Motivational Speaker Visits FOB Hammer

Chaplain (Capt.) Lex Reed, from Henderson, Texas, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, and Sgt. Marsha Vega, from Columbus, Ga., Company D, 203rd Brigade Support Battalion, sing before motivational speaker Dave Roever spoke to 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team Soldiers, Nov. 28, at Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq. Vega is currently attached to the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment.

Betsy Brown, from Houston, Texas, a singer with motivational speaker Dave Roever, sings to Soldiers of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team before Roever spoke, Nov. 28, at Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq

Motivational speaker Dave Roever, from Fort Worth, Texas, receives a certificate of appreciation from Command Sgt. Maj. James Pearson, from Philadelphia, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, and Maj. Dewey Boberg, executive officer for the 3rd HBCT, after speaking to 3rd HBCT Soldiers, Nov. 28, at Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq.

By Sgt. Natalie Rostek, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq - Soldiers of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team were treated to an inspirational lunch, Nov. 28, when motivational speaker Dave Roever, from Fort Worth, Texas, came to Forward Operating Base Hammer to give a speech in the dining facility.
Roever, a former Sailor, received life-altering injuries when a white phosphorus grenade exploded in his hand after he was shot by a sniper while serving in Vietnam.

Since his recovery he has been delivering motivational speeches, many to Soldiers serving overseas.

"You are the bravest, most wonderful Americans I have ever met," Roever told the audience.
Before Roever spoke, Betsy Brown, a singer who travels with the speaker, sang to the Soldiers and gave them a little inspiration of her own.

"You are at the end of the earth here on FOB Hammer," she said. "I'm sure not many people come out here to say 'thank you,' but I want to say 'thank you for everything you do."

As Roever spoke, he grabbed the audience's attention with the story about his incident while serving overseas and his long, painful recovery.

Roever said he could see the damage the explosion did to his face and body through the reflection on a glass of beer. He said it was a face he did not recognize.

"I'm not proud to say this but I tried to take my life," he said. "But if I had succeeded, I would have missed life. I would have missed my grandbaby singing to me. I would have missed coming to FOB Hammer."

After a complete recovery, Roever was left with scars to his body and face.

"I overcame. I beat the odds. It was my faith that saved me," he said.

"You all have a spirit inside you that no enemy can take from you."

The motivational speaker's words touched 1st Lt. Wilford Garvin, from Longview, Texas.

"The speech was excellent," he said. "It really puts things into perspective. There is nothing you can't overcome. If you have breath in your lungs, you can make it."

The 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga., has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom V since March.