Author: Kevin Flike

After graduating from Union College (BA), Kevin R. Flike 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. In the spring of 2016, Kevin completed dual masters degrees from the MIT Sloan School of Management (MBA) and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (MPA). Kevin is currently employed within the financial industry in Boston, MA.

Ernie Tabata – SF Legend – RIP

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Ernie

Excerpt from Chapter 3: The Q-Course 

Almost four months ago, while writing about my time in the Q-Course, I wrote a few paragraphs about SF legend Ernie Tabata.  At the age of 84 Ernie passed away on August 10, 2015.  In memory of a great man, warrior and teacher I want to share the passage about Ernie.  

The one thing that all 18-charlies have in common, both current and former, is that they were taught by Ernie Tabata. In 1946, Ernie joined the Hawaii National Guard then went on to fight in both Korea and Vietnam. Ernie retired in 1981 and began teaching Special Forces engineers in 1984. By the time that I went through the Q course, Ernie had been teaching for almost 30 years.  He still jumped out of airplanes and was always an active participant at demolitions ranges. One time he lit himself on fire while throwing a Molotov Cocktail. To say Ernie was crusty is an understatement. He used the phrase “God-Damn” so much that I was afraid God might smite Ernie before our very eyes and then the rest of the class for listening to him.

During classroom sessions, no matter what the topic, Ernie always started talking about Vietnam. When the lesson turned from explosives to living in a Montagnard village in the Vietnamese highlands, Ernie’s demeanor, tone and face changed. On one particular occasion, Ernie told us about a period in the war when the Montagnards (indigenous Vietnamese tribes that detested the Vietnamese.

From Combat Wounded to Summer Interns

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Kevin and Nate

(1LT(R) Nate Rimpf and SSG(R) Kevin R. Flike

1LT (R) Nate Rimpf, a former infantry PL, lost both legs on July 8th, 2012 in AFG. A week later he was at Walter Reed and began his long road to recovery. Nate and I met last fall at a finance veteran recruiting event in NYC. A couple of months after the event, Nate and I pieced together that we were both part of the amazing Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship fund. After this revelation, we both found out that we would be doing the same summer finance MBA internship (different regional locations) and would be re-united again in NYC for three weeks of training this summer. This picture was taken a few weeks ago during the training. He is pursuing his MBA at the Duke Fuqua School of Business with a scheduled graduation date of Spring 2016. Nate has an indomitable spirit and has not let his injury get the best of him. Nate even made a joke that his height is adjustable. The never give up attitude of people like Nate inspire me to be a better person every day.

What Memorial Day Means to Me

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(This article was originally posted on Memorial Day 2015)

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.” Plato 

Prior to my first deployment to Afghanistan I had the unsavory task of putting together my “death packet.” This packet outlines in detail your wishes in the unfortunate event that you die on the upcoming deployment. If you are married, your wife is required to sign off on your choices. Instead of planning for our future life together, my wife and I were planning for life without me. My choices were met with resistance.

As a twenty-five year old newly minted Green Beret I made a big joke out of this very serious exercise; making outlandish requests in my packet. I wanted to be buried naked because I came into this earth naked and naked I wanted to go out. I wanted an open bar at my wake and a huge banner that said “this is a celebration bitches.” I wanted upbeat Southern Rock playing during the wake. Also, no one was allowed to wear black, mourn or cry at my funeral.

I made a serious mistake of thinking this event was about me. Luckily my wife and a few veteran Green Berets put me in my place. It was not about me, but all the friends, family and teammates that I would leave behind. It would be a chance for them to honor me, begin coping with the loss and move on with their lives as best they could.

Skiing for the first time after being wounded

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After I was wounded I thought that there were a lot of things I would never be able to do again, skiing was one of them.  I was sure I would never ski again that I gave all of my skiing equipment away to my teammates.  The incredible people at Stride Adaptive Sports gave me the opportunity to ski again.  I cried the first time I went down the mountain.  After a long day on the slopes, my wife told me it was the happiest she had seen me in over four years.  This video is a great documentary about adaptive sports in the US.  The portion that shows me skiing is from 15:20 to 18:30.

 

Veterans Day 2014

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I was honored to speak on Veterans Day in my native Saratoga County.  Every time I share my story it re-affirms to me the lessons learned from my experiences.  I encourage veterans to share their experiences and I encourage everyone to listen.