WEBVTT

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- The Pentagon is the world's largest

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low-rise office building.

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Throughout the Pentagon
there are medical and dental

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facilities, there's a
post office and a bank.

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We have gift shops--

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On a typical day I walk
around five miles backwards.

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So, what that means is for
those of us who wear military--

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(gentle acoustic music)

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When I first started
giving tours I had one day

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where I tried to go down
the wrong escalators

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about three times during the day.

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The ones that were coming up,

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I was trying to go down them backwards.

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My tour group just stood
there and laughed at me.

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It definitely wasn't funny to me,

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it was really embarrassing
to be going down

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the wrong escalators.

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We give around 5 000 tours
per year and that is around

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100 000 people per year.

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(machine whirring)

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To be chosen as a Pentagon
tour guide, we first are chosen

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out of boot camp to go to
our ceremonial guard units.

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From there, they do a
long interview process

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with our chain of command
to select us to come

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to the Pentagon tour program.

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(gentle acoustic music)

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When you first get here, to
become a public tour guide,

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you get 15 business days to
learn 33 pages of information,

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be able to walk the mile
and a half route backwards.

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Yeah, some of the weirdest
questions I've gotten

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from tourists is probably,

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"Where are the control
rooms, here in the Pentagon?"

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"Where are the secret tunnels?"

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People think there are secret tunnels

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that lead from the Pentagon
to the White House.

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Before I got in the Navy, I
was a very shy individual.

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I still am shy right now,

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but when I am doing
tours I try to be as loud

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and outgoing and friendly as possible.

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To tell you guys a little bit more

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about the outdoor memorial.

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You guys notice I have really
good cursive handwriting,

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so they made me write all this.

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I'm just kidding.

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Being a Pentagon tour guide
definitely has helped me

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personally become more
open, more approachable.

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(gentle acoustic music)

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My favorite part about giving
tours is just being able to

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be here, and be a spokesman for the Navy,

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and just to become more confident
speaking with the public.

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(upbeat music)