WEBVTT - Finding Leadership in Service with Wes Moore 0:00:01.000 --> 0:00:04.720 Please be advised the following episode contains references to violence 0:00:05.080 --> 0:00:13.440 and may not be suitable for all listeners. This is 0:00:13.520 --> 0:00:16.040 Bets You Should Know, a podcast from My Heart Radio 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:18.800 celebrating the many who have selflessly put their lives on 0:00:18.840 --> 0:00:20.960 the line to serve their country and the armed forces. 0:00:21.200 --> 0:00:24.040 Every Veterans Day, we as a country honor and commemorate 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:26.960 the people who fight for our freedom and defend our country. 0:00:27.280 --> 0:00:29.640 And in this four part series, you'll hear from these 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:33.120 individuals as they share their unique experiences in the military 0:00:33.479 --> 0:00:35.599 and the lessons they learned that carried them into their 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:39.000 new roles in civilian life. You may know westmore as 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:41.800 the CEO of Robin Hood, one of the largest anti 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:45.000 poverty forces in the country and the largest poverty fighting 0:00:45.080 --> 0:00:48.320 organization in New York City. But long before West was 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:51.480 the CEO of this incredible organization, West was a kid 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:53.960 struggling to find his way and creating a lot of 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:57.760 trouble for his mom. Eventually, she sent a thirteen year 0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:00.800 old West off to military school, and despite running away 0:01:00.800 --> 0:01:03.880 from school on five separate occasions, West eventually came to 0:01:03.920 --> 0:01:06.600 appreciate the structure and it became an environment where he 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:10.000 would grow amateur. Fast forward a few years and West 0:01:10.080 --> 0:01:13.280 is graduating from Valley Forge Military College and later Johns 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:15.520 Hopkins University. From there, he wanted to serve as a 0:01:15.520 --> 0:01:18.320 captain and paratrooper with the U. S. Armies eighties second 0:01:18.360 --> 0:01:22.080 Airborne Division. After leaving the military, West worked with former 0:01:22.120 --> 0:01:24.920 Secretary of State Condolee's Rise as a White House fellow, 0:01:25.160 --> 0:01:27.800 founded the tech company, wrote a best selling book, and 0:01:27.840 --> 0:01:33.760 hosted a TV show on a national network. West how 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:35.840 are you, man? I am so good. It's great to 0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:37.800 talk to you. Thanks so much. Good to talk to 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:40.560 you too. Before we kind of get into the nitty gritty, um, 0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:43.120 you know, you obviously served you have such an important 0:01:43.160 --> 0:01:46.679 job now, uh, CEO of of robin Hood. I actually 0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:49.200 have been to the foundation event a couple of times, 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:52.480 which is some of the cooler experiences I've ever had 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:54.200 in my life. Now, before I talk about that for 0:01:54.240 --> 0:01:58.040 a second, tell everyone what what robin Hood does. So. 0:01:58.360 --> 0:02:01.920 Robin Hood is one of the largest poverty fighting organizations 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:05.160 in the country, and for the past thirty years, robin 0:02:05.200 --> 0:02:08.440 Hood has really used data and analytics and metrics to 0:02:08.480 --> 0:02:11.600 be able to identify and find and fund some of 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:15.440 the most innovative poverty fighting organizations UH in the City 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:17.640 of New York, and then also beyond where we have 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:23.239 allocated over three billion dollars into everything from education to housing, 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:28.000 to mental health to criminal justice reform. So we're everywhere 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:30.799 where poverties, either the cause or the consequences, we have 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:33.320 really built out and funded. I just wanted to start 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:35.919 off by saying that love what you've done as far 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:38.200 as your service for our country. UM, talk a little 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:40.320 bit about because I know you were in the one 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:42.080 of the airborne divisions. Talk about that for a second 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:44.440 exactly which one? Yeah, I was in the eighties second 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:50.120 Airborne Division. So we're how's that out of Fort Bragg, 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:53.880 North Carolina? And what was that like in the early 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:56.320 stages when you are going, you know what, I'm gonna 0:02:56.360 --> 0:02:59.120 be airborne? Like, who around your close friends or family? Like, 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:00.680 what in the world did they thing? Because that doesn't 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:03.680 sound like the safest of all the things. It wasn't 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:05.960 and it was actually was crazy. Was that you know, 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:09.120 My first exposure to the military actually happened when I 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:12.680 was thirteen, and it was at military school. It was 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:14.560 on the on the fact that you know, I I 0:03:14.639 --> 0:03:16.560 got into a lot of stuff when I was younger, 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:18.720 to the point that I was kicked out of schools 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:21.400 and I was young, I felt I felt handcuffed my risk. 0:03:21.480 --> 0:03:23.560 By the time I was eleven years old, and my 0:03:23.639 --> 0:03:25.960 mother had been threatened me to send me away ever 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:28.840 since I was like eight because of just all all 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:31.280 the things I was getting into. And finally she kept 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:32.760 on threatening me. I kept on blowing her off, and 0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:34.920 when I was thirteen, she said to me, she was like, 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:37.440 I'm not gonna I'm not playing these games anymore. And 0:03:37.480 --> 0:03:39.240 she's like, I'm gonna send you away, and I thought 0:03:39.240 --> 0:03:41.840 she was still kidding, And then she told me that 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:44.200 she was sending me next week, and she told me 0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:46.440 to pack my stuff up and start getting ready. And 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:49.200 she sent me to a military school in Pennsylvania. And 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:51.960 I hated it. I mean I hated every minute at place. 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:53.840 I ran away five times in the first four days 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:56.640 when I first showed up. But it was something where 0:03:56.680 --> 0:04:00.000 the longer I was there, the more I started appreciate 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:03.000 creating the experience. And so by the time I had 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:05.119 a mandatory year there, I had to be there one year. 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:06.920 By the end of the first year, I was actually 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:09.680 doing pretty well academically and I could play sports because 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:12.400 it wasn't appropation. And when I had the chance to 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:14.960 go back to school in Baltimore, my mother she asked 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:16.600 what I wanted to do, and I said, if it's okay, 0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:18.719 I'd like to stay. And so by the time I 0:04:18.800 --> 0:04:21.640 was seventeen and I was getting ready to finish high school, 0:04:22.000 --> 0:04:23.880 I thought to myself, and you know, at that time, 0:04:23.920 --> 0:04:27.040 I actually had basketball scholarship offers and everything like that, 0:04:27.560 --> 0:04:30.040 but I thought, like, what actually gives me joy and 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:33.240 what actually makes me it makes me excited about next steps. 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:35.520 There was only one thing that kept on coming up, 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:41.040 and that was the chance to lead soldiers because I 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:43.719 actually really enjoyed it. And and so I made the 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:46.520 decision at seventeen. In fact, I was too young to 0:04:46.560 --> 0:04:47.960 do it myself. I had to get my mom to 0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:50.040 sign off on it. But at that point it's when 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:52.440 I decided that I wanted to actually join the army. 0:04:52.760 --> 0:04:55.359 And then pretty early in that experience, I realized that 0:04:55.400 --> 0:04:57.360 I wanted to be a paratrooper. And that's what let 0:04:57.360 --> 0:04:59.839 me down to four break. You know, when I read 0:04:59.880 --> 0:05:03.159 your story, it is so inspiring. You grew up in Baltimore, 0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:05.240 and the Bronx. You're raised by a single mom, How 0:05:05.279 --> 0:05:11.120 did that shape your life as to where you are now? Everything? Man? 0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:13.039 You know, I think my little sister said it best 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:15.800 too when she said, you know, our mother wore sweaters 0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:18.040 so we could wear coats like you know, well, I'll 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:21.280 never I'll never forget the kind of sacrifices that my 0:05:21.360 --> 0:05:23.360 mom made, that your grandmother made. You know, It's just 0:05:23.920 --> 0:05:27.680 how people were willing to see something in us before 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:30.359 we saw it in ourselves. How people were willing to 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:34.120 sacrifice their time here on this planet so we could 0:05:34.160 --> 0:05:37.240 have a better experience on this planet. How it influences 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:41.200 me now and my work now is it just highlights 0:05:41.680 --> 0:05:45.280 the level of unfairness that we still have because I know, 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:47.040 I think about it in the case of my mom, 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:49.279 in the case of my grandparents, who also I spent 0:05:49.400 --> 0:05:52.479 part of my childhood with that These are people who 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:57.000 were some of the hardest working, most patriotic, most beautiful people, 0:05:57.320 --> 0:06:01.839 and smartest people, most creative people, most entrepreneurial people that 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:06.440 you'll ever be around. And still I witnessed the sacrifices 0:06:06.480 --> 0:06:10.080 and the pain that they had to endure. And so 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:12.599 it's one of these things that it just completely reminds 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:15.159 and it highlights the fact that we still have a 0:06:15.360 --> 0:06:19.520 massively inequitable society that we still have to contend with 0:06:19.839 --> 0:06:22.720 when you have people who are that good and still 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:25.920 have to work that hard just to keep their head 0:06:25.960 --> 0:06:28.440 above water. And I think it's really the things that 0:06:28.480 --> 0:06:30.479 helps to motivate me even in the work that I do. Now, 0:06:34.400 --> 0:06:39.400 what was it that inspired you to actually grow? Because 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:41.440 it wasn't like you had a lot of options or 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:43.800 a lot of people around you that even new options 0:06:43.800 --> 0:06:46.760 were available. So what was it as a kid you 0:06:46.839 --> 0:06:49.720 think that got you to that next step at actually 0:06:49.760 --> 0:06:53.880 being healthy and motivated. I feel like part of the 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:57.320 thing that happened was I got a chance to actually 0:06:57.400 --> 0:06:59.680 understand that the world was bigger than what was directly 0:06:59.720 --> 0:07:02.560 in front of me. Even as I got put and 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:07.000 exposed into these different situations and these different circumstances, you 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:11.000 you realize like wow, like there are actually things outside 0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:13.440 of what I see every day that are real for people. 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:17.000 And that was that was just very eye opening to me. 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:18.960 And I think the big thing that I know I 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:23.080 received from military and military school was people often said 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:25.080 they're like, well, was it the fact that they woke 0:07:25.120 --> 0:07:27.040 you up early, or they yelled at you, or they 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:30.560 gave you discipline, and I mean, like all that's really like, yeah, 0:07:30.560 --> 0:07:33.280 they woke up early, Yeah you did push ups and whatever. 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:38.320 But that wasn't the thing that changed me. I really 0:07:38.320 --> 0:07:43.040 do believe the thing that actually changed my thinking was 0:07:43.040 --> 0:07:47.240 was the introduction of leadership. And that's what they specialized in. 0:07:47.360 --> 0:07:49.440 It was it was this idea that they were going 0:07:49.480 --> 0:07:51.800 to put you in charge of something early, and it 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:54.600 was very intentional, and it was because they wanted you 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:56.560 to taste that, they wanted you to feel that, and 0:07:56.560 --> 0:08:00.160 they knew that that feeling was intoxicating, and so you know, 0:08:00.200 --> 0:08:02.000 they'll put you in charge of something small. First of 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:03.680 put you in charge of a hallway, and they'll tell 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:06.320 you if the hallway is clean, will congratulate you. If 0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:09.200 the hallway is dirty, then Lord help you. And they 0:08:09.240 --> 0:08:11.720 noticed that the hallway was clean, and they're like, all right, more, 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:14.520 good job, man. Now you're gonna get promoted. Now you're 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:16.360 a squad and now you're actually in charge of people. 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:19.840 And then if you did a good job in that role, 0:08:20.480 --> 0:08:23.240 you got promoted, and then now you're in charge of 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:26.480 more people, and then more people, and you started actually 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:32.400 yearning and craving that feeling of being responsible for something, 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:37.200 for leading, for being in charge of something bigger than yourself. 0:08:37.559 --> 0:08:39.400 And I really think that was part of the thing 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:42.720 that helped to change my psychology and my thinking was 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:44.360 I knew I was going to get it at some point. 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:47.439 It just so happened that it was the military, and 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:55.440 it was that experience that got to me first. But 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:58.040 getting through the military it was no simple task. It 0:08:58.120 --> 0:09:01.400 was along and argebous road. For West, however, his military 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:04.640 education started to have a profound impact on him. He 0:09:04.720 --> 0:09:07.720 started to take academic seriously and it was paying off. 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:11.240 West thought he would be a career military man, but 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:14.000 as we know, it was only one chapter of his 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:21.240 incredible story. Because I think I was in such unchartered waters. 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:24.920 I wasn't sure at that point. I mean I really 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:27.360 did think that, especially if you if you talk to 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:29.800 me coming out of high school and even coming out 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:31.920 of college in any ways, I thought it was gonna 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:34.480 be a career military officer. I thought I was gonna 0:09:34.480 --> 0:09:37.160 spend thirty years and rise up through the military ranks 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:39.800 and you know, maybe at some point end up with 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:42.200 a star on my shoulder or something like that. And 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:44.200 then I think that it goes back to even when 0:09:44.240 --> 0:09:47.640 I was talking about with exposure, where the more exposure 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:51.600 I received, the more I started thinking about the things 0:09:51.600 --> 0:09:53.280 that I wanted to do. And you know, I still 0:09:53.280 --> 0:09:56.079 have a deep amount of love and respectnomorration for those 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:58.320 who do choose to make it a career. Some of 0:09:58.360 --> 0:10:00.199 my deepest friends are people who chose to to get 0:10:00.200 --> 0:10:01.800 a career and are stealing right now and our people 0:10:01.840 --> 0:10:03.679 who actually have figured out a way to get those 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:06.120 stars on their shoulders. And I think as I started 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:09.120 going through the process and moving up, I started realizing 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:12.800 that there were different things that I wanted to contribute, 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:14.440 There were different things that I wanted to try to 0:10:14.480 --> 0:10:18.200 make realities in my life. And that's when I started, 0:10:18.440 --> 0:10:22.400 you know, whether it was working in finance or starting 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:24.840 an organization that eventually we uh, you know, we we 0:10:24.920 --> 0:10:28.079 sold are now working in robin Hood. I just feel 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:32.280 like the increased exposure in the adaptability were all things 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:34.920 that just really led me into thinking differently about the 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:36.800 kind of contributions that I wanted to make in the world. 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:39.800 You served as a captain and paratrooper with the U 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:43.240 S Armies eighty second airborn, including a combat deployment to Afghanistan. 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:45.719 What did that job entail for you? And then how 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:48.680 much of your mind versus just outright strength do you 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:53.720 have to use in that position? I mean, it is 0:10:54.360 --> 0:10:56.960 It's one of these things where I I thought I 0:10:57.080 --> 0:11:03.000 was walking in prepared because I studied everything about the region. 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:07.720 I learned about the different tribes, I learned about that terrain, 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.800 I learned about the altitude. We trained up, we did 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:13.320 all this kind of stuff, and then you land in 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:17.960 country and you realize how much of that training just 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:21.800 goes completely out of the window because there's nothing that 0:11:21.880 --> 0:11:26.880 anyone can do that can prepare you for it. It's 0:11:26.920 --> 0:11:29.280 nothing that anyone can do to prepare you for the 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:34.280 first time that you are in a tick troops in contact, 0:11:34.400 --> 0:11:37.200 which is, you know, in exchange with with with enemy forces. 0:11:37.920 --> 0:11:41.760 There's nothing you can do to prepare you for the 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:45.760 environment and the smells and the sights and the things 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:49.960 you hear that that just sit with you. It really 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:52.280 in the first couple of days that I just realized 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:56.360 how the thing you have to be comfortable with is 0:11:56.400 --> 0:11:58.880 the fact that every single day is going to be different. 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:00.720 There's this expression in the Middle Terry where we say 0:12:00.760 --> 0:12:04.080 stay frosty and um, and it kind of means stay cool, 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:08.240 because don't worry. Everything's gonna change quick. No matter where 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:11.040 you're where you're at, things will change up real fast. 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:15.280 And I think that that stay frosty was very much 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:18.240 the mindset and very much the way we existed and 0:12:18.280 --> 0:12:22.559 lived for our entire deployment. I think at the same time, though, 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:25.680 it was also the experience where I saw some of 0:12:25.720 --> 0:12:29.079 the most remarkable human beings doing some of the most 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:31.680 amazing things I've ever seen in my life, some of 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:34.280 the most courageous things, some of the most fearless things, 0:12:34.760 --> 0:12:36.959 The way people looked out for each other, the way 0:12:37.000 --> 0:12:39.640 people take care of each other, and the most extreme circumstances. 0:12:40.320 --> 0:12:43.840 That level of commitment to people, that level of commitment 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:47.080 to your brothers and sisters who were staying to the 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:49.920 side of you. That's something that I also know that 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:52.880 I'll never forget again and and something I always have 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:59.960 the deepest levels of appreciation for. While people always acknowledge 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:02.760 the soldiers and the sailors and the airmen and the marines, 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:06.800 and rightfully so, it's the families who actually have it tougher, 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:11.480 and I don't think I fully grasped that or appreciated 0:13:11.559 --> 0:13:16.080 that until I saw my family and the fact that 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:20.240 you you know, when we were overseas deployed, we had 0:13:20.280 --> 0:13:22.559 good days and we had bad days, but we always 0:13:22.600 --> 0:13:25.559 had each other that we leaned on each other. We 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:28.640 could talk to each other, We had things that were 0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:31.880 unspoken because everyone understood, so you didn't have to go 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:35.640 into full detail about things because everyone got it. And 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:40.320 this was something when you're talking about family where they 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:43.800 were having to process all this on their own, you know, 0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:46.240 at that time. I remember it was relatively early in 0:13:46.360 --> 0:13:49.480 the wars, and you know where maybe you got a 0:13:49.559 --> 0:13:53.240 chance to call home once a month, maybe you got 0:13:53.240 --> 0:13:56.120 a little bit more than that. It was usually very 0:13:56.200 --> 0:13:57.960 quick that you didn't have a lot of time to 0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:00.480 say hi and or whatever, and those this was pre 0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:03.280 skype or whatever, so you didn't get a chance to 0:14:03.280 --> 0:14:08.240 actually see people. And it was a really hard experience 0:14:09.040 --> 0:14:11.800 for us. But I can't even imagine what it must 0:14:11.800 --> 0:14:15.880 have been like also for family who were just watching 0:14:15.880 --> 0:14:18.280 the news and hearing about death tolls and this and 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:20.480 that and just hoping that they did not receive a 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:22.560 phone call or hoping that no one in uniform showed 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:25.520 up at their door. And I think that that level 0:14:25.560 --> 0:14:28.760 of appreciation for, you know, not just what we were 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:31.720 going through, but what family members back home are going through. 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:34.560 I think it's something that end up fueling how I 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:37.160 just think about, you know, the things that we're asking 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:40.040 people to endure right now as well. So I would 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:43.760 assume that that it's safe to say you return from 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:48.640 Afghanistan with a different view of the world. Yeah, and 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:51.560 and and definitely a different view of the world, a 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:56.080 different view of warfare, a different view of combat, a 0:14:56.080 --> 0:15:00.440 different view of what the implications are of that of 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:03.520 that combat, a different level of appreciation for the type 0:15:03.560 --> 0:15:06.040 of challenges that we're asking people to endure. And I 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:08.080 think it is one of these things where you know, 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:14.160 we are we are asking people to sacrifice everything, We're 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:19.520 asking their families to sacrifice everything. And so I came 0:15:19.560 --> 0:15:22.400 back knowing a few things. One is, every time we 0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:25.280 are asking people to do this, we better be clear 0:15:25.400 --> 0:15:28.120 about what we're asking them to do, and we better 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:31.160 be clear about how we're communicating it to not just them, 0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:34.280 but to the entire country. And the other thing was 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:36.880 is that we better make sure we're keeping our promises. 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:39.440 And that was one of the things I think fueled 0:15:39.720 --> 0:15:42.720 my energy and advocacy when I came back home. It 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:44.680 was on this idea where I felt like we were 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:48.840 breaking promises. You know, when people signed up to serve, 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:53.000 they signed up with a commitment that our country would 0:15:53.000 --> 0:15:57.040 support them and their families, not just when they were overseas, 0:15:57.080 --> 0:16:00.240 but when they came back home. And I found when 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:03.080 we were overseas, we got everything that we wanted as 0:16:03.080 --> 0:16:05.040 soon as we asked for them. But then we were 0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:07.480 coming back home and I had soldiers who were waiting 0:16:07.560 --> 0:16:09.640 nine months to see a doctor, And I'm like, this 0:16:09.720 --> 0:16:13.240 is crazy, because when when when their country asked people 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:16.680 to raise their hand and volunteer and sign up. These 0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:19.640 are people who didn't tell the country, Okay, well you know, 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:22.800 hold off, hold off nine months because I'm finishing something up, 0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:25.200 or or give me a little bit of time, or 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:27.080 not quite now because this isn't the right time in 0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:29.320 my life. These are people who just raise their hands 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:32.440 and served. And so the frustrating thing for me when 0:16:32.480 --> 0:16:35.680 I came back home was wondering why the same people 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:39.120 who did not ask the country to wait, why was 0:16:39.200 --> 0:16:43.040 now the country asking them to wait when they came 0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:45.480 home and it was time for them to receive the 0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:49.480 benefits that they rightfully earned. And so that was one 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:51.760 of the things that I think really fueled my advocacy 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:53.120 and the work that I wanted to do when I 0:16:53.160 --> 0:16:55.840 came back home to be able to fight for the 0:16:55.880 --> 0:17:02.920 basic earned rights of veterans. The idea of advocacy and 0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:05.760 fighting for the basic earned rights of veterans is an 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:12.440 idea that West takes very seriously. The notion of thank 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:14.760 you for your service, What did that mean to you 0:17:14.960 --> 0:17:17.520 then versus what does it mean to you now? And 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:20.080 how you're trying to help kind of spread that message. 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:23.680 I think what it means is and how I wanted 0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:25.879 to frame it out was I wanted people to understand 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:29.680 that thank you for your service should should mean more 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:32.520 than just the ending of a sentence that I want 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:35.240 to thank you for your service, to actually be the 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:37.640 beginning of a conversation and not always the end of it. 0:17:38.200 --> 0:17:40.600 Because you'd see people who would say, you know, they 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:42.959 would say thank you for your service, almost in passing right, 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:45.560 thank you for your service, and uh, you know, I 0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:47.560 gotta go catch my plane. Thank you for your service 0:17:47.920 --> 0:17:49.879 and I, you know, let me go grab a you know, 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:52.040 let me buy you a cup of coffee. But there 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:55.399 wasn't an interest in actually learning more about what people's 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:58.840 service actually was. And I think it was this level 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:01.199 of I think it was this level of rustration that 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:03.560 people actually had and that I think for a lot 0:18:03.560 --> 0:18:06.520 of soldiers had because there wasn't that curiosity to actually 0:18:06.640 --> 0:18:10.119 learn more about it and to learn more about what 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:14.080 we were actually asking our service people to actually endure. 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:16.320 And frankly, I think, you know, it's all even with 0:18:16.359 --> 0:18:20.000 my own family, where there wasn't the level of curiosity 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:24.200 to ask what exactly was your experience? And I think 0:18:24.240 --> 0:18:26.720 part of it was coming from a place of people saying, well, 0:18:27.080 --> 0:18:28.680 you know, I don't want to ask the wrong thing, 0:18:28.880 --> 0:18:30.640 I don't want to trigger anything, or I don't want 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:35.119 to say anything offensive, so therefore I'll ask nothing or 0:18:35.160 --> 0:18:38.960 I'll say nothing. The problem with that was the interpretation 0:18:39.000 --> 0:18:43.640 that we received was it wasn't that you were trying 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:45.400 to figure out what was the right thing to say. 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:48.600 The interpretation that we took and interpretation that I took 0:18:48.760 --> 0:18:52.439 was you didn't even care that you're not even curious 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:56.720 about what was one of the most instrumental and pivotal 0:18:56.720 --> 0:18:58.879 moments of my life, and what impact did it have 0:18:59.000 --> 0:19:01.399 on me? And so I felt like there was always 0:19:01.400 --> 0:19:04.120 this idea that people were talking past each other by 0:19:04.160 --> 0:19:08.320 not talking and so thank you for your service, and 0:19:08.359 --> 0:19:11.879 you know, almost this uh, this very this very mixed 0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:14.720 feeling that people in many veterans have around it. It 0:19:14.880 --> 0:19:17.160 is on this idea of saying, we appreciate the fact 0:19:17.200 --> 0:19:19.560 that people are thinking as for our service, but we 0:19:19.600 --> 0:19:22.280 want them to know what our service actually was. I 0:19:22.320 --> 0:19:24.560 want people to ask me questions. I want people to 0:19:24.560 --> 0:19:27.439 to to be curious. I want people to, you know, 0:19:27.560 --> 0:19:31.120 say hey, even in fear maybe saying something incorrect or whatever. 0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:33.160 And trust me, if you say something incorrect, I'll tell you. 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:37.440 But I'd rather you at least ask, because I think 0:19:37.480 --> 0:19:41.359 for many soldiers and sailors and AIRMoN and marines, you know, 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:45.560 we are we're we're we're thankful for an experience that 0:19:45.640 --> 0:19:49.399 made us who we are today. We're all processing what 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:51.520 that experience was. And I think for many of us, 0:19:51.560 --> 0:19:54.719 myself included, I will process it forever. I don't think 0:19:54.760 --> 0:19:58.840 I'll ever have it fully processed. But that's okay. And 0:19:58.880 --> 0:20:01.960 at least I want people to understand that the the 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:03.960 the ask that was made of me and the ask 0:20:04.080 --> 0:20:06.159 that was made of many of my other you know, 0:20:06.200 --> 0:20:09.000 brothers and sisters, that it was an ask that we 0:20:09.440 --> 0:20:11.000 you know, at least want to be able to share 0:20:11.000 --> 0:20:13.440 and express to people what it was and why it's 0:20:13.480 --> 0:20:16.240 meaningful to dous. What is your one piece of advice 0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:19.720 that we that I that anyone listening to this could 0:20:19.880 --> 0:20:23.159 use as we are talking to events, I think one 0:20:23.200 --> 0:20:25.160 of the main things and one of the most important 0:20:25.200 --> 0:20:28.480 things for people to do is is first remember that 0:20:29.080 --> 0:20:32.200 we still have conflicts that are going on as we speak, 0:20:33.119 --> 0:20:36.480 I mean literally as we're having this conversation. There are 0:20:36.800 --> 0:20:40.560 missions going on. There are people who are overseas right now, 0:20:40.600 --> 0:20:45.680 away from their families and still serving on behalf of 0:20:45.720 --> 0:20:49.280 this country, and Silver Herb still serving on behalf of us. 0:20:49.560 --> 0:20:52.160 And I think for a lot of people there there 0:20:52.280 --> 0:20:54.240