Florent Groberg Reveals the Exact Moment He Learned He’d Receive the Medal of Honor

About this video

Florent Groberg recounts the moment he learned he would receive the Medal of Honor, describing how he received an unexpected call from President Obama while working for the Defense Intelligence Agency. Groberg shares his initial feelings of shame and fraudulence about the honor, given that soldiers died under his watch, and explains how support from his team and Gold Star families helped him accept the responsibility. He also discusses his transition to civilian life, his work with Microsoft supporting military technology, involvement with veteran support organizations, and his advocacy for mental health awareness after his own struggles with suicidal ideation.

Key takeaways

• Groberg learned of his Medal of Honor by surprise phone call from President Obama in September 2015, approximately a year after the incident, while he was working for the Defense Intelligence Agency following his medical retirement
• Groberg describes experiencing profound shame and feeling like a fraud about receiving the Medal of Honor because soldiers died on his watch, and says the support of his team and Gold Star families during the ceremony week was crucial to accepting the responsibility
• Groberg advocates that vulnerability and openly discussing struggles with PTS, suicidal thoughts, and mental health challenges is a strength, recounting how he became suicidal in 2012 and was helped by quadruple amputee Travis Mills who gave him purpose

Episode details: published April 5, 2026 · 6.6K views · 29:03 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Stories told by Mike Ritland’s podcast guests are the guests’ own accounts, attributed to them — not independently verified. Commentary is Ritland’s, presented as his analysis.

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