2026 MHS Conference Keynote Speaker Thanks Military Medicine for His Recovery

Before sharing his story May 27 at the 2026 Military Health System Conference in Dallas, retired Army Capt. Florent Groberg named those he served with who were killed in action: Army Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin Griffin, Army Maj. Walter Gray, Army Maj. Thomas Kennedy and Ragaei Abdelfattah.

"Why does that matter?" he asked. "That matters because I'm alive. That matters because I get to spend Memorial Days, Fourths of July, Thanksgivings and Christmases with my two kids and my wife - and their families do not."

Delivering a spirited and powerful keynote address to an audience of thousands of service members, War Department personnel, government and industry healthcare professionals, Medal of Honor recipient Groberg wove a story of selfless heroism and the subsequent long road to recovery through Military Health System care.

His remarks painted a portrait of warfighter resilience and hope.

Groberg's split-second decision under attack in Afghanistan saved many lives but resulted in the loss of half of his left calf muscle, significant nerve damage and a traumatic brain injury. He spent nearly three years recovering at Walter Reed National Medical Center, undergoing dozens of surgeries.

For his extraordinary bravery, Groberg was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama in 2015.

Heroism Knows No Rank

Born in France and naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2001, he was commissioned as an Army infantry officer in 2008. On Aug. 8, 2012, while serving as a personal security detachment commander in Asadabad, Afghanistan, Groberg's patrol was targeted by two suicide bombers. Recognizing the threat, Groberg, along with Army Sgt. Andrew Mahoney, immediately rushed one attacker, physically pushing him away from the formation, diverting the eventual detonation from the others. 

Throughout his address, Groberg framed leadership not as authority or status, but as responsibility to the people around you - and as a willingness to listen.

"The biggest dilemma I've ever had as an officer, as a warrior, was this concept of mission or people first," he said. "I started thinking, 'Why are we separating these two?' They're together. Intertwined. They have to be."

"I can't do my mission without my people, and I don't have a mission without my people."

Groberg emphasized that effective teams are built not on hierarchy alone, but on mutual trust and humility. Some of the most important lessons of his career, he said, came from junior enlisted soldiers and wounded warriors around him.

"Every single one of you in this room has something important to teach me," he said. "So why is it that I shouldn't be able to listen to you? What makes me better than you?"

Recalling his first deployment to Afghanistan, Groberg described a moment in combat when an enlisted soldier stepped in after he froze during a firefight.

"That was the biggest lesson I ever took from combat," he said. "It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter where you come from. It doesn't matter what your work experience is. Your title does not matter. You are a human being."

Later in the speech, he credited wounded service members at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center with reshaping his understanding of leadership and strength.

Shifting Mindset to Seeking Help

Groberg spoke candidly about the mental health challenges that followed his physical recovery. He described months of insomnia, narcotics, survivor's guilt and replaying the attack "over and over and over" in his head. 

"I hated myself for not being able to cry," he said. "I had demons in my head."

He acknowledged that before his injuries, he had dismissed mental health struggles.

"I used to think therapy was weakness," he said. "I could not have been more wrong."

For Groberg, recovery began not with a breakthrough moment, but with people willing to remain present through his anger, grief and guilt - nurses, doctors and fellow wounded veterans who listened without judgment.

"The word suicide, to me, is a healthy word to talk about, because it's a reality," he said. "Trauma is a real thing. But trauma doesn't have to dictate who you are."

He singled out Walter Reed nurse Haley Willis and fellow Medal of Honor recipient retired Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills as pivotal figures during his recovery. Mills, a quadruple amputee, entered his hospital room with what Groberg described as "the biggest grin I've ever seen" and reframed the meaning of survival itself.

"He reminded me of my purpose, reminded me of my mission, reminded me of my oath," Groberg said. "He said, 'You've got a voice. Utilize it. You've got a story. Amplify it. Help others but always listen.'"

That advice became central to Groberg's message - wounded warriors are not defined by trauma, and survival creates a responsibility to continue serving others.

MHS Care Matters

Concluding his speech at the conference, Groberg returned to the people around him - not just service members, but nurses, doctors, planners, support staff and families.

"You matter to us more than you'll ever understand," he told the audience. "We will never say thank you enough."

Even discussing the action that earned him the Medal of Honor, Groberg resisted framing it as extraordinary.

"People ask me, 'What were you thinking when you tackled a suicide bomber?'" he said. "First of all, folks, you don't think."

"I saw a threat. I was the closest to the threat."

For Groberg, the act was not about fearlessness or instinctive heroism, but about commitment to the people beside him.

"If I died while protecting them and they lived," he said, "That's a good day at work."