CLARKSVILLE, Tenn (CLARKSVILLENOW) – As part of Honor Week, a series of events spanning the week of September 11, Reboot Recovery hosted a luncheon at Old Glory Distillery on Wednesday, September 11.
The event brought corporate and community leaders together to honor those who make Clarksville, and the United States, a safer place through acts of bravery and sacrifice, including active duty military, veterans, first responders and all those who work to serve others.
After opening remarks, guests enjoyed a short video containing excerpts of President Ronald Reagan’s fist inaugural address and a musical performance by American Idol finalist Tristan Mcintosh.
The keynote Speaker for the event was former Army Ranger Steven Elliot, whose involvement in the tragic friendly-fire death of fellow Ranger and former NFL player Pat Tillman made national headlines.
In 2004, Elliot deployed to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. In the midst of an enemy ambush, he was one of four Rangers who mistook Tillman’s position for that of the enemy and fired there. He is one of two Rangers considered likely to have fired the fatal shots.
Elliott served the remaining years of his enlistment and returned to civilian life in 2007. He is now a business owner, author and a national voice on the struggles combat veterans often face after their service ends.
Elliot shared his experience with the audience, recounting what his time in the military, his time after, and his relationship with faith have taught him about service.
“[Service] means we don’t get to pick the soil that we get to till. We don’t get to pick the brokenness with which we get to engage. It’s not up to us,” said Elliot. “It’s about the economy of the heart, not the economy of the bank statement or the mission statement or the networks in which we get to associate.”
Reboot Recovery is a non-profit based in Pleasant View, Tenn. that provides trauma healing courses to military and first responder families nationwide. The organization has over 5,000 graduates and 200 course locations across 30 states and seven countries. For more information about them, visit them at their website.