WEBVTT

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^- Courage is the act of doing something

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^even though you're afraid.

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^But courage can be defined

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^by a lot of different things as a marine.

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Courage is a good character trait on the battlefield

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because realistically there's a lot of things

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that you're going to be afraid of that you encounter

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while going into battle: being shot at,

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being caught in explosions, whatever the case may be.

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It's important for us to remember training,

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muscle memory, all the things that we teach as marines

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to be able to push through those things.

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- I think that courage can be defined in different ways.

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^One of the most common ways that's brought up is

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^it's not the absence of fear, but the mastery of fear.

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But I think in reference to being a military spouse,

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my favorite is actually John Wayne's, which is:

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"Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway."

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My personal history, I have a lot of issues

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with extensive medical problems that have come up

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and different things like that that I have dealt with

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in long periods of time where he's been gone.

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And being courageous means that you need to take on

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that role and manage some of the difficulties that come,

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the hardships and the tough days and everything else

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without allowing them to break you down,

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to affect your daughter, to affect your home life,

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to affect everything else where you have to step up

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and be brave and face that without your partner

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sitting next to you, without somebody holding your hand

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telling you that you're gonna be okay.

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I think that's actually one of the most important things

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is to be courageous when your spouse is deployed

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because you don't know even if they're able to call

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or write home, you don't know what they're going through,

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you don't know what it is that they're facing

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on a daily basis, and the last thing that you want them

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to be worried about or the last thing that you want them

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to have to think about is being distracted

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by dangers, hardships, tough days at home.

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You want them to know that you're okay.

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You want them to know that you can push through anything

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that is on your plate that you're facing while they're

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doing what they need to so they can get the job done.

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- Personally I think that a lot of people go into combat

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with the wrong mindset.

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They go into it thinking that everything's

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going to be hunky dory, that everybody's going to be okay,

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not realizing that it's war and that things happen

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and that people are going to set out on that battlefield

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to kill you, to actively take your life,

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and for you to go into that situation and not be prepared

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to lose something out there, you're not you.

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(gentle music)

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Throughout my career I've been very privileged to serve

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with a lot of marines that are very courageous,

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that are very steadfast and are great leaders,

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and that has helped me blossom

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into the marine that I am today.