I am a firm believer that an experience is worth nothing unless you share it. I was honored to be asked by the MIT/Harvard/Tufts ROTC to be the guest speaker at their annual military ball. I had a great time sharing my lessons learned with our country’s future military leaders. Check out the article below.
https://bostonnrotcseadawg.wordpress.com/type/image/
My recovery has been nothing short of amazing and miraculous. I owe everything to God, my family, friends and community. The support that everyone has provided me has been incredible. Five days after I was wounded, my high school football team, La Salle Institute organized “Kevin Flike Night” and donated all proceeds to the Wounded Warrior Project. When I heard that this was taking place, I started crying in my hospital bed. It meant the world to me that people cared so much. I always kept this in mind during my recovery and whenever I wanted to give up I thought about all the people who believed in me. This was one of the articles that announced “Kevin Flike Night” in the local papers.
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Help-for-a-wounded-warrior-2195566.php
Transitioning from the military to the civilian world was harder than I thought. I am grateful to have had such a supportive community at MIT Sloan to help with the transition. This article talks about the MIT Sloan Veterans Association and the camaraderie and support the club provides for its members. Very proud to go to a school that places such a high value on veterans and their experiences.
When I first started college in 2002 I wanted to go to OCS after graduation. However during this time, the 18 X-Ray program became popular. By signing an 18 X-Ray contract, I could guarantee myself a chance to go to Special Forces Selection . I would have to enlist rather than go to OCS and the chances of me earning the fabled Green Beret were about 10-15%. Despite these odds, the Special Forces appealed to me due to their specialization in un-conventional warfare. Green Berets are deployed in situations in which knowing the culture, customs and language of the people is just as, if not more important than the weapons you carry. When the Special Forces first started during WWII as the Office of Strategic Services, the ideal man they were looking for was a, “PhD. that can win a bar fight.”
After carefully thinking about which path to take, I decided that I wanted to be a Green Beret. I had read books, talked to numerous people, thought and prayed about it. The ability to be apart of an elite unit that emphasized intellectualism just as much as it emphasized tactics, appealed to me.
Once I had made the decision, my mind was made up and nothing could convince me otherwise.
On March 7, 2007 it was time for me to head to Infantry Basic Training. While I sat in the Albany International Airport, waiting for my flight to Atlanta, the gravity of the situation hit me.
After I was wounded I never thought that I would be able to ski again. I was so certain of this that I gave my skis away. After thousands of hours of phyiscal therapy and with help of numerous people I was finally able to ski again. This was all made by possible through God, family, friends, medical and physical terapy staff of the 1st Special Forces Group and Stride Adaptive Sports. My first day back on the mountain was captured in this documentary about adaptive sports. Below is the link for the documentary, I am feautured from 15:20 to 18:30.
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.