 2016. Prior to grad school Kevin served as a Special Forces Engineer assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group and deployed to the Philippines, Thailand and twice to Afghanistan. On September 25, 2011 during his second deployment to Afghanistan, he was shot in the lower abdomen and was medically retired due to his injuries.

(Proud mother Jennifer Sargent and her son Staff Sergeant Michael Sargent)

19th Special Forces Group Green Beret Awarded the Silver Star

By: Kevin R. Flike

Staff Sergeant Michael Sargent (cue the Sergeant Sargent jokes) was awarded the Silver Star last week for heroic actions in Afghanistan last year.  In addition to being an American badass, Mike is also one of my dearest friends.  Mike and I were fraternity brothers at Union College in Schenectady, NY, with me being two years ahead of him (I am like the older brother that Mike never wanted).  After graduation in 2008, Mike enlisted in the Army and two years later earned the Green Beret.  Mike and I were re-united when he was assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group.  After I was wounded, Mike was always there for me.  No matter what was going on, if I needed something, he dropped everything to help me out.  I would not be where I am today if it was not for him.

After deployments to Afghanistan, the Philippines and multiple SE Asian countries, Mike left active duty and joined the 19th Special Forces (National Guard) while pursuing an Executive MBA at the University of Virginia – Darden School of Business.  After Mike’s first year of school, he un-selfishly put his education on hold to deploy with his company to Afghanistan in the summer of 2015.   The following text is the narrative to Mike’s Silver Star citation from that deployment.