All Episodes
Previous Next
Feb. 7, 2023 - Firebrand - Matt Gaetz
29:37
Episode 89 LIVE: America's Bravest (feat. Sergeant First Class Martin Acosta) – Firebrand with Ma…
| Copy link to current segment

Time Text
Thank you.
Matt Gaetz was one of the very few members in the entire Congress who bothered to stand up against permanent Washington on behalf of his constituents.
Matt Gaetz right now, he's a problem in the Democratic Party.
He could cause a lot of hiccups in passing applause.
So we're going to keep running those stories to keep hurting him.
If you stand for the flag and kneel in prayer, if you want to build America up and not burn her to the ground, then welcome, my fellow patriots!
You are in the right place!
This is the movement for you!
You ever watch this guy on television?
It's like a machine.
Matt Gaetz.
I'm a cancelled man in some corners of the internet.
Many days I'm a marked man in Congress, a wanted man by the deep state.
They aren't really coming for me.
They're coming for you.
I'm just in the way.
Good morning.
Welcome back to Firebrand.
We're broadcasting live out of room 2021 of the Rayburn Office Building here at the Capitol Complex in Washington, D.C. And there is always a great deal of energy on Capitol Hill when it is State of the Union Day.
Extra security, extra focus, a lot of folks trying to cast a vision.
And President Biden will be...
Here in the halls of the House of Representatives this evening to deliver the State of the Union and there's always a great deal of interest in who members of Congress select to be their guest for the State of the Union and I invited Sergeant First Class Martin Acosta Someone who served as a Green Beret in our district and is now transitioning to civilian life.
He's got a lot to share about his time in Afghanistan, about the unique brotherhood that appends to service in our military, about the path to special forces, and about mental health challenges that we have so many of our veterans wanting to address and they want to advocate for those who are still in uniform, their family members.
It's a terrific interview.
Take a listen to Sergeant First Class Martin Acosta.
We're joined now by Sergeant First Class Martin Acosta, served our great country as a Green Beret, was working right there with the 7th Special Forces Group and a member of that elite organization.
And my good friend, we actually met for the first time at Walter Reed and have stayed in contact ever since.
Martin, thanks so much for joining me here in the office.
Thank you for having me, sir.
Thank you.
And I am very excited because I'm going to get to invite you to join me during President Biden's State of the Union.
It is an august ceremony.
It is a moment for our country to hear from the President of the United States about vision and goals.
And I just wanted to thank you with our whole audience for giving us the great honor of having you here and having you join me.
Thank you, sir.
I am very grateful for the opportunity of being able to attend with you and see this side of the government that not a lot of people get to see.
So I'm very excited.
Thank you.
You will definitely get the behind-the-scenes views and now see everybody likes that they can have the cameras to see who's talking and who and chit-chatting with you, and you'll have the whole perspective.
You're a big dude, so I only feel bad about whoever has to sit behind you because they might not have as good a view.
But I wanted to talk to you about Your path to the United States Army, because right now in the Armed Services Committee, we're very concerned that recruiting has become harder, that the people who are even physically eligible to serve in the Army is less and less over time.
And so you're one of our great celebrated heroes.
Tell us about what brought you to the United States Army.
Well, let me just start out, sir, by saying, you know, I was born in Texas, but I pretty much grew up in the south side of Chicago.
So, you know, I tell people nowadays, you know, I kind of got to see combat before I actually joined the military.
So, one of the big major reasons why I joined, why I enlisted in the Army back in 2009 was to kind of get away from the gang violence in Chicago.
And as you've told it to me before, it was not the best news your mother wanted to hear.
How did you convince your mother?
Actually, I still don't think she's convinced.
It was just something I really wanted to do.
I grew up watching Rambo, all those movies, and it's just something that I felt I had a passion for.
Coming from a household, being a single, you know, Hispanic woman with three boys and a young girl, you know, she was in her 20s.
She's worked all her life to raise us.
So, you know, as an older guy, I was the oldest out of the four.
I kind of just took on the role to try to set an example.
You know, my job is like, hey, we don't really have a father figure at this time, so what do I need to do to get these guys to follow me later on?
So my mom was pushing college a lot, mainly to kind of set the example for the others to follow.
It didn't work out that way.
I tried college for a year.
It wasn't for me.
I told her of my mom.
I tried.
It wasn't for me.
I enlisted in the Army in 2009. I originally enlisted as just a normal 11 Bravo infantry guy.
My dream was to go to Ranger Battalion.
Didn't work out that good.
At that time, 2009, Ranger Battalion was overstrength.
But that door wasn't open, but a new door opened, which was the Special Forces recruiter approached me.
We had a good conversation.
Asked me if I was interested.
And just with the sign of a paper, he canceled my orders to my unit and said, hey, you're going to Special Forces Assessment and Selection.
And from this point on, it's up to you if you make it or not.
And that's kind of how I got my start in the United States Army back in 2009. What was the hardest part of that Special Forces transition for you?
Everything.
I was a city boy.
I don't even think I spent a night in the woods until I joined the Army.
It was a completely new environment for me.
I think that's one of the reasons that attracted me to this profession.
I played sports.
It was good.
I just needed something, a new challenge.
I think around that time is when the Call of Duty games were big.
And just one day, I just had enough, and I said, I want to do this for real.
And, you know, everybody thought I was joking for a while.
They thought maybe I just went away for a few years and was living with family in California.
But when I came back after graduating, the first time, you know, when I was officially a Green Beret and I came back to Chicago, Just to see the smile in my mom's face, I felt like it was all worth it.
She knew the sacrifice that went into that.
It was essentially me having a college diploma.
Even though I'm going to college now to get my diploma, it was like having a college diploma.
It was a great day.
It was a great time.
We're joined by Sergeant First Class Martin Acosta.
He's my guest to the State of the Union and one of Northwest Florida's finest and bravest and represents the Seven Special Forces community so well.
And it's a community that certainly has gone deep into the fight.
If we were Talking to somebody who was making that decision about the United States Army that was a young person trying to find themselves, wondering if the Army was the right option for them.
What advice would you give about the traits that people need to have to be successful like you are?
Nowadays, two simple traits.
Empathy and just be a go-getter.
That's all you need to be successful nowadays.
In that order.
Empathy and then kind of the go-getter drive.
Because I feel like we're at a point in our lives and in our nation where I feel like nobody tries to find common ground.
It's just automatically like, I don't think I agree with you, so I'm just going to find things that we disagree even more.
So I think, you know, trying to actually think of solutions to the problems we currently have, it's a big...
Not everybody has it.
Do you think that recruiting in the military...
Scoot a little closer to the mic so they can pick you up.
Do you think recruiting in the military is a downstream effect of division in the country?
Or do you think that recruiting in the military...
I mean, it's gotten harder, right?
I mean, it's gotten harder for us to get the people that we need to protect the country.
Why do you think that is?
Partially...
I think because we're giving away too much free stuff.
Essentially, why would somebody want to work for something when they could get it for free?
So you think that if people got less free stuff in this country, the military would be viewed as more of a ladder up in life?
That's kind of how it was when I joined.
It's either...
Crime, school, or the military.
And, you know, those were my three options.
And if I was going to try to stay home and I wasn't going to go to school, I wasn't going to have any money unless I worked for it.
I went to school and had a good profession.
And I understand, you know, to a certain point, you know, you need to, maybe it's a starter.
You need like a starter package, you know.
Something to get started, but we can't carry somebody the entire time.
You know, we can only help you.
Stand up, and then the rest is on your own.
So I think we definitely, I wouldn't say necessarily stop a lot of stuff, just maybe restructure it.
You know, have a better understanding of why people are doing the things that they're doing.
Well, you made this choice to go into the Army, you then get tapped for Special Forces, you go excel there, and you find yourself in Afghanistan.
I know the story, but for those who don't, share your experience in Afghanistan, the mission you were working on, the work you were doing, and then how we ultimately came to meet up at Walter Reed.
Yes, absolutely.
So it was back in 2020. We deployed January 2020, a week after the new year.
And our mission, we were going to be there seven months.
And essentially, at that time, The peace talks with the Taliban was the thing that was going on.
Unfortunately for us, it was about...
People say usually the first 30 days, last 30 days are the most dangerous days in deployment.
It was week four.
We were doing...
A KLE, Key Leader Engagement.
There was this area in Afghanistan that just kept getting hammered.
They kept getting hammered by Taliban.
And we wanted to go provide aid.
So we went to do an engagement with the district governor.
And...
What we thought it was going to be...
I don't want to say thought.
What was supposed to be one of the least dangerous missions ended up being the worst day of my life.
Before we deploy, we do permission training.
And every permission training, we have what's called Mascow.
It's like the worst of the worst.
And that day, we actually lived it...
It was the ANA police that decided to pick up an automatic weapon and fire at us.
So one of the people you were there to engage?
One of the people that were there to help.
One of the persons that were there to help took it upon himself to pick up a weapon and fire on us.
He wounded six of us.
We lost two brothers.
Our anniversary is actually coming up.
It's February 8th.
And what I remember from that day, as soon as the first burst happened, you kind of put it together.
It kind of clicks.
And I just felt the rounds impact my body.
And I dropped.
The body armor covered all the good spots, but from the body armor below, both legs were done.
The individual dropped me.
And I'm not sure what his intentions were, if he saw me crawling next to my buddy.
So when I fell for the first time, you know, the pain had a kink thin yet.
It was the drilling that was still going on.
His name is Javier Jaguar Gutierrez.
He goes by Jag, for short.
He was my communication sergeant at the time.
We were right next to each other.
You know, I kind of fell forward on my stomach.
He was on his back.
And right behind him, there was like a little ditch.
It wasn't much, but it was something.
So we were trying to crawl to it.
He was pulling me, trying to get me to him.
And within seconds, we heard another burst of fire.
And I got impacted a couple more times, and I saw my buddy took a fatal shot.
And I think at that point is when everything went quiet.
I just, like...
I couldn't hear anything anymore.
I saw the chaos.
I saw the dust.
I saw muscle blasts.
I just couldn't hear anything.
I'm a religious guy.
I pray every now and then because I didn't want the old crap moment to come.
That would be the day I pray.
You know, while I was on the ground looking at my buddy and seeing the chaos around us, the only thing I could think of was my wife and kids.
But my first time was...
Katie's my wife saying she's going to be pissed.
She told me not to deploy and I said one more and this happens.
And with 7th Group, there's intense competition to get on deployments.
It is.
A lot of competition.
Some of your commanders have told me sometimes it can come to blows with Green Berets not wanting to be home but being so willing to be in the fight to have those moments.
And it's just, you know, and it's that go-getter mentality, you know.
We don't like to settle for being second.
We don't like that, you know.
If we're not first, we're last.
So it's just the mentality that...
But there's a full understanding of the sacrifice because I remember when I was there with President Trump when Jaguar...
I came home on dignified transfer with Antonio, and the members of the 7th Special Forces Group were standing right there in the rain in observance of that moment.
And so it is not a decision that seems entered in too lightly.
But now, well, you came back.
You were at Walter Reed.
You continued your service in the military and now you're out in civilian life, working in the private sector.
Tell us a little bit about your family, your wife, your kids and sort of what life's like now beyond service.
I'm still trying to figure that out, sir.
I just retired in September of last year.
I just started working for a company, doing cybersecurity, trying to figure that out.
I figured I was a communications guy, switched over to intelligence.
But transitioning to the civilian side, in general, I feel like I'm starting over again.
I give a big shout out to my wife.
She's the one that keeps it together.
Everybody thinks we're tough, but that's because they haven't met our wives.
That's true.
Maybe I could answer that question in six months because right now I'm still trying to figure it out.
And this is something that we see kind of across the economy.
So many businesses wanting to hire veterans because of the skill set, because of the discipline, because of the sense of purpose and mission, and so many veterans transitioning to corporate and civilian life.
Having to feel like it's so different and the energy and the tempo sometimes doesn't really compare from what I've heard from a lot of folks.
What advice would you give people that have just, you know, made that initial step like you have to just where you are saying, look, I'm going to take these skills that the United States Army taught me.
I'm going to put them to work for my career progression, for my family.
How would you advise people that are kind of on that initial step of the path?
I would say they need to ask themselves two questions.
What do they think their purpose is and what do they want to do?
If they could answer those two questions and find something that they have in common, that's a good place to start.
We could do that with a lot of the folks in Congress and probably improve the place a good bit.
Joined by Sergeant First Class Martin Acosta, my guest to the State of the Union, served in Afghanistan, was injured there, came back and is living a great life in Northwest Florida and we couldn't be prouder of him.
When we were at your retirement ceremony, you really reflected on the need for people to focus on mental health for a lot of the folks who are still in active duty and just getting out of active duty.
Why is that important to you?
Why was that something you really wanted to draw focus on?
At first, just like everybody, I thought it was a myth.
I thought it was just another excuse for people to not do what they needed to do.
Once I started seeing not how it just affected me, how it affects my family, that's when it clicked.
You know, that's when it clicked that this is real and we need to do something about it.
And when I saw how hard it was for me to get help while being active duty, I started paying attention to my surroundings and started realizing that I wasn't the only one.
Maybe it's the background that I have.
Maybe it's, you know, the training that I had.
I just didn't take no for an answer.
So, you know, I'm at the point that I'm still working with my issues, but, you know, I feel like part of my calling is to help others.
And I think that...
Maybe some people are afraid to speak up.
I'll be that voice for them.
I'll speak up for them.
I'll say what I need to say in order to get them to talk to somebody.
Is that the biggest problem?
Just to get people to...
To open up.
I think so.
From what I've talked to people, it's...
I don't know why.
It's two emotions come, two feelings.
Shame and regret.
Those are two things that not a lot of people like to feel.
We don't want to feel like that.
But mental health is not something that you should regret, that you should be shameful.
Because it's not permanent.
We can fix it.
There's ways that we can fix it.
And mainly, if we can get people to open up about it and say, hey, this is a problem, I think that's a very good start.
We need more people to be open about it.
You know, it's interesting in a lot of our military policy, we have historically always assessed how physically able is this particular group of people for a deployment, for a particular mission, and now we're starting to do those types of assessment for people's mental health based on rapid deployment schedule,
based on the intensity and acuity of the conflict, Distance, duration, all those types of things can inform on readiness, really, in a lot of ways for active duty.
And that's a key word, sir.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off, but readiness.
We do readiness before every deployment.
We get somewhat of a physical before deployments to make sure we're physically capable of doing what we need to do.
How bad is it to add an extra day just to check our heads, make sure we're right?
We don't really do that in the military.
I think that's very important.
And now that I'm a little more open about it and people are listening, that's the good thing.
People are actually listening now.
And I will say that back in 7th Group, The doors are opening.
I see more and more people reaching out every week.
It brings joy to my heart.
Because I love my military brothers.
I love them, especially my Green Berets.
Well, it is such a special mission and a special group of people.
And the way you talk about the tight-knit family networks is on display whenever we get a chance to go to any events with Seventh Group.
It is like a big family reunion every time we all get the chance to get together.
And I know how proud they are of you and that you continue to be a voice for people who are wearing the uniform still.
It's an inspirational thing.
I couldn't have had a better guest for the State of the Union and excited you're here with me and glad you joined me on Firebrand.
Sir, it's a pleasure.
Thank you.
Before we go, an apology from me.
Last week my office extended an invitation to a veteran to lead the House Judiciary Committee in the Pledge of Allegiance.
It was a unifying moment for Republicans and Democrats in the committee to open the business of the committee with a reminder of why we serve the American people, led by someone who once fought for our country.
Unfortunately, my decision caused some unintended consequences.
The veteran I invited had prior involvement with law enforcement Which I was unaware of until after the ceremony in the Judiciary Committee.
The family affected by this activity brought the situation to my attention.
And I'm glad they did.
When our office encounters a veteran in need of assistance, our first thoughts aren't, let's run a background check, or I wonder if this person had any run-ins with the law that might make someone look bad.
Our first thought when we see a veteran is to thank them for their service and to think about how we can be helpful and productive.
Congressional offices don't look like the inside of any sort of law enforcement headquarters.
We don't have access to any type of surveillance technology or databases that would rise to the level of even some of the folks you'd see in your local police department.
We do have a team of dedicated young professionals who don't look for and assume the worst in our constituents and especially our veterans.
They maximize their capabilities by using them with good intentions and sometimes even with the best of intentions we fall short.
I apologize to the family For the unintended pain that our invitation caused to them.
Going forward we will use this experience to better inform on our standard operating procedure for inviting guests to ceremonies and official events.
Thank you so much for joining us today on Firebrand.
We'll be back soon.
Roll the credits.
▲
Export Selection