WEBVTT 00:04.040 --> 00:06.207 your own experience , What do you like 00:06.207 --> 00:08.360 most about ? Okay , again tonight and 00:08.740 --> 00:11.220 talking , what purpose does it serve 00:11.220 --> 00:13.940 for the army ? Why why do I have this ? 00:13.950 --> 00:16.172 Uh huh . Maybe that's part of the first 00:16.172 --> 00:18.760 answer . Okay . 00:20.740 --> 00:23.820 Yeah . Yeah . Okay . So first easy 00:23.820 --> 00:26.080 question , your name writing . What do 00:26.080 --> 00:28.302 you do ? Okay , can you spell your name 00:28.302 --> 00:30.790 to us ? Yes , I'm a sergeant and my 00:30.790 --> 00:34.600 name is Rachel medley spelled R A C H 00:34.610 --> 00:37.700 E L M E D L E Y . 00:38.830 --> 00:41.060 And I am the tandem team coordinator 00:41.070 --> 00:43.292 and I am also a freefall videographer . 00:45.240 --> 00:47.129 So first tell me about the Golden 00:47.129 --> 00:49.660 Knights . Who are you ? The Golden 00:49.660 --> 00:52.040 Knights are the army's parachute team . 00:52.050 --> 00:54.217 There are three D . O . D . Sanctioned 00:54.217 --> 00:56.328 aerial demonstration teams that would 00:56.328 --> 00:58.439 be the Thunderbirds , the Blue Angels 00:58.439 --> 01:00.328 and the army Golden Knights . And 01:00.328 --> 01:02.550 basically we represent all the soldiers 01:02.550 --> 01:05.280 in the army by going out to the public 01:05.280 --> 01:08.000 and performing demonstrations at air 01:08.000 --> 01:10.680 shows and football games and any kind 01:10.680 --> 01:12.791 of event you can imagine we've jumped 01:12.791 --> 01:15.540 into . Um , and basically we just show 01:15.550 --> 01:17.810 the precision , the training , the 01:17.810 --> 01:19.820 dedication , the teamwork , the 01:19.820 --> 01:22.850 professionalism of the army through 01:22.850 --> 01:24.906 parachute demonstrations . There are 01:24.906 --> 01:27.017 hundreds of thousands of soldiers out 01:27.017 --> 01:29.010 there who are , you know , in the 01:29.010 --> 01:31.177 trenches , if you were working , doing 01:31.177 --> 01:33.288 their job and no one ever sees that . 01:33.288 --> 01:35.399 So our job is to go out to the public 01:35.399 --> 01:37.732 and show them this is what a soldier is . 01:37.732 --> 01:39.677 This is what a soldier does . Um , 01:39.677 --> 01:41.788 we're disciplined . We know our job . 01:41.788 --> 01:44.010 We have good equipment . Um and so that 01:44.010 --> 01:46.066 way that the public can see what the 01:46.066 --> 01:48.232 army does because a lot of people have 01:48.232 --> 01:50.343 never had the opportunity to interact 01:50.343 --> 01:52.454 with the soldier or with the military 01:52.454 --> 01:54.510 and we go to towns where there is no 01:54.510 --> 01:56.788 army base or there is no military base . 01:56.788 --> 01:58.820 And so then public can see , oh now 01:58.820 --> 02:01.470 I've I've I shake a soldier's hand and 02:01.470 --> 02:04.450 I met a soldier . So that's what we do . 02:04.460 --> 02:07.640 Great . That was fantastic . Kind of 02:07.640 --> 02:09.751 multiple cell mates out of that one . 02:09.751 --> 02:12.400 So what do you like best about being a 02:12.400 --> 02:14.067 soldier and being part of the 02:14.067 --> 02:16.122 government ? Well , that's sort of a 02:16.122 --> 02:18.400 two part answer because I am a soldier . 02:18.400 --> 02:20.456 I'm also a golden night . Um , every 02:20.456 --> 02:22.344 member of the Golden Knights is a 02:22.344 --> 02:24.567 soldier . First I came into the army to 02:24.567 --> 02:26.733 be a soldier to be a medic . That's my 02:26.733 --> 02:28.956 job in the army . So what I enjoy about 02:28.956 --> 02:31.122 being a soldier is just being proud to 02:31.122 --> 02:33.344 wear a uniform , being confident that , 02:33.344 --> 02:35.567 you know , your job , that the army has 02:35.567 --> 02:37.733 given you the best training that there 02:37.733 --> 02:39.844 is available and knowing that you can 02:39.844 --> 02:39.510 make a difference in lots of different 02:39.510 --> 02:41.510 situations , whether it's helping a 02:41.510 --> 02:43.990 fellow soldier who has uh heat injury 02:43.990 --> 02:46.520 or making sure that people have the 02:46.520 --> 02:48.576 right care that they need . Um , and 02:48.576 --> 02:50.860 also above your job , Just being a good 02:50.870 --> 02:53.460 a good teammate to your other . I mean , 02:53.470 --> 02:55.637 the army is just one big team , that's 02:55.637 --> 02:57.859 all it is . So it's learning to be uh , 02:57.859 --> 02:59.914 to think about others above yourself 02:59.914 --> 03:01.859 and to be part of something that's 03:01.859 --> 03:03.914 bigger than just yourself . That's , 03:03.914 --> 03:05.803 that's what I enjoy about being a 03:05.803 --> 03:05.740 soldier is just that camaraderie that 03:05.740 --> 03:07.907 you have with your fellow soldiers now 03:07.907 --> 03:09.962 being on the Golden Knights . I mean 03:09.962 --> 03:09.770 all you have to do is look behind me at 03:09.770 --> 03:11.937 the parachute finding , I mean I don't 03:11.937 --> 03:14.103 need to say more than that , but being 03:14.103 --> 03:15.937 on the Gold Knights is important 03:15.937 --> 03:18.048 because it's a huge responsibility to 03:18.048 --> 03:20.326 represent that many soldiers out there . 03:20.326 --> 03:22.603 I mean we are like 1% of 1% . You know , 03:22.603 --> 03:24.770 I mean the numbers are just staggering 03:24.770 --> 03:26.937 of how many soldiers each one of us as 03:26.937 --> 03:29.103 golden ice represents . And so you get 03:29.103 --> 03:31.159 a chance to get out there and make a 03:31.159 --> 03:33.270 positive impression on people because 03:33.270 --> 03:35.214 you know , in today's culture , in 03:35.214 --> 03:37.270 today's economy and just today , the 03:37.270 --> 03:39.437 way the world is today , there's a lot 03:39.437 --> 03:41.659 of negative light shed on um , a lot of 03:41.659 --> 03:43.437 different things , not just the 03:43.437 --> 03:45.492 military . So it's our chance to get 03:45.492 --> 03:47.659 some positive . Um , and above all for 03:47.659 --> 03:49.714 me as a female , of course I have to 03:49.714 --> 03:51.603 say jumping into an air show or a 03:51.603 --> 03:53.826 football game or any event where I land 03:53.826 --> 03:55.937 and I take off my helmet and the hair 03:55.937 --> 03:58.159 comes out and all the little girls just 03:58.159 --> 04:00.381 go crazy because they see that there is 04:00.381 --> 04:02.326 a role model for them and you when 04:02.326 --> 04:04.548 you're talking to them interacting with 04:04.548 --> 04:06.603 them , you can almost see the switch 04:06.603 --> 04:08.714 flip inside of them and they see they 04:08.714 --> 04:11.410 see us and I think oh she did that , oh 04:11.410 --> 04:13.577 my gosh , what can I do ? And then all 04:13.577 --> 04:15.577 of a sudden they have a dream and a 04:15.577 --> 04:17.577 goal , it might not be to go in the 04:17.577 --> 04:19.577 army , but just any goal at all for 04:19.577 --> 04:19.390 them to aspire to you , that maybe they 04:19.390 --> 04:21.446 wouldn't have aspired to before . So 04:21.446 --> 04:23.668 that's the most satisfying part of it . 04:23.668 --> 04:23.650 That is great . One last question 04:23.660 --> 04:25.882 you're going up lots of people who have 04:25.882 --> 04:27.882 never jumped before . What was like 04:27.882 --> 04:29.882 seeing them experience this for the 04:29.882 --> 04:31.993 first time . It's always entertaining 04:31.993 --> 04:34.216 because you know , you've got a million 04:34.216 --> 04:33.970 different responses . Some people just 04:33.970 --> 04:36.137 are amped up , they can't wait to jump 04:36.137 --> 04:38.137 out the door . Other people you can 04:38.137 --> 04:40.192 tell they're nervous , but they know 04:40.192 --> 04:39.550 that something that they want to do , 04:39.560 --> 04:41.782 but you always feed off of that because 04:41.782 --> 04:44.004 I was scared at my mind . My first jump 04:44.004 --> 04:46.116 ever jump number one , I just , I was 04:46.116 --> 04:48.171 so scared , so uh but excited at the 04:48.171 --> 04:50.393 same time . And so it brings back those 04:50.393 --> 04:52.449 feelings . I mean I have almost 2000 04:52.449 --> 04:55.550 jumps now , so it can get routine , so 04:55.550 --> 04:57.550 jumping with people that have never 04:57.550 --> 04:59.661 jumped before , you get to experience 04:59.661 --> 05:01.330 again that first rush and one 05:01.330 --> 05:03.274 particular experience , I remember 05:03.274 --> 05:05.441 enjoying a lot was , we did a bunch of 05:05.441 --> 05:07.497 jumps for some gold star families in 05:07.497 --> 05:09.441 Chicago at a camp and one lady , I 05:09.441 --> 05:11.552 think it was her son or something had 05:11.552 --> 05:11.180 been killed in action and she was there 05:11.180 --> 05:13.236 doing this jump to honor him . And I 05:13.236 --> 05:15.291 mean she was so scared in the door , 05:15.291 --> 05:17.458 she said , I don't want to go and then 05:17.458 --> 05:19.680 jumped out and then on the ground . The 05:19.680 --> 05:19.390 first thing she said was , that was 05:19.390 --> 05:21.501 awesome . I want to go again . So you 05:21.501 --> 05:23.446 just see that people , they gained 05:23.446 --> 05:25.723 confidence from that . It's really fun . 05:26.740 --> 05:28.851 Great . Thank you . I didn't get your 05:28.851 --> 05:31.370 hometown . Um , sorry , got that on 05:31.370 --> 05:33.530 camera . Um , my hometown is eureka 05:33.540 --> 05:34.150 California .