We sat with Staff Sgt. Kevin Flike, a Green Beret who joined the Army in 2007, and in 2009 was assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne). Kevin was deployed twice to Afghanistan, including a mission with his 11 other comrades in September 2011 where he was shot and severely wounded during a Taliban firefight. In this episode, Kevin takes us from the pursuit of the green beret, to that firefight, and to his long but amazing recovery of body, mind and soul.
This episode follows our conversation with Staff Sgt. Kevin Flike, a Green Beret, and Alan Price, an Army Veteran and the current JFK Library and Museum Director, released on 8-24-20.
Staff Sergeant Kevin Flike is a true role model for so many in any culture, and for both service members and civilians. He continues to educate us through public speaking, his work with the Green Beret Foundation, and through academic leadership that began at the Sloan school at MIT and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Make sure to check out Kevin’s 2019 documentary Wounded by War for an incredible view of his story of injury and resilience.
The US Army Special Forces is the special operations force established in 1952. Throughout the 1950s the Green Beret was worn as an unofficial part of the SF uniform, until 1961 when President JFK authorized the GB as the official head gear. JFK called the green beret "a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom."
Many thanks to the JFK Presidential Library and Museum for hosting the Home Base team for this conversation, Leslie Feinberg our government relations director, and Army Veteran Pat Smith, Home Base’s Special Operation’s liaison.
Thank you Staff Sergeant Flike for your service both before and after 2011, and thank you to Kimberlee Flike and your family for their service over these trying years.
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Home Base Nation Team:
Steve Monaco, US Marine Corps Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, Chuck Clough, DeeDee Kearney, Natalie Bonelli
Producer and Host:
Ron Hirschberg
Thank you to:
Photography - Joe Wallace for photography
On location recording - Chuck Clough of Above The Basement
Introduction scene and "Taliban Fight" score - David G. Moore
Home Base Media Lab Chairman:
Peter Smyth
The views expressed by guests to the Home Base Nation podcast are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by guests are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Home Base, the Red Sox Foundation or any of its officials.