1 00:00:00,340 --> 00:00:04,120 I started , uh , in the Marine 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,160 Corps with a general idea of serving my 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:09,104 country . And I think I was really 4 00:00:09,104 --> 00:00:11,216 attracted by the physical challenge . 5 00:00:11,216 --> 00:00:13,382 This this thought Could I , you know , 6 00:00:13,382 --> 00:00:15,604 have what it takes to be a Marine . But 7 00:00:15,604 --> 00:00:17,716 what I I learned was it's really more 8 00:00:17,716 --> 00:00:19,882 about the moral challenge . You know , 9 00:00:19,882 --> 00:00:21,993 when when everything is going wrong , 10 00:00:21,993 --> 00:00:24,271 when you're tired , when you're scared , 11 00:00:24,271 --> 00:00:26,493 are you going to give in to that lesser 12 00:00:26,493 --> 00:00:26,160 self or you're gonna dig deep and 13 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:28,438 actually be able to do the right thing ? 14 00:00:28,438 --> 00:00:31,250 Uh , and that sense of the honor and 15 00:00:31,250 --> 00:00:33,306 the privilege of being able to serve 16 00:00:33,306 --> 00:00:35,306 something that's that's bigger than 17 00:00:35,306 --> 00:00:37,306 yourself is really what the service 18 00:00:37,306 --> 00:00:39,250 means to me now to live up to that 19 00:00:39,250 --> 00:00:39,250 expectation , 20 00:00:44,540 --> 00:00:46,596 Um , I came in at a time where there 21 00:00:46,596 --> 00:00:48,707 was a lot of women first , You know , 22 00:00:48,707 --> 00:00:50,707 some of the gunnery surgeons , um , 23 00:00:50,707 --> 00:00:52,762 that were mentors to me when I was a 24 00:00:52,762 --> 00:00:54,929 lieutenant . You know , they never got 25 00:00:54,929 --> 00:00:57,151 to shoot a rifle because people thought 26 00:00:57,151 --> 00:00:56,340 that they would be dangerous and they 27 00:00:56,340 --> 00:00:58,950 would shoot their eye out . Um , when I 28 00:00:58,950 --> 00:01:00,950 came in , you know you couldn't run 29 00:01:00,950 --> 00:01:03,117 three miles or do more than 50 sit ups 30 00:01:03,117 --> 00:01:03,090 because they thought it would 31 00:01:03,090 --> 00:01:05,680 overstress the female body . Um , And 32 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:07,958 so despite all the challenges you know , 33 00:01:07,960 --> 00:01:10,880 many women have taken that risk , have 34 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:12,769 been bold , have done things that 35 00:01:12,769 --> 00:01:16,750 others said they could never do . Uh , 36 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:19,038 being an instrument in my whole career , 37 00:01:19,038 --> 00:01:20,982 being an SLR instructor , being on 38 00:01:20,982 --> 00:01:23,038 recruiting duty , I've never had the 39 00:01:23,038 --> 00:01:25,038 opportunity to work with any female 40 00:01:25,038 --> 00:01:27,316 marines . Um , until my last unit , uh , 41 00:01:27,316 --> 00:01:29,538 we had come into our infantry battalion 42 00:01:29,538 --> 00:01:31,580 for the first time , and they were 43 00:01:31,590 --> 00:01:34,140 instrumental to our success . They held 44 00:01:34,140 --> 00:01:36,362 their own and they were They're they're 45 00:01:36,362 --> 00:01:38,696 powerful . They were strong . They were . 46 00:01:38,696 --> 00:01:41,260 They opened the doors for the rest of 47 00:01:41,260 --> 00:01:43,820 the infantry Marines to come into our 48 00:01:43,820 --> 00:01:46,140 battalion . And there are some of my 49 00:01:46,150 --> 00:01:48,261 mentors . I still reach out to that . 50 00:01:48,261 --> 00:01:50,317 Assist me and help me out . And they 51 00:01:50,317 --> 00:01:52,560 definitely changed our dynamics of the 52 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,960 whole infantry battalion and Victor 11 53 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:00,380 If I had a chance to talk to the women 54 00:02:00,380 --> 00:02:02,730 who paved the way for women to join the 55 00:02:02,730 --> 00:02:04,952 military , I would just say thank you , 56 00:02:04,952 --> 00:02:06,952 because I know that I wasn't easy . 57 00:02:06,952 --> 00:02:09,250 There were women in the American 58 00:02:09,250 --> 00:02:12,030 Revolutionary War who started disguised 59 00:02:12,030 --> 00:02:14,270 as men . There were women who joined 60 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:16,447 the military before they had the right 61 00:02:16,447 --> 00:02:18,830 to vote . Okay , there are women who 62 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:21,310 joined the military when racial 63 00:02:21,310 --> 00:02:23,477 segregation was still a thing and they 64 00:02:23,477 --> 00:02:25,699 were treated as second class citizens . 65 00:02:25,699 --> 00:02:27,699 But they still chose to serve their 66 00:02:27,699 --> 00:02:29,810 country . And so , to those women , I 67 00:02:29,810 --> 00:02:32,510 would definitely just say a deep , 68 00:02:32,510 --> 00:02:35,240 heartfelt thank you because they really 69 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:37,820 paved the way and showed women that 70 00:02:37,820 --> 00:02:39,260 they can overcome any obstacle .