A U.S. soldier who lost both legs in Afghanistan is running for Congress in Florida.
Brian Mast spent 12 years as a bomb technician serving with the Rangers and Joint Special Operations Command. Mast stepped on an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and earned Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He is running as a Republican for Florida’s 18th Congressional District in a primary against eight other candidates, Army Times reports.
“I believe the only way to serve America is without regard for personal consequence and without regard for personal gain, just like all my brothers and sisters have always done on the battlefield in service to our country,” Mast said in a video announcing his run.
In September of 2010, Mast was in southern Afghanistan when a soldier trying to cross a bridge fell. Mast was going down to help the soldier when he stepped on an IED. The blast sent him flying and broke all of Mast’s fingers, damaged his left arm and required both legs be amputated above the knee.
“The last thing I remember from that evening is the men carrying me to the helicopter and those medics and my guys rendering me one last salute and telling me I would be OK,” he told Army Times.
He woke up in a hospital days later. After coming home he began taking classes at Harvard University and graduated with a concentration in economics with minors in government and environmental studies.
“I also learned firsthand that life never works out exactly how we plan and what matters most is what we do in response to that tragedy,” Mast said in the video.
Mast is second in fundraising in the primary and just received an endorsement from Montana Rep. [crscore]Ryan Zinke[/crscore].
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