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“I’ve been around war most of my life, and I’ve been around conflict most of y life. And what I always know that separates America from most countries on the planet are our communities. It’s the most collectively resilient thing on the planet. The fact that you show up and do this is special, and the fact that you would event let us be a small part of it was event more special.”

That’s what Lt. Col. Scott Mann (retired) told an attentive crowd during United Bank’s 2025 Joint Advisory Board Dinner on March 13 in the Coosawada Ballroom at Wind Creek Casino and Hotel in Atmore.

Mann’s keynote address capped an evening of recognition and thanks during the annual dinner.

UB President and CEO Mike Vincent said the dinner is a good time to say thank you to all those who have made the bank, and their communities better.

Vincent recognized the bank’s governing board, various advisory boards and elected officials prior to a meal and Mann’s speech.

Mann is an author, a storyteller and the founder of Rooftop Leadership and is a former U.S. Army Green Beret. Rooftop Leadership is an avenue for Mann to share the same rapport-building skills he learned in special forces to help today’s leaders make better human connections in high stakes and low-trust engagements, according to Rooftop Leadership’s website. He has toured all over the world, including Colombia, Iraq and multiple tours in Afghanistan.

Mann said at 14 years old, he knew he wanted to be a Green Beret when a recruiter, named Mark, walked into the soda shop in his hometown in Arkansas.

“I was a runt of a kid, and severely bullied at that,” Mann said. “The second I saw this guy, I knew that’s what I wanted to do, and I didn’t even know what he did. But, he sat down with me, and he talked to me, and he said, ‘Scott, you know, Green Berets are real different than Navy Seals. Navy Seals are some of the best in the world at coming in on target. Green Berets are different.

“‘Green Berets, they do some of that, but the real specialty of the Green Berets is that they were high with and through indigenous people, and they helped them stand up on their own from the inside out,’” he said.

Mann added that Mark told him Green Berets have done a good job of immersing themselves in the language, culture and environment, and they stay until the time is right.

“‘Then, they help the little guy stand up against the big guy,’” he said. “And, for me, that was all I needed to know. I was hooked.”

Mann spoke about the rigors of training in the special forces, and the most special part of the training – to make connections with someone radically different than you in 5 minutes or less.

Mann said while serving as a Green Beret was a dream of his, it did come with two costs; having to say goodbye to his wife, Monty, and their three children 17 times in 10 years, and the second cost was the loss of friends. He said he lost 23 buddies in the course of his career during the longest war in the nation’s history.

Mann said he came home from the military in 2013, and found a country divided, but was thankful he experienced being able to read others and inspire them to act.

Mann said when he got home, he had a look that he could give to his wife, to an employer and to others. He couldn’t live that way.

“I saw the division that was happening in the country,” he said. “I’m like, I lived in that division for 20 years. I know how to bridge trust. I know how to bring people together, and lead through that. But, every time I try to get up in front of people and talk about it, I would lock up.”

Mann said thankfully, a civilian mentor hooked him up with a former NFL player who blew out his knee who became a professional storyteller. The player helped people with trauma learn to tell their stories.

Mann said for two years, he immersed himself in the ways of storytelling. From there, he’s done TED Talks, corporate speaking arrangements and he wrote a play about the war, to name a few.

Then, in the spring of 2021, Mann got to use his training once more, this time from home.

“It happened from a country that I never thought about having to do with again (Afghanistan), and a buddy that I never thought I’d see again,” he said.

The buddy is Sgt. First Class Nezam. He was born in Afghanistan, and grew up in some tough environments, living in a barn for several years.

Mann said at about 11 years old, he ran away from home, living on the streets and working for his food for years.

Then, when he was about 17 years old, he saw video of the World Trade Center towers coming down on Sept. 11, 2001. From there, American soldiers became the norm in his village, and Nezam became friendly with them.

Nezam joined the Afghan Army, and graduated from the commando school. He was picked to join the Afgham Special Forces course, and was sent to train with the U.S. Army Green Beret force.

Mann said later on, Nezam was walking with about six other Green Berets, and came upon a Taliban ambush. He took a round through his cheeks, was evacuated and made it back to action.

Mann said Nezam worked until about 2017-18, but they kept in touch via cell phone.

Mann said at some point, he convinced Nezam to retire under medical rules, and told he can move to the U.S.

At this point, this was the spring of 2021, and the province in Afghanistan was falling to the Taliban. In fact, on Sun., Aug. 15, 2021, the Taliban captured Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul after a major insurgent offensive that began in May 2021, according to reports.

Nezam was hiding at his uncle’s place, but knew he was putting his family in danger.

Mann then encouraged his friend to get his tail across the city, and through is connections as a former Green Beret, Nezam made it safely to the airport, where U.S. Marines put him on a C-17 plane.

The story of how Nezam got out of Afghanistan that day was chronicled in Mann’s book, “Operation Pineapple Express.”

After some time in a refugee camp, Nezam and his family were safe in Tampa, Fla., and eventually moved to a rural farm in Texas, well away from city life, Mann said.

Mann concluded his address by advocating for human connection, storytelling and integrating struggle into leadership.