There, of course, is some
It is a very powerful force.
If we can
this could be a
So I joined the Marines at the age of 18 because
I was a person who was really committed
to trying to better himself
and I heard it was the most challenging.
Getting to really learn how to focus, that
was probably one of the luckier things
that could've happened to me.
Each time I went out to the field to do training,
I was getting a lesson
in crazy weather patterns.
This is something that has been with me since
I was a boy.
Growing up in the southeast,
a lot of interesting electrical storms take place,
always interested in watching The Weather Channel and trying to understand what was happening above me.
There's been many greats, like
Benjamin Franklin,
Thomas Edison,
Nikola Tesla,
all of these scientists that were before me were fascinated with the sky
and, often, they had an experience.
While I was on a new deployment,
we were parked off of Iwo Jima.
"The Marines won Iwo Jima."
I imagine that as the men planted the flag
at the top of Mt. Suribachi,
that lightning
struck it because they had shortened the distance
just enough to the charged cloud above
to bring the ground to the sky.
It was the exposure and being able to put
together all of those pieces
that helped me
unlock this mystery of how to absorb lightning.
After the Marine Corps,
I wanted to work toward something
that could benefit humanity
and fully embody the corps values.
So I started Project First Light.
We started out as a think tank.
The goal was to look for the more efficient
battery.
Some of the processes that we've had to go through
to try and acquire battery resources
it's been adversely impacting our environment.
It's been literally creating global heat.
The potential of lightning as a renewable energy source
has been misunderstood for years.
The average strike that takes place these days
can power 56 homes for a single day.
The question is, how do you store lightning?
Asteroids are comprised of the materials that
we are searching for.
Our technology will improve the quality of
life for people across the planet
and reduce toxic waste.
I came over here to D.C. to meet with the
Energy and Commerce Department.
In the Marines, the things that I learned,
the corps values –
honor, courage and commitment
– this project, it helps me embody
those values
and fight for the rights of others
who aren't able to stand up for themselves.
I'm so, so fortunate to be here and
I'm proud to call myself a Marine.
