WEBVTT

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well , good afternoon . Glad to see

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everyone . And I'm telling you this is

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an army weak . It's a great week . You

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heard the secretary on monday . She was

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dynamic . You just heard the chief what

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great remarks from our chief and this

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panel right here . You're very

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fortunate to have the distinguished

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leaders up here talking on this very

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subject that they're going to talk

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about . Uh , if you talk about as the

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chief said , people first , this panel

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is right in line with that and it's

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talking about character . So without

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and cohesive cohesive teams , as the

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chief mentioned , So I want to thank

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you for joining us for this forum

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entitled Character . The building block

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for cohesive teams as your professional

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association . The association , United

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States Army is proud to provide forms

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like this one throughout the year that

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brought the knowledge base of army

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professionals and those who support our

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army . Hey , it would say will amplify

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the army's narrative . two audiences

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both inside the army as well as help to

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further the association's mission to be

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voice for the Army , support for the

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soldier . Of course we can't do this

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alone . AOC relies on its members to

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help tell the army story and to support

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our soldiers and their families . A

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strong membership base is vitally

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important for advocacy efforts in

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Congress . The pentagon and the

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industrial base as well as in public in

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communities across the country Through

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a us . A 122 chapters within the United

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States , But also within eight other

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countries . If you are an A U . S . A

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member . Thank you very much . Very

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appreciative of that for those of you

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Army professionals who are not yet

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members . Here's the pitch of your

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professional organization . We

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encourage you to join the USA by

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visiting the USA membership booth which

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is down in the hall a on the floor

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booth 47 or you can go

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online at a U S A dot org

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slash membership . Again , as I said ,

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we're very happy to have and pleased to

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have these distinguished panelists . We

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have a little behalf of General Brown

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and the USA team . We have a little

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memento that's each place at the

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diocese . So thank you very much for

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your time and before we start the panel

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one admin announcement , sometimes

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there are still gate guards coming in

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on capacity . So just be careful as you

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go in and out if you do so without any

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more banging on by me , I'm gonna turn

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it over to our moderator . Dr Geoff

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Peterson Jeff over to you . Thank you

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George , thank you very much for that

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introduction to the panel . Thank you

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for your 30 years of service to our

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country and your continued service to a

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U . S . A . Also would like to thank

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the USA for sponsoring this conference

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for the support to the army and for the

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opportunity that we have today to talk

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about character and its relationship

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with cohesion and with readiness . So

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my name is Dr Geoff Peterson and I'm a

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director of a new organization at West

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Point called the character integration

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advisory group and it is a group that

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General Williams formed to help support

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and enhance the integration of

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character development efforts at West

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Point so that we can continue to

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produce leaders of character who build

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cohesive teams . So it's an honor to me

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to , for me to moderate this discussion

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today and to highlight the connection

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between character and cohesion and its

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importance in preparing our army for

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the future . Our panelists today are

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distinguished members of the army

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profession , each with a unique

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perspective on character and how

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character is developed and how

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character contributes to the army

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mission . We have general Perkins with

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us today who retired after 38 years of

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service , finishing his career of

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military service as the commanding

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general of the training and doctrine

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command . We also have Lieutenant

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General Williams who is the 60th

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Superintendent of the United States

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Military Academy . We have cadet

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Holland Pratt who was the first captain

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of the corps of cadets . That means she

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is the ranking cadet Commander in

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charge of the entire corps of cadets of

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over 4000 young men and women . And

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lastly , we have dr Diane Ryan , Who is

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a retired army colonel from the signal

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branch who served for almost 30 years

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and is now the Associate dean for

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programs and administration at the

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Jonathan M . Tisch College of Civic

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life at Tufts University just outside

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of boston . So with that introduction

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of the panel and our topic for today ,

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which is character , the building block

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of cohesion , I'd like to turn it over

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to our first panelists , General

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Perkins and if you could bring up the

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slide please , that would be great .

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Thank you . Thanks . Yeah , it's really

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an honor to be here today , both for

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being part of this uh great team up

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here and also because of the

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subject itself , which is a passion of

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mine for a number of reasons , um , the

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algorithm that's up here , that general

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Williams and his team used often is

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completely nested uh , with inside the

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chiefs vision , uh , people first

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winning matters and his strategy that

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was put out there and it really , I

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think highlights more than I'll bet a

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lot of people realize now I'm the old

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retired guy in the panel . So the

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reason they bring folks like us here to

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talk about everything we screwed up and

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did we learn by it and make sure people

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don't make the same mistake . So that's

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sort of the approach I'll use here as

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well , things I should have known in

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the army and didn't realize the way too

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late . Uh , it's , it's one of , one of

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the reasons I was very honored to be on

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this panel when we talk about cohesion

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and trust and character is , I've

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been associated with a number of panels

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this week , like probably a lot of you

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have been to and they've all been

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really great and robust discussions and

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they're all really important subjects .

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So recent this morning was one of the

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sustainment and uh , we had operators

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like the G three , the army saying how

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important with the G four does

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sustainment and one on modernization

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about all the new equipment we're gonna

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get and , and all you have to do is

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walk down the venues here and see all

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the neat kit that's out there and of

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course you want , every one of them ,

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have you had to walk by something I

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wouldn't have wanted uh , in the army

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and , and they're saying , oh this is

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very important , all these things are

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very important and they are and the

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army has great sustainment capability .

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We have great organizations , we have

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great doctor and we have great kid ,

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but a lot of organizations have a lot

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of great stuff . I will tell you from

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experience the secret sauce to the

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United States Army and for that matter ,

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any great organization is this , it's

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the character and cohesion built on

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trust of the people in the army that is

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the secret sauce and the good thing

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about that is it can't be stolen . Okay ,

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so you some foreign adversary can't

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hack into your computer and steal your

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character or steal your cohesion . So

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from that point of view it's pretty

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secure . But the other part of is it's

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the secret sauce and it takes a long

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time to get there and the other part of

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it is and Jeff and I journal Williams ,

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I were talking before this um Sometimes

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when you take a look at character

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cohesion and trust and how you put that

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together and how you invested it . It

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is seen as sort of a tax on a unit .

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Well we don't we don't really have time

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to do things that focus on that because

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we're focused on readiness . It's all

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about readiness . And we got to get

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ready and see we measure readiness ,

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right , your T . One , your T . Two ,

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whatever . We don't have a measurement

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for character . There's not a

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measurement for cohesion . So sometimes

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we don't think about it as much as we

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can because we're focusing on the

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metric of readiness . And we all grew

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up . I remember as a three always had

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to prove uh prepare the U . S . Or the

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unit status report on readiness . Where

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are you on readiness ? And it's not

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that it's an excessive focus . But I

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think a lot of times we don't realize

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what the secret sauces and we're

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focusing on the physical manifestation

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of it . And like all things , I really

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didn't realize that until somebody else

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had to point it out to me . And uh

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where this really became apparent to me

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in in the secret sauce part of it and

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where it is such a key element of

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readiness is I was a commander in a

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war torn nation where a lot of us have

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spent our time happened to be a

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division commander at that time . And

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I'm talking to my counterpart and we're

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doing the typical type , a good idea

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thing . You know , we ought to do this

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for readiness to make you more . Let's

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do this , let's do a combined arms one

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of these , let's do this , let's do

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this and going on over lunch time with

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you know , all these last minute good

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ideas which really are because the last

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minute and finally my counterpart

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stopped me and he says , you know ,

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general stopped . He says , you know ,

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general , I've been watching you here

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do your thing for a number of months .

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And he says , I've come to the

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conclusion that you take being a

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general officer , United States Army

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for granted . So Well that's that's an

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interesting comment I said , So are you

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questioning the effectiveness of a

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promotion system that would promote

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somebody like me ? The General I said ,

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if so get in line , he says , no , no

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no , not that he goes , uh you just

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take it for granted because he says ,

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you get your fancy helicopter and you

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fly around and you go to First Brigade

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and you tell them to do this and that

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and when you leave , you don't worry

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that they're going to start a coup , he

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says you go to second Brigade , did you

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give him new equipment and all this and

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when you fly away you don't worry ,

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they're going to sell it on the black

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market and then you tell the commands

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are major Hayes from Major , I want the

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N . C . O . S to do X , Y , and Z and

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then you fly away and you don't worry

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that he's gonna call his cousin in the

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M . O . D . And get your relief because

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he doesn't agree with you . He says you

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just take it for granted that people

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are going to do what you tell them to

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do and that they trust each other .

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What he was saying is Perkins , you

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take this whole character and cohesion

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thing for granted . You don't even give

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it a second thought . And what he is

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saying is since you have that in your

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unit since the United States Army has

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that you can start talking about

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readiness stuff at this level . So

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you're talking about doing things that

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I can't even dream about because see I

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don't have that character and cohesion

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and trust . So C . Perkins , you're not

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that good of a commander because you're

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just leaning on this thing called

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character cohesion and trust and you

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have all these grand readiness ideas

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and you vaguely mentioned them and the

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next thing , you know , the N . C . O .

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S are doing it , you're not even around

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you really , it doesn't seem like you

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have a lot to do with what's going on

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here because you're leaning on that and

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you know , so I'm thinking to myself ,

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you know , I don't worry about first

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brigade starting a coup . I don't worry

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about second brigade stalling their

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equipment . There are big aid , I keep

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an eye on but I had reasons but I said

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you know this guy is absolutely right .

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I just don't worry about all that

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because I take it for granted . So

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that's where I really came to the

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conclusion that it is the secret sauce .

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Because without those things you can't

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even talk about readiness , you can't

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even start thinking about doing the

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things that we do day in and day out in

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the army because we have this character

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which leads to cohesion built on trust .

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So I just want to sort of pass on is a

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the old guy up here on how it really

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took somebody else that maybe couldn't

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take that for granted to tell me you

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have something . I don't have , it has

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nothing to do with your tanks and you

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know , your helicopters and all that .

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That's why you're so ready . It's

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because the things on the left hand of

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the equation equal the right hand

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equation . So again , thanks for having

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me here and I'll pass on to my steam

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colleague the Superintendent . My alma

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Mata . General Williams , thank you Sir .

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General William 60 is superintendent

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and I have the honor and privilege of

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leading the world's Preeminent

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Leadership Institute . Let me show you

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a quick video here and then uh we'll

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get into this little

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for Mhm Mhm .

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Each of you chose to come here

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committed to becoming that 21st century

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warrior committed to serving your

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country . Mhm Committed to defending

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freedom and our values

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committed to living above the common

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level of life . Yeah ,

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committed to be a leader of character ,

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exemplifying the motto , duty ,

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honor country .

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Yeah . More

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importantly , you will learn how to be

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a leader of tremendous integrity and

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character . Yeah .

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Each of you will join a proud legacy of

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american soldiers . Uh huh . Who

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answered their nation's call to serve

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in the crucible of ground combat .

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You'll know what it means to lead

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honorably , to live honorably and to

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continually pursue and demonstrate

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excellent , committed to becoming the

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21st century warrior committed to

14:12.850 --> 14:15.210
serving your country , committed to

14:15.210 --> 14:18.390
defending freedom in our value . A

14:18.400 --> 14:20.340
leader who in the toughest of

14:20.340 --> 14:22.990
circumstances will always choose the

14:22.990 --> 14:25.157
harder . Right over the easier wrong .

14:25.750 --> 14:28.320
I will always place the mission 1st . I

14:28.320 --> 14:30.700
will never accept defeat . I will never

14:30.710 --> 14:33.100
quit . I will never leave a fallen

14:33.110 --> 14:35.480
comrade . These are the words of the

14:35.480 --> 14:37.840
army's warrior ethos , a set of

14:37.840 --> 14:40.173
principles by which every soldier lives .

14:40.740 --> 14:43.460
A code that defines votes , who we are

14:43.840 --> 14:47.350
and who we aspire to become the lead

14:48.240 --> 14:50.260
to fight and to wait .

14:52.540 --> 14:54.484
Right . I figured in the afternoon

14:54.484 --> 14:56.762
little video . Get you warmed up there .

14:56.762 --> 14:59.170
So as General Perkins says , Jeff said ,

14:59.180 --> 15:01.460
character matters and it matters at

15:01.460 --> 15:04.540
West Point to be able to fight and win

15:04.550 --> 15:06.606
our nation's wars . To be able to be

15:06.606 --> 15:08.828
mission ready . You have to be a leader

15:08.828 --> 15:11.050
of character . Everything we do at West

15:11.050 --> 15:13.161
Point , whether it be on the athletic

15:13.161 --> 15:15.272
field , Whether it be in the training

15:15.272 --> 15:17.217
environment , whether it be in the

15:17.217 --> 15:19.383
classroom , it's focused . Are we call

15:19.383 --> 15:21.383
it our 47 month experience is about

15:21.383 --> 15:23.494
developing leaders of character . Our

15:23.494 --> 15:25.606
mission is clear to educate and train

15:25.606 --> 15:27.772
inspired leaders of character . That's

15:27.772 --> 15:29.939
what we've been doing for since 1802 .

15:29.939 --> 15:31.994
That will continue to do . Those are

15:31.994 --> 15:34.272
immutable standards , immutable things ,

15:34.272 --> 15:36.439
immutable concepts that we , we grow .

15:36.439 --> 15:38.494
And the first captain , we'll talk a

15:38.494 --> 15:40.606
little about that in a second . I owe

15:40.606 --> 15:40.580
the chief , I owe the army , the

15:40.580 --> 15:42.747
Secretary of the Army , 1000 young men

15:42.747 --> 15:44.969
and women every year who are leaders of

15:44.969 --> 15:47.150
character though 1000 young men and

15:47.150 --> 15:49.261
women , the right young men and women

15:49.261 --> 15:51.206
who are leaders of character . And

15:51.206 --> 15:53.094
that's what we do with the United

15:53.094 --> 15:54.817
States Military Academy . Um ,

15:54.817 --> 15:56.928
Character as the , as General Perkins

15:56.928 --> 15:58.761
talked about equals cohesion and

15:58.761 --> 16:00.983
readiness . You've heard the chief , if

16:00.983 --> 16:03.039
you've been on any other panels talk

16:03.039 --> 16:05.094
about building cohesive teams . Uh ,

16:05.094 --> 16:07.261
we've done that ever since . I've been

16:07.261 --> 16:09.372
there before when , when general cows

16:09.372 --> 16:09.310
and other superintendents is very ,

16:09.310 --> 16:12.590
very important that you focus and how

16:12.590 --> 16:15.040
you build that . My first two lines of

16:15.040 --> 16:17.262
effort , I have five lines of effort at

16:17.262 --> 16:19.318
West Point . The 1st 1 is to develop

16:19.318 --> 16:21.429
leaders of character . The second one

16:21.429 --> 16:23.429
is cultivate a culture of character

16:23.429 --> 16:25.429
growth . Some of you may say , well

16:25.429 --> 16:27.540
those are sort of similar ilk or they

16:27.540 --> 16:29.484
are and they're purposely . So the

16:29.484 --> 16:31.429
first one talks about our academic

16:31.429 --> 16:33.707
environment , our military environment ,

16:33.707 --> 16:35.429
our physical environment . But

16:35.429 --> 16:37.540
character as Jeff has talked about is

16:37.540 --> 16:39.207
super ordinate to those other

16:39.207 --> 16:41.540
dimensions and pillars and it has to be ,

16:41.540 --> 16:43.484
it must be at the academy and then

16:43.484 --> 16:45.429
secondly the cultivating a culture

16:45.429 --> 16:47.910
character growth . That's about what

16:47.910 --> 16:50.132
are you doing when you're in the locker

16:50.132 --> 16:52.243
room ? What are you doing when you're

16:52.243 --> 16:52.240
out at camp Buckner ? What are you

16:52.240 --> 16:54.350
doing when you're in the classroom ?

16:54.840 --> 16:57.007
What are you doing when you're home on

16:57.007 --> 16:58.784
leave when you're away from the

16:58.784 --> 17:00.784
instructors , when you're away from

17:00.784 --> 17:03.118
your tactical officers . Your N . C . O .

17:03.118 --> 17:05.173
S , your coach is a critical part of

17:05.173 --> 17:07.396
the triad at the United States Military

17:07.396 --> 17:09.562
Academy is our professors , you know ,

17:09.562 --> 17:12.640
led by a great Dean , our coaches And

17:12.640 --> 17:14.696
our tax and are attacking ceos and I

17:14.696 --> 17:16.307
will tell you , I've had the

17:16.307 --> 17:18.418
opportunity over the last 39 years or

17:18.418 --> 17:20.680
so to be attacked an rto and now

17:20.680 --> 17:22.902
superintendent . And I think one of the

17:22.902 --> 17:25.970
biggest differences I've seen is the

17:25.980 --> 17:28.200
how are non commissioned officers

17:28.210 --> 17:30.432
interact with our cadets ? We've always

17:30.432 --> 17:32.321
had a lot of officers . We've not

17:32.321 --> 17:34.266
always had a lot of great civilian

17:34.266 --> 17:36.099
professors we do now but our non

17:36.099 --> 17:38.321
commissioned officers are young men and

17:38.321 --> 17:40.210
women when they graduate after 47

17:40.210 --> 17:42.266
months are going to partner with and

17:42.266 --> 17:44.266
work with and defeat our enemies in

17:44.266 --> 17:45.988
combat partnering with the non

17:45.988 --> 17:47.932
commissioned officers . So we have

17:47.932 --> 17:50.154
focused on that and they are a critical

17:50.154 --> 17:52.377
component to our triad and how we build

17:52.377 --> 17:54.432
leaders of character at West Point .

17:54.432 --> 17:56.266
I'll tell you that whatever that

17:56.266 --> 17:58.780
whatever the challenges we've had a few

17:58.780 --> 18:01.150
at West Point or what these young men

18:01.150 --> 18:03.483
and women are going to face in the army ,

18:03.483 --> 18:05.594
what's gonna endure ? What's gonna be

18:05.594 --> 18:07.539
immutable is their character ? You

18:07.539 --> 18:09.761
heard me talk that was my voice . So by

18:09.761 --> 18:11.761
the way in the video , you heard me

18:11.761 --> 18:13.872
talk about duty , honor country . You

18:13.872 --> 18:16.039
heard me talk about living honorably ,

18:16.039 --> 18:18.039
leading honorably and demonstrating

18:18.039 --> 18:20.206
excellence . Those are the outcomes we

18:20.206 --> 18:22.483
expect out of every single cadet . Yes ,

18:22.483 --> 18:24.650
it's important to do well in physics .

18:24.650 --> 18:26.761
Yes . It's important to be physically

18:26.761 --> 18:28.983
fit . The the chief talks about all the

18:28.983 --> 18:31.370
time , trained discipline and fit , but

18:31.370 --> 18:33.426
we'll , what we'll pull that apart ,

18:33.426 --> 18:35.648
we'll pull that house of cards apart is

18:35.648 --> 18:37.370
if you've got a person of good

18:37.370 --> 18:39.426
character and it's something that we

18:39.426 --> 18:41.850
focus on all the time . Um you know ,

18:42.440 --> 18:44.662
dr Peterson and hear me talk about this

18:44.662 --> 18:47.180
a little bit later , but a construct we

18:47.180 --> 18:50.640
use and I found it very , very helpful

18:50.650 --> 18:52.730
how we think about how we cultivate

18:52.730 --> 18:54.750
character . So we say character is

18:54.750 --> 18:57.820
caught character is taught and

18:57.820 --> 18:59.709
character is sought at the United

18:59.709 --> 19:01.709
States Military Academy and what we

19:01.709 --> 19:03.709
mean by that , it's caught from our

19:03.709 --> 19:05.653
role models and our social norms ,

19:05.653 --> 19:07.709
where our young men and women thrive

19:07.709 --> 19:09.931
and win every single day . So it's very

19:09.931 --> 19:12.500
important that are the officers , the

19:12.500 --> 19:14.389
professors , the non commissioned

19:14.389 --> 19:16.500
officers , the coaches , there can be

19:16.500 --> 19:18.833
no scene there , there can't be a scene .

19:18.833 --> 19:20.944
Well , I'm gonna go to this group and

19:20.944 --> 19:20.740
they have standards this way and I go

19:20.740 --> 19:22.962
to this group , It's another standard ,

19:22.962 --> 19:25.184
one standard . Right ? And so it's very

19:25.184 --> 19:27.184
important , our young men and women

19:27.184 --> 19:29.296
catch from our role models . We bring

19:29.296 --> 19:31.351
back our dean talks about them being

19:31.351 --> 19:33.629
the second , the second rotating class ,

19:33.629 --> 19:35.407
graduating class . So our young

19:35.407 --> 19:37.573
captains and majors who rotate back to

19:37.573 --> 19:39.684
West Point after getting a masters or

19:39.684 --> 19:41.740
PhD , you know , the role models for

19:41.740 --> 19:43.907
our cadets , They'll go out and be the

19:43.907 --> 19:46.018
battalion and brigade commanders with

19:46.018 --> 19:45.720
our cadets . So it's very important

19:45.720 --> 19:48.370
that they catch our norms , our

19:48.370 --> 19:51.170
character , our ethos , how we , how we ,

19:51.180 --> 19:54.110
how we uh aspire to being in the army

19:54.240 --> 19:56.630
and then finally taught , We teach

19:56.630 --> 19:58.797
through education and through training

19:58.797 --> 20:00.852
through an integrated deliberate and

20:00.852 --> 20:02.797
progressive sequence . As I talked

20:02.797 --> 20:04.963
about the 47 month experience , very ,

20:04.963 --> 20:07.330
very deliberate and then finally sought ,

20:07.340 --> 20:09.340
it's something that sought by every

20:09.340 --> 20:11.451
member of our West Point team through

20:11.451 --> 20:13.118
practice through feedback and

20:13.118 --> 20:15.173
reflection . We actually this summer

20:15.173 --> 20:17.173
for those of you and I've got a few

20:17.173 --> 20:19.229
graduates out there this summer , we

20:19.229 --> 20:21.340
started at inception with cadet basic

20:21.340 --> 20:23.507
training , where we allowed our plebes

20:23.507 --> 20:25.729
are , are freshmen to , to uh journal .

20:26.040 --> 20:28.620
Uh , and reflect about what they were

20:28.620 --> 20:31.230
going through and we , we think we know

20:31.240 --> 20:33.290
it's a very doctor may talk about a

20:33.290 --> 20:35.512
little bit more . We know that's very ,

20:35.512 --> 20:37.568
very important if you're going to be

20:37.568 --> 20:39.890
able to capture this growth trajectory

20:39.900 --> 20:43.370
that you have , um , Insights when

20:43.370 --> 20:45.370
you're a freshman and insights when

20:45.370 --> 20:47.537
your senior and hopefully the arrow is

20:47.537 --> 20:49.759
not like this . It was William zero may

20:49.759 --> 20:51.926
have gone like this probably . But for

20:51.926 --> 20:54.092
most of our cadets , we want that path

20:54.092 --> 20:54.090
to be on an upward trajectory . Now

20:54.090 --> 20:57.200
it'll start , will go to up one back ,

20:57.210 --> 21:00.000
one back to up Fits and starts .

21:00.170 --> 21:02.281
Leadership is hard , but I think it's

21:02.281 --> 21:04.281
worth the Cauldron , it's worth the

21:04.281 --> 21:06.059
investment through the 47 month

21:06.059 --> 21:09.170
experience and it pays off when they

21:09.170 --> 21:11.337
leave the academy , whether they leave

21:11.337 --> 21:13.559
the uniform when it becomes civilians ,

21:13.559 --> 21:15.781
this stays with them throughout their ,

21:15.781 --> 21:17.726
their , their time as a West Point

21:17.726 --> 21:19.837
graduate . So I think I'll stop there

21:19.837 --> 21:19.510
and turn over to our great first

21:19.510 --> 21:21.343
captain and look forward to your

21:21.343 --> 21:25.030
questions . Thank you

21:25.030 --> 21:27.370
sir . So this year I have the unique

21:27.370 --> 21:29.259
opportunity to serve as the first

21:29.259 --> 21:31.259
captain for the United States Corps

21:31.259 --> 21:33.280
cadets and I've had a really unique

21:33.290 --> 21:35.520
opportunity to reflect on what that

21:35.520 --> 21:37.910
experience means and the growth that

21:37.920 --> 21:39.753
I've seen it myself through West

21:39.753 --> 21:41.976
Point's character process over the past

21:41.976 --> 21:45.120
four years . And for me , there are two

21:45.120 --> 21:47.176
parts to this process and that's the

21:47.176 --> 21:48.787
practice of character in the

21:48.787 --> 21:50.920
development of character . Oftentimes

21:50.920 --> 21:53.620
when we talk about words like character

21:53.630 --> 21:57.080
and values and ethics , we undergo this

21:57.090 --> 21:59.620
abstract thinking about how do you wrap

21:59.620 --> 22:02.420
your head around a word that you can't

22:02.430 --> 22:06.250
necessarily evaluate or apply math to ?

22:06.260 --> 22:07.982
It's something that we have to

22:07.982 --> 22:10.200
internalize and understand . And the

22:10.200 --> 22:12.367
unique thing that West Point offers is

22:12.367 --> 22:14.089
the ability to really practice

22:14.089 --> 22:16.340
characters that it doesn't become that

22:16.340 --> 22:18.507
abstract word that people just kind of

22:18.507 --> 22:20.830
nod their heads at . We get to actively

22:20.840 --> 22:23.270
use it during cadet summer training ,

22:23.280 --> 22:25.750
we get to actively use it in our small

22:25.750 --> 22:27.806
unit leadership positions during the

22:27.806 --> 22:31.330
school year and you see over time when

22:31.330 --> 22:33.500
you have that ability to practice it

22:33.510 --> 22:35.740
that serves as the common experience

22:35.740 --> 22:37.962
that people go back and talk about . So

22:37.962 --> 22:40.030
not my lunch table and I'm speaking

22:40.030 --> 22:42.430
with the people in my company , we're

22:42.430 --> 22:44.486
all talking about common experiences

22:44.486 --> 22:46.708
that we've endured at summer training .

22:46.708 --> 22:48.986
Whether that be through basic training ,

22:48.986 --> 22:51.041
whether that be through cannot field

22:51.041 --> 22:53.097
training or can I leader development

22:53.097 --> 22:55.263
training . All those scenarios require

22:55.263 --> 22:57.263
cadets to go through hard moments ,

22:57.263 --> 22:59.041
whether that be adverse weather

22:59.041 --> 23:01.263
conditions , whether that be physically

23:01.263 --> 23:03.800
strenuous in events , people are seeing

23:03.800 --> 23:06.160
what are the traits and people that

23:06.160 --> 23:08.460
define good character . It maybe trust

23:08.460 --> 23:10.770
that person to help me understand that

23:10.770 --> 23:12.910
they are somebody that I can rely on

23:12.920 --> 23:16.610
and go to when things get hard and when

23:16.610 --> 23:18.721
you have that ability to actively see

23:18.721 --> 23:21.170
character in practice and at work you

23:21.170 --> 23:23.780
realize that that is the basis of the

23:23.780 --> 23:26.058
cohesion , that defines your readiness .

23:26.058 --> 23:29.380
Your team was successful , not because

23:29.390 --> 23:31.750
you guys all had individual techniques

23:31.750 --> 23:34.370
that made you special , your team was

23:34.370 --> 23:36.750
successful because you could all rely

23:36.750 --> 23:39.090
on one another to do your individual

23:39.090 --> 23:41.560
part to accomplish that mission set

23:42.840 --> 23:44.780
and the second part of that , the

23:44.780 --> 23:47.380
development part as you see throughout

23:47.380 --> 23:49.491
your four years at West Point you get

23:49.491 --> 23:51.590
to start off focusing on being a

23:51.590 --> 23:53.900
follower in a character setting . So

23:53.900 --> 23:55.789
general Williams talked about the

23:55.789 --> 23:57.567
reflection piece at cadet basic

23:57.567 --> 23:59.622
training this past summer . Well now

23:59.622 --> 24:01.850
they get to use that reflection piece

24:01.860 --> 24:03.840
as followers and apply it to this

24:03.840 --> 24:06.910
school year . They are the mos members

24:06.920 --> 24:09.680
of our organizations at West Point and

24:09.680 --> 24:12.350
they get to observe us and help us as

24:12.350 --> 24:14.910
leaders . The upperclassmen reflect on

24:14.920 --> 24:18.200
our own performance and that kind of

24:18.200 --> 24:20.980
forms the basis of the first component

24:20.990 --> 24:23.046
of the West Point leader development

24:23.046 --> 24:26.200
system which is live honorably lead

24:26.200 --> 24:28.410
honorably and demonstrate excellence .

24:28.420 --> 24:30.476
So as a follower , you're focused on

24:30.476 --> 24:32.698
that living honorably piece . What does

24:32.698 --> 24:34.920
it even mean to have good character and

24:34.920 --> 24:37.020
practice that good character Well as

24:37.030 --> 24:38.974
the regimental commander for field

24:38.974 --> 24:41.086
training this past summer which helps

24:41.086 --> 24:43.560
freshman develop into sophomores . We

24:43.560 --> 24:45.840
tried to instill that thinking from the

24:45.840 --> 24:47.951
living honorably piece to the leading

24:47.951 --> 24:50.118
honorably peace . Now that I have that

24:50.118 --> 24:52.260
basis of character . How am I looking

24:52.260 --> 24:54.427
at applying that basis of character to

24:54.427 --> 24:56.371
influence others to have that same

24:56.371 --> 24:58.538
excellent character and that's when we

24:58.538 --> 25:00.660
start to see that culture growth and

25:00.660 --> 25:02.438
from what I've seen as the most

25:02.438 --> 25:04.493
successful small units at West Point

25:04.493 --> 25:06.716
are the ones who really do develop that

25:06.716 --> 25:08.938
mode of thinking that suddenly it's not

25:08.938 --> 25:10.716
just about me and my individual

25:10.716 --> 25:12.549
character , it's about how I can

25:12.549 --> 25:14.604
influence others to demonstrate that

25:14.604 --> 25:16.604
good character as well . And that's

25:16.604 --> 25:18.870
when you have the team form at West

25:18.870 --> 25:21.050
Point and that's when you also get to

25:21.050 --> 25:22.939
see the teams start demonstrating

25:22.939 --> 25:24.939
excellence . And so you see through

25:24.939 --> 25:27.740
that circular process that West Point

25:27.740 --> 25:29.590
system works when it talks about

25:29.590 --> 25:31.534
practicing character in developing

25:31.534 --> 25:34.200
character because everyone sees through

25:34.200 --> 25:36.500
working with one another that that

25:36.510 --> 25:38.677
character is not just an abstract word

25:38.677 --> 25:40.788
that they talk about , it's an actual

25:40.788 --> 25:42.899
physical component to their success ,

25:42.899 --> 25:45.121
that they get to practice that Practice

25:45.121 --> 25:47.288
forms the habit that they can take out

25:47.288 --> 25:49.399
into the operational army and used to

25:49.399 --> 25:51.600
also influence their soldiers . And a

25:51.600 --> 25:53.489
big scene that process for me has

25:53.489 --> 25:55.656
helped me really realize that whenever

25:55.656 --> 25:57.600
you go into a setting where you're

25:57.600 --> 25:59.433
going to build a new team , that

25:59.433 --> 26:01.433
character component comes first and

26:01.433 --> 26:04.010
that gets to serve as the basis for you

26:04.010 --> 26:05.954
to be able to achieve that mode of

26:05.954 --> 26:08.480
excellence to achieve that winning

26:08.480 --> 26:11.170
matters mentality that we want to see

26:11.180 --> 26:13.260
in future conflicts that we enter in

26:14.140 --> 26:16.450
and with that I'll turn it over to dr

26:16.450 --> 26:19.920
Ryan , thank you cadet

26:19.920 --> 26:22.460
pratt thank you to all my esteemed

26:22.470 --> 26:24.137
panel members . I'm currently

26:24.137 --> 26:26.081
undergoing my own character growth

26:26.081 --> 26:28.320
experience by being on this panel and

26:28.320 --> 26:30.487
uh , and growing my humility because I

26:30.487 --> 26:33.320
recognize I am pulling up the rear and

26:33.320 --> 26:35.270
perhaps are the in the least

26:35.280 --> 26:38.020
accomplished person . So I'm really

26:38.020 --> 26:41.240
thrilled to be able to talk about a

26:41.240 --> 26:43.240
subject that is near and dear to my

26:43.240 --> 26:45.390
heart . So as dr Peterson said , I

26:45.390 --> 26:47.630
spent a third of my career , almost a

26:47.630 --> 26:50.850
decade in behavioral sciences and

26:50.850 --> 26:53.072
leadership and I really appreciate what

26:53.072 --> 26:54.961
General Perkins said about taking

26:54.961 --> 26:57.072
character for granted because most of

26:57.072 --> 26:59.410
my military career I would say that was

26:59.410 --> 27:01.680
the case as well . And when I was

27:01.680 --> 27:04.550
applying to graduate schools , um , I

27:04.550 --> 27:07.470
was relying on a West Point grad who

27:07.470 --> 27:09.980
was a senior administrator um where I

27:09.980 --> 27:12.680
ended up getting my doctorate and he

27:12.680 --> 27:14.902
did something , he did something for me

27:14.902 --> 27:17.680
early on in my tenure . And I said , uh ,

27:17.690 --> 27:19.690
why did you do that for me ? And he

27:19.690 --> 27:21.912
said because even though you don't know

27:21.912 --> 27:24.079
me and he said because I know what you

27:24.079 --> 27:26.134
stand for because we have these army

27:26.134 --> 27:29.140
values that we all internalized and we

27:29.150 --> 27:31.372
recognize them in another person , even

27:31.372 --> 27:34.430
if we don't have a basis , um , you

27:34.430 --> 27:36.510
know , or personal knowledge of that

27:36.510 --> 27:40.060
person . So I came to West Point

27:40.840 --> 27:44.260
as a psychologist and General Perkins

27:44.270 --> 27:46.492
also mentioned the fact , you know , we

27:46.492 --> 27:48.900
don't , we don't spend a lot of time

27:48.910 --> 27:50.854
measuring this . We think of these

27:50.854 --> 27:53.900
concepts as abstract , but there's

27:53.910 --> 27:56.130
honestly a lot of science and I was

27:56.140 --> 27:59.340
lucky enough towards the end of my

27:59.340 --> 28:02.170
tenure to make the acquaintance of a

28:02.170 --> 28:04.392
renowned developmental scientists named

28:04.392 --> 28:06.780
Rich Lerner . And together we did this

28:06.780 --> 28:09.180
five year longitudinal study on

28:09.180 --> 28:11.236
character development called project

28:11.236 --> 28:13.740
right now where it is the greek word

28:13.740 --> 28:15.930
for excellence . Um , it literally

28:15.930 --> 28:18.560
means like the sharp edge of the sword .

28:18.940 --> 28:21.440
And ultimately this is what we wanted

28:21.440 --> 28:24.260
to develop these kinds of honorable

28:24.260 --> 28:27.670
characteristics uh , in , in

28:27.670 --> 28:30.350
cadets and in the army at large and an

28:30.360 --> 28:33.670
army leadership . Um , over the course

28:33.670 --> 28:36.310
of this five year study , we , we

28:36.310 --> 28:38.420
learned a lot , we validated a lot .

28:38.430 --> 28:41.960
The important thing that we believed

28:41.970 --> 28:44.192
before we started this study and it was

28:44.192 --> 28:47.090
validated in this study is there are no

28:47.100 --> 28:49.890
two individuals that go through this

28:49.890 --> 28:52.112
developmental process in the same way .

28:52.140 --> 28:54.660
So we recruit from all over the country

28:55.040 --> 28:58.550
and we get all different people at all

28:58.550 --> 29:01.370
different levels . Um , and that's okay .

29:01.380 --> 29:03.640
I think a lot of people have this

29:03.650 --> 29:06.300
presumption that character , you either

29:06.300 --> 29:08.356
have it or you don't , I've had this

29:08.356 --> 29:10.078
conversation with cadets in my

29:10.078 --> 29:12.130
classroom that they say West Point

29:12.130 --> 29:14.310
doesn't develop character and as much

29:14.310 --> 29:16.950
as it reveals character and that is not

29:16.950 --> 29:20.890
supported by the science . So we

29:20.890 --> 29:24.350
know That no two people

29:24.940 --> 29:27.870
experience these things in the same way .

29:27.960 --> 29:30.550
The important thing is that we

29:31.540 --> 29:35.440
um identify what

29:35.450 --> 29:36.870
are the most significant

29:36.870 --> 29:38.926
transformational experiences for the

29:38.926 --> 29:42.280
right people at the right time . Um and

29:42.280 --> 29:45.510
that this diversity of character

29:45.510 --> 29:48.110
strengths contributes to these cohesive

29:48.110 --> 29:50.800
teams that everybody brings something

29:50.810 --> 29:53.480
of their of their own . Um and that

29:53.480 --> 29:56.180
some of these things are contagious and

29:56.190 --> 29:58.260
and you know rising tide lifts all

29:58.260 --> 30:01.960
boats . So it's important for us to uh

30:02.740 --> 30:06.140
remember this acronym primed , which is

30:06.160 --> 30:08.271
not in any particular order , it just

30:08.271 --> 30:10.460
spells a word . So these are the these

30:10.460 --> 30:12.470
are the six important factors of

30:12.480 --> 30:14.280
character development and its

30:14.280 --> 30:17.480
prioritization . It's um mentoring

30:17.480 --> 30:20.090
relationships which we know uh those

30:20.090 --> 30:22.760
are those are prevalent in this

30:22.760 --> 30:24.970
environment , It's the eventual

30:24.970 --> 30:28.220
internalization of the values that we

30:28.220 --> 30:31.220
seek to develop in people . It's having

30:31.230 --> 30:34.130
role models readily available and it's

30:34.130 --> 30:37.570
to empower individuals to have these

30:37.570 --> 30:39.930
life experiences and in a safe

30:39.930 --> 30:42.490
environment like the academy to make

30:42.490 --> 30:45.840
mistakes and to grow from it and then

30:45.840 --> 30:48.390
to provide a developmental pedagogy .

30:48.400 --> 30:50.700
And so when um General Williams was

30:50.700 --> 30:53.170
talking about having , pleads reflect

30:53.690 --> 30:56.140
if you think about the three ways that

30:56.150 --> 30:59.100
people learn things in leadership

30:59.100 --> 31:01.560
development , it's by

31:02.440 --> 31:04.750
intellectual training , gaining new

31:04.750 --> 31:07.190
knowledge , taking courses , it's by

31:07.190 --> 31:09.370
having challenging experience such as

31:09.380 --> 31:12.020
going through Beast Barracks or other

31:12.020 --> 31:14.298
leadership opportunities that you have .

31:14.840 --> 31:16.784
But the third leg of that stool is

31:16.784 --> 31:19.690
reflection and by and large it is the

31:19.690 --> 31:21.857
one that is most often overlooked . So

31:21.857 --> 31:23.920
the fact that reflection is now

31:23.920 --> 31:26.440
prioritized I think is a really

31:26.440 --> 31:29.870
positive development ? Um and overall

31:29.870 --> 31:33.730
this idea of measuring what matters .

31:33.740 --> 31:37.320
Um and the kinds of undertakings in the ,

31:37.330 --> 31:39.630
in the sea hag that dr Peterson is in

31:39.630 --> 31:43.180
charge of um I think will make West

31:43.180 --> 31:45.347
Point a role model for the rest of the

31:45.347 --> 31:47.650
army and really helped to propel these

31:47.650 --> 31:50.460
developmental efforts .

31:51.240 --> 31:54.850
And that's well two ,

31:55.640 --> 31:57.862
all of our panel members who think they

31:57.862 --> 32:00.196
set the stage for some good discussions ,

32:00.196 --> 32:02.330
some good questions . I would like to

32:02.330 --> 32:04.441
announce to the audience here that if

32:04.441 --> 32:06.663
you would like to ask a question during

32:06.663 --> 32:08.830
the Q and A , there's some microphones

32:08.830 --> 32:10.941
available , we would be happy to take

32:10.941 --> 32:12.886
those questions . And as you think

32:12.886 --> 32:15.330
about maybe your first one , I'd like

32:15.330 --> 32:18.380
to ask a question of the

32:18.390 --> 32:22.250
Panelist Dr Ryan . So you

32:22.250 --> 32:25.100
mentioned that character is not fixed ,

32:25.110 --> 32:27.530
That character can in fact be developed .

32:27.530 --> 32:29.700
Which is contrary often to what many

32:29.700 --> 32:32.040
people believe , many people believe

32:32.040 --> 32:34.040
that by the time you show up in the

32:34.040 --> 32:36.160
army or at West Point or at college

32:36.170 --> 32:38.180
you're 18 , you have been formed by

32:38.180 --> 32:41.170
your family by your experiences and

32:41.170 --> 32:43.170
your character is just not going to

32:43.170 --> 32:45.226
change that much , The science would

32:45.226 --> 32:47.337
tell us otherwise . And so that's why

32:47.337 --> 32:49.614
we have character development programs .

32:50.340 --> 32:53.720
So I guess I'll ask this question is to

32:53.720 --> 32:57.220
what degree do you think that character

32:57.220 --> 33:00.410
can be changed over a period of four

33:00.410 --> 33:02.299
years ? Like at West Point are we

33:02.299 --> 33:04.630
looking at monumental change ? Are we

33:04.630 --> 33:06.852
looking at gradual change , What do you

33:06.852 --> 33:09.250
think is a most appropriate description ?

33:09.260 --> 33:11.460
So the answer is yes

33:13.150 --> 33:16.360
and it really depends it depends on

33:16.740 --> 33:19.160
what people come in with what kinds of

33:19.160 --> 33:22.320
experiences they have , what kinds of

33:22.320 --> 33:24.376
leaders and role models that they're

33:24.376 --> 33:26.780
exposed to . And so the goal for us

33:26.780 --> 33:30.060
should be to know where people come in

33:30.070 --> 33:33.110
and have a good sense of what would be

33:33.110 --> 33:35.332
the most transformational things . Like

33:35.332 --> 33:38.300
I often um use the example if you get

33:38.300 --> 33:41.080
someone maybe from the inner city ,

33:41.080 --> 33:43.160
grew up in a single family homes ,

33:43.170 --> 33:46.630
socio economically disadvantaged didn't

33:46.640 --> 33:48.980
have the building blocks of somebody

33:48.990 --> 33:52.380
who came from of an affluent suburb to

33:52.380 --> 33:56.190
parents very ah you know

33:56.200 --> 33:58.240
worldly have had a lot of different

33:58.240 --> 34:00.351
experiences around the world . That's

34:00.351 --> 34:02.518
not to say that one of those is better

34:02.518 --> 34:04.684
than the other . It's just to say that

34:04.684 --> 34:07.070
they're different and one has different

34:07.070 --> 34:09.126
strengths than the other one has and

34:09.126 --> 34:11.070
you've got to find the best way to

34:11.070 --> 34:14.280
develop um to develop those strengths

34:14.280 --> 34:17.410
and also help to fill in the gaps . Um

34:17.410 --> 34:20.770
And and you do that by having the

34:20.770 --> 34:22.992
culture , what you said was your second

34:22.992 --> 34:26.250
line of operation sir is

34:26.640 --> 34:29.250
creating those expectations for people

34:29.840 --> 34:32.590
and measuring it on an individual basis

34:32.590 --> 34:35.040
like in an idiot graphic way as opposed

34:35.040 --> 34:37.410
to when we try to average everything .

34:37.420 --> 34:40.830
You know we lose a lot um , in those

34:40.830 --> 34:43.540
measurements . So taking a highly

34:43.540 --> 34:46.450
individualized approach and recognizing

34:46.460 --> 34:48.820
um I say this all the time when I'm

34:48.820 --> 34:52.540
talking to candidates that we

34:52.540 --> 34:55.110
select people . We select really good

34:55.110 --> 34:57.410
people and we make them better . Um ,

34:57.420 --> 35:01.090
so I think understanding that there are

35:01.090 --> 35:03.312
no , you know , there's no bad people ,

35:03.312 --> 35:05.368
there's just the people that haven't

35:05.368 --> 35:07.590
met the right developmental opportunity

35:07.590 --> 35:09.646
and having that kind of mindset that

35:09.646 --> 35:11.701
you , you have an investment and you

35:11.701 --> 35:13.830
want to just continually to help grow

35:13.830 --> 35:17.660
it . So I hope that answer your

35:17.660 --> 35:20.610
question . Yes , I did . Thank you . So

35:20.610 --> 35:23.760
I'd like to ask a question of our two

35:23.760 --> 35:26.050
most senior panelists . So General

35:26.050 --> 35:27.994
Perkins , you mentioned the secret

35:27.994 --> 35:31.650
sauce of character and cohesion and

35:31.660 --> 35:35.460
oftentimes when we hear about

35:35.460 --> 35:37.404
taking care of people , one of the

35:37.404 --> 35:39.349
essential ingredients is a command

35:39.349 --> 35:42.520
climate that allows the secret sauce to

35:42.520 --> 35:45.550
be developed and this command climate

35:45.550 --> 35:47.910
or culture often starts at the senior

35:47.910 --> 35:51.390
levels of the organization or the

35:51.390 --> 35:54.280
institution . So for both General

35:54.280 --> 35:56.710
Perkins and General Williams , I'd like

35:56.710 --> 35:59.180
to hear your thoughts about how do you

35:59.190 --> 36:02.740
establish and maintain a climate

36:03.130 --> 36:06.880
that enhances character enhances trust ?

36:06.890 --> 36:08.946
What are some of the specific things

36:08.946 --> 36:11.168
that you might do to build that in your

36:11.168 --> 36:13.334
organization ? Yeah , great question .

36:13.334 --> 36:16.170
And I um , is this somewhat of a common

36:16.170 --> 36:18.300
question and I would get both when I

36:18.300 --> 36:22.270
was in active duty and even now and as

36:22.270 --> 36:25.920
we talk about this and both the first

36:25.920 --> 36:28.031
Captain , Doctor Ryan , we're talking

36:28.031 --> 36:30.087
about . Sometimes we use these turns

36:30.087 --> 36:31.976
and they seem abstract and we can

36:31.976 --> 36:34.142
overthink it . And I tell people , you

36:34.142 --> 36:36.253
know , becoming a leader of character

36:36.253 --> 36:38.420
and building cohesive teams . It's not

36:38.420 --> 36:40.610
really that hard to figure out , it's

36:40.610 --> 36:42.832
not that difficult to figure out . It's

36:42.832 --> 36:46.150
just hard to do . Those people confuse .

36:46.730 --> 36:48.841
I can't understand that versus well ,

36:48.841 --> 36:50.952
I'm not sure I really want to put all

36:50.952 --> 36:52.674
that into it to do it . And my

36:52.674 --> 36:55.210
experience is that it's not hard to

36:55.210 --> 36:58.690
understand because especially if you're

36:58.690 --> 37:00.857
at the scene because a lot of people ,

37:00.857 --> 37:03.134
well I'm the senior person so you know ,

37:03.134 --> 37:05.246
I've got to get this down through all

37:05.246 --> 37:07.180
these uh different lines of block

37:07.180 --> 37:09.900
diagrams , how is that possible ? And

37:09.900 --> 37:12.160
and my response is it's it's much

37:12.170 --> 37:16.010
easier than you think to influence it

37:16.020 --> 37:19.400
good and back . So warning order , good

37:19.400 --> 37:23.350
and bad because you are always always

37:23.360 --> 37:26.200
being watched . You make your you maybe

37:26.210 --> 37:28.840
give uh huh you know , a command .

37:28.840 --> 37:31.250
Climate discussion in a room like this

37:31.250 --> 37:32.917
and you don't have your whole

37:32.917 --> 37:35.028
organization in there are some people

37:35.028 --> 37:36.972
weren't there and they couldn't be

37:36.972 --> 37:39.083
there . But everybody is watching you

37:39.083 --> 37:42.400
and what you do gets transmitted much

37:42.400 --> 37:44.622
quicker than the official memo , you're

37:44.622 --> 37:46.511
gonna put out on what the command

37:46.511 --> 37:48.456
climate is going to be in our unit

37:48.456 --> 37:50.567
that's posted on the , you know , the

37:50.567 --> 37:52.920
bulletin board and so I tell people you

37:52.920 --> 37:55.540
have to assume everything that comes

37:55.540 --> 37:58.710
your way is an opportunity for you

37:58.710 --> 38:02.060
either to screw up or for you to

38:02.070 --> 38:05.260
embed this positive command , climate ,

38:05.270 --> 38:08.300
this empowerment and build trust with

38:08.300 --> 38:11.030
the organization and usually is a

38:11.030 --> 38:13.660
little bit of counterintuitive is here ,

38:13.670 --> 38:16.450
it is not the big things , it is not

38:16.450 --> 38:18.450
the big things . Why ? Because they

38:18.450 --> 38:20.672
figure you're probably gonna do the big

38:20.672 --> 38:22.394
things , right ? Why ? Because

38:22.394 --> 38:24.617
everyone's looking and you have a staff

38:24.617 --> 38:26.839
and your staff did the course of action

38:26.839 --> 38:28.894
analysis and then you gotta go brief

38:28.894 --> 38:31.117
your boss if it's a big thing your boss

38:31.117 --> 38:33.339
is to sign off on it . So there's a lot

38:33.339 --> 38:35.394
of checks and balances on making bad

38:35.394 --> 38:37.339
big decisions . So I find that big

38:37.339 --> 38:39.339
decisions do not reveal character .

38:39.339 --> 38:41.339
Like you might think they do . It's

38:41.339 --> 38:43.450
those little decisions that you don't

38:43.450 --> 38:45.450
have to run by your boss . It's the

38:45.450 --> 38:47.672
little decisions that don't get staffed

38:47.672 --> 38:49.728
out from the staff or that you think

38:49.728 --> 38:49.430
you can take the shortcut , no one's

38:49.430 --> 38:51.708
going to know . It's sort of like that .

38:51.708 --> 38:53.930
Those are the things that really reveal

38:53.930 --> 38:55.986
the character . Those are the things

38:55.986 --> 38:58.152
that set the tone of your organization

38:58.152 --> 39:00.208
and those are the things that people

39:00.208 --> 39:02.319
pay attention to . In my experience .

39:02.520 --> 39:05.340
Thanks . I agree with General Perkins .

39:05.340 --> 39:07.990
The other thing as I was thinking about

39:07.990 --> 39:10.930
your question and General Perkins hit

39:10.930 --> 39:13.120
on this requires great vigilance . I

39:13.120 --> 39:15.176
mean , you've , you've got to really

39:15.176 --> 39:17.398
work really hard at this , figuring out

39:17.398 --> 39:17.270
what you want to do it ? Yeah , we need

39:17.270 --> 39:20.680
to be an organization that empowers and

39:20.680 --> 39:22.569
builds coaches of teams and build

39:22.569 --> 39:24.680
leader character . But then you gotta

39:24.680 --> 39:27.330
get to work . It's really hard work .

39:27.340 --> 39:29.507
As I talked to my comment , you know ,

39:29.507 --> 39:31.673
I have for those in that familiar with

39:31.673 --> 39:33.840
our structure . I have two generals of

39:33.840 --> 39:35.896
common on Dean and we've elevated dr

39:35.896 --> 39:38.007
Peterson to the level and my athletic

39:38.007 --> 39:40.007
director as well . So the vigilance

39:40.007 --> 39:42.173
required , uh , to get after this is ,

39:42.173 --> 39:44.830
it's quite the investment on weekends

39:44.830 --> 39:46.886
at two o'clock in the morning in the

39:46.886 --> 39:48.997
barracks . It's , it's that sort of ,

39:48.997 --> 39:51.219
how are you checking the checkers ? And

39:51.219 --> 39:53.274
so that's the first thing I'll say .

39:53.274 --> 39:55.441
And then you got to make sure that the

39:55.441 --> 39:57.552
audio matches the video so I can have

39:57.552 --> 39:59.608
all these , you know , I've got five

39:59.608 --> 40:01.663
lines of effort . As I mentioned , I

40:01.663 --> 40:01.430
mentioned two of them , one always

40:01.430 --> 40:03.708
being developed , leaders of character ,

40:03.708 --> 40:06.041
cultivate a culture of character growth .

40:06.041 --> 40:05.680
That's got to get out of the

40:05.680 --> 40:07.902
organization and then you can't whip it

40:07.902 --> 40:10.124
around . You can't have , Okay , well ,

40:10.124 --> 40:12.236
character was this year , Next year .

40:12.236 --> 40:14.569
It's this line of effort . So I've been ,

40:14.569 --> 40:16.624
this is my fourth year here that has

40:16.624 --> 40:18.847
remained , I've done some slight tuning

40:18.847 --> 40:20.736
to them . But those five lines of

40:20.736 --> 40:22.736
effort were developed with my staff

40:22.736 --> 40:24.791
with all the academy staff here very

40:24.791 --> 40:26.791
early when I was here and we review

40:26.791 --> 40:26.720
them from time to time , is this still

40:26.720 --> 40:29.850
have what we need ? Because as General

40:29.850 --> 40:31.850
Perkins talked about it is that the

40:31.850 --> 40:33.683
line of effort isn't the mission

40:33.683 --> 40:35.906
analysis in the course of action we got

40:35.906 --> 40:38.017
that about right sir , we think , but

40:38.017 --> 40:40.128
then , you know , uh some action that

40:40.128 --> 40:41.961
small action that's taken that's

40:41.961 --> 40:44.183
inconsistent or the audio doesn't match

40:44.183 --> 40:46.183
the video . You said your developed

40:46.183 --> 40:48.239
leave your character . But yet I see

40:48.239 --> 40:50.461
that we're doing this here . And so the

40:50.461 --> 40:52.890
ruthless enforcement over time , the

40:52.890 --> 40:55.780
amount of energy that organizational

40:55.780 --> 40:58.002
energy it takes and be vigilant in this

40:58.002 --> 41:00.224
space . It's tough , it's tough work to

41:00.224 --> 41:03.470
do . Um I also think I've us point as

41:03.470 --> 41:05.414
an opportunity , you know , when I

41:05.414 --> 41:07.750
talked to the chief and the secretaries

41:07.750 --> 41:09.917
to skunk works a lot . We can do a lot

41:09.917 --> 41:12.030
of the things and try to scale it for

41:12.030 --> 41:14.086
the army . Got many army leaders who

41:14.086 --> 41:16.030
got division commander , we've got

41:16.030 --> 41:18.197
deputy , you know , all kinds of folks

41:18.197 --> 41:20.390
here . Um And I think we have an

41:20.390 --> 41:22.700
opportunity because we focus on it in a

41:22.700 --> 41:25.110
laboratory sense routinely . You know ,

41:25.110 --> 41:27.870
D A was just up last week , DSM's to

41:27.870 --> 41:30.092
take it . Look , we have an opportunity

41:30.092 --> 41:32.890
to extrapolate out . And I talked to

41:32.900 --> 41:35.011
the basic training cohorts , I talked

41:35.011 --> 41:37.067
to many other cohorts throughout the

41:37.067 --> 41:39.289
army because I don't think this this is

41:39.289 --> 41:41.456
something that's General Izabal . This

41:41.456 --> 41:41.260
isn't something that just works at West

41:41.260 --> 41:44.070
point . Hopefully it works . Leadership

41:44.070 --> 41:46.237
is leadership character developments ,

41:46.237 --> 41:48.459
character development . So I look at as

41:48.459 --> 41:50.570
an opportunity as General Perkin , it

41:50.570 --> 41:50.310
cuts both ways , right ? It could be

41:50.310 --> 41:52.254
really good , it's really bad . So

41:52.254 --> 41:54.032
every opportunity we view as an

41:54.032 --> 41:56.199
opportunity to help not only the , the

41:56.199 --> 41:58.421
corps of cadets at West Point , but the

41:58.421 --> 42:02.420
United States Army , thank

42:02.420 --> 42:04.531
you both the General Perkins engine ,

42:04.531 --> 42:06.587
General Williams for those answers ,

42:07.100 --> 42:09.390
I'd like to ask a question of cadet

42:09.390 --> 42:13.230
pratt and the first captain mentioned

42:13.240 --> 42:15.450
that an important part of the West

42:15.450 --> 42:17.840
Point leader development model is this

42:17.840 --> 42:20.420
idea of learning to be a good follower .

42:21.200 --> 42:23.330
So in the army we often focus on

42:23.330 --> 42:25.441
leadership development , but we don't

42:25.441 --> 42:28.010
often focus on followership development

42:28.020 --> 42:31.750
and what are the important aspects of

42:31.760 --> 42:33.982
being a good follower because those can

42:33.982 --> 42:36.316
be just as important to mission command ,

42:36.316 --> 42:38.482
as good leadership can be important to

42:38.482 --> 42:41.460
mission command . So cadet proud , if

42:41.460 --> 42:43.460
you would explain just maybe give a

42:43.460 --> 42:45.950
couple of examples of why you think as

42:45.950 --> 42:48.006
a cadet leader , that that effort at

42:48.006 --> 42:50.117
followership is important and maybe a

42:50.117 --> 42:52.380
couple of examples of how your

42:52.380 --> 42:54.890
followership transitioned into good

42:54.890 --> 42:56.010
leadership skills .

42:58.200 --> 43:01.080
Absolutely , that's an awesome question

43:01.090 --> 43:04.800
and one that I think is easy to forget

43:04.810 --> 43:08.610
about as you transition into being

43:09.400 --> 43:11.920
an upperclassman and something that I

43:11.920 --> 43:13.976
have to remind myself of a lot and I

43:13.976 --> 43:16.220
know that my peers have to remind

43:16.220 --> 43:18.840
themselves a lot of and that

43:18.840 --> 43:21.380
followership forms the basis of

43:21.390 --> 43:23.870
understanding the people that you're in

43:23.870 --> 43:27.760
charge of and being a follower also

43:27.760 --> 43:30.650
helps you understand the group dynamics

43:30.650 --> 43:32.761
that you are working in that in order

43:32.761 --> 43:34.872
for people to feel like they are part

43:34.872 --> 43:36.706
of a cohesive team . You have to

43:36.706 --> 43:38.761
empower each individual to feel like

43:38.761 --> 43:40.890
they have value in that team in that

43:40.900 --> 43:43.011
organization . And that takes a great

43:43.011 --> 43:45.250
deal of humility and understanding that

43:45.250 --> 43:48.140
your followership is just as essential

43:48.150 --> 43:50.206
as your leadership . That people can

43:50.206 --> 43:52.740
trust you to be there for them and to

43:52.740 --> 43:55.660
support them when it is their turn to

43:55.660 --> 43:57.660
make a decision or when it is their

43:57.660 --> 44:00.420
responsibility to make that decision .

44:01.090 --> 44:03.146
And the first experience that really

44:03.146 --> 44:05.312
comes to mind for me and understanding

44:05.312 --> 44:07.670
that concept was at cadet basic

44:07.680 --> 44:10.270
training . We were going into the land

44:10.270 --> 44:13.020
navigation qualifications and it was a

44:13.030 --> 44:16.540
three day exercise and it poured ranks

44:16.540 --> 44:19.940
68 of the 72 hours . It was absolutely

44:19.950 --> 44:22.200
miserable . It was my first experience

44:22.200 --> 44:24.510
with something like that . And I

44:24.510 --> 44:27.030
remember thinking that it was bad

44:27.040 --> 44:29.096
because I was looking at the port of

44:29.096 --> 44:31.318
poti and seriously considering sleeping

44:31.318 --> 44:33.429
inside of it . I was at that low of a

44:33.429 --> 44:35.651
point and I got really down on myself .

44:35.651 --> 44:37.762
I really started just looking inwards

44:37.762 --> 44:40.010
and I didn't want to do anything that

44:40.020 --> 44:42.670
my chain of command was asking me to do .

44:42.680 --> 44:45.610
And I remember my P . S . G . Pulling

44:45.610 --> 44:48.010
me aside and he was a phenomenal leader

44:48.500 --> 44:52.010
and he said you think you're miserable .

44:52.380 --> 44:55.450
Look at the people around you , look at

44:55.450 --> 44:57.672
your commanders , they're going through

44:57.672 --> 44:59.783
the same exact experience . Your self

44:59.783 --> 45:02.350
pity isn't helping the team here . It's

45:02.360 --> 45:04.690
detracting from the team , it's causing

45:04.690 --> 45:06.690
the team to not be able to function

45:06.690 --> 45:08.770
because if even one person isn't

45:08.770 --> 45:10.980
willing to engage in the exercise that

45:10.980 --> 45:13.180
we're not gonna find that success and

45:13.180 --> 45:15.160
everybody's mood is just going to

45:15.160 --> 45:18.020
continue to downhill spiral . And when

45:18.020 --> 45:19.909
he said that , I immediately felt

45:19.909 --> 45:22.020
ashamed , it's like my poor attitude

45:22.020 --> 45:24.131
was contributing to the poor attitude

45:24.131 --> 45:26.450
of my squad . It just takes that one

45:26.450 --> 45:28.430
person to not want to be a good

45:28.430 --> 45:30.430
follower , to not want to be a good

45:30.430 --> 45:32.374
teammate . That any amount of good

45:32.374 --> 45:34.890
leadership that exists can't change

45:34.890 --> 45:37.460
that cycle necessarily . It's up to

45:37.470 --> 45:39.414
each person of that team to really

45:39.414 --> 45:41.690
contribute to reinforcing that positive

45:41.690 --> 45:44.260
atmosphere and ever since that moment ,

45:44.260 --> 45:46.570
that's kind of my reflection point when

45:46.570 --> 45:48.514
things get really hard . I have to

45:48.514 --> 45:50.681
remember to look around and understand

45:50.681 --> 45:52.903
that it's not just me at the end of the

45:52.903 --> 45:55.126
day , I'm a part of a team and both the

45:55.126 --> 45:57.410
people above me and the people to the

45:57.410 --> 45:59.410
sides of me as well as below me are

45:59.410 --> 46:02.160
relying on me to really understand what

46:02.160 --> 46:04.049
it means to be a part of the full

46:04.049 --> 46:07.780
cohesive build of teamwork and the

46:07.780 --> 46:10.150
second example I would use of that was

46:10.150 --> 46:12.810
actually being in a leadership position

46:12.820 --> 46:15.780
last year was obviously a hard year for

46:15.780 --> 46:17.947
a lot of people covid brought in a lot

46:17.947 --> 46:19.947
of different parameters and for the

46:19.947 --> 46:21.947
core , many of the cadets felt like

46:21.947 --> 46:24.058
they couldn't escape , that they were

46:24.058 --> 46:26.224
just stuck in this constant bubble and

46:26.224 --> 46:28.360
it he came down to us as leaders to

46:28.360 --> 46:30.670
really understand what it meant to help

46:30.680 --> 46:32.680
people understand that that escaped

46:32.680 --> 46:35.070
still did exist and that escape was in

46:35.080 --> 46:38.750
the people around them and a

46:38.750 --> 46:40.910
lot of the underclassmen started to

46:40.910 --> 46:43.580
come into our peer support Councillor

46:43.590 --> 46:46.390
uh within West point in each company ,

46:46.390 --> 46:48.390
we have an individual who serves as

46:48.390 --> 46:50.612
kind of a mental health specialist . Uh

46:50.612 --> 46:53.020
they are somebody that cadets can go to

46:53.030 --> 46:55.910
for mental health advice on how to

46:55.920 --> 46:57.920
overcome difficulties that they are

46:57.920 --> 47:00.750
facing and this individual in my

47:00.750 --> 47:02.790
company started getting a lot of

47:02.790 --> 47:05.150
answers about people , just repeatedly

47:05.150 --> 47:07.261
bringing up challenges that they were

47:07.261 --> 47:09.039
encountering and felt like they

47:09.039 --> 47:10.983
couldn't get over these challenges

47:10.983 --> 47:12.983
because they didn't have any escape

47:12.983 --> 47:15.206
because they felt like they couldn't go

47:15.206 --> 47:17.420
anywhere and my peer support counselor

47:17.420 --> 47:19.340
and I decided to bring in all the

47:19.340 --> 47:22.110
underclassmen and talk to them about

47:22.110 --> 47:24.750
what it meant to set the basis of being

47:24.750 --> 47:27.220
a good follower and what it meant to

47:27.220 --> 47:30.780
understand that overcoming challenges

47:30.850 --> 47:33.860
isn't just an individual activity but a

47:33.860 --> 47:37.830
group activity . And I started sharing

47:37.830 --> 47:39.719
personal experiences and the peer

47:39.719 --> 47:41.663
support councillor started sharing

47:41.663 --> 47:44.100
personal experiences and we understood

47:44.100 --> 47:46.380
in that moment that it wasn't just us

47:46.390 --> 47:48.334
preaching to the choir and what it

47:48.334 --> 47:50.390
meant to be a good follower , but us

47:50.390 --> 47:52.670
also understanding and demonstrating

47:52.670 --> 47:54.980
that we knew what it was like to be a

47:54.980 --> 47:56.680
follower , that we knew their

47:56.680 --> 47:59.140
perspective and understood where they

47:59.140 --> 48:01.990
were coming from and for them that can

48:01.990 --> 48:03.990
show the basis of that trust , they

48:03.990 --> 48:06.710
knew that we had common experiences

48:06.720 --> 48:08.770
that we had overcome that they too

48:08.960 --> 48:11.670
could overcome . And so for me ,

48:11.680 --> 48:13.458
understanding that being a good

48:13.458 --> 48:15.458
follower is about having the common

48:15.458 --> 48:17.650
experience and understanding that you

48:17.650 --> 48:20.380
yourself have value to the organization

48:20.390 --> 48:23.000
really helps the team function because

48:23.010 --> 48:25.290
people have that shared relationship

48:25.300 --> 48:28.150
that they understand where each person

48:28.150 --> 48:30.410
comes from and how each person can

48:30.420 --> 48:32.253
contribute to the organization .

48:33.770 --> 48:35.770
General Birkins , would you like to

48:35.770 --> 48:37.937
Yeah , obviously , why she's the first

48:37.937 --> 48:40.780
captain , She actually made a couple of

48:40.780 --> 48:42.891
points may not better intention , but

48:42.891 --> 48:45.330
it's always there the mark of a great

48:45.330 --> 48:47.330
answer that you can answer multiple

48:47.330 --> 48:49.552
points with it . She built on something

48:49.552 --> 48:51.663
I should have mentioned on your first

48:51.663 --> 48:53.663
question to me . So two things uh ,

48:53.670 --> 48:55.892
That her examples , I think bring forth

48:55.892 --> 48:59.500
one is there is a misperception as

48:59.500 --> 49:01.730
well , that when we look at character

49:01.730 --> 49:03.730
and building cohesive team , that's

49:03.730 --> 49:05.619
that's something like you do when

49:05.619 --> 49:07.730
everything else is done . That's what

49:07.730 --> 49:09.674
you do during the free time you're

49:09.674 --> 49:11.841
gonna do on the weekends , we're going

49:11.841 --> 49:11.570
to have a team building events on the

49:11.570 --> 49:13.980
afternoon . If the weather's good on

49:13.980 --> 49:15.980
and on and on . So it's almost like

49:15.980 --> 49:18.091
it's an optional thing , but when you

49:18.091 --> 49:20.147
really have important things to do ,

49:20.147 --> 49:22.147
you really just got to focus on the

49:22.147 --> 49:24.258
mission , whatever it takes , even if

49:24.258 --> 49:26.424
you're doing in a dysfunctional manner

49:26.424 --> 49:28.536
in the example , gonna give hopefully

49:28.536 --> 49:30.480
dispels that . And then the second

49:30.480 --> 49:32.480
thing um she mentioned was when you

49:32.480 --> 49:34.647
were going through the decision making

49:34.647 --> 49:34.390
process of sleeping in the port of

49:34.390 --> 49:36.990
party , somebody pull or pull you aside

49:36.990 --> 49:39.310
who wasn't my P . S . G . S ? Okay .

49:39.320 --> 49:43.240
Yeah it's hard so um to display

49:43.240 --> 49:46.090
the first point . So I was a

49:46.570 --> 49:50.190
brigade commander in combat . Uh this

49:50.190 --> 49:52.357
was not saturday afternoon during team

49:52.357 --> 49:54.301
building event . And so we were in

49:54.301 --> 49:56.468
combat removing hundreds of miles long

49:56.468 --> 49:58.579
distances and it was at night because

49:58.579 --> 50:00.690
these character tests always occur at

50:00.690 --> 50:02.968
night during bad weather this doctrine .

50:03.590 --> 50:07.470
And so we had a lot going on and then

50:07.470 --> 50:09.750
this one unit , there was a decision

50:09.750 --> 50:11.861
made that I didn't particularly think

50:11.861 --> 50:14.083
was good judgment and then we took some

50:14.083 --> 50:16.306
casualties thankfully no was killed , I

50:16.306 --> 50:18.417
took some casualties and in my combat

50:18.417 --> 50:17.830
vehicles . So you know how you're

50:17.830 --> 50:19.997
listening to regulate the cc , they're

50:19.997 --> 50:22.108
passing this bad information after me

50:22.108 --> 50:23.900
and I'm riding along and so I

50:23.900 --> 50:26.190
immediately pushed to talk less than

50:26.190 --> 50:28.980
one , don't do that . I pushed the talk

50:28.990 --> 50:31.470
and I said some things that were not

50:31.470 --> 50:33.950
particularly positive character uh

50:33.960 --> 50:36.280
genre I would say and they did little

50:36.280 --> 50:40.210
to build cohesion and trust . So

50:40.210 --> 50:42.432
I say that goes with the brigade net of

50:42.432 --> 50:44.599
course whole world here is that I come

50:44.599 --> 50:46.654
back to the task operation center to

50:46.654 --> 50:48.877
talk and I'm walking in and at the door

50:48.877 --> 50:51.410
of the talk was my brigade commanders

50:51.410 --> 50:54.190
are major , might forget excel and they

50:54.200 --> 50:56.311
inside body armor , everything , they

50:56.311 --> 50:58.311
literally physically grabbed me and

50:58.311 --> 51:00.780
pulled me aside and basically said ,

51:01.160 --> 51:03.750
what do you think you're doing ? And I

51:03.750 --> 51:06.280
don't think they've been said , sir , I

51:06.290 --> 51:08.750
said , they said what you just did on

51:08.750 --> 51:10.750
the radio , they said you have just

51:10.750 --> 51:12.528
undercut the confidence of that

51:12.528 --> 51:14.472
commander , it's not like you . So

51:14.472 --> 51:16.639
people think of what happened was this

51:16.639 --> 51:18.639
guy gone nuts or something and what

51:18.639 --> 51:20.528
they're saying is you you've just

51:20.528 --> 51:22.472
destroyed at least those first two

51:22.472 --> 51:24.810
parts of this equation here and they

51:24.810 --> 51:27.390
said , and you have to fix it , right ?

51:27.390 --> 51:29.700
They said you colonel , you have got to

51:29.700 --> 51:31.811
fix this like right now because we're

51:31.811 --> 51:33.811
in the middle of combat were taking

51:33.811 --> 51:36.380
casualties . What you just did has

51:36.380 --> 51:38.491
really undercut cut , you know , like

51:38.491 --> 51:40.658
months of works with building cohesive

51:40.658 --> 51:42.769
team and they were absolutely right .

51:42.769 --> 51:45.650
And you know , luckily I came to my

51:45.650 --> 51:48.610
senses and went over , picked up the

51:48.620 --> 51:50.910
brigade command net and hopefully he

51:50.910 --> 51:52.966
said something that put that back in

51:52.966 --> 51:55.188
place , but back to your first point is

51:55.188 --> 51:57.243
how do you build that and how do you

51:57.243 --> 51:59.410
empower that part of it is you have to

51:59.410 --> 52:01.466
empower your subordinates to come to

52:01.466 --> 52:03.720
you and say , you know , don't sleep in

52:03.720 --> 52:06.310
the quarter party or you know , what

52:06.310 --> 52:08.366
you're doing now is not showing good

52:08.366 --> 52:11.090
character and , and then also say , and

52:11.100 --> 52:13.322
you're the boss and you're the one that

52:13.322 --> 52:15.489
has to fix this , don't you know , I'm

52:15.489 --> 52:17.711
not going to fix , this is the , so I'm

52:17.711 --> 52:17.630
not going to fix this is our major ,

52:17.640 --> 52:20.360
you have got to fix this . Uh , and so

52:20.360 --> 52:22.193
that was a lesson that I started

52:22.193 --> 52:24.360
learning the hard way . Luckily you've

52:24.360 --> 52:26.527
learned as a cadet , you don't have to

52:26.527 --> 52:28.749
wait to your brigade commander , but it

52:28.749 --> 52:28.590
dovetails on what you brought up in .

52:28.590 --> 52:30.312
The other question you asked .

52:36.050 --> 52:38.480
So this question for dr Ryan

52:39.650 --> 52:42.570
this , we talked about how character

52:42.570 --> 52:44.900
can be developed . There are some

52:44.910 --> 52:47.480
additional ways that we can start

52:47.480 --> 52:50.320
measuring character . But is there a

52:50.320 --> 52:52.980
point when you just say

52:53.750 --> 52:55.972
character , the character is not strong

52:55.972 --> 52:59.070
enough and it probably won't be

52:59.070 --> 53:02.960
developed in time and maybe this person

53:02.960 --> 53:06.160
isn't a good fit for the profession .

53:06.160 --> 53:08.380
How do , how do you think about that ?

53:08.380 --> 53:11.530
And as um former commanders , I know

53:11.530 --> 53:13.363
both General Perkins and General

53:13.363 --> 53:15.530
Williams have had to wrestle with this

53:15.530 --> 53:17.641
and think about what kind of criteria

53:17.650 --> 53:20.000
uh , that they consider as they make

53:20.000 --> 53:22.170
some difficult decisions . So Doctor

53:22.170 --> 53:24.740
Ryan . Yeah , I think that you have to

53:24.740 --> 53:28.280
establish when you have a fixed amount

53:28.280 --> 53:32.260
of time and you establish this is

53:32.260 --> 53:35.880
what , what our expectation is to reach

53:35.880 --> 53:38.260
a certain level of development , there

53:38.260 --> 53:42.150
needs to be a decision . Um , and , and

53:42.150 --> 53:43.872
a good assessment of someone's

53:43.872 --> 53:46.020
abilities and if they haven't sort of

53:46.020 --> 53:48.076
met those standards and they haven't

53:48.076 --> 53:50.260
internalized those values then you do

53:50.260 --> 53:52.700
have to come to the realization that it

53:52.710 --> 53:55.200
might not be the best fit and there may

53:55.200 --> 53:58.650
be you know something a person is

53:58.650 --> 54:01.860
better suited for . Um I did want to

54:01.870 --> 54:04.200
make the I didn't want to comment on

54:04.210 --> 54:07.800
general Williams statement about these

54:07.800 --> 54:10.370
things being General Izabal because in

54:10.370 --> 54:12.680
my current day job I spend a lot of

54:12.680 --> 54:15.690
time thinking about you know kind of

54:15.690 --> 54:19.080
sustaining democracy . Um and and I

54:19.090 --> 54:21.470
can't have a panel on character without

54:21.480 --> 54:24.980
quoting to me the number one exemplar

54:24.990 --> 54:27.960
of character in my life are former

54:28.540 --> 54:30.762
uh Distinguished chair for the study of

54:30.762 --> 54:32.707
leadership Francis Hessel been who

54:32.707 --> 54:35.420
coincidentally was the adviser and

54:35.420 --> 54:38.380
mentor to our current sec def and and a

54:38.380 --> 54:41.170
number of army Chiefs of Staff . Um And

54:41.170 --> 54:44.070
she would say um you know the to

54:44.070 --> 54:46.330
sustaining the foundation of our

54:46.340 --> 54:48.173
democracy is based on our public

54:48.173 --> 54:51.280
education system and the U . S .

54:51.280 --> 54:53.280
Military and she would say the army

54:53.280 --> 54:55.336
because we're the oldest service and

54:55.336 --> 54:57.391
both of those things come to meet at

54:57.391 --> 54:59.558
West Point . So she would look at West

54:59.558 --> 55:02.380
Point as the exemplar for the nation

55:02.390 --> 55:06.020
and my concern about character is

55:06.020 --> 55:08.710
what's happening way before people come

55:08.710 --> 55:11.970
to West Point . Um And so

55:12.840 --> 55:15.560
I do agree that that the things that

55:15.560 --> 55:18.620
happen um in the academy obviously are

55:18.620 --> 55:20.620
important for developing leaders of

55:20.620 --> 55:22.842
character . Their general Izabal to the

55:22.842 --> 55:24.509
army , but I also think there

55:24.509 --> 55:26.880
generalize able to the american public .

55:26.890 --> 55:28.946
Um , and we have a duty to do that .

55:30.740 --> 55:32.796
So I know I didn't really answer the

55:32.796 --> 55:34.740
question . I kind of went off on a

55:34.740 --> 55:37.730
tangent , but if I could , you know , I

55:37.740 --> 55:41.680
do it every day in this job and I do

55:41.680 --> 55:44.580
it with our great professors , uh ,

55:44.590 --> 55:46.479
that's why we have former company

55:46.479 --> 55:48.930
battery commanders running our tax ,

55:48.940 --> 55:51.390
our capital companies , the former

55:51.390 --> 55:53.168
battalion commanders , that our

55:53.168 --> 55:55.970
regimental tax , uh , the brigade task

55:55.970 --> 55:58.192
officers , former brigade commander and

55:58.192 --> 56:00.220
so on a comment on . And so , um ,

56:00.230 --> 56:03.230
leadership matters in this space and um ,

56:03.230 --> 56:05.640
commanders have to make , you know ,

56:05.640 --> 56:07.800
it's about transferring risk to the

56:07.800 --> 56:10.620
force , right ? Uh , so Cadet Williams ,

56:10.630 --> 56:12.686
you know , it was in whatever year ,

56:12.686 --> 56:14.908
first year and I've made calls early as

56:14.908 --> 56:17.074
in fact I'm making calls earlier , the

56:17.074 --> 56:19.074
more longer I've been in this job ,

56:19.074 --> 56:21.186
character is that important where I'm

56:21.186 --> 56:23.463
making calls earlier than I would have .

56:23.463 --> 56:25.574
You know , I'm balancing the 47 month

56:25.574 --> 56:27.797
experience . Can Williams get here what

56:27.797 --> 56:29.908
he or she just did . Is it so grave ,

56:29.908 --> 56:31.963
can they not get here in a character

56:31.963 --> 56:34.074
dimension ? Because if they can't get

56:34.074 --> 56:36.160
here , then we're putting soldiers

56:36.160 --> 56:38.271
lives at risk right on the other side

56:38.271 --> 56:40.493
of this , right ? Because you know , my

56:40.493 --> 56:42.438
son who's in 275 right now , if he

56:42.438 --> 56:45.000
wasn't cooked and ready to go , um ,

56:45.000 --> 56:47.210
then , you know , soldiers and our ,

56:47.220 --> 56:49.220
you know come from all of our great

56:49.220 --> 56:52.150
Republic or at risk now and so uh it

56:52.150 --> 56:54.094
comes down a lot . I have a lot of

56:54.094 --> 56:56.206
tough conversations with , you know ,

56:56.206 --> 56:58.261
ted's a former commandant , he knows

56:58.261 --> 57:00.483
that conversations with my dot com , my

57:00.483 --> 57:02.650
dean , my athletic director and I look

57:02.650 --> 57:04.594
at all dimensions . We have a very

57:04.594 --> 57:06.594
comprehensive way . We look at this

57:06.594 --> 57:08.817
holistically . You know , Williams is I

57:08.817 --> 57:10.983
think he'll get here after this year .

57:10.983 --> 57:13.261
You heard the first captain talk about ,

57:13.261 --> 57:13.210
we have a very formal military in a

57:13.210 --> 57:16.860
very formal academic um line of

57:16.860 --> 57:18.804
effort . You know , you go to that

57:18.804 --> 57:20.916
basic training , you go to that field

57:20.916 --> 57:23.027
training all these things and I won't

57:23.027 --> 57:23.000
bore you with the acronym soup here and

57:23.000 --> 57:25.167
then academic pedagogy associated with

57:25.167 --> 57:27.680
our academic pedagogy as well . And

57:27.680 --> 57:29.902
then physically , you know can Williams

57:29.902 --> 57:32.124
are some cadets who come in who are not

57:32.124 --> 57:34.291
quite physically there , but hopefully

57:34.291 --> 57:36.624
you get them there . But character , uh ,

57:36.624 --> 57:38.680
the metrics associated with that are

57:38.680 --> 57:40.847
tougher . We have ways to measure that

57:40.847 --> 57:43.069
as we've talked about a little bit of a

57:43.069 --> 57:45.124
while ago . But a lot of it is , you

57:45.124 --> 57:44.960
know , the commanders in ri right ,

57:44.960 --> 57:47.127
that whole cowboy thing , right ? It's

57:47.127 --> 57:48.904
that's why you put a soup whose

57:48.904 --> 57:50.904
commanded at all levels in here , a

57:50.904 --> 57:53.016
commandant and brigade commander as I

57:53.016 --> 57:55.071
mentioned it . So is there a point ?

57:55.071 --> 57:57.293
Yeah . Um I just made a couple decision

57:57.293 --> 57:59.320
yesterday on a couple cadets who I

57:59.320 --> 58:01.376
don't think can close that gap . And

58:01.376 --> 58:03.598
then when I got out to D . A . Sims and

58:03.598 --> 58:05.542
I go out to the big red one . Uh I

58:05.542 --> 58:07.710
cannot afford the readiness io the

58:07.710 --> 58:09.440
chief and the secretary , as I

58:09.440 --> 58:11.551
mentioned before , 1000 young men and

58:11.551 --> 58:13.718
women of character . And if they can't

58:13.718 --> 58:15.829
get there , if I don't think they can

58:15.829 --> 58:17.996
get there , then we cut sling load and

58:17.996 --> 58:21.970
they go do something else . So so

58:21.970 --> 58:24.960
we'll go ahead and bring the panel to a

58:24.960 --> 58:27.250
close with just a couple of small

58:27.250 --> 58:31.150
things . The first is there is a

58:31.150 --> 58:34.180
constant tension between how much time

58:34.180 --> 58:36.000
you invest in these particular

58:36.000 --> 58:38.880
activities of character development and

58:38.890 --> 58:40.834
then the opportunity cost of other

58:40.834 --> 58:43.330
things that you could be doing . And

58:43.330 --> 58:45.163
the superintendent mentioned the

58:45.163 --> 58:47.920
activity of journaling and this is one

58:47.920 --> 58:51.470
of those examples of investing some

58:51.470 --> 58:53.890
time that some people might think would

58:53.890 --> 58:57.810
be better used for something else . So

58:57.820 --> 59:01.080
the idea on this journaling exercise

59:01.080 --> 59:04.650
was that every every day after dinner

59:05.220 --> 59:08.460
for one hour , the squad leaders would

59:08.460 --> 59:10.980
sit down with the squad , Give the

59:10.980 --> 59:13.390
squad members time to journal in a very

59:13.390 --> 59:16.160
structured way and then take about 30

59:16.160 --> 59:20.150
minutes to discuss that with the squad .

59:21.320 --> 59:23.431
And there was actually quite a bit of

59:23.431 --> 59:25.431
pushback against that . How can you

59:25.431 --> 59:28.030
possibly commit that much time when you

59:28.030 --> 59:30.180
should , you could or should and many

59:30.190 --> 59:32.246
people would say you should be doing

59:32.246 --> 59:34.750
something else with that time but what

59:34.750 --> 59:36.760
it , so what I would like to ask um

59:36.770 --> 59:39.350
both cadet holland and then General

59:39.350 --> 59:41.406
Williams , Cadet holland , could you

59:41.406 --> 59:43.960
describe a little bit how you think

59:43.960 --> 59:47.810
this impacted the incoming class and

59:47.810 --> 59:49.921
then General Williams , you have have

59:49.921 --> 59:51.810
talked several times about leader

59:51.810 --> 59:53.477
development , challenges with

59:53.477 --> 59:55.310
communication and how this might

59:55.310 --> 59:57.366
contribute to overcoming that leader

59:57.366 --> 59:59.532
development challenge . So we'll start

59:59.532 --> 01:00:03.110
with cadet prep . So the cadet basic

01:00:03.110 --> 01:00:06.080
training , uh Commander Donovan Hinton ,

01:00:06.090 --> 01:00:08.130
uh he is one of the regimental

01:00:08.130 --> 01:00:10.352
commanders at CFT so I get to work with

01:00:10.352 --> 01:00:12.630
him all the time and at the start of

01:00:12.630 --> 01:00:14.852
the school year I sat down with him and

01:00:14.852 --> 01:00:16.963
I wanted him to kind of express to me

01:00:16.963 --> 01:00:19.990
how basic training went for cadets and

01:00:19.990 --> 01:00:22.046
specifically how the journaling part

01:00:22.046 --> 01:00:24.212
went because there's something we were

01:00:24.212 --> 01:00:25.990
looking at instituting into the

01:00:25.990 --> 01:00:28.800
academic year and he said that it was

01:00:28.800 --> 01:00:32.300
amazing the reflection piece , he said

01:00:32.300 --> 01:00:35.260
cadets got to see the value in the

01:00:35.260 --> 01:00:38.990
feedback that their squad leaders that

01:00:38.990 --> 01:00:40.990
their platoon sergeants were giving

01:00:40.990 --> 01:00:43.101
them . So it wasn't just an arbitrary

01:00:43.101 --> 01:00:45.580
correction that they were experiencing ,

01:00:45.590 --> 01:00:47.757
they were understanding the why behind

01:00:47.757 --> 01:00:49.923
that correction , Why was it important

01:00:49.923 --> 01:00:52.230
that they reflect on cupping their

01:00:52.230 --> 01:00:54.280
hands on square in their corner or

01:00:54.290 --> 01:00:57.980
something larger , not having the rifle

01:00:57.980 --> 01:01:01.320
on them . And he said that that piece ,

01:01:01.320 --> 01:01:04.230
that component really increased not

01:01:04.240 --> 01:01:06.570
only the connects self awareness and

01:01:06.570 --> 01:01:09.040
how they looked at corrections and

01:01:09.040 --> 01:01:11.207
holding themselves to high standards ,

01:01:11.310 --> 01:01:14.430
but it also helped the cohesion piece

01:01:14.440 --> 01:01:17.430
that cadets were understanding that

01:01:17.440 --> 01:01:19.273
their squad leaders , that their

01:01:19.273 --> 01:01:21.450
platoon sergeants were there to help

01:01:21.450 --> 01:01:23.617
them develop , not there to make their

01:01:23.617 --> 01:01:26.800
lives miserable , not there to create a

01:01:26.800 --> 01:01:28.911
really tough circumstance for them to

01:01:28.911 --> 01:01:31.078
try to fight through , but for them to

01:01:31.078 --> 01:01:33.570
actually understand the importance of

01:01:33.570 --> 01:01:35.930
the profession that they're going into

01:01:36.310 --> 01:01:38.760
and that really stood out to me that

01:01:38.770 --> 01:01:41.250
Donovan had that kind of insight . And

01:01:41.250 --> 01:01:43.790
so this academic year we've instituted

01:01:43.790 --> 01:01:46.870
something called leader books and we're

01:01:46.870 --> 01:01:49.240
starting off small this semester and

01:01:49.240 --> 01:01:51.407
then explaining it next semester , but

01:01:51.407 --> 01:01:53.629
right now , once a month after recall ,

01:01:53.629 --> 01:01:57.160
each company Squad breaks

01:01:57.160 --> 01:01:59.360
out and does a 30 minute reflection

01:01:59.360 --> 01:02:01.193
piece where they sit down in the

01:02:01.193 --> 01:02:03.490
respond to a prompt individually and

01:02:03.490 --> 01:02:05.712
they come back together as the squad to

01:02:05.712 --> 01:02:07.934
talk about that prompt and it's related

01:02:07.934 --> 01:02:09.712
to something that West Point is

01:02:09.712 --> 01:02:11.768
experiencing . So for example , next

01:02:11.768 --> 01:02:13.879
month is going to be Veterans Day and

01:02:13.879 --> 01:02:16.101
so there'll be a prompt associated with

01:02:16.101 --> 01:02:18.212
that and how the core views itself in

01:02:18.212 --> 01:02:21.560
relation to Veterans Day and we think

01:02:21.560 --> 01:02:23.770
that that reflection piece is really

01:02:23.770 --> 01:02:25.770
going to help canete see the bigger

01:02:25.770 --> 01:02:27.937
picture of West Point that they're not

01:02:27.937 --> 01:02:29.770
getting wrapped up in the minute

01:02:29.770 --> 01:02:31.492
minutia of each day , they are

01:02:31.492 --> 01:02:34.020
understanding that each day is

01:02:34.020 --> 01:02:36.280
contributing to them being a better

01:02:36.280 --> 01:02:38.502
leader for the soldiers , that they are

01:02:38.502 --> 01:02:40.724
going to be responsible in the future .

01:02:40.724 --> 01:02:42.947
And so I think that from the class that

01:02:42.947 --> 01:02:46.080
I've seen , they responded with more

01:02:46.080 --> 01:02:49.450
cohesion in their class this year than

01:02:49.450 --> 01:02:51.630
any other class I've seen including my

01:02:51.630 --> 01:02:53.630
own class . It took my class a very

01:02:53.630 --> 01:02:55.574
long time to get close . But their

01:02:55.574 --> 01:02:58.030
class has left off right off the bat ,

01:02:58.040 --> 01:03:00.690
much more cohesive and much more

01:03:00.690 --> 01:03:02.301
accepting of corrections and

01:03:02.301 --> 01:03:04.810
understanding the importance behind

01:03:04.810 --> 01:03:06.921
those corrections that we give them .

01:03:07.800 --> 01:03:09.967
Yeah , I mean I think it's critical to

01:03:09.967 --> 01:03:12.189
building cohesive teams as john Perkins

01:03:12.189 --> 01:03:14.310
character cohesion readiness . I mean

01:03:14.320 --> 01:03:17.370
dr Ryan talked about of this

01:03:17.370 --> 01:03:19.537
transformative process , you can't get

01:03:19.537 --> 01:03:22.930
to tailored individual transforming

01:03:22.930 --> 01:03:24.874
their process to let you know what

01:03:24.874 --> 01:03:27.280
Williams is about . And you know we do

01:03:27.290 --> 01:03:29.346
really good job of bringing folks in

01:03:29.346 --> 01:03:31.640
the army from civilian life and going

01:03:31.640 --> 01:03:33.807
through this very structured process .

01:03:34.100 --> 01:03:36.790
But until they sort of and cut it basic

01:03:36.790 --> 01:03:38.957
training for the nine graduates , it's

01:03:38.957 --> 01:03:41.068
intense and couldn't feel training is

01:03:41.068 --> 01:03:43.234
intense and our other experiences that

01:03:43.234 --> 01:03:45.346
we have , the summer training is very

01:03:45.346 --> 01:03:47.512
very intense under a lot of pressure .

01:03:47.512 --> 01:03:49.740
Um And so I thought and it's just

01:03:49.740 --> 01:03:51.851
really borrowing from the army , it's

01:03:51.851 --> 01:03:53.907
it's sort of a glorified a our press

01:03:53.907 --> 01:03:56.018
will be doing a a a a . R . Process ,

01:03:56.018 --> 01:03:57.796
we sit down and talk about what

01:03:57.796 --> 01:03:59.962
happened , what should have happened .

01:03:59.962 --> 01:04:01.851
And so it also brings in the team

01:04:01.851 --> 01:04:03.962
leader , the squad leader . I asked a

01:04:03.962 --> 01:04:06.129
couple of uh of seniors who were going

01:04:06.129 --> 01:04:08.407
out , they were going out to C . B . T .

01:04:08.407 --> 01:04:10.573
He said , so we're not sure about this

01:04:10.573 --> 01:04:12.684
whole journaling thing and you know ,

01:04:12.684 --> 01:04:14.684
they hadn't gone through it and you

01:04:14.684 --> 01:04:16.851
know , there's sort of pushing back on

01:04:16.851 --> 01:04:18.907
it . And I said , okay bear , I want

01:04:18.907 --> 01:04:20.962
you to write me a note at the end of

01:04:20.962 --> 01:04:23.018
the summer and tell me how it went .

01:04:23.018 --> 01:04:25.073
They were transformed more than then

01:04:25.073 --> 01:04:27.129
the police because it forced them to

01:04:27.129 --> 01:04:29.129
get to the left and engage . Let me

01:04:29.129 --> 01:04:31.073
give you an example of some of the

01:04:31.073 --> 01:04:30.680
graduates in the room will understand

01:04:30.680 --> 01:04:32.569
us . Uh , you know , in the first

01:04:32.569 --> 01:04:34.624
couple of days hours , the first day

01:04:34.624 --> 01:04:36.791
actually it required report to the man

01:04:36.791 --> 01:04:39.210
and woman in the red sash and and you

01:04:39.210 --> 01:04:42.150
know , have all this exchange of uh

01:04:42.160 --> 01:04:44.327
information . I'll just say that way .

01:04:44.327 --> 01:04:46.216
It's usually a one way we haven't

01:04:46.216 --> 01:04:48.327
thrown that out . Those processes are

01:04:48.327 --> 01:04:50.493
still there . However , instead of hey

01:04:50.493 --> 01:04:52.604
Williams , you messed up , go back to

01:04:52.604 --> 01:04:54.771
him and figured out the team leader is

01:04:54.771 --> 01:04:56.938
a couple of meters behind there said ,

01:04:56.938 --> 01:04:59.271
hey team leader , go retrain refit this ,

01:04:59.271 --> 01:04:59.260
this Williams and tell them to get it

01:04:59.260 --> 01:05:01.840
right and he's not right until you help

01:05:01.840 --> 01:05:03.960
him get it right . So we brought this

01:05:03.960 --> 01:05:06.910
sense of cohesion down to the left here

01:05:07.290 --> 01:05:09.234
like we never had before this last

01:05:09.234 --> 01:05:11.390
summer was transformative that way we

01:05:11.390 --> 01:05:13.612
were able to expose a little bit more .

01:05:13.612 --> 01:05:17.210
And I would offer finally um the , you

01:05:17.210 --> 01:05:19.154
know , the chief talks about these

01:05:19.154 --> 01:05:21.154
corrosive that are out there and we

01:05:21.154 --> 01:05:23.099
have them at West Point , we are a

01:05:23.099 --> 01:05:26.080
microcosm of the army . Uh you can ,

01:05:26.090 --> 01:05:28.146
whatever they are , you know them as

01:05:28.146 --> 01:05:30.090
well as I do and I think until you

01:05:30.090 --> 01:05:32.312
really get to know folks and understand

01:05:32.312 --> 01:05:34.368
what makes them tick now we'll still

01:05:34.368 --> 01:05:36.590
have trust me . This was just there was

01:05:36.590 --> 01:05:38.812
a beast , there was CFT and these young

01:05:38.812 --> 01:05:41.930
men and women uh they grew a lot but

01:05:41.930 --> 01:05:43.870
now I will tell you they expect a

01:05:43.870 --> 01:05:46.037
little bit more , they expect you to ,

01:05:46.037 --> 01:05:48.092
you know , sort of okay , my name is

01:05:48.092 --> 01:05:50.148
Williams and I'm from Virginia and I

01:05:50.148 --> 01:05:52.314
need you know here are sort of sort of

01:05:52.314 --> 01:05:54.481
things and we're not we're not bending

01:05:54.481 --> 01:05:54.480
or getting softer but it allows us to

01:05:54.480 --> 01:05:57.270
build cohesive teams like we never had

01:05:57.270 --> 01:05:59.326
before . It's very at its infant but

01:05:59.330 --> 01:06:01.552
infancy , but I think it's got a lot of

01:06:01.552 --> 01:06:05.430
room for growth there . Well ,

01:06:05.440 --> 01:06:08.160
thank you sir , thank you Hollande

01:06:08.160 --> 01:06:11.080
appreciate that answer . What I'd like

01:06:11.080 --> 01:06:13.470
to do is our final event for the panel

01:06:13.470 --> 01:06:15.192
is allow each panel is just an

01:06:15.192 --> 01:06:17.610
opportunity for some closing comments

01:06:17.610 --> 01:06:19.750
and we'll go in the reverse order of

01:06:19.750 --> 01:06:21.861
the opening comments . So Doctor Ryan

01:06:21.861 --> 01:06:25.600
will start with you , thank you . Um

01:06:26.280 --> 01:06:28.840
So I'm not a graduate but identify as a

01:06:28.840 --> 01:06:31.062
West pointer and having the opportunity

01:06:31.062 --> 01:06:33.460
to talk about this makes my heart grow

01:06:33.460 --> 01:06:35.640
about four sizes . Um Sorry like the

01:06:35.650 --> 01:06:38.030
grinch , you like the grinch so I

01:06:38.040 --> 01:06:41.070
really appreciate it , appreciative for

01:06:41.070 --> 01:06:44.110
this opportunity . Um You know I've

01:06:44.110 --> 01:06:47.750
seen a lot over the last 14

01:06:47.750 --> 01:06:51.140
years . I'm really proud of the efforts

01:06:51.140 --> 01:06:53.630
that the academy is undertaking . I'm

01:06:53.630 --> 01:06:55.750
really appreciative of how they're

01:06:55.750 --> 01:06:58.840
prioritizing um how they're

01:06:58.840 --> 01:07:01.710
creating this culture for people to

01:07:01.710 --> 01:07:04.350
thrive in how they are continuing to

01:07:04.350 --> 01:07:06.461
develop leaders of character and most

01:07:06.461 --> 01:07:10.030
importantly um how they are developing

01:07:10.040 --> 01:07:13.770
evidence that is hopefully General

01:07:13.770 --> 01:07:16.820
Izabal . So we will continue to improve

01:07:16.830 --> 01:07:19.020
spread these things out into the army

01:07:19.030 --> 01:07:22.380
and ultimately into society you know

01:07:22.390 --> 01:07:24.810
for for a long term benefits And I just

01:07:24.810 --> 01:07:27.420
feel compelled to give a shout out . So

01:07:27.420 --> 01:07:29.642
in the course of this five year project

01:07:29.780 --> 01:07:32.058
we're able to bring it to its students .

01:07:32.058 --> 01:07:35.120
Um Many of them that have gone back out

01:07:35.120 --> 01:07:37.120
into actually all of them that have

01:07:37.120 --> 01:07:39.240
either gone back out into the army or

01:07:39.250 --> 01:07:41.640
um civilians that have come into the

01:07:41.640 --> 01:07:45.370
army to serve on C . X . Staff . And

01:07:45.380 --> 01:07:47.600
one of them , Colonel Chevy Cook is

01:07:47.600 --> 01:07:50.170
sitting here and there's uh about eight

01:07:50.180 --> 01:07:54.070
others uh that are all trained in

01:07:54.070 --> 01:07:56.490
these methods and uh and we'll be able

01:07:56.500 --> 01:08:00.130
to lend their intellectual um talents

01:08:00.130 --> 01:08:02.680
to furthering the cause . And so the

01:08:02.680 --> 01:08:06.560
army is in good hands . Thank you

01:08:06.560 --> 01:08:09.080
for the opportunity . Talk about this .

01:08:13.370 --> 01:08:15.940
Even just sitting up on this panel

01:08:15.950 --> 01:08:18.790
today I've been reflecting more on Wild

01:08:18.790 --> 01:08:20.790
West Point has done for me and what

01:08:20.790 --> 01:08:24.780
I've learned from West Point and all I

01:08:24.780 --> 01:08:26.947
can say is that I'm extremely grateful

01:08:26.947 --> 01:08:29.169
for the opportunity and I know that I'm

01:08:29.169 --> 01:08:31.336
just going to continue to grow through

01:08:31.336 --> 01:08:33.502
my experiences in the operational army

01:08:33.502 --> 01:08:35.669
and throughout the rest of this year .

01:08:35.669 --> 01:08:37.669
And I think that's the beauty about

01:08:37.669 --> 01:08:39.724
when we talk about character is just

01:08:39.724 --> 01:08:42.150
like with physical training , just like

01:08:42.160 --> 01:08:44.660
with military knowledge and tactics and

01:08:44.660 --> 01:08:46.716
strategy . It's never something that

01:08:46.716 --> 01:08:48.882
we're fully going to master , but it's

01:08:48.882 --> 01:08:50.660
always something that we get to

01:08:50.660 --> 01:08:52.716
continuously work on . And there's a

01:08:52.716 --> 01:08:54.716
special kind of pride and ownership

01:08:54.716 --> 01:08:56.716
that I think both as leaders and as

01:08:56.716 --> 01:09:00.080
members of teams , we get to really own

01:09:00.090 --> 01:09:03.330
and practice each day . And so I'm just

01:09:03.340 --> 01:09:05.507
thankful to have the opportunity to be

01:09:05.507 --> 01:09:07.673
up here today to speak and engage with

01:09:07.673 --> 01:09:09.930
leaders who have inspired me and who I

01:09:09.930 --> 01:09:12.510
get to continue to learn from over the

01:09:12.510 --> 01:09:14.732
rest of my life . So thank you for your

01:09:14.732 --> 01:09:17.740
time today . People . First winning

01:09:17.740 --> 01:09:21.730
matters . Um , multiple operations

01:09:21.730 --> 01:09:25.210
are ambiguous . Their complex . Uh ,

01:09:25.220 --> 01:09:27.276
the young men and women , 1000 young

01:09:27.276 --> 01:09:29.442
men and women every year will graduate

01:09:29.442 --> 01:09:31.930
from West Point and those formations

01:09:31.940 --> 01:09:34.970
all over the world win win because

01:09:34.970 --> 01:09:37.290
there are leaders of care . Uh ,

01:09:37.300 --> 01:09:39.467
they'll win because they're physically

01:09:39.467 --> 01:09:41.300
foot because they're disciplined

01:09:41.300 --> 01:09:43.356
because they're trained because they

01:09:43.356 --> 01:09:45.467
have a great army started with them .

01:09:45.467 --> 01:09:47.960
It's tough . All those calls , john

01:09:47.960 --> 01:09:49.910
Perkins talked about it all . It

01:09:49.910 --> 01:09:52.077
probably production . These calls were

01:09:52.077 --> 01:09:54.188
made at two o'clock in the morning in

01:09:54.188 --> 01:09:56.354
the sandstorm in the corner of the map

01:09:56.354 --> 01:09:58.521
you can't you don't know what the name

01:09:58.521 --> 01:09:58.450
of the town is . You all have been

01:09:58.450 --> 01:10:00.880
there like I have and I'll tell you

01:10:01.260 --> 01:10:04.320
characterises in those moments we need

01:10:04.320 --> 01:10:06.650
them to rise in that moment and that's

01:10:06.650 --> 01:10:08.706
what we're about . The United States

01:10:08.706 --> 01:10:10.872
Military Academy . Those are immutable

01:10:10.872 --> 01:10:12.761
constructs that'll that have been

01:10:12.761 --> 01:10:15.290
standing since 18 oh two . Well 23 02

01:10:15.290 --> 01:10:19.170
and 25 oh two . So Leadership matters .

01:10:19.170 --> 01:10:21.190
Character matters . Thank you .

01:10:23.360 --> 01:10:26.230
I you offer the opportunity to be up

01:10:26.230 --> 01:10:29.480
here and it did not disappoint as to

01:10:29.480 --> 01:10:31.536
the depth of the conversation here .

01:10:31.536 --> 01:10:33.647
You know , I've been to a lot of that

01:10:33.647 --> 01:10:35.869
forms like a lot of you have and you're

01:10:35.869 --> 01:10:39.370
saying and been down the display before

01:10:39.380 --> 01:10:41.102
and you know people talk about

01:10:41.102 --> 01:10:43.213
readiness and then they always get to

01:10:43.213 --> 01:10:45.436
the bottom line resource , right can we

01:10:45.436 --> 01:10:47.491
afford this ? People have to achieve

01:10:47.491 --> 01:10:49.658
that And then they want to know , well

01:10:49.658 --> 01:10:51.602
what are the resources towards the

01:10:51.602 --> 01:10:53.769
network , how many billions of dollars

01:10:53.769 --> 01:10:55.991
here and next generation combat vehicle

01:10:55.991 --> 01:10:58.047
and on and on on . And you know , if

01:10:58.047 --> 01:11:00.102
the answer is not x billions they're

01:11:00.102 --> 01:11:02.310
gonna say well not really important

01:11:02.310 --> 01:11:03.866
because you're not spending

01:11:06.360 --> 01:11:09.990
billions is up . They're ready . The

01:11:09.990 --> 01:11:12.046
good news about so you know we don't

01:11:12.046 --> 01:11:14.990
palm for dirt . Okay , it's not in the

01:11:14.990 --> 01:11:17.140
budget process so you don't have to

01:11:17.150 --> 01:11:19.317
find like that . But then in some ways

01:11:19.317 --> 01:11:21.650
you say , well if you don't palm for it .

01:11:21.650 --> 01:11:23.650
If you don't budget for it , then I

01:11:23.650 --> 01:11:27.190
guess characters , I would say that the

01:11:27.210 --> 01:11:30.200
other thing is priceless , but the

01:11:30.200 --> 01:11:33.440
other part about that is everything

01:11:33.440 --> 01:11:36.260
else that we look for and then we pay

01:11:36.260 --> 01:11:39.520
for , there's a constraint on , okay ,

01:11:39.530 --> 01:11:41.660
there's a limit to it . I could have

01:11:41.660 --> 01:11:44.350
gone chief division age if I want my

01:11:44.360 --> 01:11:47.110
tank platoons to have fire tanks , no

01:11:47.120 --> 01:11:49.380
fucking everyone we don't

01:11:50.560 --> 01:11:52.560
75 , everyone else is where you get

01:11:52.560 --> 01:11:54.690
along for when it comes to character

01:11:55.060 --> 01:11:57.600
being a leader in developing piece of

01:11:57.610 --> 01:11:59.777
teams , there's no limit to that . You

01:11:59.777 --> 01:12:01.888
can have as much character as you can

01:12:01.888 --> 01:12:04.130
handle . Okay , you can have all you as

01:12:04.130 --> 01:12:06.310
much positive leadership as your that

01:12:06.310 --> 01:12:09.280
can take the the only limiting factor

01:12:09.290 --> 01:12:11.512
on character and positive leadership to

01:12:11.512 --> 01:12:13.457
develop cohesive teams is how much

01:12:13.457 --> 01:12:15.790
energy effort you are willing to put in .

01:12:15.790 --> 01:12:19.750
So you are the only limiting factor on

01:12:19.750 --> 01:12:21.980
your own personal character and you are

01:12:21.980 --> 01:12:23.758
the only limiting factor on how

01:12:23.758 --> 01:12:25.900
cohesive your team is because no one

01:12:25.900 --> 01:12:28.030
else has a say in it . So that's the

01:12:28.030 --> 01:12:30.070
good news about it . So thanks for

01:12:30.070 --> 01:12:32.126
letting me be a part of this and and

01:12:32.126 --> 01:12:34.181
thank you all for spending time this

01:12:34.181 --> 01:12:36.370
has happened . Well , thank you to all

01:12:36.370 --> 01:12:38.314
the panelists , I think this was a

01:12:38.314 --> 01:12:40.481
great discussion on a really important

01:12:40.481 --> 01:12:43.270
topic uh and I hope we leave today

01:12:43.270 --> 01:12:45.548
understand the importance of character ,

01:12:45.548 --> 01:12:47.490
how it's related to cohesion and

01:12:47.490 --> 01:12:50.050
through cohesion impacts readiness . So

01:12:50.060 --> 01:12:52.171
thank you to all of our panel members

01:12:52.171 --> 01:12:54.116
if you would join me in a round of

01:12:54.116 --> 01:12:57.480
applause . Yeah , Well , okay ,

01:13:00.050 --> 01:13:02.383
thank you very much for your attendance ,

01:13:02.383 --> 01:13:04.494
and we hope you enjoy the rest of the

01:13:04.494 --> 01:13:03.860
conference .