On radio Wednesday, Glenn interviewed Brian Mast, Afghan vet and double amputee who recently announced his candidacy for the U.S. Congress in Florida’s 18th congressional district.
In the interview, Mast talked about the most painful experience of his life, when his team put tourniquets on his legs after the IED he'd been searching for found him first, exploding underneath him.
"They did a great job in saving my life," Mast told Glenn.
At first, Mast said he thought he'd be able to go right back to what he'd been doing.
"I was going to slap on a pair of prosthetics, do physical therapy for a couple of weeks, and I was going to be out the door to Afghanistan conducting missions again with my guys," Mast said.
Source: www.mastforcongress.com
He soon realized, however, that serving his country through active duty was no longer in his deck of cards.
"That's when I decided, hey, I can't let this be the greatest contribution that I make to America. I can't let my time in combat be the best example that I ever set for my kids or anything else. That's where I said, I needed to find an upward trajectory," Mast said.
When Glenn asked what Mast thinks he can do in the "nest of vipers" called Congress, Mast said he'd bring what he learned while serving in the military.
"If you do make that your choice to serve the United States of America, then there's only one way to do it, and that's without regard for personal gain and without regard for personal consequence like every one of my brothers had done on the battlefield," Mast said.
Listen to the entire dialogue below.