"The Air OF Freedom Tastes Richer And More Filling For Those Who Are Willing To Fight For It" JR- Jason Redman

December14, 2015

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A Year In Perspective
Lieut. Jason Redman

A True American Hero

“The Air Of Freedom Tastes Richer And More Filling For Those Who Are Wiling To Fight For It.”JR

On August 29, 2015 The Anthony R. Abraham Foundation had the Honor and Privilege to Host

Lieut. Jason Redman at our table who was the Guest Speaker for the (SOWW) Special Operations

Wounded Warriors, Charity Dinner and Auction held in Boca Raton Fl.

On this Labor Day weekend I wanted to share with you on behalf of the Anthony R. Abraham

Foundation a glimpse into Lieut. Jason Redmond’s speech

presented to Fellow Teammates, Warriors, Veterans and Fellow

Patriots. As we go about enjoying our Families, Friends and

Neighbors Celebrating Labor Day weekend. It is indeed our

privilege to extend our gratitude and thanks to our Service Men

and Woman, Our American Heroes who have Sacrificed

Everything including their Lives so that we may Freely Enjoy the Navy Seal LIEUT. JASON REDMAM
Fruits of their Commitment, Dedication, Sacrifices and Loyalty to

Country and Flag, Preserving The Freedoms that We Enjoy.

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“The Air Of Freedom Tastes Richer And More Filling For Those Who Are Wiling To Fight For It.”
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December14, 2015

NAVY SEAL LIEUT. JASON REDMAM

It is an interesting time for Special Operations Forces.

We have received unprecedented exposure over the last

several years. The media and the American people can't

get enough of SEALs, Rangers, Green Berets and other

SOF Forces , clamoring for anything they can get about

our secretive brotherhood. A small segment of the SOF

Navy Seal LIEUT. JASON REDMAM community welcome the exposure while the vast
majority wish all the attention would go away, adhering to

the original humble roots which holds on to the tenet, “The deed is all, not the glory”.

But there is one fact we cannot avoid. Our SOF Warriors have carried a

major burden of this war and many of the men in this room, including myself,

bear the scars both physical and invisible from intense combat operations and we

need the American people to be aware, to understand, and most importantly to

support us through great groups like Special Operations Wounded Warrior. I want

to give you a small token of understanding of the immense cost of being a part of

the Special Operations Community.

It is a world of Heroism, Sacrifice, and Honor that Only Warrior Brothers

who have Endured Intense Hardship, Shared The Clash Of Steel, and

Experienced The Sting Of Battle Can Anyone Ever Fully Appreciate. Special Navy Seal LIEUT. JASON REDMAM
Operations have grown and flourished, establishing themselves over the last 70

years as steadfast components of every conflict. The names synonymous with elite

have become the Army Green Berets The Navy SEALs, US Army Rangers, Air Force Combat Controllers

and Pararescue men, and the premier aerial fighting force on the planet, the Special Operations Aviation

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“The Air Of Freedom Tastes Richer And More Filling For Those Who Are Wiling To Fight For It.”
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December14, 2015

Regiment. Recently we even had the US Marine Corps joined our Elite ranks, comprising the new Marine
Special Operations Command.

All of these elite warriors characterize similar traits; we are unconventional, we can operate in any

Climate, Terrain, and or Environment. We will overcome any obstacle in our path and we will win at all

costs. We engage the enemy through a combination of intense

toughness, superb cunning, and state of the art equipment. So

why are people so drawn to Special Operation Forces? The

bigger question I hope to answer is who are these men?

Where do they come from? What drives them to endure

Navy Seal LIEUT. JASON REDMAM the crucible of Ranger School, BUD/S, the Army Q Course?

What pushes them through the agony and pain of Hell Week,

starving themselves during Ranger School or crushing their backs, legs and feet through 20 miles of an

arduous selection course. And after they successfully make it through some of the world's toughest training,

what drives them forward year after year through careers constantly being away from friends and family, the

very real possibility of Death or severe bodily injury not only during war but during the high pace of special

operations training?

Our nation's Special Operations Forces come from all across this great country. They come from

every state, every race, and every color. Some are rich, some are poor,

and some barely graduated High School while others, were brokers on

Wall Street and Rocket Scientists before they settled on the path of the

Warrior. We come in all shapes and sizes from 5 foot 2 and 120 pounds

to 6 foot 7 and 320 pounds. But what makes a Special Operations

Warrior?

I personally believe two things make a SOF Warriors. First, Unwavering Love of the United States

of America and the Freedom of the Citizens in it, especially their Friends and Family. They Believe So

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“The Air Of Freedom Tastes Richer And More Filling For Those Who Are Wiling To Fight For It.”

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December14, 2015

Fervently In This Patriotism They Are Willing To Lay Down Their Lives For The Very Freedom, Many Of

Their Fellow Citizens Take For Granted.

American Citizens Breathe In Their Freedom EveryDay With No Thought About It, No

Different Than The Air That Sustains Their Very Lives.

Amazingly though, if someone suddenly choked them out, they would

quickly realize their desperate need for air, no different if suddenly

someone abruptly removed their Freedom, which is why SOF

Warriors are so passionate about fighting for it.

The Air Of Freedom Tastes Richer And More Filling For

Those Who Are Wiling To Fight For It.

Navy Seal LIEUT. JASON REDMAM The second thing that makes a SOF Warrior is an unrelenting

Overcome Mindset. A Gene That Can Never Be Measured. It Is

Just There. And It Is This Gene That Makes These Men, Push Through Adversity and Pain, and The Lack

Thereof That Tells Normal Man To Quit, Turn Around, Go Back. It Is This Gene, That Says, I May Die

Stepping Into This Fight, Off This Ramp, Facing This Enemy, But I Will Never Stop. Courage Is Not The

Absence Of Fear. It Is The Clear Understanding Of Impending Doom And Rushing Out To Meet It. This

Is What Makes SOF Warriors.

When My World Faded To Black

During a Firefight I was hit twice in the arm, with at least five more rounds striking my helmet, shooting off
one of my Night Vision tubes, hitting me multiple times in the body armor, and striking my weapon. I was
able to keep fighting and directing until another bullet struck me in the face, knocking me out. Caught in
the open, while the firefight continued to rage over me, I lay flat on my back, helplessly watching the
rounds travel over me and continue to hit me, patiently waiting, for my Teammates to win the fight and
bring in the medevac, while my life slowly drained out of me.

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“The Air Of Freedom Tastes Richer And More Filling For Those Who Are Wiling To Fight For It.”

The Voice of Anthony R. Abraham Foundation
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December14, 2015

Since that fateful night, I have undergone 37 reconstructive surgeries. I have had 6 Blood Transfusions a
Tracheotomy that I wore for 7 months, 2 days. Approximately 1500 Stitches, Approximately 200 Staples, 5
Plates, 1 Titanium Orbital Floor, 15 Screws, 8 Pins, 20 Skin Grafts, 3 bone grafts, 1 Calvarian Bone graft.

I have had my jaw shattered, broken, and re-broken three times. Jaw Wired
Shut for over 12 weeks. I lost over fifty pounds, I have spent approximately
190 Hours in Surgery under anesthesia.For any Math Whizzes out there, that
is almost five 40 hour work weeks, hovering just above death. After all this
though, My friends now assure me after all the doctor’s hard work, Getting
shot in the face was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Navy Seal LIEUT. JASON REDMAM

Who needs enemies right? A few days after my injuries I awoke in Bethesda Naval
Hospital. Unable to talk due to the extensive facial wounds and tracheotomy, I was only able to write out,
Doc, How many months will it take to put me back together so I can get back to the fight? Courage Is
Not The Absence Of Fear. It Is The Clear Understanding Of Impending Doom And Rushing
Out To Meet It. This Is What Makes SOF Warriors.

The Sign

As I lay in the bed, tubes running everywhere, monitors beeping all around me, they the nurses began to
talk about what bad shape I was in. They expressed blatant pity and felt sorry for me and what had
happened. I was unable to talk due to my facial injuries and although I still had some ringing in my ears, I
could hear just fine.

When my wife Erica come back into the room, I wrote to her, Never again. Never again, would anyone
enter my room, an emotional mess and especially feeling sorry for what happened. I then wrote out these
words on a bright 11 X 17 piece of Neon Orange paper and had my wife hung it on the door. The sign went

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“The Air Of Freedom Tastes Richer And More Filling For Those Who Are Wiling To Fight For It.”
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December14, 2015

viral and people talked about this amazing individual who wrote the sign and the inner strength he must
have.

But, I always tell them the same thing; while I may have written the sign, I Merely Captured The
Spirit Of America's Elite Special Operations Forces. The Spirit That Says I Will Never Back
Down, I Will Never Quit, I Am Never Out Of The Fight, Regardless Of The Situation I Am In.

A Teammate came to visit a few days after the Sign was hung and removed his Trident and tacked it into
the door at the bottom of the Sign. No words were said. A Silent Expression Of Warrior Brothers Who

Understood Each Other. And With The Pinning
Of The Trident On The Sign On The Door, We
Have Now Come Full Circle, From Catastrophic
Loss And Sacrifice, To Tremendous Heroism And
Triumph, To Grievous Wounds And Mental
Fortitude.

If you are still struggling to understand what
makes a Special Operations Warrior and why we
need your support, allow me to close with this. To
be a Special Operations Warrior takes a level of commitment that very few in this nation will ever possess
and what’s amazing and humbling is that within this small community of warriors there are so many who
not only possess this level of commitment, but far exceed it, who constantly show it, who have lived up to
that standard of great warriors and great warrior leaders. I am honored to have worked with these amazing
men and call them my Teammates.

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“The Air Of Freedom Tastes Richer And More Filling For Those Who Are Wiling To Fight For It.”

The Voice of Anthony R. Abraham Foundation
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December14, 2015

Many of them sit in this room amongst you and their success as warriors wasn’t just because of their
prowess on the battlefield. It wasn’t because they were aggressive and ruthlessly effective in combat, which
they unequivocally were. It was because they understood how to find a balance in doing those things. They
knew when to take action and more importantly when not to take action and they knew how to turn it off
when they came home; They Were Good Husbands, Brothers,
Sons, And Fathers, Neighbors In Their Communities. And when
the call came and it came often over these last fourteen years, they
headed back overseas and they took of their citizen hat and put
back on their warrior helmet and commenced to taking the fight
to the enemy. In my opinion this is the highest level of what it
takes to be a Special Operations Warrior and I salute all of these
men I had the honor to work with during my 21 year career. Men
who, like me, strived for excellence and sometimes fell short. Who willingly entered the lion’s den night
after night and sometimes did not come back out. This is who these men are. This is what makes these men.
We Few, We Precious, We Merry Band Of Brothers.

Thomas Abraham I hope by now you have come to fully understand and appreciate the
Navy Seal LIEUT. JASON REDMAM caliber of men who are part of the Special Operations Community. As
SOF Warriors, we could not do what we do without a tremendous
support network and their are so many great organizations that have
been there for us in our darkest hours. I hope tonight I have given you
a glimpse into our world. But More importantly, I hope it makes you
recognize the need to have the great support of organizations such as
Special Operations Wounded Warrior or my organization the Combat
Wounded Coalition.

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“The Air Of Freedom Tastes Richer And More Filling For Those Who Are Wiling To Fight For It.”
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December14, 2015

After this event we will all go home and enjoy the Freedoms so many of us fought so fiercely for. The
Only Difference, Is Those Of Us Touched By War Will Go Home And The War Will Follow Us.
Every Night, We Walk The Battlefields In Our Dreams.

I hope you will honor our Teammates' loss and our sacrifice, Like many
combat warriors, I struggled with the invisible wounds at times more than
my physical wounds. Thank you for your time and your support and God
Bless, The Future Of America.
Navy Seal Lieut. James Redman

It is with humble gratitude and genuine respect and admiration that all
the members of the Board of the Anthony R. Abraham Foundation pay
tribute to all are fallen, surviving and retired veterans. God Bless you and
your family. Thank you all for your service in defending Our Great Country.
God Bless America.

Thomas G. Abraham

Chairman
Anthony R. Abraham Foundation

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“The Air Of Freedom Tastes Richer And More Filling For Those Who Are Wiling To Fight For It.”

The Voice of Anthony R. Abraham Foundation
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