WEBVTT

00:06.040 --> 00:08.096
My name is Master of Shannon Cason .

00:08.096 --> 00:10.151
Ellie , I have been an Air Force for

00:10.151 --> 00:13.780
18.5 short years , and I am currently

00:13.780 --> 00:15.780
filling the Deputy Airfield manager

00:15.780 --> 00:17.280
slot at Duke Field , which

00:17.280 --> 00:19.391
administratively belongs to England .

00:19.391 --> 00:21.760
Um , married to an awesome Army guy ,

00:22.440 --> 00:25.590
and we have a 15 year old son . So

00:25.600 --> 00:29.480
originally back in back last year , I

00:29.480 --> 00:31.647
wanted to become an ambassador for the

00:31.647 --> 00:33.480
Airports Wounded Warrior program

00:33.480 --> 00:35.702
because I kind of wanted to help people

00:35.702 --> 00:37.813
who were in my position . I wanted to

00:37.813 --> 00:39.924
help people find the strength to come

00:39.924 --> 00:42.147
forward with their stories and be brave

00:42.147 --> 00:42.020
enough to tell those stories without

00:42.020 --> 00:44.131
having to worry about being judged or

00:44.131 --> 00:47.070
being shunned or being minimized . And

00:47.440 --> 00:49.496
I also wanted to teach people how to

00:49.496 --> 00:51.440
advocate for themselves and how to

00:51.440 --> 00:53.607
fight for this help that they needed .

00:53.607 --> 00:55.690
And I also want people to know that

00:55.700 --> 00:57.970
there's this huge family out there

00:58.340 --> 01:00.396
within the wounded Air Force Wounded

01:00.396 --> 01:02.451
warrior program , and we're all just

01:02.451 --> 01:04.562
kind of waiting here with open arms ,

01:04.562 --> 01:06.784
waiting for you to join us on . Be your

01:06.784 --> 01:09.090
family . So when I think of when I

01:09.090 --> 01:11.340
think back over the course of my career

01:11.350 --> 01:13.406
in the Air Force . There are certain

01:13.406 --> 01:15.572
defining moments that always stick out

01:15.572 --> 01:18.010
to me . And as with anything in life ,

01:18.010 --> 01:20.177
you have those good moments . You have

01:20.177 --> 01:22.399
those great moments , and then you have

01:22.399 --> 01:24.399
the not so good moments . The first

01:24.399 --> 01:26.288
defining moment in my life that I

01:26.640 --> 01:28.807
remember the one that sticks out to me

01:28.807 --> 01:31.320
the most was the birth of my son . Um ,

01:31.330 --> 01:34.200
I had him when I was 21 years old , and

01:34.200 --> 01:36.560
at the time I had barely perfected the

01:36.560 --> 01:39.410
art of wiping my own behind . And here

01:39.410 --> 01:41.720
I am having to take care of this baby

01:41.720 --> 01:43.720
and having toe learn everything you

01:43.720 --> 01:45.890
know , and just with anything else in

01:45.890 --> 01:48.057
life . I lived and I learned I made it

01:48.057 --> 01:50.223
through that time . He's still alive ,

01:50.223 --> 01:52.279
so I must be doing something right .

01:52.840 --> 01:55.118
Well , when my son was five months old ,

01:55.118 --> 01:57.229
I was deployed for the first time . I

01:57.229 --> 01:59.396
deployed with the Army to Iraq , and I

01:59.396 --> 02:01.507
was one of two Air Force woman on the

02:01.507 --> 02:04.840
entire base . And in preparation for

02:04.840 --> 02:07.490
that moment of deploying , I had

02:07.490 --> 02:09.960
expected certain defining moments . I

02:09.970 --> 02:12.610
had expected mortars . I I expected a

02:12.610 --> 02:14.777
text . You know , that sort of thing ,

02:14.940 --> 02:17.480
but I didn't expect to have a moment in

02:17.480 --> 02:19.591
my life defined by an army sergeant .

02:19.640 --> 02:21.584
But that's exactly what happened .

02:21.584 --> 02:23.584
That's when I was assaulted for the

02:23.584 --> 02:25.730
first time in the dark of night . But

02:25.740 --> 02:27.907
you know , life goes on , you live and

02:27.907 --> 02:30.129
you learn and you move on and you go on

02:30.129 --> 02:32.407
to experience different things in life .

02:32.407 --> 02:35.010
So years go on , I promote

02:35.020 --> 02:38.870
demote promote again . I got

02:38.870 --> 02:41.037
divorced , You know , my son's growing

02:41.037 --> 02:43.720
up . He's just like me . So please , if

02:43.720 --> 02:45.664
you could just say a little prayer

02:45.664 --> 02:47.776
because if anybody knows me , they're

02:47.776 --> 02:49.998
going to know that this is just this is

02:49.998 --> 02:52.990
huge . Eso PCs again on I meet this

02:52.990 --> 02:55.101
great guy at work and we decide we're

02:55.101 --> 02:57.530
gonna get married . And

02:58.440 --> 03:00.870
about a month after we got married , he

03:00.870 --> 03:03.160
started to abuse me . And what I hadn't

03:03.160 --> 03:04.993
realized at the time was that he

03:04.993 --> 03:07.380
started grooming me months prior and

03:07.380 --> 03:10.140
over the course of four years , he had

03:10.140 --> 03:12.362
punched me so many times and knocked me

03:12.362 --> 03:14.473
out so many times that I lost count .

03:14.473 --> 03:16.418
Hey , tried drowning me in our own

03:16.418 --> 03:18.910
bathtub and he busted my head open at

03:18.910 --> 03:22.900
work and he was also there every

03:22.900 --> 03:25.011
day to remind me that I was worthless

03:25.011 --> 03:27.233
and that nobody would ever love me . So

03:27.233 --> 03:29.500
I had about four years of bad defining

03:29.500 --> 03:31.730
moments , but they all culminated into

03:31.730 --> 03:34.810
this gigantic , great moment . And

03:34.810 --> 03:36.810
that's the moment that I decided to

03:36.810 --> 03:38.870
leave . Uh , I filed for divorce . I

03:38.870 --> 03:40.926
reclaimed my life , my strength , my

03:40.926 --> 03:43.540
freedom and I PCs to the great state of

03:43.540 --> 03:46.850
Texas , which a lot of you are are

03:46.850 --> 03:48.850
located there right now . I miss it

03:48.850 --> 03:50.850
there . Um , you know . So I got to

03:50.850 --> 03:52.961
Texas . I was working hard at PCs . A

03:52.961 --> 03:54.906
year after I got there , I went to

03:54.906 --> 03:56.906
Monterey Bay , California I learned

03:56.906 --> 03:59.239
Spanish and then nine months after that ,

03:59.239 --> 04:01.294
at PCs down to Honduras . And if you

04:01.294 --> 04:03.350
haven't been hundreds or you haven't

04:03.350 --> 04:05.406
known anybody that's been there , it

04:05.406 --> 04:07.461
was the best assignment of my entire

04:07.461 --> 04:09.517
career . I loved every moment almost

04:09.517 --> 04:11.517
every moment that I was there . The

04:11.517 --> 04:13.683
only thing that stuck was , you know ,

04:13.683 --> 04:16.017
being away from my son for a whole year .

04:16.017 --> 04:18.017
So you know , I'm in Honduras . I'm

04:18.017 --> 04:20.128
working hard . I'm taking classes . I

04:20.128 --> 04:22.294
worked as a bartender in my off time ,

04:22.294 --> 04:24.517
and then I partied I partied as hard as

04:24.517 --> 04:26.739
I could because I didn't have that That

04:26.739 --> 04:28.739
party phase that a lot of people go

04:28.739 --> 04:30.739
through and you know , when I'm out

04:30.739 --> 04:32.517
with friends and they're my big

04:32.517 --> 04:34.572
brothers , I always feel great about

04:34.572 --> 04:34.530
going out with them because I know

04:34.530 --> 04:36.419
they're gonna look out for me and

04:36.419 --> 04:38.830
they're gonna protect me . And they did

04:38.840 --> 04:41.470
every night except for this night . And

04:41.470 --> 04:43.692
instead of walking me back to my room ,

04:43.692 --> 04:45.859
they let a stranger walk me back to my

04:45.859 --> 04:48.710
room and the stranger proceeded to rape

04:48.710 --> 04:52.140
me . And while I don't remember a lot

04:52.150 --> 04:55.410
about the incident itself , I know that

04:55.410 --> 04:57.521
I fought back because I woke up and I

04:57.521 --> 04:59.521
had a dry blood in my mouth . I had

04:59.521 --> 05:02.810
injuries , and it was it was horrifying ,

05:02.810 --> 05:05.530
state least . So you know , that was

05:05.530 --> 05:07.363
just another moment in my life ,

05:07.363 --> 05:09.570
another defining moment where I had to

05:09.570 --> 05:11.903
choose to live and learn and , you know ,

05:11.903 --> 05:15.220
just move on with my life . But , you

05:15.220 --> 05:17.053
know , you always have these bad

05:17.053 --> 05:19.220
moments . But then you have these good

05:19.220 --> 05:18.860
moments that are kind of waiting around

05:18.860 --> 05:22.070
in the corner . And I ended up meeting

05:22.070 --> 05:24.070
a great guy down there a few months

05:24.070 --> 05:26.070
later . And , you know , we've been

05:26.070 --> 05:28.403
married for 2.5 months or 2.5 years now ,

05:28.403 --> 05:30.737
so it turned out to be a good situation ,

05:30.740 --> 05:32.630
you know , way get married . Were

05:32.630 --> 05:34.780
station together here , Gwen and he

05:34.780 --> 05:38.450
gets deployed . So one night I'm

05:38.450 --> 05:41.390
sleeping and I wake up to a guy trying

05:41.390 --> 05:43.700
to break into my house and I'm

05:43.700 --> 05:45.756
terrified . I'm on the phone . 911 I

05:45.756 --> 05:47.870
have my gun drawn and I'm telling 911

05:48.240 --> 05:50.296
I'm gonna shoot this guy if he comes

05:50.296 --> 05:52.440
into my house . And he got into my

05:52.440 --> 05:55.040
house right as a police pulled up . So

05:55.050 --> 05:57.220
I'm sitting there prepared to kill

05:57.220 --> 05:59.331
somebody if I have to , to protect my

05:59.331 --> 06:02.780
life in my son's life . And that right

06:02.780 --> 06:05.610
there was the moment that broke me out

06:05.610 --> 06:07.610
of everything that's happened in my

06:07.610 --> 06:09.721
life . That's what broke me . I could

06:09.721 --> 06:11.832
not function anymore . After that , I

06:11.832 --> 06:14.130
wasn't sleeping . I wasn't eating . I

06:14.130 --> 06:16.297
was watching the door constantly , and

06:16.297 --> 06:18.352
I couldn't even leave my house to go

06:18.352 --> 06:20.463
get groceries for my son . You know ,

06:20.463 --> 06:22.630
that's that's where I was at in life .

06:22.630 --> 06:24.797
And so I decided it's probably time to

06:24.797 --> 06:26.963
go get mental health care , you know ,

06:26.963 --> 06:29.186
since you can't function . Shannon . So

06:29.186 --> 06:31.352
I went and got my health care , and it

06:31.352 --> 06:33.519
took me months toe , actually get seen

06:33.519 --> 06:35.741
and find a provider that was willing to

06:35.741 --> 06:38.150
accurately diagnosed with PTSD and ,

06:38.160 --> 06:41.120
you know , begin treatment . So I

06:41.120 --> 06:43.176
complained about the process , and I

06:43.176 --> 06:45.287
put in complaints of patient advocacy

06:45.287 --> 06:47.830
through my chain of command and through

06:47.830 --> 06:49.608
the grapevine . And I guess the

06:49.608 --> 06:51.663
Comanche for England had heard about

06:51.663 --> 06:53.774
the struggles that have experienced ,

06:53.774 --> 06:55.941
and he said he wanted to sit down with

06:55.941 --> 06:57.830
me . So I sat down with him and I

06:57.830 --> 06:59.663
unloaded everything . I told him

06:59.663 --> 07:01.886
everything and all my frustrations with

07:01.886 --> 07:04.108
mental health , getting care , the lack

07:04.108 --> 07:06.940
of care . And at this point , he's like ,

07:06.950 --> 07:08.950
Are you part of the wounded warrior

07:08.950 --> 07:11.190
program ? And I was like , No , I'm not

07:11.190 --> 07:13.023
wounded in combat . Did you hear

07:13.023 --> 07:15.246
anything I just said ? And you know , I

07:15.246 --> 07:17.134
didn't say that , obviously , but

07:17.134 --> 07:19.246
that's what I was thinking . And he's

07:19.246 --> 07:19.220
like , Hold on . I'm gonna put you in

07:19.220 --> 07:21.387
touch with Mr Jeff Mayberry . He's the

07:21.387 --> 07:23.860
Air Force One warrior recovered careful ,

07:24.540 --> 07:26.760
ordinator for your region . And I was

07:26.760 --> 07:29.320
like , Okay , I mean , I have all these

07:29.320 --> 07:31.042
doubts in my head and all this

07:31.042 --> 07:33.264
confusion , Like , what is this program

07:33.264 --> 07:35.264
I've never even heard about ? It is

07:35.264 --> 07:37.264
just the wonder where your projects

07:37.264 --> 07:39.598
that I see all over everything you know ,

07:39.598 --> 07:41.764
all these all these thoughts and , you

07:41.764 --> 07:41.600
know , So I sit down , I meet with Mr

07:41.600 --> 07:45.470
Mayberry , and I was just

07:45.480 --> 07:47.536
I was just a mess of a person at the

07:47.536 --> 07:49.860
time when I met him and he sat down

07:49.860 --> 07:52.290
with me and he helped me unload all of

07:52.290 --> 07:54.660
my baggage piece by piece . And , you

07:54.660 --> 07:56.716
know , we talked about the program .

07:56.716 --> 07:58.716
They talked about how they're gonna

07:58.716 --> 08:00.882
help me and the opportunities that I'd

08:00.882 --> 08:00.730
have eventually down the road if I

08:00.730 --> 08:03.063
stuck with the program . And , you know ,

08:03.140 --> 08:05.570
and I was able to recover . And

08:05.570 --> 08:08.050
honestly , he was the first person to

08:08.050 --> 08:10.050
reignite the little glimmer of hope

08:10.050 --> 08:12.770
that I had lost over the years . And

08:12.780 --> 08:15.560
together with my recovery . I'm sorry

08:15.560 --> 08:17.782
with my medical care coordinator , Miss

08:17.782 --> 08:20.004
Bay , they were actually able to get me

08:20.004 --> 08:22.227
into the Intrepid Spirit Center , which

08:22.227 --> 08:24.620
is a clinic whose sole focus is working

08:24.630 --> 08:26.630
on the treatment of traumatic brain

08:26.630 --> 08:28.970
injuries and PTSD which I had both had

08:28.980 --> 08:31.147
been diagnosed with both at the time ,

08:31.340 --> 08:33.229
and they were also able to get me

08:33.229 --> 08:35.451
referred to a couple of specialists who

08:35.451 --> 08:37.673
helped formally diagnosed my autoimmune

08:37.673 --> 08:39.870
disease . So , you know , going on ,

08:39.880 --> 08:42.047
they help me with all that stuff . And

08:42.047 --> 08:44.269
I would sit down with Mr Mayberry every

08:44.269 --> 08:46.491
few weeks , and we discussed everything

08:46.491 --> 08:48.602
regarding my mental health care , and

08:48.602 --> 08:50.713
every so often he'd slide this little

08:50.713 --> 08:52.936
bit in about care events and Oh , hey ,

08:52.936 --> 08:55.158
you know , there's this cool care event

08:55.158 --> 08:57.380
coming up and I really love it . If you

08:57.380 --> 08:59.436
could attend and every time , I just

08:59.436 --> 09:01.491
kind of , like brushed him off . But

09:01.491 --> 09:03.547
yeah , maybe later . Mr Mayberry , I

09:03.547 --> 09:05.491
don't think I'm ready yet . And he

09:05.491 --> 09:05.420
listened . He respected the fact that I

09:05.420 --> 09:07.642
wasn't ready , but that didn't stop him

09:07.642 --> 09:09.587
from sliding that in every time we

09:09.587 --> 09:12.100
talked . So he told me about this , the

09:12.110 --> 09:14.054
pack of care event , and it was in

09:14.054 --> 09:16.110
Hawaii and I kind of stopped . I was

09:16.110 --> 09:18.110
like , Well , you know , if it's in

09:18.110 --> 09:20.277
Hawaii , maybe I can , you know , make

09:20.277 --> 09:21.999
an exception . Eso I made this

09:21.999 --> 09:24.670
exception and I went , and the cool

09:24.670 --> 09:26.726
thing about going to these events is

09:26.726 --> 09:28.890
that the window worry program they

09:28.890 --> 09:31.270
actually fund . They have funding set

09:31.270 --> 09:33.260
aside to help get your caregivers

09:33.260 --> 09:35.820
wherever you go . So not only did I get

09:35.820 --> 09:37.987
to go to Hawaii , but my husband , who

09:37.987 --> 09:39.598
is my caregiver , he had the

09:39.598 --> 09:41.820
opportunity to go to . So we were super

09:41.820 --> 09:43.876
excited , you know , going to Hawaii

09:43.876 --> 09:45.820
for a week . It's gonna be great .

09:45.820 --> 09:47.764
We're gonna go and do all this fun

09:47.764 --> 09:49.987
stuff . And , you know , I still had my

09:49.987 --> 09:51.987
reservations , but I went and I get

09:51.987 --> 09:53.876
there and I get to the airport in

09:53.876 --> 09:57.140
Hawaii and I am terrified . You have

09:57.150 --> 09:59.420
all these people , and , you know ,

09:59.420 --> 10:01.420
they have these big smiles on their

10:01.420 --> 10:03.253
faces and they're so excited and

10:03.253 --> 10:05.364
they're trying to give you hugs and I

10:05.364 --> 10:08.660
like internally combusted . It was so

10:08.670 --> 10:12.320
overwhelming because I had not brought

10:12.320 --> 10:14.840
myself around people for such a long

10:14.840 --> 10:16.870
time that being in that environment

10:16.870 --> 10:18.926
where everybody was trying thio show

10:18.926 --> 10:21.100
you love and they're so said that

10:21.100 --> 10:23.211
you're there , you know , it was just

10:23.211 --> 10:25.300
overwhelming for me . Um , so the

10:25.300 --> 10:27.411
introverted me at that I was taking a

10:27.411 --> 10:29.189
hard stand and put my foot down

10:29.189 --> 10:31.970
emotionally , and I know that my face

10:31.970 --> 10:35.470
just reflected all of these emotions ,

10:35.840 --> 10:39.140
and I must have looked like the most

10:39.150 --> 10:41.150
every person on earth because I see

10:41.150 --> 10:43.206
photos that my husband took me , and

10:43.206 --> 10:45.094
it's just like straight based the

10:45.094 --> 10:47.039
entire time . Like I look like I'm

10:47.039 --> 10:49.206
miserable the whole time . So you know

10:49.206 --> 10:51.206
we're there . We're in Hawaii and I

10:51.206 --> 10:53.483
signed up for the adaptive sports trap .

10:53.483 --> 10:55.706
So I had this opportunity to compete in

10:55.706 --> 10:57.928
all these sports and try them all out .

10:57.928 --> 10:59.983
And , you know , there's track power

10:59.983 --> 11:01.928
lifting . There's rifle and pistol

11:01.928 --> 11:04.039
competitions , archery , all kinds of

11:04.039 --> 11:06.206
stuff . Um , and they also provided us

11:06.206 --> 11:08.150
in between the sports . We got the

11:08.150 --> 11:10.317
opportunity to do different resiliency

11:10.317 --> 11:12.206
events like art therapy and music

11:12.206 --> 11:14.206
therapy . And , you know , they had

11:14.206 --> 11:16.690
physical therapists on site Thio help

11:16.690 --> 11:18.840
give us massages and , you know ,

11:18.850 --> 11:21.330
adjustments and battlefield acupuncture .

11:21.330 --> 11:23.910
There's a this is so much to talk about

11:23.920 --> 11:26.253
with these care events . But , you know ,

11:26.253 --> 11:28.476
at this point , I hadn't worked out for

11:28.476 --> 11:30.870
about a year , so it's self care just

11:30.870 --> 11:33.148
really wasn't my thing . At that point ,

11:33.148 --> 11:35.540
I was just trying to survive and , you

11:35.540 --> 11:39.530
know , I was tired . My body here and I

11:39.530 --> 11:41.586
will be the first to tell you . Even

11:41.586 --> 11:43.752
though everybody already knew I didn't

11:43.752 --> 11:46.086
have a great attitude about being there .

11:46.086 --> 11:45.150
I didn't have a great attitude the

11:45.150 --> 11:47.206
entire week . And I feel bad for the

11:47.206 --> 11:49.730
people that had to deal with me like

11:49.740 --> 11:52.930
Jessica . She was my my sport , the

11:52.930 --> 11:56.240
sport manager for our actual group .

11:56.250 --> 11:58.880
And that poor woman took the brunt of

11:58.880 --> 12:00.991
it . Honestly , she she dealt with my

12:00.991 --> 12:04.910
attitude very well , but I

12:04.910 --> 12:07.050
think part of it was my own

12:07.050 --> 12:09.161
reservations that I made up in my own

12:09.161 --> 12:11.272
head . Like , you know , you have all

12:11.272 --> 12:13.272
these people here that are battling

12:13.272 --> 12:15.910
cancer or their combat wounded , and ,

12:15.910 --> 12:18.077
you know , what am I supposed to say ?

12:18.077 --> 12:20.132
Okay , guys , I'm here because , you

12:20.132 --> 12:22.243
know , I wasn't brave enough to leave

12:22.243 --> 12:22.230
an abusive spouse . So , you know .

12:22.230 --> 12:25.050
Sorry . You know it , Z that shame that

12:25.050 --> 12:27.280
you feel inside about not feeling like

12:27.280 --> 12:29.336
you're good enough or that you don't

12:29.336 --> 12:31.391
belong there . And that's what I was

12:31.391 --> 12:33.502
trying to fight . So , you know , for

12:33.502 --> 12:35.780
the most part , during that care event ,

12:35.780 --> 12:37.947
I kept quiet . I didn't really talk to

12:37.947 --> 12:40.113
people about what I had been through ,

12:40.113 --> 12:39.270
except for those that I felt would

12:39.270 --> 12:43.150
understand and not judge me . Um

12:43.160 --> 12:45.216
And then , you know , before we left

12:45.216 --> 12:47.216
Hawaii , the sports program leads .

12:47.216 --> 12:49.438
They were talking to us about the d O D

12:49.438 --> 12:52.010
war games , and I was like , Oh , this

12:52.010 --> 12:54.121
sounds like a fun opportunity and let

12:54.121 --> 12:56.288
me list a little bit closer . And they

12:56.288 --> 12:58.399
talked about the Air Force trials and

12:58.399 --> 13:00.288
the opportunity to compete in the

13:00.288 --> 13:02.621
Warrior Games . And I think that for me ,

13:02.621 --> 13:04.788
that was my moment . That was my ah ha

13:04.788 --> 13:06.788
moment . Oh , man , I wanna I wanna

13:06.788 --> 13:08.843
compete . I wanna go out there and I

13:08.843 --> 13:11.560
want to just give it my all . And ever

13:11.560 --> 13:14.890
since then , I've had that fire . So I

13:14.890 --> 13:16.834
started working with a trainer . I

13:16.834 --> 13:18.668
joined a gym . I've been lifting

13:18.668 --> 13:20.668
weights consistently . For the most

13:20.668 --> 13:23.001
part , there's a couple breaks in there ,

13:23.001 --> 13:25.001
but , um , I have been working hard

13:25.001 --> 13:27.720
with the goal of making the d o . D

13:27.730 --> 13:31.540
word games . So , um , don't get me

13:31.540 --> 13:33.707
wrong , though . I do want to say that

13:33.707 --> 13:35.873
I still have horrible days . There are

13:35.873 --> 13:38.040
days where I can't bring myself to get

13:38.040 --> 13:39.762
out of bed , and that's okay .

13:40.140 --> 13:42.362
Everybody's gonna have those days , but

13:42.362 --> 13:44.473
I want to highlight the fact that Air

13:44.473 --> 13:46.696
Force wounded warrior program . They're

13:46.696 --> 13:48.751
the ones that hit . They've given me

13:48.751 --> 13:50.918
the tools that kind of prevent me from

13:50.918 --> 13:53.084
sinking all the way back down to where

13:53.084 --> 13:55.140
I waas . You know , they've given me

13:55.140 --> 13:57.307
those tools , so I'm able to use those

13:57.307 --> 13:59.418
things to prevent myself from hitting

13:59.418 --> 14:02.170
rock bottom . And even better part

14:02.170 --> 14:04.226
about that is that I can share those

14:04.226 --> 14:06.448
things with other people and try to get

14:06.448 --> 14:08.614
them in the program or try to get them

14:08.614 --> 14:10.781
to their first care event . And that's

14:10.781 --> 14:12.892
that's what I love about it . And you

14:12.892 --> 14:15.114
know , Mr Mayberry , I talked about him

14:15.114 --> 14:17.059
a lot . He he's been there with me

14:17.059 --> 14:19.003
every step of the way , and I have

14:19.003 --> 14:21.114
moments where I call him and I've got

14:21.114 --> 14:23.448
the gasoline . I've got matches in hand .

14:23.448 --> 14:22.960
I'm ready to set the world on fire ,

14:23.540 --> 14:25.651
and he's the one that tells me , Hold

14:25.651 --> 14:27.707
on , you know , we could figure this

14:27.707 --> 14:29.929
out . We got this . Let's work this out

14:29.929 --> 14:31.929
and then he helps me . He is always

14:31.929 --> 14:33.929
there , and I tell you , I call him

14:33.929 --> 14:35.984
probably once a week , if not more ,

14:35.984 --> 14:37.984
with those problems , and I'm ready

14:37.984 --> 14:39.929
like I said , I'm ready to set the

14:39.929 --> 14:39.340
world on fire , but he's there to calm

14:39.340 --> 14:42.410
me down . So I'll close with one more

14:42.410 --> 14:45.800
thing , and that is you get what you

14:45.800 --> 14:48.610
put into it , and I know there There

14:48.610 --> 14:50.832
are so many people in the Air Force One

14:50.832 --> 14:53.430
memory program that are just kind of

14:53.430 --> 14:55.597
sitting in the background . You know ,

14:55.597 --> 14:57.820
you're hesitant to attend events or you

14:57.820 --> 14:59.876
don't feel like you deserve to be in

14:59.876 --> 15:01.987
the program . Or maybe you just don't

15:01.987 --> 15:03.987
know that much about the program to

15:03.987 --> 15:06.098
begin with . But regardless of that ,

15:06.098 --> 15:07.764
your attitude determines your

15:07.764 --> 15:09.876
destination . Ah , 100% of the time .

15:09.876 --> 15:11.876
And if you're not ready right now ,

15:11.876 --> 15:14.220
that's okay . But we will be here when

15:14.220 --> 15:16.164
you're ready to take that dive and

15:16.164 --> 15:18.331
you're ready to attend the event . And

15:18.331 --> 15:20.553
I promise you I'm gonna be there on the

15:20.553 --> 15:22.720
other end , ready to give you guys all

15:22.720 --> 15:24.887
the hugs that you need whenever we can

15:24.887 --> 15:26.831
have in person events again , even

15:26.831 --> 15:28.887
though I was so resistant to hugs to

15:28.887 --> 15:31.400
begin with . But if you're there and

15:31.400 --> 15:33.490
you wanna attend events , please Dio

15:33.500 --> 15:35.611
because we're here and we've got this

15:35.611 --> 15:37.778
with you were your teammates , and you

15:37.778 --> 15:40.000
may not understand it at the time , but

15:40.000 --> 15:41.389
we've got your back 100%

15:41.540 --> 15:44.840
yeah ,