The Green Beret Building The Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation

Today’s guest is Michael “Rod” Rodríguez. Rod is the President and CEO of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation. He joined the U.S. Army in 1992 and attended the Special Forces Assessment and Selection course to become a Green Beret in 1997. In 2013, he was medically retired due to numerous combat injuries. His last assignment as a Green Beret came as a Sniper Instructor assigned to the JFK Special Warfare Center (Range 37) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He has deployed ten times in service to our nation.

🫡 Help Design History GWOT Memorial:
https://www.gwotmemorialfoundation.org/helpdesignhistory/
Donate to the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation https://www.gwotmemorialfoundation.org/donate/

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🕙 Chapters:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:05:18 - Growing up In Southern Mexico
00:10:06 - Special Hunting Moments
00:14:34 - Memories of Military Food
00:19:19 - Change of Plans in the Military Journey
00:24:25 - Restoring Democracy in Foreign Country
00:28:51 - Green Beret Selection and the Importance of Preparation
00:33:18 - The Power of Choosing Not to Suffer
00:37:59 - The Power of Self-Talk
00:42:39 - Training and Ownership
00:47:35 - Deployments and 9/11
00:52:00 - The Challenges I Faced in My Career
00:56:17 - Seeking Help and Recovery Journey
01:00:57 - The Importance of Family and Time
01:05:53 - Overcoming obstacles to building a national war memorial
01:10:04 - Shared Experiences of Military Service
01:15:21 - Honoring Those Who Gave Their Lives in Service
01:19:52 - Saving Lives through Open Conversation and Validation
01:24:34 - The Power of Community Support
01:29:30 - The Importance of Faith and Beliefs
01:34:42 - Giving feedback on GWOT design artwork

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