Joel Bier

She'll make you fall in love all over again. How cool is this!?

On 20 November 2015, Delta Force operator Kyle Morgan wasn’t supposed to be fighting a war. He was serving as a Special Operations Advisor to the US Embassy in Mali. But when heavily armed terrorists seized the Radisson Blu Hotel and started taking dozens of innocent lives, he didn’t wait for a green light. For hours, Morgan and a small, makeshift team of international assets cleared seven floors under heavy fire in close quarters. Because of his decisive actions, dozens of civilians made it home alive. For his extraordinary valor, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second highest award for heroism in combat. But Kyle’s toughest battle didn't happen in a hotel in Africa. It happened when he took the uniform off. After 11 years in the Army’s most elite Tier 1 unit, the echoes of combat followed him home. Morgan has spoken openly about the brutal reality of the transition: sustaining multiple traumatic brain injuries, battling severe PTSD, and surviving a near fatal substance overdose. Today, he uses that same relentless warrior spirit to fight a new mission. He helps others build a "Protector Mindset" and navigate the darkest corners of mental health and recovery. True strength isn't just about how you handle a rifle in a crisis. It’s about how you rebuild your life when the smoke finally clears.

Please help me honor Major Keith A. Butler, US Army Green Beret and CIA contractor. Trained as a medic and weapons specialist, he served in most of the conflicts that defined recent American history. Panama, Honduras, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan. Keith completed 44 combined combat missions across Iraq and Afghanistan alone. He was at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khowst on 30 December 2009 when a Jordanian double agent detonated a suicide vest inside the compound. Seven CIA officers were killed. Keith survived. Afterward he quoted Thomas Paine in a note to his colleagues: “Those who want to reap the benefits of this great nation must bear the fatigue of supporting it.” He told them to make their lives worthy of the honor of those who fell. Then he stayed in the fight for another five years. Major Butler was killed in action in Afghanistan on 10 May 2014. He was 56 years old. At an age when most men are thinking about retirement and grandkids, he was still in the mountains, advising local soldiers and running missions. Green Beret, combat medic, CIA paramilitary. The quiet professional who stayed in the fight to the end. Rest easy, Major. Not forgotten.

When 102-year-old World War II veteran Wally King asks you to have a beer at the Stop Bar in Sainte-Mère-Église in Normandy, you have a beer (or two) with Wally King at the Stop Bar in Sainte-Mère-Église in Normandy. What an honor!  Wally flew 75 combat missions in the Second World War in P-51 Mustangs and P-47 Thunderbolts.  He was shot down in April of 1945, parachuting out of his P-47 over Germany and becoming a POW before then evading both German and Soviet forces on his way to freedom.  Legend!  I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to Normandy with Wally three times for D-Day commemoration events with the Best Defense Foundation over the past few years.  We always have a blast!  🇺🇸