Ken Harbaugh tells the stories of service members who have distinguished themselves through an act of valor. These stories feature recipients from the Civil War to present day, including a few who were originally overlooked for the medal.
Captain Florent Groberg: Stopping Suicide Bombers in Afghanistan
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During a patrol with several high ranking commanders, Captain Groberg noticed a suspicious individual following his group. Groberg realized the individual was a suicide bomber and pushed him away. After three years recovering from the blast, Groberg was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Welcome to the Medal of Honor podcast, brought to you in partnership with the National Medal of Honor Museum. I’m Ken Harbaugh. In each episode, we’ll learn about a different service member who has distinguished him or herself through an act of valor.
Captain Florent “Flo” Groberg was born on May 8th, 1983 in Poissy, France. Groberg never met his biological father, but was raised by his French-Algerian mother, Klara. When he was two, his mother married Larry Groberg, an American businessman.
Groberg grew up in France and Spain before moving to the United States at the age of 11. He and his family lived both in the Chicago and Washington, DC areas. On February 27th, 2001, Groberg became a U.S. citizen and graduated high school later that year. He later graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.S. in Criminology and Criminal Justice.
In December 2008, Groberg was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army. He then attended Ranger School, and the Mechanized Leaders Course, before being assigned to 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.
Groberg deployed to Afghanistan twice, first as a platoon leader in 2009, and then as the brigade personal security detachment commander in 2012.
On August 8th of that year, after being promoted to captain, Groberg was on a foot movement in Kunar Province. He was escorting a number of senior personnel, including two brigade commanders and two battalion commanders. He noticed a suspicious individual tailing the formation, and as the group approached friendly lines, he saw the individual make a quick turn towards the formation. Groberg put himself between the suspicious individual and a brigade commander, pushing the individual away before realizing he was wearing a bomb vest. With the help of another soldier, Groberg pushed the suicide bomber away. The bomber fell and detonated the device, killing four and severely wounding Groberg in his left leg. The premature detonation caused another unidentified suicide bomber to accidentally trigger their device, with no additional casualties.
Groberg was evacuated to the U.S. for treatment at Walter Reed hospital, medically retiring in 2015. On November 12th, 2015, Groberg was awarded the Medal of Honor at the White House. His other awards include the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Army Commendation Medal.
After retiring, Groberg graduated from the University of Maryland with an M.S. in Management and currently serves as a civilian employee in the Department of Defense.
The Medal of Honor Podcast is a production of Evergreen Podcasts.
Nathan Corson is our producer and engineer, León Pescador is our script writer, Declan Rohrs is our script editor and recording engineer, and I’m Ken Harbaugh.
We are proud to support the National Medal of Honor Museum. To learn more, and to support their mission, got to mohmuseum.org. Thanks for listening.
