WEBVTT 00:06.780 --> 00:08.960 The first episode of S MS fireside 00:08.970 --> 00:11.939 chats is welcome to the army S here . 00:12.069 --> 00:14.347 Can you tell us a bit about that ? Yes . 00:14.347 --> 00:16.809 So , uh the of the army joined the 00:16.819 --> 00:20.010 joined in 1987 was stationed at Fort 00:20.020 --> 00:22.549 Lewis in 1988 . So on a recent trip 00:22.559 --> 00:24.448 there , it's now joint base Lewis 00:24.448 --> 00:26.549 mccord . We talked with a lot of new 00:26.559 --> 00:28.700 soldiers just about the importance of 00:28.709 --> 00:30.820 being welcomed into an organization , 00:30.820 --> 00:33.042 good reception and integration . And we 00:33.042 --> 00:35.665 also have talked to initial entry 00:35.674 --> 00:37.674 training soldiers . So you'll see a 00:37.674 --> 00:39.896 little bit of this town hall . Look and 00:39.896 --> 00:42.007 then also some of us out talking with 00:42.007 --> 00:44.118 initial entry training soldiers about 00:44.118 --> 00:46.230 their expectations and what surprised 00:46.230 --> 00:48.396 them and maybe what didn't . So I hope 00:48.396 --> 00:50.790 you all enjoy . So we're , I'm actually 00:50.799 --> 00:52.910 here for two reasons . You know , any 00:52.910 --> 00:54.799 time I get out of the Pentagon is 00:54.799 --> 00:56.966 really awesome . Like , yeah , I'm out 00:57.139 --> 01:00.200 uh major in the army . So 01:00.880 --> 01:03.250 nice to meet you too . I got , I got 01:03.259 --> 01:05.481 two quick questions . I always want , I 01:05.481 --> 01:07.559 love to ask . The first question is 01:08.260 --> 01:10.879 what didn't surprise you about the army ? 01:11.739 --> 01:15.639 So you came in and you saw something 01:15.650 --> 01:17.872 you said ? Yeah , it's just like that . 01:17.872 --> 01:20.970 Ok . But , and then the second was what 01:20.980 --> 01:23.202 surprised you ? Let's go with the first 01:23.202 --> 01:25.290 one first . What didn't surprise you 01:25.550 --> 01:29.440 didn't , you got yell a lot ? You 01:29.449 --> 01:32.699 must have been trouble . Ok . There's 01:32.709 --> 01:35.510 no problem . I was a troublemaker too . 01:35.519 --> 01:38.970 Just so , you know , the uniformity . 01:38.980 --> 01:40.924 Yeah , because we all got the same 01:40.924 --> 01:43.147 uniform . That's kind of cool . Right . 01:43.147 --> 01:45.480 You , you saw that in the pictures ? Ok . 01:45.480 --> 01:47.813 Good , good . What did not surprise you ? 01:47.813 --> 01:51.760 OK . Uh That 01:51.769 --> 01:53.930 didn't surprise you . What didn't 01:53.940 --> 01:57.870 surprise me was the diversity with 01:57.879 --> 01:59.370 the uniformity ? Like 02:01.379 --> 02:03.970 the , how diverse it is ? Yeah . How 02:04.029 --> 02:07.860 uniform we are . OK . So it 02:07.870 --> 02:09.926 didn't surprise you that we are , we 02:09.926 --> 02:12.389 have diversity in the army . OK . OK . 02:12.889 --> 02:15.056 Oh It didn't surprise me is , it feels 02:15.059 --> 02:17.170 like a big community and a big family 02:17.170 --> 02:19.610 that I have the sense of belonging , a 02:19.740 --> 02:22.169 sense of belonging . OK . Good . So 02:22.179 --> 02:25.690 what didn't surprise you coming in ? I 02:25.699 --> 02:29.619 expected C Os and officers to be the 02:29.630 --> 02:32.509 best leaders and they were , they are . 02:32.520 --> 02:34.353 Oh , good . I like that answer . 02:34.679 --> 02:38.350 Where's my coin guy ? So I like that . 02:38.360 --> 02:41.470 Have you ever gotten a coin before ? OK . 02:41.479 --> 02:43.860 So I'm gonna shake your hand and my 02:43.869 --> 02:46.036 hand is the coin and you're gonna take 02:46.036 --> 02:48.147 the coin . If you drop it , you gotta 02:48.147 --> 02:50.202 do push ups . If I drop it , I'll do 02:50.202 --> 02:53.270 push ups . You ready ? No , I don't 02:53.330 --> 02:55.330 know . Just reach over and grab the 02:55.330 --> 02:57.663 coin there . You go . There you go . Ok . 03:00.800 --> 03:04.740 Ok . So you , you already 03:04.750 --> 03:06.861 showed up to five plus , by the way . 03:06.861 --> 03:09.028 So now we're gonna start , we'll go in 03:09.028 --> 03:11.610 reverse order now . So , but what 03:11.619 --> 03:15.080 surprised you ? The difference between 03:15.089 --> 03:17.679 a at and , uh , so far between a , at 03:17.690 --> 03:20.630 and basic training , how basic training 03:20.639 --> 03:24.070 you , you , they show you how you here 03:24.080 --> 03:27.589 like more in general shoulder stuff and 03:27.600 --> 03:29.656 then once it gets the 18 , you still 03:29.656 --> 03:31.822 have the mentality of , oh , I need to 03:31.822 --> 03:34.044 do and stuff and it's a little bit more 03:34.044 --> 03:36.211 relaxed because it's based now on your 03:36.500 --> 03:39.779 end . But they still will , uh , try 03:39.789 --> 03:41.845 and keep them . But I shoulder now I 03:41.845 --> 03:44.011 have to continue to do everything that 03:44.011 --> 03:46.122 we were taught in basics , but it was 03:46.122 --> 03:49.309 more like on the controlled side , not 03:49.320 --> 03:52.210 just yelling at you that surprised you 03:52.320 --> 03:54.431 thought we were going to keep yelling 03:54.431 --> 03:56.598 at you . And I , I can , I can yell at 03:56.598 --> 03:58.770 you if you want . Uh , it really 03:58.779 --> 04:01.001 surprised me that how , like , how much 04:01.001 --> 04:03.112 like college a it is . I mean , I was 04:03.112 --> 04:05.335 going to college for this art major and 04:05.335 --> 04:07.446 it was , I mean , it was kind of like 04:07.446 --> 04:09.612 this . I mean , I , I'd go to football 04:09.612 --> 04:11.668 practice , I , you know , go back to 04:11.668 --> 04:13.779 school and go back to my , you know , 04:13.779 --> 04:15.890 my , my room , it's a lot like this . 04:15.890 --> 04:17.946 So you go to PT , then you can learn 04:17.946 --> 04:20.440 this and go back . OK . I've never 04:20.450 --> 04:22.450 actually heard that . That's pretty 04:22.450 --> 04:24.769 good . Ok . Well , surprise me . 04:24.779 --> 04:26.890 Sergeant major is how close I came to 04:26.890 --> 04:29.429 the people around me , my class . Uh , 04:29.440 --> 04:31.662 I feel like everyone here , brothers to 04:31.662 --> 04:33.890 me and I feel like I can talk to any of 04:33.899 --> 04:36.066 them like I would , any of my family . 04:36.066 --> 04:38.232 I didn't expect that one . Ok . Good . 04:38.232 --> 04:41.910 That , that will last a lifetime . Uh , 04:41.920 --> 04:44.739 my , uh , there are guys I went to 04:44.750 --> 04:48.190 basic training with , um , they will be 04:48.200 --> 04:51.420 at my retirement ceremony in August and 04:51.429 --> 04:53.589 I've been in the army for 35 years . 04:53.899 --> 04:56.820 Most of them have gotten out . Uh and 04:56.829 --> 04:59.051 they're all like , we're coming to your 04:59.051 --> 05:01.540 house like , please don't . No , it's 05:01.549 --> 05:03.549 good because we were , we all start 05:03.549 --> 05:06.260 revert back to like private mode . So 05:06.290 --> 05:08.450 it's like because we're all privacy . 05:08.510 --> 05:12.109 Ok ? But that so far for me that's 05:12.119 --> 05:15.200 lasted . Um my , my entire life after 05:15.209 --> 05:17.579 basic journey , it surprised me . It 05:17.589 --> 05:19.756 was kind of how easy it is to adapt to 05:19.756 --> 05:21.811 a different surrounding . You know , 05:21.811 --> 05:24.399 you come from home , come from being , 05:24.410 --> 05:26.521 you know , around family , getting to 05:26.521 --> 05:28.688 do what you want , what you want to go 05:28.688 --> 05:30.799 in here to being where you're told to 05:30.799 --> 05:32.966 be doing what you're told to do . Ok ? 05:32.966 --> 05:35.077 But you adapted very quickly and that 05:35.077 --> 05:37.021 surprised you . I don't know where 05:37.021 --> 05:39.243 you're from . My , my kids don't get to 05:39.243 --> 05:39.029 go where they want and do what they 05:39.040 --> 05:41.529 want , right ? Because dad's in the 05:41.540 --> 05:43.709 army , they can't , now they're in 05:43.720 --> 05:46.989 college . But I have to say that , uh , 05:47.910 --> 05:50.077 I think what surprised me the most was 05:50.077 --> 05:52.132 how much I actually enjoyed being in 05:52.132 --> 05:55.640 the army . You didn't think you were 05:55.649 --> 05:57.538 gonna enjoy it . This is gonna be 05:57.538 --> 05:59.538 miserable for like four years . You 05:59.538 --> 06:03.459 just got to gut it out . But , um , 06:03.809 --> 06:05.865 I've met a lot of friends throughout 06:05.865 --> 06:07.920 the , the little journey I've had so 06:07.920 --> 06:10.031 far and I look forward to serving the 06:10.031 --> 06:13.679 rest of my contract . Ok . Uh , I can , 06:13.690 --> 06:15.890 I can tell you that , uh , even if I 06:15.899 --> 06:18.489 had just gotten out with two years , um , 06:18.500 --> 06:20.611 I would have had some of the greatest 06:20.611 --> 06:22.679 experiences of my life in the army . 06:22.820 --> 06:25.042 That's at one duty station . Now , I've 06:25.042 --> 06:27.209 got like a billion . I don't even know 06:27.209 --> 06:29.209 how many I stopped counting after a 06:29.209 --> 06:31.350 while . Um , so I think that's one of 06:31.359 --> 06:33.260 those things that I think most 06:33.269 --> 06:35.399 Americans , you know , later in their 06:35.410 --> 06:37.743 life they didn't join the military . Go , 06:37.743 --> 06:39.743 oh , I wish I'd done that . So they 06:39.743 --> 06:41.940 never build that sense of camaraderie 06:41.950 --> 06:44.117 that you're talking about . They never 06:44.117 --> 06:46.440 had that . And then , you know , all 06:46.450 --> 06:48.820 the stuff that you'll get to do , you 06:48.920 --> 06:51.198 know , you get to work on a helicopter , 06:51.198 --> 06:53.799 you get to fly in a helicopter and we , 06:53.809 --> 06:56.031 we army , we just take it for granted , 06:56.031 --> 06:58.198 just like , yeah , that's what we do . 06:58.198 --> 07:00.031 So , like , I , I flew here on a 07:00.031 --> 07:02.142 helicopter but how many people really 07:02.142 --> 07:04.142 get to fly in a helicopter in their 07:04.142 --> 07:06.880 lifetime . Um , and then , you know , 07:06.890 --> 07:09.112 I've been really lucky . I , I flew out 07:09.112 --> 07:11.600 of DC in a helicopter . You're , you 07:11.609 --> 07:13.609 know , flying over DC . And this is 07:13.609 --> 07:15.831 like , amazing . It's like the greatest 07:15.831 --> 07:17.942 thing . It's like , wow , it's really 07:17.942 --> 07:20.053 cool . We're like taking photos , you 07:20.053 --> 07:19.390 know , and I live there . It's kind of 07:19.399 --> 07:22.959 creepy . Uh But each , I think , uh 07:22.970 --> 07:25.170 hopefully each experience you have , 07:25.179 --> 07:27.235 maybe you'll stay longer , maybe you 07:27.235 --> 07:29.540 don't . And , um , I just appreciate 07:29.549 --> 07:31.827 that you , you joined and I think , um , 07:31.920 --> 07:34.087 at the end you'll be really happy that 07:34.087 --> 07:33.959 you did . 07:39.670 --> 07:41.929 So I surprise you . It was good . Like 07:42.079 --> 07:44.190 I am pretty surprised . I mean , is , 07:44.190 --> 07:45.857 it is good . It's better than 07:48.549 --> 07:51.239 I was there in this morning . The food 07:51.250 --> 07:53.859 was actually really good . I mean , um , 07:53.980 --> 07:55.980 yeah , a lot of food be surprised . 07:56.209 --> 07:58.153 There's a lot of people around the 07:58.153 --> 08:00.320 world wish they had that much food for 08:00.320 --> 08:03.149 breakfast . Ok . I was surprised that 08:03.160 --> 08:05.327 the same people I go to class are also 08:05.327 --> 08:07.493 the same people I hang out with on the 08:07.493 --> 08:09.660 weekends . So I just see them 24 7 and 08:09.660 --> 08:11.493 have the option to hang out with 08:14.850 --> 08:16.850 other people . That's another thing 08:16.850 --> 08:19.019 that usually doesn't change no matter 08:19.029 --> 08:21.251 if you're the star major army . I spend 08:21.251 --> 08:23.362 a lot of time with the chief of staff 08:23.362 --> 08:25.362 of the army . Sometimes not even at 08:25.362 --> 08:28.470 work . We both play golf and next time , 08:28.480 --> 08:30.369 you know , we , we've done that a 08:30.369 --> 08:32.591 couple of times before OK . Well , what 08:32.591 --> 08:35.840 surprised you , uh I'd say the push for 08:35.849 --> 08:38.071 leadership from the very beginning . So 08:38.071 --> 08:40.520 being pushed by our leaders to become 08:40.530 --> 08:42.697 better leaders from the very beginning 08:42.697 --> 08:44.700 and not something that has to wait 08:44.710 --> 08:47.409 until later in our career . Yeah , it's 08:47.419 --> 08:50.599 awesome , isn't it ? Yeah , I was a 08:50.609 --> 08:54.039 platoon guide for 13.5 weeks in basic 08:54.049 --> 08:56.260 training and a it , I so wanted to be 08:56.270 --> 09:00.080 fired . I was II I got yelled at for 09:00.090 --> 09:02.739 all the things y'all would do . It's 09:02.750 --> 09:04.750 like , uh why don't you yell at the 09:04.750 --> 09:06.806 privates ? You're a drill sergeant . 09:06.806 --> 09:08.917 Why are you yelling at me ? It's like 09:08.917 --> 09:11.139 it went on for over and over and over . 09:11.139 --> 09:13.520 Ok . What surprised you ? I will see 09:13.630 --> 09:17.619 you here . You say , OK , I 09:17.630 --> 09:19.780 gotta give you a coin for that . Ok ? 09:19.789 --> 09:22.011 He says , uh surprise me that you'd see 09:22.011 --> 09:24.849 me . OK ? There you go . Here you go . 09:24.859 --> 09:27.299 That's your now you got it . There you 09:27.309 --> 09:29.531 go . If you drop , you gotta push him . 09:29.531 --> 09:32.080 So you got any questions for me , any 09:32.219 --> 09:35.140 advice , for long term care , 09:36.690 --> 09:39.619 any advice for a long term army career ? 09:41.010 --> 09:43.066 Got to narrow that down because I've 09:43.066 --> 09:45.288 been in the army forever . So it's hard 09:45.288 --> 09:49.080 to give you a long term if you , I 09:49.090 --> 09:51.880 would say long term vice as a person . 09:52.869 --> 09:56.190 How about that is whether you're in the 09:56.200 --> 10:00.030 army or out ? I say , I 10:00.039 --> 10:02.690 think when I look at life , I look at , 10:02.849 --> 10:05.299 you know , whether I'd stay in the army 10:05.309 --> 10:07.460 or not , I'd probably want to still 10:07.469 --> 10:11.000 stay fit . So , no matter what I do , I 10:11.010 --> 10:13.177 think it's healthy , both mentally and 10:13.177 --> 10:15.549 physically . If I get up and I exercise , 10:16.200 --> 10:18.849 it keeps me sharp throughout the day , 10:18.979 --> 10:21.679 it just gets the blood flowing . I feel 10:21.690 --> 10:25.000 healthy . I'm much older than you are . 10:25.090 --> 10:26.812 And I still have a very active 10:26.812 --> 10:29.840 lifestyle . I like to go hike , walk 10:29.849 --> 10:32.340 and do these things . So number one is 10:32.349 --> 10:36.229 just exercise , get up , get 10:36.239 --> 10:40.039 out , enjoy life and then continue to 10:40.049 --> 10:42.105 exercise . And that would be good in 10:42.105 --> 10:44.260 the army or out of the army . And the 10:44.270 --> 10:46.799 second piece is the mental piece of 10:46.809 --> 10:48.476 that . I work on some kind of 10:48.770 --> 10:50.950 meditation a little bit every morning 10:51.070 --> 10:54.460 and just kind of life can be very busy 10:54.469 --> 10:56.890 as a start army or just as any old 10:56.900 --> 10:59.280 human being . So , after I exercise , I 10:59.289 --> 11:01.919 actually do take a few minutes , doing 11:01.929 --> 11:03.929 more stretching now , but I'll do a 11:03.929 --> 11:05.873 moment where I just kind of try to 11:05.873 --> 11:08.559 clear my mind and really focus on what 11:08.570 --> 11:12.070 I'm going to do . So for long term , 11:12.080 --> 11:14.080 how you can stay physically fit and 11:14.080 --> 11:16.580 mentally fit and work on that every day . 11:17.270 --> 11:20.719 Both of those take practice every day 11:21.520 --> 11:23.780 are what are the things that you like 11:23.789 --> 11:25.622 about the army that you probably 11:25.622 --> 11:28.609 wouldn't want changed ? There's a lot . 11:30.070 --> 11:32.710 No , no , seriously . There's a , um , 11:32.809 --> 11:34.920 you know , a lot really what you just 11:34.920 --> 11:37.039 said that , uh , the camaraderie that 11:37.049 --> 11:40.799 you had , um , just , it 11:40.809 --> 11:42.809 wasn't just basic training . That's 11:42.809 --> 11:45.031 probably one of the stronger bonds that 11:45.031 --> 11:46.976 I had . Um , but almost every duty 11:46.976 --> 11:50.479 station I made new friends and then I 11:50.489 --> 11:53.559 just joined a new team and I , I can 11:53.570 --> 11:55.903 almost go to every duty location and go . 11:55.903 --> 11:58.750 Yep . I met this , these great people 11:58.760 --> 12:01.270 and then we bonded now , basic training 12:01.280 --> 12:03.169 in a , it , that's kind of really 12:03.169 --> 12:05.289 special . Uh , but I can say the same 12:05.299 --> 12:08.049 thing . I'll give you one example . Um 12:08.450 --> 12:10.450 I was in Italy and I had such great 12:10.450 --> 12:12.890 people in Italy . You won't know these 12:12.900 --> 12:14.956 names , but everybody around me will 12:14.956 --> 12:18.010 know the name . So I had like uh major 12:18.020 --> 12:21.820 uh George was uh in the unit , 12:21.830 --> 12:25.789 Major Rila and Major Clark . So 12:26.450 --> 12:29.260 uh Major George was just announced , I 12:29.270 --> 12:31.492 think yesterday to be the next chief of 12:31.492 --> 12:33.679 staff of the army . Uh So he was a 12:33.690 --> 12:35.634 major and I was served first class 12:35.859 --> 12:38.630 major Rich Clark was just retired and 12:38.640 --> 12:41.609 he , he was just retired as the SOCOM 12:41.619 --> 12:45.530 commander and Major Carla is now 12:45.539 --> 12:47.900 four star who's in charge of Centcom . 12:49.830 --> 12:53.549 So we were all in Italy in about the 12:53.559 --> 12:57.119 same three years together . I mean 12:57.130 --> 12:59.700 that , you know , and we just , we kind 12:59.710 --> 13:01.932 of knew where each other were the whole 13:01.932 --> 13:05.330 time like uh general when I was first 13:05.340 --> 13:07.451 ID , division star major , he was the 13:07.451 --> 13:10.080 DC G at one ID and then when he was 13:10.090 --> 13:12.580 82nd and I was at 13:14.099 --> 13:16.659 So these , these people you meet 13:17.179 --> 13:19.401 throughout your career you build a bond 13:19.401 --> 13:21.568 with and you end up if you stay in the 13:21.568 --> 13:23.790 army , it's like , yeah , we know these 13:23.790 --> 13:25.901 and I knew him when he was and they , 13:25.901 --> 13:28.235 they go , oh , I knew you when you were , 13:28.235 --> 13:30.235 you know , mildly crazy . So , uh , 13:30.235 --> 13:32.190 young start first class . So those 13:32.200 --> 13:34.919 bonds were awesome . And , uh , and 13:34.929 --> 13:37.280 that's one thing that I loved and I 13:37.289 --> 13:39.929 love today about the army is every lo 13:39.940 --> 13:43.469 location I go , I meet new people and I , 13:43.900 --> 13:46.409 and that same , that same feeling you 13:46.419 --> 13:49.150 get here , you almost get in almost any 13:49.159 --> 13:51.369 duty station you get , it doesn't 13:51.380 --> 13:53.547 matter what around the world , Italy , 13:53.547 --> 13:56.119 Germany , Korea , you go there . If you 13:56.130 --> 13:58.369 go with eyes wide open , you just make 13:58.380 --> 14:00.570 a whole brand new group of friends . 14:00.780 --> 14:03.710 You're all uniform though . So you all 14:03.719 --> 14:05.886 know the where you're coming from even 14:05.886 --> 14:08.108 though you all come from somewhere else 14:08.108 --> 14:10.108 and then you just together and then 14:10.108 --> 14:11.886 next , you know , you got a new 14:11.886 --> 14:14.080 lifetime group of friends . So I love 14:14.090 --> 14:16.809 that about the army . I really do what 14:17.489 --> 14:19.940 I was kind of curious like , uh , was 14:19.950 --> 14:23.570 it like day to day and how it affect 14:23.700 --> 14:25.960 your life ? What's really good ? I 14:25.969 --> 14:28.190 truly love about my job . I can make a 14:28.200 --> 14:30.200 difference every day . I could have 14:30.200 --> 14:32.229 done that as a private . Um , but I 14:32.239 --> 14:35.710 have a , I could have a significant 14:35.719 --> 14:39.140 impact throughout the army for years to 14:39.150 --> 14:42.909 come and you'll never know it . And , 14:43.080 --> 14:45.979 and , and , and that's what I love . I 14:45.989 --> 14:48.650 don't do it . You know . So I could say , 14:48.659 --> 14:51.250 yeah , you know , somebody did this . 14:51.260 --> 14:53.609 It's just doing it because , you know , 14:53.619 --> 14:57.400 you all deserve great . And I love that 14:57.409 --> 14:59.409 about my job is that , you know , a 14:59.409 --> 15:01.890 year . My favorite thing is when 15:01.900 --> 15:03.900 somebody comes up and goes , oh , I 15:03.900 --> 15:06.739 love this . And I go , we did that . We 15:06.750 --> 15:08.694 did , you know , it's like , and I 15:08.694 --> 15:10.917 never usually say I just will smile and 15:10.917 --> 15:13.139 I walk away and it's just , it's a warm 15:13.139 --> 15:14.972 feeling , knowing you can make a 15:14.972 --> 15:17.083 difference uh for so many lives , you 15:17.083 --> 15:19.179 know , and it's , it's great . II I 15:19.190 --> 15:20.968 really wouldn't have changed it 15:20.968 --> 15:24.039 anything about my job . I love my job . 15:24.059 --> 15:26.440 It can be frustrating because you want 15:26.450 --> 15:28.617 to do what's right for , for you all . 15:28.617 --> 15:31.359 And I work really hard and this is not , 15:31.369 --> 15:33.591 this is not my day job . I don't even , 15:33.609 --> 15:37.400 this is like fun . So my day job is 15:37.409 --> 15:39.576 back in the Pentagon trying to get you 15:39.576 --> 15:41.798 the resources . Make sure you got great 15:41.798 --> 15:43.687 housing , make sure you got great 15:43.687 --> 15:45.798 barracks . The building is good , the 15:45.798 --> 15:48.260 PT equipment you have over there , all 15:48.270 --> 15:50.326 that is the best that we can provide 15:50.326 --> 15:53.390 you . And that's what I call my day job . 15:53.950 --> 15:56.559 So it's a lot of hard work and I truly 15:56.570 --> 16:00.489 love it . But one advice is never , 16:01.039 --> 16:03.095 never act like you've made it to the 16:03.095 --> 16:06.559 top , there's no such thing . I'm still 16:06.570 --> 16:08.626 a soldier . I get up , I do what I'm 16:08.626 --> 16:11.390 told I show up on time most of the time . 16:11.770 --> 16:13.992 So , unless I'm sitting here talking to 16:14.000 --> 16:18.000 you but do not act like you 16:18.010 --> 16:19.954 arrived . I think that's the wrong 16:19.954 --> 16:23.400 attitude for any job in the army . I 16:23.409 --> 16:25.580 serve the people of the United States 16:25.590 --> 16:28.320 of America and , and that includes you 16:29.169 --> 16:32.929 and I am a servant of you all and never 16:32.940 --> 16:35.162 think , well , what is it like to be up 16:35.162 --> 16:37.273 here and you can do what you want ? I 16:37.273 --> 16:39.384 don't , I don't do what I want . I do 16:39.384 --> 16:42.260 what's best for the soldiers and 16:42.270 --> 16:46.119 sometimes what's best for America . It 16:46.130 --> 16:48.390 has nothing to do with me . Grinton . 16:49.049 --> 16:51.570 Uh , and I don't , I don't wake up like 16:51.580 --> 16:54.090 that . Yeah , I made it . No , I 16:54.099 --> 16:56.266 haven't done anything . Today is a new 16:56.266 --> 16:58.469 day and I got more to do . So that's 16:58.479 --> 17:00.590 kind of how I look at it . So I would 17:00.590 --> 17:03.830 never say you're at the top . I'm just 17:03.840 --> 17:07.000 a soldier . I take my PT test . If they 17:07.010 --> 17:09.121 let me shoot my rifle every day , I'd 17:09.121 --> 17:11.232 do that too because I love that . You 17:11.232 --> 17:13.454 know what I mean ? So , uh , that's the 17:13.454 --> 17:15.566 mentality I have . But I think what's 17:15.566 --> 17:17.899 really great is I can make a difference , 17:17.899 --> 17:20.300 but I could do that when I was a first 17:20.310 --> 17:22.310 sergeant . It was just at a smaller 17:22.310 --> 17:25.939 scale . A million people , 100 . So , 17:26.079 --> 17:28.412 but you still make a difference . Right . 17:28.412 --> 17:30.523 Which is the hardest thing throughout 17:30.523 --> 17:32.523 your career that you find , um , in 17:32.523 --> 17:34.801 your , so the , the hardest thing that , 17:34.801 --> 17:37.719 uh , you thought was pretty much 17:37.729 --> 17:41.439 challenging through all your , um , the 17:41.449 --> 17:45.239 hardest thing in my entire life was 17:45.250 --> 17:49.099 watching my soldiers die in combat 100% . 17:50.410 --> 17:52.900 There's no second . It's like , you 17:52.910 --> 17:55.077 know , that team work you have here in 17:55.077 --> 17:57.410 basic training in a , you got a brother ? 17:59.339 --> 18:01.739 Yes . Yeah . That's the hardest thing 18:01.750 --> 18:03.306 I've ever seen in my life . 18:07.140 --> 18:09.251 No , it's just that way . I would , I 18:09.251 --> 18:11.489 wouldn't change it though because 18:11.780 --> 18:14.058 that's what the country asked me to do . 18:14.058 --> 18:16.280 Um , and that's what we've kind of been 18:16.280 --> 18:18.224 asked to do . Right . Um , at some 18:18.224 --> 18:20.449 point we hope you never have to go 18:20.459 --> 18:23.500 through that ever . I really don't . Uh , 18:23.510 --> 18:26.000 but that's hands down , the hardest 18:26.010 --> 18:28.989 thing I've ever had to do . It's , is 18:29.000 --> 18:32.630 Barry , one of my friends . Ok , 18:33.380 --> 18:35.547 man , we got to end on a positive note 18:35.547 --> 18:37.658 or something really good . Um , but , 18:37.680 --> 18:39.902 you know , I really appreciate what you 18:39.902 --> 18:42.500 do maybe one day after a whole bunch of 18:42.510 --> 18:44.729 years and a lot of hard work , you 18:44.739 --> 18:46.739 might be the star of the army . You 18:46.739 --> 18:48.683 never know . You never know . Ok . 18:48.683 --> 18:50.961 Right . So you should always have that . 18:50.961 --> 18:52.850 Now , the chances are very slim . 18:52.850 --> 18:54.961 There's a million people . Army , one 18:54.961 --> 18:56.795 star army . So it is literally a 18:56.795 --> 18:58.961 million to one . So it has anybody got 18:58.961 --> 19:01.250 a coin before . Ok . What we're gonna 19:01.260 --> 19:03.427 do , I'm gonna shake your hand . We're 19:03.427 --> 19:05.482 gonna get practice come out . So I'm 19:05.482 --> 19:07.482 gonna shake your hand and I got the 19:07.482 --> 19:09.839 coin . So then I'm a shake and then I'm 19:09.849 --> 19:12.016 gonna tilt your hand over a little bit 19:12.016 --> 19:14.182 and then you get the coin and then I'm 19:14.182 --> 19:16.405 gonna move my hand back . Now , if it's 19:16.405 --> 19:19.030 here and I drop it , I will do push ups . 19:20.260 --> 19:22.316 Now , if it flips over and I move my 19:22.316 --> 19:24.538 hand and you drop it and you hear clank 19:24.538 --> 19:26.649 clang , clang , clang , just go ahead 19:26.649 --> 19:28.649 and do push ups . You got it . Ok ? 19:28.649 --> 19:30.704 This is a , it's like we're gonna do 19:30.704 --> 19:32.927 some train the trainer right here . You 19:32.927 --> 19:36.579 ready ? You good . You , you , you're 19:36.589 --> 19:38.645 good . Yeah , you got , that was the 19:38.645 --> 19:41.949 practice . So you got it . Now you're 19:41.959 --> 19:43.792 doing this for everybody because 19:43.792 --> 19:45.959 they're not doing this again , right ? 19:45.959 --> 19:48.237 You ready ? OK . There you go . Got it . 19:48.237 --> 19:50.570 See there . See , we're good . Too easy . 19:50.570 --> 19:52.792 He's like , don't mess , they're like , 19:52.792 --> 19:54.903 don't mess it up . I wanna push ups . 19:54.903 --> 19:56.959 No , there's nothing wrong with push 19:56.959 --> 19:56.800 ups . It's all good . I appreciate you . 19:59.260 --> 20:02.000 Is this your first coin ? Oh , this is 20:02.010 --> 20:04.232 worth big dollars , man . No , it's not 20:04.232 --> 20:06.420 worth anything . You could tease all 20:06.430 --> 20:08.541 your drill sergeant . So , ok , I got 20:08.541 --> 20:10.652 this coin from this really cool guy . 20:11.170 --> 20:13.739 I'm like , what ? Wait my whole life to 20:13.750 --> 20:15.806 get a coin from the major army . You 20:15.806 --> 20:18.180 guys get one in a , it , you got uh at 20:18.189 --> 20:19.569 least two more 20:24.449 --> 20:26.839 normally the chief , my boss is the 20:26.849 --> 20:28.960 chief of staff of the army , which is 20:28.960 --> 20:31.880 Jim mccoll . And he says , well , you 20:31.890 --> 20:33.946 know , if you do something wrong , I 20:33.946 --> 20:36.057 want you to come back to the Pentagon 20:36.057 --> 20:38.279 and give me my coin bag . Nobody's ever 20:38.279 --> 20:40.619 given a coin bag , by the way . Ok , I 20:40.630 --> 20:42.420 appreciate what you do . Ok , 20:42.430 --> 20:44.486 appreciate it . Ok . Now , you gotta 20:44.486 --> 20:46.939 get back to work . Ok ? I appreciate it . 20:48.010 --> 20:50.066 Just want to say , I appreciate what 20:50.066 --> 20:51.954 you do . And , uh , got the drill 20:51.954 --> 20:53.954 sergeant . He's gonna ask the first 20:53.954 --> 20:56.349 question . So I asked the , the 20:56.359 --> 20:58.479 soldiers can ask me something . But , 20:58.489 --> 21:00.829 uh , we'll let the one officer maybe , 21:01.130 --> 21:03.297 oh , you gotta pick on the one officer 21:03.297 --> 21:05.408 five first or the colonel , let's say 21:05.408 --> 21:07.463 we'll figure out who's gonna ask the 21:07.463 --> 21:09.439 star major army . Uh , one of the 21:09.449 --> 21:11.671 questions , you know , that comes up is 21:11.671 --> 21:14.089 the , the level of that you see coming 21:14.099 --> 21:16.321 in the arm from the young soldiers . Do 21:16.321 --> 21:18.439 you see any difference from when you 21:18.449 --> 21:20.671 came in ? You know , I came in , in the 21:20.671 --> 21:24.060 nineties , you know , I came in the 21:24.069 --> 21:26.829 eighties . It's great . Um , yeah , 21:26.839 --> 21:28.450 they're better than we are . 21:31.400 --> 21:33.567 Yeah , that's the difference . They're 21:33.567 --> 21:35.622 a lot better . Um , I tell everybody 21:35.622 --> 21:37.567 that and they're like , what's our 21:37.567 --> 21:39.678 major ? Yeah , it's true . I mean , I 21:39.678 --> 21:41.789 mean , I mean , I came in a long time 21:41.789 --> 21:44.329 ago , you know , I was at the 1987 and , 21:44.339 --> 21:46.561 uh , Vietnam veterans , you know , it's 21:46.561 --> 21:49.119 like you know , they were , they were 21:49.130 --> 21:51.579 special , they were very unique , had 21:51.589 --> 21:55.140 gone through a lot of combat . Um , but 21:55.150 --> 21:57.339 that was a tough time for the army . I 21:57.349 --> 22:00.270 mean , these soldiers that we have now 22:00.280 --> 22:02.540 are well educated and they may need a 22:02.550 --> 22:04.800 little work on fitness , but some of 22:04.810 --> 22:07.859 them are really fit . Um , so , uh , I 22:07.869 --> 22:10.660 think they're , they're much better 22:10.670 --> 22:14.349 than we were . Um , and normally what I 22:14.359 --> 22:18.150 say , if , if the next generation isn't 22:18.160 --> 22:21.250 better than we are than we are or were , 22:21.260 --> 22:24.420 that's our fault . That's what's great 22:24.430 --> 22:27.229 about the army is that we are like any 22:27.239 --> 22:30.390 other organization , we are designed to 22:30.400 --> 22:33.569 make those people below us better . And 22:33.579 --> 22:36.060 when , and now I just talked to the , 22:36.069 --> 22:38.229 the , the young NC Os , our major , 22:38.239 --> 22:40.572 first sergeants and staff sergeant here . 22:41.050 --> 22:44.170 If , if you're standing around and you 22:44.180 --> 22:46.260 say something like this , it's like 22:46.270 --> 22:48.492 things not to say to me in an open form 22:48.492 --> 22:51.020 are , um , you know , my NC OS aren't 22:51.030 --> 22:54.750 that good and I go , well , major , 22:54.760 --> 22:56.316 that's your fault . I , I , 22:56.316 --> 22:58.204 unfortunately , I told Lieutenant 22:58.204 --> 23:00.316 Colonel that the other day and , uh , 23:00.316 --> 23:02.371 Lieutenant colonel said , well , you 23:02.371 --> 23:04.316 know , major , you know , my NC Os 23:04.316 --> 23:06.482 aren't that good . I said , well , you 23:06.482 --> 23:06.060 should turn to your major and fire him 23:06.849 --> 23:09.739 and now I got this thing in my brain . 23:09.750 --> 23:11.750 I can't filter that . I should have 23:11.750 --> 23:13.972 filtered it because it was a whole room 23:13.972 --> 23:15.806 and the star major was literally 23:15.806 --> 23:17.750 sitting right next to the chief of 23:17.750 --> 23:19.861 staff was standing right next to me . 23:19.861 --> 23:19.729 But , you know , and so we had a room 23:19.739 --> 23:21.850 full of battalion commanders and star 23:21.850 --> 23:24.349 majors and I believe that unfortunately 23:24.359 --> 23:26.640 I can't filter that out . Um , so when 23:26.650 --> 23:29.030 you get somebody , you're gonna get raw , 23:29.920 --> 23:33.089 you know , mold , take it that and make 23:33.099 --> 23:36.750 it better than you were , that's your 23:36.760 --> 23:39.780 job . So , these young men and women , 23:39.790 --> 23:41.849 they're , they're great . They're 23:41.859 --> 23:45.010 different than we were . Doesn't mean 23:45.020 --> 23:48.959 that we were better . Um , but , uh , I 23:48.969 --> 23:51.302 think , I think they're really good . I , 23:51.302 --> 23:53.302 and I really believe that , I think 23:53.302 --> 23:55.358 they're gonna be better than we ever 23:55.358 --> 23:57.525 were . Um , and because I remember the 23:57.525 --> 23:59.939 army they , um , it's quite unique . 24:01.219 --> 24:03.163 What's the most interesting answer 24:03.163 --> 24:05.275 you've gotten to your two questions ? 24:05.699 --> 24:08.569 Well , I've gotten , um , you get full 24:08.579 --> 24:10.801 spectrum , like , in the group , like , 24:10.801 --> 24:12.801 one will say , like drill sergeants 24:12.801 --> 24:14.968 were like super hard , one will say it 24:14.968 --> 24:17.890 is super easy . Um , uh , 24:18.400 --> 24:20.660 the , the one that actually actually 24:20.670 --> 24:23.060 surprised me was when at Fort Lee , 24:23.739 --> 24:26.890 every group said and it was like they 24:26.900 --> 24:29.122 weren't in the same , you know , area . 24:29.122 --> 24:31.344 It was like , one was here . I went way 24:31.344 --> 24:33.511 on the other side of the post and to a 24:33.511 --> 24:35.456 person they go , yeah , I'm really 24:35.456 --> 24:37.622 surprised with how diverse the army is 24:37.622 --> 24:39.400 that , believe it or not . That 24:39.400 --> 24:42.099 surprised me . I knew that I just 24:42.109 --> 24:44.540 didn't expect that answer . Uh , um , 24:45.239 --> 24:48.939 um , that's one . but you , they're 24:48.949 --> 24:51.290 normally about what , uh , saw the day . 24:51.300 --> 24:53.133 That's the first time I've heard 24:54.099 --> 24:56.130 there's some unique things today . 24:56.140 --> 24:58.140 Actually , two things . That's the 24:58.150 --> 25:01.260 first time I heard him say how good our 25:01.270 --> 25:04.839 officers and NC are . Um , and then the 25:04.849 --> 25:07.709 second one that I really haven't heard 25:07.719 --> 25:10.150 is and you heard it more than once , by 25:10.160 --> 25:12.599 the way , they said how much they care 25:12.609 --> 25:14.390 about me as an individual . 25:16.140 --> 25:18.630 Now , that's , you know , again , I 25:18.640 --> 25:21.020 smile , that's one of those things that 25:21.050 --> 25:23.272 I'm like , man , we finally did it . It 25:23.272 --> 25:25.272 took me four years , we changed the 25:25.272 --> 25:27.494 culture of the army . Um So when you go 25:27.494 --> 25:29.650 back in August of , you know , 25:29.660 --> 25:31.716 everybody says , hey , sir , what do 25:31.716 --> 25:33.882 you want to do ? The army ? We kind of 25:33.882 --> 25:33.829 looked in a group and we said , well , 25:33.839 --> 25:35.939 I wanna go to this culture where we 25:35.949 --> 25:38.260 truly know the person sitting next to 25:38.270 --> 25:40.599 you . Um You know , their family , you 25:40.609 --> 25:43.719 know , a little bit about them . Um And 25:43.729 --> 25:45.785 it comes in ways you learn something 25:45.785 --> 25:47.979 new every day about your teammates , 25:48.119 --> 25:50.430 but that culture of knowing the person 25:50.619 --> 25:53.030 and not just , you know , some number 25:53.040 --> 25:56.540 or somebody sitting . Um uh That's the 25:56.550 --> 25:59.069 first time I heard that uh from a it 25:59.459 --> 26:01.459 and they're like , they care , they 26:01.459 --> 26:03.626 care what's going on , they care about 26:03.626 --> 26:05.737 my family . That's what the chief was 26:05.737 --> 26:07.903 saying when he met people first . When 26:07.903 --> 26:10.126 I said this is my squad , that's what I 26:10.126 --> 26:12.829 meant . It just took four years other 26:12.849 --> 26:15.430 than that army is pretty easy . Um , 26:16.349 --> 26:18.516 that kind of surprised me just today , 26:18.516 --> 26:20.627 those two answers just a little bit . 26:20.627 --> 26:23.160 I'm surprisingly like , I'm very happy . 26:23.170 --> 26:25.003 I'm pleased with that . A little 26:25.003 --> 26:27.226 disappointed , uh , taken that long but 26:27.226 --> 26:29.281 really happy with that . I really do 26:29.281 --> 26:31.114 enjoy asking those soldiers that 26:31.114 --> 26:33.290 question . You know , what surprised 26:33.300 --> 26:35.522 you and what didn't surprise you ? Um , 26:35.522 --> 26:37.709 what's , what's really good is that 26:37.719 --> 26:39.886 they talked , you know , if you didn't 26:39.886 --> 26:42.108 know that one kid that I gave the first 26:42.108 --> 26:44.052 coin to , he said that , uh , what 26:44.052 --> 26:46.163 didn't surprise me is how good the NC 26:46.163 --> 26:49.250 Os and officers are . So that's why he 26:49.260 --> 26:51.839 got a coin and he said , no , they 26:52.260 --> 26:54.260 didn't surprise me . They're really 26:54.260 --> 26:56.593 good . They're exceptional . And I said , 26:56.593 --> 26:58.989 I like that answer . Um , and , um , 26:59.290 --> 27:03.010 what , what question I asked ? I said , 27:03.020 --> 27:05.076 what surprised you when I was at ? I 27:05.076 --> 27:06.964 wanna say it was at Fort Lee is a 27:07.219 --> 27:09.219 little bit of different . What they 27:09.219 --> 27:11.275 said here at Fort Lee , they said it 27:11.275 --> 27:13.497 surprised me about the diversity in the 27:13.497 --> 27:15.770 army . And , but here they , they said 27:15.780 --> 27:18.790 it didn't surprise me , uh , that we 27:18.800 --> 27:20.578 came from all walks of life and 27:20.578 --> 27:22.356 background . So that was pretty 27:22.356 --> 27:25.209 interesting . Um , which is different 27:25.219 --> 27:27.560 for about a year ago when I talked to 27:27.569 --> 27:29.847 soldiers . Like , oh , it surprised me . 27:29.847 --> 27:31.958 We , we come from all backgrounds and 27:31.958 --> 27:34.125 they go , oh , it didn't surprise me . 27:34.125 --> 27:33.390 We come from all backgrounds . It's the 27:33.400 --> 27:35.400 same thing . But uh , it was just a 27:35.400 --> 27:37.511 different way . So I thought that was 27:37.511 --> 27:37.520 really neat .