WEBVTT

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And welcome to the military Women's

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Memorial for an historic event .

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Welcome all . So I'm gonna start with

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the formalities as we know we must do

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to welcome some of our V I P s in the

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room . So we wanna welcome ambassador

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Karen Williams and ambassador Jean

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Manes . Welcome here , all of our

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generals and flag officers that are in

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this room and ideally watching

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virtually . And of course , I could

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spend the next 10 minutes recognizing

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everyone in the room . So we're just

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gonna leave it at and welcome to all of

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our distinguished visitors today .

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We're delighted to welcome you to

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America's only major national memorial

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that honors the three million women

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that have defended this nation since

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the revolutionary war . I'm Phyllis

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Wilson , an army Chief Warrant Officer ,

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five , retired and the president of the

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Women in military Service for America

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Memorial Foundation , the organization

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responsible for the operation and

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maintenance of this lovely building .

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The memorial is well positioned to be a

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leading voice and a resource in support

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of the US strategy on women , peace and

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security . Now , our approach is to

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place the perspectives and the

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experiences of service , women at the

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forefront of the discussions with

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practitioners , scholars and leaders

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from across the public and private

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sectors , as well as with our partner

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nations to better understand the

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essential role of women and global

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security and defense efforts and to

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work towards equality for future

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generations at home and around the

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globe . Today's program beyond

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first , powering the future force will

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address one of the critical issues

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facing the Department of Defense .

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Today , recruiting and retention

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of the best and the most competent

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personnel . Our most treasured and

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critical resource as we shape our force

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for the future and the critical

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national defense issues that it will

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bring . Joining us today are the

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Department of Defense's for most

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senior military women . I'll give you a

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short bio of each of them . Admiral

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Linda Fagan is the commandant of the

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U.S . Guard . Admiral Fagan is the 27th

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commandant of the Coast Guard and she

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is the first woman in the history of

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our nation to lead a branch of the

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military . As commandant . She oversees

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all global coast Guard operations and

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42,000 active duty , 7000

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reserve and 8700 civilian

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personnel as well as the support of the

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21,000 Coast Guard auxiliary

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volunteers , Air Force General

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Jacqueline van overdosed commander ,

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United States Transportation Command .

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She is the 14th commander of transcom .

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One of the 11 combatant commands U S

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Transcom mission is to project and

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sustain military power globally . In

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order to assure our friends and our

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allies deter potential adversaries and

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if necessary respond to win

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decisively . Army General Laura

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Richardson , Commander U S Southern

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Command , she is the 32nd commander of

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the U S Southern Command . Another of

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the 11 Defense Department combatant

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commands . It's responsible for

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providing contingency planning ,

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operations and security cooperation for

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Central and Southern America , the

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Caribbean and for the force protection

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of U S military resources at these

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locations . And it's also responsible

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for ensuring the defense of the Panama

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Panama canal and the canal areas .

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And Navy , Admiral Lisa Frank , et Vice

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Chief of naval operations . She is the

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42nd vice chief of naval operations ,

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the second highest ranking naval

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officer and functions as the principal

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deputy of the chief of naval operations ,

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who is responsible to the Secretary of

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the Navy for the command utilization of

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resources and operation of the Navy

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among her duties . If the chief of

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naval operations is absent or unable to

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perform his or her duties , the vice

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would assume such . And I am proud to

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say that here today here

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at the military women's memorial , it

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is the first time that all four of them

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have had the opportunity to be together

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in public . They did have a private

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dinner last night . So they kind of

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blew my quote , but in public , I'll

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say so this is a great day . Not only

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for all of you to hear from these

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extraordinary military leaders , but

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it's a great day as well for military

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women and a great way for the military

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women's memorial to kick off Women's

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History Month . But that's not all we

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have the distinct privilege to have

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joined us today . One of America's

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leading television journalists and

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anchor of the CBS evening news , Norah

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O'Donnell Nora has covered presidential

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elections and interviewed some of the

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most influential world leaders . She's

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a frequent contributing journalist to

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60 minutes , the recipient of multiple

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Emmy Awards and the list goes on and on .

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And today she will be moderating the

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discussion of some of the military's

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most influential leaders , the four

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women , four stars joining us today .

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So without further delay , I welcome

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our distinguished panel and the

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moderator to the stage here at the Vote

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Center of the Military Women's Memorial .

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And thank you all for joining us in

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person and virtual guests from across

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the country , including organizations

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like Air Force Women's initiatives ,

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team , University ROTC programs ,

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service academies and Veterans Affairs

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groups . We would love for you to share

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and engage with us on social media

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today and use the hashtag beyond first

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Nora . Please join us all and

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Nora will take over from here .

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Well , good afternoon and welcome

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everybody how thrilling it is to be

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here , Phyllis . Thank you so much for

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your incredible leadership and your

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introductory remarks we appreciate .

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Isn't this a fantastic spot ? Um I am

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thrilled to be here amongst so many of

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you as we mark 75 years of

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women in the United States . Military .

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Congratulations and strength .

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It's important to recognize how far

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we've come and how far we still need to

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go . When all of our panelists served

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up , uh , signed up to serve their

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country . There were barriers in their

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way , certain aircrafts , they couldn't

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fly certain ships that they couldn't be

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on certain jobs that they were not

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allowed to have that has changed . But

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there are still obstacles facing women

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in the military obstacles that I know

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everyone wants to work together to try

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and eliminate . So the theme of today

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is beyond . Firsts , I've been thinking

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a lot about what that means . It means

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that it's no longer a novelty when a

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woman breaks a glass ceiling . But I

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must say , I think it's kind of awesome

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to be with these women who have done it .

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I know they don't , they don't want to

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continue to be the first , but it's

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great to be able to . This is history ,

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you all are here . This is history

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really to be able to hear from all of

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them . So without further ado , let's

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let's hear from them . And also I wanna

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remind you two , you will have an

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opportunity to ask them questions . So

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be thinking about what you would like

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to um ask each of our distinguished

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guests here . So first , um the Coast

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Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan .

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Thank you .

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Okay . Thank you Nora . And for

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everyone that's helped put this event

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together . I can't think of a better

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location to be as we kick off Women's

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History Month and I'm really excited to

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be here . I am about to do one of the

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things that I like least , which is

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talk a little bit about myself . This

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is generally is probably a trait we all

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we all share . But I just , you know ,

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I want to reflect a little bit on one

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how historic this is . It . It has

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truly been a journey . It's been a

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journey for the nation , a journey for

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each of our services and a journey for

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each of us individually . I reflected

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um I changed command this past June

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that had the then common on Owen Siler

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not taken the decision to , to bring

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women into the service academy into the

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Coast Guard Academy . And so that first

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class graduates in 1980 I arrived as a

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young 18 year old in the summer of 1981

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I would not be here today . Had that

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decision not been made at that at that

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point in time . So it truly has been a

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journey . I also saw , I'm a proud mom

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up here right now . My favorite

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Lieutenant Lieutenant Hagen

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is , is in so she's here today .

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But one of the things that she joined

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the Coast Guard that could not have

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been more different than the Coast

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Guard that I joined . And this just

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speaks to the to the journey . And so

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many people that have made the

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opportunity for us here here today . Uh

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One of my primary focus areas as

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commandant is a around talent

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management and workforce management ,

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making it easier for not just women but

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all who want to serve in the Coast

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Guard in the military to find their way

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into the service and then to stay and

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be able to take advantage of all of the

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opportunity that is afforded . And many ,

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we have many veterans in the audience

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and many people still in uniform . It's

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an incredibly exciting time to serve

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the nation and where the cloth of our

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country . And so I just consider myself

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very fortunate to have been able to

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take advantage of the law changes and

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things uh doors that were opened at

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sort of the right point in time for me .

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And now I consider privilege really ,

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it's what excites me every day is to

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create that opportunity for those that

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are coming up , coming up behind me .

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But thank you . Thank you . Thank you ,

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Admiral Fagan . And I did go up to Cape

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May recently and , and visit the

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facility there and they're doing

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incredible work . All the listed

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members there . Of course , training ,

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hard training , very hard . Next .

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Please welcome the Commander of the U S

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Transportation Command Air Force

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General Jacqueline Van Provost .

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So I want to say thanks to you nora and

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thanks to fill us what a tremendous

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opportunity it is to share the stage

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with these incredible leaders who

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represent the past , present future of

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our services . And again , right here

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in this amazing memorial in the 75

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years since we've had the opportunity

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to serve , we certainly have come a

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long way . Our progress has been

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accelerating , but we have a ways to go

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still . And we're working on that , you

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know , only 30 years ago , women were

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allowed to fly fighter aircraft ,

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combat aircraft and only 10 years ago

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where the restrictions on ground combat

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taken off of women . And now we serve

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in the military where if you are

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talented and qualified , you can go do

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that job . And that's amazing . And Joe

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opens up real , real doors . So all of

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us here , you know , and you and the

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audience have inherited this legacy ,

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this expanding legacy of those

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tenacious people who have turned back

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the tide of cultural lethargy and

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decided to serve their nation in many

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different ways . I said nothing and

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said , you know , those before us ,

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really a tremendous opportunity uh

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influence on the opportunities that we

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have . And I think about , you know ,

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beside us here on stage , we all had

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great supporters , men and women

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provided opportunities for us and

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supported and encouraged us along the

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way . And now those behind us , you ,

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your daughters , your mentors , right ?

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I think about the opportunities that

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you have . It's awesome to see everyone

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here . It reinvigorates our commitment

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to continue to get after any remaining

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vestiges of concerns and barriers that

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there might be out there to someone

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fulfilling their purpose in life here

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in our service . And that's what really

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motivates us every day . Because let me

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be clear , all of these efforts to

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ensure true inclusion in the military

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is first and foremost about building a

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lethal agile and ready joint force .

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That is the first and foremost thing on

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our mind everyday as we get to work is

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are we ready , are ready today and I'll

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be ready tomorrow . So , historically ,

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militaries reflected the societies that

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supported them And we are at the 50th

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year of our all volunteer force and our

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force should continue to evolve to

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incorporate all of the talents and

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demographics of America , right ? And

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this is especially true as we enter

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this area of global strategic

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competition . We need diversity of

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thought , diversity of experience and

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capabilities all pulled together

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because we're getting after some really

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wicked hard problems in strategic

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competition , we need everyone at the

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table supporting us and we are examples ,

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um leadership matters , inclusion

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matters and you see us now all

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generating results at the strategic

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operational and tactical level . So

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that's why we have to continue to

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recruit and retain talented women and

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men in our service capable of thinking

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creatively differently , innovating

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with the technology that we have so

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that we can create new concepts and

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capabilities so that we could remain

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first and foremost , the most lethal

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fighting force in the world for this

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reason , I encourage you to interact

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with folks here . These are decades of

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first see right here in this audience

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network here , those online uh and

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learn from each other . What a

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tremendous opportunities for us to

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learn from each other together . We're

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going to continue to push societal

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boundaries towards an area where beyond

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first , there are no no more first or

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only just professional military ready

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to get after the needs of the nation

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with highly talented , diverse and

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capable people before us beside us and

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behind us . So I'm pretty excited to be

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here . Thank you so much . Mhm .

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And we want to welcome everyone that's

15:58.007 --> 16:00.390
joining us um online as well watching

16:00.390 --> 16:02.668
and you too can submit questions . Now ,

16:02.668 --> 16:04.668
please welcome the commander of the

16:04.668 --> 16:06.668
United States Southern Command Army

16:06.668 --> 16:08.168
General Laura Richardson .

16:14.040 --> 16:16.300
So thank you so much , Nora , thank you

16:16.300 --> 16:18.633
for the time that you've invested today .

16:18.633 --> 16:20.744
We really appreciate it . Thank you ,

16:20.744 --> 16:23.540
Phyllis . Thank you , Jan . Uh Jan was

16:23.550 --> 16:25.990
a two star general when I was a

16:25.990 --> 16:27.768
lieutenant colonel right out of

16:27.768 --> 16:29.830
battalion command and had my first

16:29.830 --> 16:31.997
assignment to the Pentagon on the army

16:31.997 --> 16:34.750
staff and I watched a great role model

16:34.760 --> 16:38.400
uh and all the meetings uh and uh just

16:38.400 --> 16:40.511
really tremendous . I wanna thank you

16:40.511 --> 16:42.678
for your service , Phyllis . Thank you

16:42.678 --> 16:44.844
as well leading the charge here . It's

16:44.844 --> 16:47.590
an honor to be here . And certainly as

16:47.600 --> 16:49.820
my colleagues have talked about then ,

16:49.830 --> 16:51.830
being on the stage here with all of

16:51.830 --> 16:55.010
them . It's about opportunities . Right .

16:55.020 --> 16:58.120
And so now all of these laws and

16:58.120 --> 17:00.120
policies have been changed to allow

17:00.120 --> 17:02.520
everybody the opportunity . And we

17:02.520 --> 17:04.520
shouldn't be surprised what happens

17:04.520 --> 17:07.430
when the opportunities are there . Uh

17:07.440 --> 17:10.000
This is what happens and there's no

17:10.000 --> 17:13.060
surprise . And so just the

17:13.070 --> 17:15.320
opportunities in the military , the

17:15.320 --> 17:18.050
mention of the 50 years of the all

17:18.050 --> 17:20.161
volunteer force that's very important

17:20.161 --> 17:22.700
to us this year . Uh and we have a

17:22.710 --> 17:25.820
little bit of ways to go to connect

17:25.820 --> 17:27.709
with our population , our younger

17:27.709 --> 17:30.160
population because our military is so

17:30.160 --> 17:33.950
very important . Um a very well

17:33.950 --> 17:35.500
known fact in terms of the

17:35.500 --> 17:38.280
incorporation of , of women into

17:38.280 --> 17:40.447
military and security forces that make

17:40.447 --> 17:42.502
our security forces and our security

17:42.502 --> 17:46.240
stronger . Uh And so I would say that

17:46.250 --> 17:48.194
it's all about the opportunities .

17:48.194 --> 17:51.500
There are tons of opportunities , 178

17:51.500 --> 17:53.850
different skill sets , 178 different

17:53.850 --> 17:56.072
jobs you can do in the military . Where

17:56.072 --> 17:58.490
else can you be a helicopter pilot ,

17:58.500 --> 18:00.611
work at the White House , work at the

18:00.611 --> 18:02.611
United States Capitol , work at the

18:02.611 --> 18:04.444
Pentagon Lead America's sons and

18:04.444 --> 18:06.690
daughters in combat . I'll do all of

18:06.690 --> 18:08.579
those things . I could have never

18:08.579 --> 18:10.579
imagined that I would be able to do

18:10.579 --> 18:12.690
that in the military and talk about a

18:12.690 --> 18:14.990
challenge . Um You are impacting

18:14.990 --> 18:17.610
national security and global security

18:17.620 --> 18:20.060
every single day in the military . You

18:20.060 --> 18:22.800
wake up and you impact it just like

18:22.800 --> 18:25.022
that . You want to have meaning to what

18:25.022 --> 18:27.022
you're doing in the military . This

18:27.022 --> 18:29.189
group does everybody here . And we got

18:29.189 --> 18:31.189
to get out and , and talk about our

18:31.189 --> 18:33.356
United States military , the strongest

18:33.356 --> 18:36.180
fighting force in the world . But we

18:36.180 --> 18:38.180
got to keep it that way . We got to

18:38.180 --> 18:40.650
keep it that way . Everything is open .

18:40.650 --> 18:43.310
Now , all the opportunities are there .

18:43.320 --> 18:45.800
We again , we see what that does and

18:45.800 --> 18:48.390
what that affords everybody . And so

18:48.400 --> 18:50.622
just very honored to be here and I look

18:50.622 --> 18:52.567
forward to everybody's questions .

18:52.567 --> 18:53.567
Thank you

19:00.470 --> 19:02.800
and please welcome the Vice Chief of

19:02.800 --> 19:05.570
Naval Operations , Navy , Admiral Lisa

19:05.570 --> 19:06.350
Franchetti .

19:11.760 --> 19:13.816
Thank you very much , Nora again for

19:13.816 --> 19:16.149
spending so much time with us , Phyllis .

19:16.149 --> 19:18.204
Thank you and Jan for organizing the

19:18.204 --> 19:20.371
event today . It's really wonderful to

19:20.371 --> 19:22.316
be here sitting up with these very

19:22.316 --> 19:24.260
inspiring leaders that I've had an

19:24.260 --> 19:26.427
opportunity to work with or watch from

19:26.427 --> 19:28.480
below for many years . You know ,

19:28.480 --> 19:31.330
sitting here in the women's memorial .

19:31.340 --> 19:34.520
This is a pretty good reminder of why I

19:34.520 --> 19:36.990
look forward to March every year to

19:36.990 --> 19:39.157
celebrate Women's History Month . It's

19:39.157 --> 19:41.570
really a time to pause and reflect on

19:41.570 --> 19:43.626
those pioneers and leaders that went

19:43.626 --> 19:46.110
before us who were able to work hard ,

19:46.120 --> 19:48.590
break down barriers and put in place

19:48.600 --> 19:51.880
the changes in law and policy and

19:51.880 --> 19:54.270
culture really that enabled all of us

19:54.280 --> 19:56.790
to be here today . I think it's a the

19:56.790 --> 19:59.430
honor of a lifetime to be a witness to

19:59.430 --> 20:01.530
this history . And I think all of us

20:01.530 --> 20:03.641
have been part of the history and had

20:03.641 --> 20:05.620
an opportunity to pay it forward a

20:05.620 --> 20:07.787
little bit . I know when I came in the

20:07.787 --> 20:11.300
Navy in 1985 , a lot of the doors for

20:11.310 --> 20:14.450
women were closed . Um I could not even

20:14.450 --> 20:16.394
have imagined being the commanding

20:16.394 --> 20:18.410
officer of a warship carrier strike

20:18.410 --> 20:21.410
group , a fleet or the vice chief of

20:21.410 --> 20:24.770
naval operations . But pretty soon

20:24.770 --> 20:27.100
after I got in the navy , it started to

20:27.110 --> 20:29.890
change . We had the opportunity in

20:29.890 --> 20:33.190
1993 when the combat exclusion law was

20:33.190 --> 20:35.630
repealed for women to serve on

20:35.630 --> 20:38.110
combatants at sea or fly combatant

20:38.120 --> 20:41.100
aircraft . And so I knew that the doors

20:41.110 --> 20:45.110
were starting to open . And once

20:45.110 --> 20:47.332
that happened , all of the first , they

20:47.332 --> 20:49.277
started to fall . We had our first

20:49.277 --> 20:51.277
woman CEO of a combatant ship , our

20:51.277 --> 20:53.388
first woman CEO of a fighter squadron

20:53.388 --> 20:55.590
and then it went on and on and on . We

20:55.590 --> 20:57.690
have admiral retired Deb Lower here

20:57.690 --> 21:00.470
today who was our first warfare

21:00.470 --> 21:03.550
qualified female flag officer . Big

21:03.550 --> 21:06.160
shout out to one of my lifetime mentors .

21:06.170 --> 21:07.260
And then we had ,

21:14.520 --> 21:16.990
and then we had reliable Nora Tyson

21:16.990 --> 21:19.200
then became Vice Admiral Tyson who was

21:19.200 --> 21:20.922
our first carrier strike group

21:20.922 --> 21:23.089
commander and numbered fleet commander

21:23.089 --> 21:25.256
and then admiral Michelle Howard , who

21:25.256 --> 21:27.311
was our first female four star . She

21:27.311 --> 21:29.422
was also our first vice chief and our

21:29.422 --> 21:32.240
first naval forces , Europe in Africa ,

21:32.250 --> 21:34.250
really leading the way . And now 10

21:34.250 --> 21:36.540
years after the repeal of all combat

21:36.540 --> 21:38.860
exclusions , I can see that the doors

21:38.870 --> 21:40.648
are not just open , but they're

21:40.648 --> 21:42.537
completely gone . And I think the

21:42.537 --> 21:44.648
question for women today is no longer

21:44.648 --> 21:46.930
what can I do ? It's what do I want to

21:46.930 --> 21:49.170
do because you can do anything in

21:49.170 --> 21:51.226
today's military . So when you think

21:51.226 --> 21:53.226
about the theme of today , which is

21:53.226 --> 21:55.448
beyond first , I am really happy to see

21:55.448 --> 21:58.180
us nearing an end of all the first and

21:58.180 --> 22:00.291
most recently in my service , we have

22:00.291 --> 22:02.402
our first woman executive officer and

22:02.402 --> 22:04.569
the chief of the boat of a submarine ,

22:04.569 --> 22:06.736
our first woman aircraft carrier , CEO

22:06.736 --> 22:08.880
our first woman special warfare

22:08.880 --> 22:12.380
combatant crewman . And soon right now

22:12.380 --> 22:14.560
this season , our first woman Blue

22:14.570 --> 22:17.340
Angel . So very excited to see her out

22:17.340 --> 22:19.562
there this year . And again , thanks to

22:19.562 --> 22:21.507
the example of these pioneers that

22:21.507 --> 22:23.640
we're seeing today and Nora Deb and

22:23.640 --> 22:26.550
Michelle before them , all 83,000

22:26.560 --> 22:28.980
female sailors can make a difference

22:28.990 --> 22:31.220
every day in every single one of our

22:31.220 --> 22:33.442
communities . I think that they are our

22:33.442 --> 22:35.700
shipmates . There are their daughters ,

22:35.700 --> 22:38.230
their spouses , their sisters , they

22:38.230 --> 22:40.550
bring from across America , all the

22:40.550 --> 22:43.180
critical thinking skills that we need

22:43.190 --> 22:45.079
to be able to be the world's most

22:45.079 --> 22:47.301
formidable fighting force ready to , to

22:47.301 --> 22:49.190
deter fight and when whenever the

22:49.190 --> 22:51.412
nation needs us to do so . So again , I

22:51.412 --> 22:53.357
know there's a lot of folks in the

22:53.357 --> 22:55.357
audience that's on online today . I

22:55.357 --> 22:57.357
would just like to offer one simple

22:57.357 --> 22:59.523
message , which is if you can see it ,

22:59.523 --> 23:01.690
you can be it and you can see it right

23:01.690 --> 23:03.690
here . So , in today's military , I

23:03.690 --> 23:05.690
think it's a little bit of a choose

23:05.690 --> 23:07.746
your own adventure . You can be your

23:07.746 --> 23:09.857
best . You can do your best . You can

23:09.857 --> 23:11.968
be part of an amazing team and make a

23:11.968 --> 23:14.023
difference every day . So I'm really

23:14.023 --> 23:16.023
excited to be up here and hear your

23:16.023 --> 23:15.470
questions today . Thank you .

23:22.780 --> 23:24.860
Well , thank you in America's rich

23:24.860 --> 23:27.170
history . There have been hundreds of

23:27.230 --> 23:29.770
four stars and admirals , but there

23:29.770 --> 23:32.730
have only been 10 women Today . There

23:32.730 --> 23:35.190
are four . This is the first time they

23:35.190 --> 23:37.190
have ever been together in a public

23:37.190 --> 23:40.250
setting and you are here with them this

23:40.250 --> 23:42.472
incredible moment . So thanks to all of

23:42.472 --> 23:44.550
you just underscoring really how

23:44.550 --> 23:46.717
incredible this is and thank you for ,

23:46.717 --> 23:48.772
for gathering us . Let me start with

23:48.772 --> 23:50.994
you , General Van overdosed . What does

23:50.994 --> 23:53.161
it mean to be amongst so many of these

23:53.161 --> 23:55.161
incredible leaders ? I know for the

23:55.161 --> 23:57.217
first time you guys had got together

23:57.217 --> 23:58.994
over dinner last night and then

23:58.994 --> 23:58.890
speaking in an interview with me ,

23:58.890 --> 24:01.112
that'll air on the CBS evening news and

24:01.112 --> 24:03.334
part of a longer format that we have on

24:03.334 --> 24:05.501
CBS called personal person . What have

24:05.501 --> 24:07.668
you learned from them too ? Even after

24:07.668 --> 24:07.580
your incredible leadership on your own ?

24:08.020 --> 24:09.970
And this is so amazing . The

24:09.970 --> 24:12.081
opportunities now abound . It's , you

24:12.081 --> 24:14.137
know , you think about when we first

24:14.137 --> 24:16.890
came in 35 years ago to now , you know ,

24:16.890 --> 24:19.410
Emily Fagan said it , this is not , is

24:19.410 --> 24:21.632
not the Coast Guard I entered . This is

24:21.632 --> 24:23.632
not the Air Force , this is not the

24:23.632 --> 24:25.632
service that we entered . We helped

24:25.632 --> 24:27.743
create a service that's more inviting

24:27.743 --> 24:29.799
to ensure that we are more ready and

24:29.799 --> 24:31.688
more capable and so to hear their

24:31.688 --> 24:33.890
stories and , you know , it's , it's

24:33.890 --> 24:35.723
not all that different . We were

24:35.723 --> 24:37.779
talking about how we sort of had the

24:37.779 --> 24:39.779
same challenges early on and it got

24:39.779 --> 24:42.001
better and doors , more doors over , we

24:42.001 --> 24:44.279
just blew open the doors . I like that ,

24:44.279 --> 24:46.390
we just blew , blew them open . Uh So

24:46.390 --> 24:48.501
that folks come , come in behind us .

24:48.501 --> 24:50.723
So , but today is really not about us .

24:50.723 --> 24:52.834
It's really about just thinking about

24:52.834 --> 24:52.500
all the challenges that our

24:52.500 --> 24:55.230
predecessors had . Uh and how they

24:55.240 --> 24:57.310
paved that path , made it smoother ,

24:57.310 --> 24:59.360
made it wider , provided us more

24:59.370 --> 25:02.430
options . And then , and then just kind

25:02.430 --> 25:04.486
of collecting and thinking about all

25:04.486 --> 25:06.597
the options that you can , all of the

25:06.597 --> 25:08.740
career fields , everything is open to

25:08.740 --> 25:10.907
you and the fact that we have improved

25:10.907 --> 25:13.400
the quality of life and quality of

25:13.400 --> 25:15.750
service that is going to inspire for

25:15.750 --> 25:17.917
generations to come . And so it's just

25:17.917 --> 25:19.972
been very excited to be a part of it

25:19.972 --> 25:22.139
all . Uh General Richardson and I were

25:22.139 --> 25:24.306
talking about this earlier for each of

25:24.306 --> 25:26.472
these women to reach this point . They

25:26.472 --> 25:28.417
have all been serving more than of

25:28.417 --> 25:30.472
course , three decades , maintaining

25:30.472 --> 25:32.639
and keeping the best and the brightest

25:32.639 --> 25:34.972
in our military is incredibly important .

25:34.972 --> 25:34.390
So , General Richardson what would you

25:34.390 --> 25:36.960
say to a young woman looking at the U S

25:36.960 --> 25:39.770
army or thinking about maybe , has been

25:39.770 --> 25:41.992
in the U S army and maybe like , well ,

25:41.992 --> 25:44.159
I might want to leave . What would you

25:44.159 --> 25:46.381
say ? Well , I would just say , uh back

25:46.381 --> 25:48.548
to what I said earlier in terms of the

25:48.548 --> 25:50.770
impact that you get to have on national

25:50.770 --> 25:52.937
security uh to our United States , but

25:52.937 --> 25:55.103
then also globally , all the positions

25:55.103 --> 25:57.270
that are available and open the things

25:57.270 --> 25:59.492
that you get to do . I had no idea that

25:59.492 --> 26:01.714
I would get to do all those things that

26:01.714 --> 26:03.826
I've been able to do . And , uh , and

26:03.826 --> 26:06.120
so certainly the everything is there

26:06.130 --> 26:08.241
just for you to choose . I mean , you

26:08.241 --> 26:10.440
have a choice now of what you want to

26:10.440 --> 26:13.070
do . And so I think it's just a matter

26:13.070 --> 26:15.880
of being able to connect the dots for

26:15.880 --> 26:18.230
our younger generation . It's coaches ,

26:18.240 --> 26:21.230
teachers , parents , everybody in the

26:21.230 --> 26:23.286
community , helping to connect these

26:23.286 --> 26:25.230
big ideas and these dreams for our

26:25.230 --> 26:27.820
young people to the military and folks

26:27.820 --> 26:30.042
that are in the military , we've got to

26:30.042 --> 26:32.376
talk to them right ? Open communication .

26:32.376 --> 26:34.810
We can't do it on , on , on social

26:34.810 --> 26:36.866
media and things like that . We have

26:36.866 --> 26:39.160
got to do this investment of time with

26:39.160 --> 26:42.400
our younger generation to educate them

26:42.410 --> 26:44.521
on the opportunities that are there ,

26:44.521 --> 26:46.688
help them decide , okay , if you don't

26:46.688 --> 26:48.799
wanna do , you don't like what you're

26:48.799 --> 26:50.854
doing , what do you want to do ? You

26:50.854 --> 26:52.854
know , here's some options and then

26:52.854 --> 26:54.688
connect those options if they're

26:54.688 --> 26:56.799
already in the service to those . But

26:56.799 --> 26:58.966
quite honestly , I mean , when I was a

26:58.966 --> 27:00.966
kid coming up in high school , uh ,

27:00.966 --> 27:03.188
okay . I want to be a pilot . I want to

27:03.188 --> 27:05.354
be a doctor . But how do I get there ?

27:05.354 --> 27:07.632
Uh , costs a lot of money to get there ,

27:07.632 --> 27:09.688
both those routes . So , how do I do

27:09.688 --> 27:11.950
that ? Army ROTC and any one of our R O

27:11.950 --> 27:15.290
T C s open that opens that door ? Oh my

27:15.290 --> 27:17.440
gosh . It's just amazing if you're in

27:17.440 --> 27:19.607
college , you're not really sure about

27:19.607 --> 27:21.329
the military , whether it's an

27:21.329 --> 27:23.440
appointment to an academy , it's ROTC

27:23.440 --> 27:25.730
or enlistment . There are options and

27:25.730 --> 27:28.070
there are plenty of options . Uh So

27:28.070 --> 27:30.181
we've got to connect with our younger

27:30.181 --> 27:32.181
generation . We've got to tell them

27:32.181 --> 27:34.292
about the military because they don't

27:34.292 --> 27:37.080
know , 72% of our young generation does

27:37.080 --> 27:39.460
not know what resides in the military

27:39.460 --> 27:41.780
today . Those are the statistics and

27:41.780 --> 27:44.058
those are daunting and that's not good .

27:44.058 --> 27:46.113
Now , once they get in our retention

27:46.113 --> 27:49.140
rate is over 100 once they get in there ,

27:49.140 --> 27:51.270
like , wow , look at all this right .

27:51.280 --> 27:53.502
We can retain its just like we've gotta

27:53.502 --> 27:55.447
recruit , we've got to retain , we

27:55.447 --> 27:58.410
gotta train and we got to advance . So

27:58.420 --> 28:00.531
I think we have great opportunities .

28:00.531 --> 28:02.587
Thank you for the question , Admiral

28:02.587 --> 28:04.698
Fabian , as the nation's first female

28:04.698 --> 28:06.809
service chief , I know you faced many

28:06.809 --> 28:09.140
barriers in your career . What advice .

28:09.150 --> 28:11.610
Would you offer to those who may feel

28:11.610 --> 28:13.690
underrepresented , who are facing

28:13.690 --> 28:17.560
challenges ? So I shared earlier ,

28:17.570 --> 28:21.010
I was not welcomed on my first ship . I

28:21.020 --> 28:24.870
uh they , so I was on

28:24.870 --> 28:27.180
the icebreaker Polar Star which is on

28:27.180 --> 28:29.380
her way back from 26 ft . Freeze , the

28:29.380 --> 28:31.547
ship has not gotten younger . That's a

28:31.547 --> 28:33.602
different story . Neither have I for

28:33.602 --> 28:37.530
that . But I reported in the

28:37.530 --> 28:40.920
X O calls me into a state room and um

28:40.930 --> 28:43.470
said , hey , um we weren't sure we were

28:43.470 --> 28:45.581
gonna let your orders go through . We

28:45.581 --> 28:47.859
considered having your orders canceled .

28:47.859 --> 28:49.859
I was the only woman as part of the

28:49.859 --> 28:52.081
crew . In fact , for the two years that

28:52.081 --> 28:51.770
I was assigned , I was the only female

28:51.770 --> 28:54.410
on that ship and at the time I thought ,

28:54.420 --> 28:56.531
oh , all right . Well , good , good .

28:56.531 --> 28:58.642
They didn't do that . But then with ,

28:58.642 --> 29:00.920
with more time and reflection like why ,

29:00.920 --> 29:03.087
why did they think that that needed to

29:03.087 --> 29:05.309
be necessary ? Of course , fast forward

29:05.309 --> 29:07.800
to today where that ship is gonna fully

29:07.800 --> 29:10.500
integrated crew , both officers and

29:10.500 --> 29:13.290
enlisted and it just um creates

29:13.300 --> 29:16.810
opportunity for , for all I uh when it

29:16.810 --> 29:18.977
was announced , it was just about last

29:18.977 --> 29:21.199
year at this time that it was announced

29:21.199 --> 29:23.532
that I was being nominated to be common .

29:23.532 --> 29:25.643
In fact , it was at sea air space and

29:25.643 --> 29:28.070
uh you know , the , you know , big

29:28.070 --> 29:30.570
announcement and I'm leaving the venue

29:30.580 --> 29:33.490
and this , this woman chases me down

29:33.500 --> 29:35.611
and she's like you have no idea who I

29:35.611 --> 29:37.667
am . I'm , you know , I'm like , all

29:37.667 --> 29:37.620
right , I have no , we've all had this

29:37.620 --> 29:40.800
experience like What's what's coming

29:40.800 --> 29:44.460
next . And she , she was , she works in

29:44.460 --> 29:46.680
the , in the White House budget in the

29:46.680 --> 29:50.160
White House . He says my daughter is 10

29:50.170 --> 29:54.090
and she can be anything because of you .

29:54.090 --> 29:56.312
And of course , my inside voice is like

29:56.312 --> 29:58.312
your daughter can be anything , not

29:58.312 --> 30:00.534
just because of me , but because of all

30:00.534 --> 30:02.701
of the change that we're talking about

30:02.701 --> 30:05.120
here and uh and all of the opportunity .

30:05.360 --> 30:08.960
And so what I would offer by way of

30:08.960 --> 30:11.127
advice first , I never thought I would

30:11.127 --> 30:14.430
be a first . I don't particularly like

30:14.440 --> 30:16.662
talk about being a first and you know ,

30:16.662 --> 30:18.551
this opportunity . And I see Vice

30:18.551 --> 30:20.718
General Sally Brice o'hara here in the

30:20.718 --> 30:22.829
front row of former Vice Commandant ,

30:22.829 --> 30:25.120
retired three star , right ? Those are

30:25.120 --> 30:27.610
the trailblazers and the trendsetters

30:27.610 --> 30:30.140
that created uh the opportunity that

30:30.140 --> 30:32.950
I've been able to benefit from . But ,

30:32.960 --> 30:36.410
but the advice that I would leave for

30:36.420 --> 30:38.910
any of us and I was speaking with our

30:38.920 --> 30:41.090
young cadets just a couple a couple of

30:41.090 --> 30:43.260
days ago and that is , you know , find

30:43.260 --> 30:45.480
your passion and then , you know ,

30:45.480 --> 30:48.960
pursue it and persistence matters

30:48.970 --> 30:52.110
and it's not gonna be easy work , but

30:52.110 --> 30:54.220
it is worth the endeavor and the

30:54.220 --> 30:57.440
commitment and it takes time . You

30:57.440 --> 30:59.510
don't , I joke like I didn't wake up

30:59.510 --> 31:01.232
one morning last March and the

31:01.232 --> 31:03.343
secretary called , hey , I'm planning

31:03.343 --> 31:05.177
on sending your name over to the

31:05.177 --> 31:07.288
president . There's a problem , there

31:07.288 --> 31:09.288
was a 35 plus year process that got

31:09.288 --> 31:11.399
each of us here to this point . And ,

31:11.399 --> 31:13.177
you know , there's , there's no

31:13.177 --> 31:15.232
shortcut in it . And so , you know ,

31:15.232 --> 31:17.288
find your passion and then commit to

31:17.288 --> 31:20.040
the work , show up to work at it ,

31:20.050 --> 31:22.230
endeavor to make it better for those ,

31:22.240 --> 31:24.351
you know , better for the people that

31:24.351 --> 31:26.351
you're leading and better for those

31:26.351 --> 31:28.462
that come behind you . And , and then

31:28.462 --> 31:30.518
all of a sudden , 35 years go by and

31:30.518 --> 31:34.470
here we are . Um well ,

31:34.470 --> 31:36.581
Admiral Frank , any , we were talking

31:36.581 --> 31:38.470
about this legally , there are no

31:38.470 --> 31:40.637
barriers that should prevent women and

31:40.637 --> 31:42.914
others from pursuing what they want in ,

31:42.914 --> 31:44.970
in the U S military . But it is very

31:44.970 --> 31:47.137
different from when you joined as well

31:47.137 --> 31:49.303
as those and many , many of the people

31:49.303 --> 31:51.414
here . Can you talk about some of the

31:51.414 --> 31:53.581
challenges that you experienced in the

31:53.581 --> 31:55.803
navy ? Well , as I said earlier , there

31:55.803 --> 31:57.970
was a lot of things I couldn't do when

31:57.970 --> 31:57.850
I came in the navy and that was very

31:57.860 --> 32:00.320
frustrating to me . I was an ROTC

32:00.320 --> 32:02.710
student . I felt like I should be able

32:02.710 --> 32:04.710
to do anything I wanted to do . And

32:04.710 --> 32:06.766
then I ran right into the barrier of

32:06.766 --> 32:08.821
not going able , being able to go to

32:08.821 --> 32:10.988
see right away . So my first challenge

32:10.988 --> 32:13.043
was actually bill it one of the 17 a

32:13.043 --> 32:15.280
year that we had back then for women to

32:15.280 --> 32:17.510
go to see . So when I finally got one

32:17.510 --> 32:20.870
of those , I got to my first ship and

32:20.880 --> 32:23.150
my chief engineer who was my boss at

32:23.150 --> 32:26.550
the time , uh similar to Animal Fagan

32:26.560 --> 32:29.340
said , I don't think women should be on

32:29.340 --> 32:31.340
ships . I don't think you should be

32:31.340 --> 32:33.550
here . And I think I'm going to make

32:33.550 --> 32:36.680
sure you fail . And for me , that was

32:36.690 --> 32:38.801
pretty eye opening that someone would

32:38.801 --> 32:41.250
say that to me . Um But what I found

32:41.260 --> 32:44.650
through that adversity was that my team

32:44.660 --> 32:46.710
found out about it , my Chief petty

32:46.710 --> 32:48.830
officers and all my colleagues in

32:48.830 --> 32:51.060
engineering and they basically set out

32:51.070 --> 32:53.150
to make sure that that didn't happen

32:53.160 --> 32:55.680
and that he was wrong . So I think that

32:55.680 --> 32:58.040
I was able to just sort of let it roll

32:58.050 --> 33:00.810
like water off a duck's back and just

33:00.810 --> 33:03.410
get to work . I knew that if I did my

33:03.410 --> 33:05.350
best , I worked hard , I couldn't

33:05.350 --> 33:07.590
control what he was gonna do or say

33:07.600 --> 33:09.767
that I could make sure that we did our

33:09.767 --> 33:11.822
best . And so as a team , we rallied

33:11.822 --> 33:14.990
around my division , my efforts and we

33:15.000 --> 33:17.790
basically made it look like he was a

33:17.800 --> 33:20.078
failure For not wanting us to be there .

33:20.078 --> 33:22.300
So again , I'm really happy to say that

33:22.300 --> 33:24.300
that is the only time that I've run

33:24.300 --> 33:27.620
into that , that was back in 1987 . So

33:27.620 --> 33:29.453
I'm pleased to say that I really

33:29.453 --> 33:31.342
haven't run into those challenges

33:31.342 --> 33:33.287
throughout the rest of my now 37 .

33:33.287 --> 33:35.398
Years in the service . But that was a

33:35.398 --> 33:37.564
lesson right up front that you need to

33:37.564 --> 33:39.620
be able to just put your head down .

33:39.620 --> 33:41.620
Don't really worry about what other

33:41.620 --> 33:43.787
people think and just do your best and

33:43.787 --> 33:46.120
that will take you where you need to go .

33:46.220 --> 33:48.050
General van . You had a similar

33:48.050 --> 33:51.000
experience as an aviator . Yeah . So

33:51.010 --> 33:54.170
right after the women were , began to

33:54.180 --> 33:56.291
allow the flight fighters , I was , I

33:56.291 --> 33:58.820
was in test pilot school and flying 15 .

33:58.830 --> 34:02.130
Uh , and indeed one of the senior

34:02.130 --> 34:04.140
instructors , uh , pretty much said

34:04.140 --> 34:06.460
that you shouldn't be here . There's no

34:06.460 --> 34:09.130
reason for you to be here . Um , and ,

34:09.140 --> 34:11.450
and , and so the thought was , hey ,

34:11.460 --> 34:13.627
you know , you could just , you know ,

34:13.627 --> 34:15.627
get out of the school . Of course ,

34:15.627 --> 34:17.810
that was not my plan . And I was a

34:17.810 --> 34:19.400
little shocked ,

34:21.410 --> 34:24.540
I was a little shocked by the incident

34:24.800 --> 34:27.022
and , you know , it took me about a day

34:27.022 --> 34:29.133
but I tell you what , I really leaned

34:29.133 --> 34:30.967
on my peers , you know , I was a

34:30.967 --> 34:33.244
captain , leaned on the other captains ,

34:33.244 --> 34:35.300
the male , uh , my classmates , uh ,

34:35.300 --> 34:37.356
and , uh , and it just encouraged me

34:37.356 --> 34:36.510
and said , you know , you have every

34:36.510 --> 34:39.360
right to be here . Uh , you're a great

34:39.360 --> 34:42.570
pilot , you can wax people and we're

34:42.570 --> 34:44.737
gonna help you . Right . I didn't know

34:44.737 --> 34:46.848
basic fighter maneuvers because I had

34:46.848 --> 34:48.848
flown a heavy airplane before I got

34:48.848 --> 34:51.014
there . Uh , and so I'm thrust into an

34:51.014 --> 34:53.181
airplane and , and all these maneuvers

34:53.181 --> 34:55.237
that everyone else already knew . So

34:55.237 --> 34:57.348
they worked with me on the side and I

34:57.348 --> 34:59.514
studied hard , put my head down , went

34:59.514 --> 35:01.681
out practice every time I can . So the

35:01.681 --> 35:01.500
next time I flew with or against this

35:01.500 --> 35:04.660
person , I was ready to wax them right ?

35:05.460 --> 35:08.620
To be your best , right ? But like

35:08.620 --> 35:10.610
that's growth , that's changed its

35:10.610 --> 35:12.332
internalization . That's being

35:12.332 --> 35:14.520
persistent and determined . Having a

35:14.520 --> 35:17.050
goal . Uh not being afraid to ask other

35:17.050 --> 35:19.328
people . But hey , how did you do this ?

35:19.328 --> 35:21.780
You have a mentor because , you know ,

35:21.780 --> 35:23.947
people have been there , they may have

35:23.947 --> 35:26.058
done exactly what you did , but there

35:26.058 --> 35:26.050
are people that understand and have

35:26.050 --> 35:28.180
walked that path before , find those

35:28.180 --> 35:30.820
people and have them help you and they

35:30.830 --> 35:34.510
absolutely excited to do so . General

35:34.510 --> 35:36.621
Richardson is South com commander . I

35:36.621 --> 35:38.843
know that you have traveled extensively

35:38.843 --> 35:41.010
to the Caribbean , Latin America . How

35:41.010 --> 35:43.177
would you describe the extent to which

35:43.177 --> 35:45.288
countries in that region embraced the

35:45.288 --> 35:47.454
integration of women in their military

35:47.454 --> 35:49.710
ranks ? What have you learned ? I would

35:49.710 --> 35:52.570
say overall um pretty good . Some are

35:52.570 --> 35:54.800
better than others as you can imagine .

35:54.810 --> 35:58.240
Uh And so the , it's

35:58.250 --> 36:01.930
um um very , I could give great

36:01.930 --> 36:04.350
examples and then uh some examples

36:04.350 --> 36:07.250
where they need to do more work . But I

36:07.250 --> 36:09.306
will say that in this region , we've

36:09.306 --> 36:11.610
got uh two women presidents , we have

36:11.620 --> 36:13.960
two women , vice presidents , we have

36:13.970 --> 36:16.740
two women , my Ministers of Defense ,

36:16.750 --> 36:18.780
we've got the only woman chief of

36:18.780 --> 36:21.002
defense in the world , right ? Now from

36:21.002 --> 36:24.370
Jamaica . Uh and we have a command

36:24.370 --> 36:26.426
sergeant major , female in charge of

36:26.426 --> 36:29.370
the Colombian military only command

36:29.370 --> 36:31.314
sergeant major female in the world

36:31.314 --> 36:33.537
right now as well . So I mean , we have

36:33.537 --> 36:36.590
some great shining examples . Um like

36:36.590 --> 36:38.701
to say , I've got two U S ambassadors

36:38.701 --> 36:41.050
in the front row . Um Karen Williams

36:41.050 --> 36:43.800
and also Jean manes . Jean is my deputy

36:43.800 --> 36:46.570
at South com . But in the region , we

36:46.570 --> 36:49.080
have a third of our U S ambassadors out

36:49.080 --> 36:51.380
of the 31 countries , a third of them

36:51.390 --> 36:54.150
are women . So we have great examples

36:54.160 --> 36:56.438
now itself . Come commanders , a woman ,

36:56.438 --> 36:58.493
there are all kinds of examples . So

36:58.493 --> 37:01.230
it's a power of example . But you know ,

37:01.230 --> 37:03.397
quite honestly when you go into a room

37:03.397 --> 37:06.270
and uh you know , you um you go talk to

37:06.270 --> 37:08.660
a leader whether it's a head of state ,

37:08.670 --> 37:10.660
a Minister of Defense of Foreign

37:10.660 --> 37:13.070
Affairs Minister , uh the Chief of

37:13.070 --> 37:16.160
Defense . Um you know , they , I think

37:16.160 --> 37:18.390
that there's a general respect but you

37:18.390 --> 37:21.090
have to also it's , that's not enough .

37:21.100 --> 37:23.044
What are you there to talk to them

37:23.044 --> 37:25.211
about and what are you there to do for

37:25.211 --> 37:27.433
them ? How are you going to communicate

37:27.433 --> 37:29.489
with , with them ? How are you gonna

37:29.489 --> 37:31.600
understand their challenges that they

37:31.600 --> 37:34.150
have and uh seeing things through their

37:34.150 --> 37:36.430
eyes , how they see their challenges

37:36.440 --> 37:38.607
because until you see it through their

37:38.607 --> 37:40.551
eyes , do you understand ? I think

37:40.551 --> 37:43.400
we're able to buy the power of example ,

37:43.410 --> 37:45.720
we always do women , peace and security

37:45.720 --> 37:48.660
events in every country I go to . So I

37:48.660 --> 37:50.900
have my women , peace and security lead

37:50.910 --> 37:53.810
Mary Major Aries Hoffs . So stand up

37:53.810 --> 37:55.710
Aries real quick wave to

37:55.710 --> 37:58.200
everybody .

38:01.820 --> 38:04.140
She does a great job . We will put

38:04.140 --> 38:07.130
conferences together uh regional with

38:07.130 --> 38:09.241
several different countries . We will

38:09.241 --> 38:11.352
have , if we just do something within

38:11.352 --> 38:13.408
the country , we have their military

38:13.408 --> 38:15.019
and security forces that are

38:15.019 --> 38:17.241
represented there and then we bring the

38:17.241 --> 38:19.408
Chiefs of defense , the service chiefs

38:19.408 --> 38:21.408
there and then they get to hear the

38:21.408 --> 38:23.463
barriers that these women have . The

38:23.463 --> 38:25.630
nice thing is , is it's not just women

38:25.630 --> 38:27.741
at the table and their leaders , it's

38:27.741 --> 38:29.852
also men from their services to . And

38:29.852 --> 38:31.741
uh it's quite honestly to see the

38:31.741 --> 38:33.797
younger generation empower women and

38:33.797 --> 38:35.574
want women to succeed is pretty

38:35.574 --> 38:37.797
incredible as well . Sometimes it's the

38:37.797 --> 38:39.908
older generation that you have to get

38:39.908 --> 38:42.130
through . So we'll just keep after it ,

38:42.130 --> 38:44.241
I would say that it's a great example

38:44.241 --> 38:46.700
of , of integration of women into the

38:46.700 --> 38:48.644
military and security forces . But

38:48.644 --> 38:50.890
there's more work to be done . There's

38:50.890 --> 38:53.057
no doubt the leadership roles that you

38:53.057 --> 38:55.168
represent . And certainly many of the

38:55.168 --> 38:57.501
young women here today around the world .

38:57.501 --> 38:59.557
It's , it's once again a reminder to

38:59.557 --> 39:01.779
the rest of the world , what makes this

39:01.779 --> 39:04.001
country the best country in the world .

39:04.001 --> 39:06.770
It really is uniforms so proudly

39:06.780 --> 39:09.002
because people would love to be able to

39:09.002 --> 39:11.113
have the opportunities that we have .

39:11.113 --> 39:13.224
General . And I know you were just in

39:13.224 --> 39:15.336
the Middle East . Tell us what you're

39:15.336 --> 39:17.558
seeing there . Yeah , so Middle East is

39:17.558 --> 39:19.891
a slightly , slightly different uh than ,

39:19.900 --> 39:23.790
than South America . But so there are a

39:23.800 --> 39:26.070
few decades behind us , but there is

39:26.070 --> 39:28.930
great hope . I was in Saudi Arabia ,

39:28.930 --> 39:31.960
was in Riyadh and the New Vision 2030

39:31.960 --> 39:34.440
for that nation . Uh There are women

39:34.440 --> 39:36.900
now driving . Uh there are women going

39:36.900 --> 39:39.460
to school . Um There are women

39:39.460 --> 39:43.080
entrepreneurs , they can decide to work

39:43.090 --> 39:45.090
without having their guardians sign

39:45.090 --> 39:47.146
them up and get permission from your

39:47.146 --> 39:51.080
guardian . So they're moving and

39:51.090 --> 39:54.050
uh the shops are now open all the time

39:54.050 --> 39:56.272
and used to be closed for your times of

39:56.272 --> 39:58.328
prayer . And so all of a sudden , in

39:58.328 --> 40:00.439
fact , some of the older ladies would

40:00.439 --> 40:02.717
say it's almost moving too fast for us .

40:02.717 --> 40:04.939
Now , all of a sudden women are driving

40:04.939 --> 40:07.161
and they're working and you see them in

40:07.161 --> 40:09.490
the shops and it's weird to see a woman

40:09.490 --> 40:13.030
alone in the shop working , but it goes

40:13.030 --> 40:15.086
back to what is the talent and , and

40:15.086 --> 40:17.252
how are they using those talents ? And

40:17.252 --> 40:19.197
I think um the leadership there is

40:19.197 --> 40:21.363
really recognizing that they've got to

40:21.363 --> 40:23.419
get beyond just oil . They've got to

40:23.419 --> 40:25.474
get to the digital economy and , and

40:25.474 --> 40:27.586
using all the women , I was in Kuwait

40:27.586 --> 40:29.808
doing a women's empowerment event And I

40:29.808 --> 40:32.240
was told there by the , one of the lead

40:32.240 --> 40:33.907
ladies who put together these

40:33.907 --> 40:36.018
entrepreneurs that came and talked to

40:36.018 --> 40:39.150
us that 90% of the stem graduates in

40:39.150 --> 40:41.840
Kuwait are women . So you can imagine

40:41.840 --> 40:44.680
if you're not using that 90% . Right .

40:44.690 --> 40:47.460
And so from chemical engineers ,

40:47.470 --> 40:50.120
digital . So they're getting after it

40:50.120 --> 40:52.270
and there and people are now seeking

40:52.270 --> 40:54.290
their advice and using them and

40:54.290 --> 40:56.290
leveraging them in ways that just ,

40:56.290 --> 40:58.346
they just have not before . And so I

40:58.346 --> 41:00.401
have great hope not just about their

41:00.401 --> 41:02.401
economies but about the decision in

41:02.401 --> 41:04.930
their societies because the women are

41:04.940 --> 41:07.273
now allowed to work and do those things .

41:07.350 --> 41:09.628
I think I've seen doesn't the Emirates ,

41:09.628 --> 41:11.850
United Air Emirates has had some female

41:11.850 --> 41:14.017
pilots as well . They have , they have

41:14.017 --> 41:16.128
some had their first fighter pilot as

41:16.128 --> 41:15.850
well . So it's , it's really very

41:15.850 --> 41:18.450
exciting and you know , going and

41:18.450 --> 41:20.930
seeing the women in Qatar that our

41:20.930 --> 41:23.800
pilots and , and load masters and in

41:23.800 --> 41:25.800
the back of the airplane , dropping

41:25.800 --> 41:27.689
things out and , and seeing their

41:27.689 --> 41:29.856
capabilities . They're excited and the

41:29.856 --> 41:32.078
men are excited as well . Admiral Frank

41:32.078 --> 41:33.967
Eddie . What has been the biggest

41:33.967 --> 41:35.967
influence in your career ? How have

41:35.967 --> 41:38.560
mentors helped you describe how that

41:38.560 --> 41:41.120
has worked and lead you to the position

41:41.120 --> 41:43.510
you are today . I would say that my

41:43.510 --> 41:45.750
first mentor , of course was my dad .

41:45.780 --> 41:48.570
He wasn't in the military , but he was

41:48.570 --> 41:50.737
a plant manager . And the one thing he

41:50.737 --> 41:53.820
taught me about was about people and he

41:53.820 --> 41:56.150
was one of the original management by

41:56.150 --> 41:58.360
wandering around type of leaders where

41:58.360 --> 42:00.582
he would go out and meet people he knew

42:00.582 --> 42:02.804
all their stories , but he really could

42:02.804 --> 42:05.100
get a sense of what was going on in the

42:05.100 --> 42:07.156
business and what he needed to do to

42:07.156 --> 42:09.378
make sure that each one of those people

42:09.378 --> 42:11.378
could contribute their best . And I

42:11.378 --> 42:13.600
took that approach in that philosophy ,

42:13.600 --> 42:16.030
really with me into the Navy . But I

42:16.030 --> 42:18.650
would say that I have had been the

42:18.650 --> 42:20.960
beneficiary of an incredible number of

42:20.960 --> 42:23.182
mentors . Always used to say that I was

42:23.182 --> 42:25.404
a big lump of Frank Eddie Clay and they

42:25.404 --> 42:27.571
all came along and did a little bit of

42:27.571 --> 42:29.516
molding on it to get me where I am

42:29.516 --> 42:31.571
today . But between a mellower who's

42:31.571 --> 42:33.682
here was really built a great network

42:33.682 --> 42:35.738
of the very first pioneering surface

42:35.738 --> 42:38.120
warfare women to people like Admiral

42:38.120 --> 42:40.120
Tyson or strike commander , Admiral

42:40.120 --> 42:42.287
Howard , who I mentioned earlier , But

42:42.287 --> 42:44.509
also male mentors , John Petersen was a

42:44.509 --> 42:46.800
guy at my Rosie unit who I still keep

42:46.800 --> 42:49.022
in touch with today . And he was always

42:49.022 --> 42:51.133
a great supporter and another Captain

42:51.133 --> 42:53.356
Gary Bear who was the one who helped me

42:53.356 --> 42:55.356
figure out a way to get to see when

42:55.356 --> 42:57.700
there were only 17 opportunities back

42:57.700 --> 43:01.340
in 1985 . So I feel like for everyone ,

43:01.350 --> 43:04.600
there are those key mentors that will

43:04.600 --> 43:07.350
be the ones that tell you how to get

43:07.350 --> 43:09.406
there , what experiences you need to

43:09.406 --> 43:11.517
have . But also the ones that look at

43:11.517 --> 43:13.572
you and say , hey , you're not doing

43:13.572 --> 43:15.628
this well and you need to improve in

43:15.628 --> 43:17.850
these a couple areas if you really want

43:17.850 --> 43:17.240
to move on . And so I've been the

43:17.240 --> 43:19.351
beneficiary of many great people like

43:19.351 --> 43:21.518
that and I'm thankful for that . We're

43:21.518 --> 43:24.090
just about ready to take questions from

43:24.090 --> 43:27.120
the audience and from online . So be

43:27.120 --> 43:29.430
ready . I'm gonna call on you . Um

43:29.430 --> 43:31.820
Shortly General Richardson . I do want

43:31.820 --> 43:35.280
to ask you um , as a soldier who has

43:35.280 --> 43:37.750
served in jobs previously unavailable

43:37.750 --> 43:40.470
to women , what lessons would you share

43:40.470 --> 43:42.526
for women who want to follow in your

43:42.526 --> 43:44.960
footsteps ? I would say the just the

43:44.960 --> 43:47.240
availability of being able to do that .

43:47.250 --> 43:49.350
Um I've always put my head down and

43:49.350 --> 43:51.620
just worked really hard at uh at what

43:51.620 --> 43:54.420
I've done . Um I've never been handed

43:54.420 --> 43:57.060
anything . I've never been lucky . It's

43:57.060 --> 43:59.393
just a matter of putting your head down ,

43:59.393 --> 44:01.116
working as hard as you can and

44:01.116 --> 44:03.870
consistent performance . Uh And that is ,

44:03.880 --> 44:06.540
um , that is what has enabled me . I've

44:06.550 --> 44:08.870
tried not to , what's next ? The only

44:08.870 --> 44:10.759
reason I looked at what's next is

44:10.759 --> 44:12.890
because um I was in a dual military

44:12.890 --> 44:15.057
family and we got , I had to make sure

44:15.057 --> 44:17.001
we had child care for our daughter

44:17.001 --> 44:20.190
Lauren . And uh that's what , what next

44:20.190 --> 44:22.301
was about . It wasn't like , how am I

44:22.301 --> 44:24.412
gonna get promoted ? And what's gonna

44:24.412 --> 44:26.579
get me ? There was a matter of keeping

44:26.579 --> 44:28.690
me and my husband together everywhere

44:28.690 --> 44:28.520
we went . He was a couple years ahead

44:28.520 --> 44:30.730
of me and where's the , where's the

44:30.730 --> 44:32.841
best child care that fits in with our

44:32.841 --> 44:35.590
family and our values and everything

44:35.600 --> 44:37.860
and it was great because the , the army

44:37.870 --> 44:40.200
offered that the family caught child

44:40.200 --> 44:42.422
care services . Otherwise I wouldn't be

44:42.422 --> 44:45.140
in the army , uh , today . Um , quite

44:45.140 --> 44:47.196
honestly , and it's because of those

44:47.196 --> 44:49.490
programs that existed when I was back

44:49.490 --> 44:51.710
as a lieutenant , um , that have

44:51.710 --> 44:54.210
existed throughout . You can be a dual

44:54.210 --> 44:57.700
military family . You can have kids ,

44:57.710 --> 45:00.620
you can both be successful . Uh , it

45:00.620 --> 45:02.953
just takes a little bit of planning and ,

45:02.953 --> 45:05.120
and figuring out what's next and going

45:05.120 --> 45:07.530
places where you both can go . Um , but

45:07.540 --> 45:10.520
the opportunities are there . So , um ,

45:10.530 --> 45:12.641
lessons learned would be , you know ,

45:12.641 --> 45:16.350
just , um , just look for , you can

45:16.350 --> 45:18.406
make it happen . I guess it's really

45:18.406 --> 45:21.550
what it is , you can do it , it helps

45:21.550 --> 45:23.772
now to have technology because then you

45:23.772 --> 45:25.994
can share with your spouse where you're

45:25.994 --> 45:28.106
gonna be and they can just share back

45:28.106 --> 45:28.060
with you so you can get your calendar

45:28.060 --> 45:28.620
set .

45:30.600 --> 45:33.920
Wait a minute , I have this at this

45:33.920 --> 45:37.710
time , right ? Um All right .

45:37.710 --> 45:39.766
Last question I do wanna ask Admiral

45:39.766 --> 45:43.130
Fagan this . How do you sometimes is

45:43.130 --> 45:46.070
the only woman in the room ? Use your

45:46.070 --> 45:49.580
voice to bring up a difficult subject

45:49.590 --> 45:51.812
without offending people or getting you

45:51.812 --> 45:53.920
in a position where maybe you think

45:53.920 --> 45:56.130
people won't like you , whatever .

45:56.130 --> 45:58.241
Maybe , maybe I'm saying , how do you

45:58.241 --> 46:00.810
approach difficult subject matter , use

46:00.810 --> 46:04.770
your voice but not , maybe offend

46:04.770 --> 46:07.890
some of the people in the room . So ,

46:07.900 --> 46:10.360
first an observation because this has

46:10.370 --> 46:13.550
happened not in the last 18 months ,

46:13.550 --> 46:16.530
but in the last two years in a room of

46:16.530 --> 46:19.400
very senior people , very senior ,

46:19.410 --> 46:23.320
mostly white male , senior people . And

46:23.330 --> 46:25.820
they're going around the table asking

46:25.830 --> 46:29.010
for perspective on a topic . And it'll

46:29.010 --> 46:32.120
come to me and I will say something and

46:32.120 --> 46:34.287
there's just sort of a nod and they go

46:34.287 --> 46:36.509
around and then two people later , same

46:36.509 --> 46:38.700
thing gets said and they go , oh ,

46:38.700 --> 46:42.300
that's a great idea . And it's

46:42.300 --> 46:46.030
like I just said that . So

46:46.040 --> 46:49.120
I share that only because that dynamic

46:49.120 --> 46:51.630
is still alive . And well , even with

46:51.630 --> 46:54.220
all the seniority , there were senior

46:54.220 --> 46:56.220
women in the Obama White House that

46:56.220 --> 46:58.276
said that that happened to them . So

46:58.276 --> 47:00.442
this is even in , you know , it's many

47:00.442 --> 47:02.820
different settings . So for so where

47:02.820 --> 47:04.709
I'm gonna go with this is right ,

47:05.090 --> 47:07.368
particularly for the women in the room ,

47:07.368 --> 47:09.860
you were at the table for a reason .

47:10.730 --> 47:14.630
Use your voice . Don't presume that

47:14.630 --> 47:17.090
the others sitting at the table have

47:17.100 --> 47:19.670
your perspective and it may be an

47:19.670 --> 47:22.310
uncomfortable topic , but you need to

47:22.310 --> 47:24.640
use your voice . You're not there by

47:24.640 --> 47:27.670
accident . It's not random . It's not

47:27.670 --> 47:29.726
luck . You have earned your way into

47:29.726 --> 47:33.270
the room at the table and you know ,

47:33.270 --> 47:36.080
you know your subject matter , but use

47:36.090 --> 47:39.890
your voice . Uh at this point for me

47:39.890 --> 47:42.610
now leading a service , it is

47:42.610 --> 47:44.721
interesting to all of a sudden , I've

47:44.721 --> 47:46.554
become very smart , very funny .

47:50.480 --> 47:52.480
Some of the people here in the room

47:52.480 --> 47:54.702
with me . Right . It's like , wow , how

47:54.702 --> 47:56.924
did that happen ? Because I'm still the

47:56.924 --> 47:59.202
same person that I was in some regards ,

47:59.202 --> 48:01.670
but it isn't , it is important to bring

48:01.670 --> 48:05.240
up the difficult topics . Uh , usually

48:05.240 --> 48:07.510
the approach that I take and , and for

48:07.510 --> 48:09.621
us , particularly as a service , we ,

48:09.621 --> 48:11.843
uh we don't do particularly well if the

48:11.850 --> 48:14.310
topic generates a lot of emotion , we ,

48:14.320 --> 48:16.730
we start to lose kind of rational thing .

48:16.730 --> 48:19.150
And so I'm the one that's constantly

48:19.150 --> 48:21.560
saying lose the emotion . We need to be

48:21.570 --> 48:24.230
just a matter of fact raised the issue

48:24.240 --> 48:26.410
and then with deliberation and intent

48:26.430 --> 48:28.486
and yes , it may be an uncomfortable

48:28.486 --> 48:30.980
topic , but we have an obligation as

48:30.980 --> 48:34.050
senior leaders to make it better for

48:34.050 --> 48:36.290
those coming behind us . And if we

48:36.290 --> 48:37.790
don't have these difficult

48:37.790 --> 48:39.910
conversations , it won't be better in

48:39.910 --> 48:41.910
the future for the folks that are ,

48:41.910 --> 48:43.966
that are coming behind us . Thanks .

48:43.966 --> 48:44.560
Yeah .

48:52.850 --> 48:54.961
All right . Do we have some questions

48:54.961 --> 48:58.610
from the audience ? Oh , yeah , we'll

48:58.610 --> 49:00.554
start in the , in the front here .

49:00.554 --> 49:03.260
Thank you . Wow . I'm a little

49:03.260 --> 49:06.560
starstruck ladies major general

49:07.160 --> 49:09.330
director . I don't know how much ,

49:13.820 --> 49:17.260
But my question , 35 plus

49:17.270 --> 49:20.400
years for , for any of you , was there

49:20.400 --> 49:22.980
a point in your career where you had

49:22.990 --> 49:24.990
decided it was time to hang up your

49:24.990 --> 49:28.060
boots and , and move on . And if so

49:28.070 --> 49:31.240
why and why do you stay ?

49:33.140 --> 49:35.140
Good question for a recruiter and

49:35.140 --> 49:38.710
retainer . So I

49:38.710 --> 49:40.877
never got to the point where it's like

49:40.877 --> 49:43.043
time to go because I would have gone .

49:43.043 --> 49:45.890
Right . I'm still here . But I

49:47.220 --> 49:49.520
frequently I would ask myself the

49:49.520 --> 49:51.464
question , I would run through the

49:51.464 --> 49:53.520
capitalist and usually it was around

49:53.520 --> 49:55.631
assignment time . And , you know , so

49:55.631 --> 49:57.798
the question I always ask myself was ,

49:57.798 --> 50:00.220
is what they're offering . Something

50:00.220 --> 50:02.331
that I can be excited about . This is

50:02.331 --> 50:04.664
my life energy that I'm putting into it .

50:04.870 --> 50:07.210
Is it something that creates

50:07.220 --> 50:09.690
opportunity for growth , professional

50:09.690 --> 50:12.280
growth and opportunity . And then is it

50:12.280 --> 50:14.280
just , you know , again , something

50:14.280 --> 50:16.391
that I feel like I can add value to .

50:16.391 --> 50:18.558
And I've had the great fortune 35 plus

50:18.558 --> 50:20.836
years and I've been able to answer yes ,

50:20.836 --> 50:22.947
all three of those questions at every

50:22.947 --> 50:25.169
point where I pondered whether I should

50:25.169 --> 50:27.224
say or not . So I have recently been

50:27.224 --> 50:27.030
counseled that apparently I don't have

50:27.030 --> 50:30.450
any more upward mobility but seems to

50:30.450 --> 50:32.061
have gone . All right . So ,

50:34.620 --> 50:38.560
so I was , so I was definitely gonna

50:38.560 --> 50:40.782
get out . I had , I was a Rosie , I had

50:40.782 --> 50:44.250
a four year commitment and um , you

50:44.250 --> 50:45.972
know , I had gone through this

50:45.972 --> 50:48.350
opportunity to go to a ship . I tried

50:48.350 --> 50:50.406
it out . I wanted to see if I really

50:50.406 --> 50:52.461
liked it . So I went to another ship

50:52.461 --> 50:54.572
and then I was on my shore duty and I

50:54.572 --> 50:56.700
thought I don't really like this . I

50:56.700 --> 50:58.922
was going to massage therapy school . I

50:58.922 --> 51:01.150
was living in Southern Oregon . I was

51:01.160 --> 51:04.360
definitely on my way out of the Navy .

51:04.370 --> 51:06.890
And , you know , my dad said , hey ,

51:06.890 --> 51:08.834
you might wanna think about that a

51:08.834 --> 51:10.834
little bit more . So I got a , what

51:10.834 --> 51:12.890
color is your parachute book ? And I

51:12.890 --> 51:14.834
forced myself to sit down at lunch

51:14.834 --> 51:17.400
every day and do the work to figure out

51:17.400 --> 51:19.511
what did I really want to do . And in

51:19.511 --> 51:21.511
the end what it came down to is the

51:21.511 --> 51:23.733
Navy had everything I wanted . I got to

51:23.733 --> 51:25.780
travel , I got a new job every two

51:25.780 --> 51:27.891
years . It's something I wanted . You

51:27.891 --> 51:30.058
don't like your boss , they'll be gone

51:30.058 --> 51:33.480
or you'll be gone . And I really liked

51:33.480 --> 51:35.369
our mission , right ? Support and

51:35.369 --> 51:37.480
defend the constitution of the United

51:37.480 --> 51:37.470
States against all enemies , foreign

51:37.470 --> 51:39.637
and domestic . I like being able to be

51:39.637 --> 51:41.748
that beacon of democracy and hope and

51:41.748 --> 51:43.810
really bring our nation forward and

51:43.810 --> 51:45.921
defend far forward . But also to work

51:45.921 --> 51:48.320
with the most amazing people from

51:48.320 --> 51:50.487
across America and build great teams .

51:50.487 --> 51:52.709
So in the end , when you're looking for

51:52.709 --> 51:54.876
what keeps people in , you know , when

51:54.876 --> 51:56.931
they're 27 , years old , that's what

51:56.931 --> 52:00.760
kept me in the mission . So after I

52:00.770 --> 52:03.490
became a test pilot , I wanted to be a

52:03.490 --> 52:06.170
test pilot and firefighters . I got to

52:06.180 --> 52:09.030
do all that in Spades and then it came

52:09.030 --> 52:11.197
time and they wanted to send me to the

52:11.197 --> 52:14.170
Pentagon . And yeah , at the time , I

52:14.170 --> 52:16.337
thought it was a death wish . I mean ,

52:16.337 --> 52:18.448
I thought , oh no , I'm not , I'm not

52:18.448 --> 52:20.503
doing that . And so I think I should

52:20.503 --> 52:22.860
get out and my squad commander and a

52:22.860 --> 52:26.190
couple of appears , what do you really

52:26.190 --> 52:29.180
want to do is I'm done . This is what

52:29.260 --> 52:32.320
my goal is to do and I'm done . And so

52:32.320 --> 52:34.431
now I think it'll be a test pilot for

52:34.431 --> 52:36.598
some company and just live out my life

52:36.598 --> 52:39.310
with my hair on fire . And they said no ,

52:39.310 --> 52:41.990
you're , they started taking off the

52:41.990 --> 52:44.670
qualities they needed a leader and

52:44.670 --> 52:46.726
they're like , you're really good at

52:46.726 --> 52:48.781
this . You really do that . And have

52:48.781 --> 52:47.910
you thought about this ? And you

52:47.910 --> 52:49.799
thought about that ? And I hadn't

52:49.799 --> 52:52.021
really , because I didn't see myself as

52:52.021 --> 52:51.900
a squadron commander , I didn't see

52:51.900 --> 52:53.956
myself as a wing commander because I

52:53.956 --> 52:56.260
had been so focused on engineering and

52:56.270 --> 53:00.170
uh and those goals . But this is , you

53:00.180 --> 53:02.810
really would do very well here . And so

53:02.820 --> 53:04.931
we recommend actually come out of the

53:04.931 --> 53:07.340
test field and go into the leadership

53:07.740 --> 53:10.073
and operational . So I was one of those ,

53:10.073 --> 53:12.351
you know , weird unicorns that dropped ,

53:12.351 --> 53:14.518
that jumped out of that career field ,

53:14.518 --> 53:16.240
took a chance and went back to

53:16.240 --> 53:18.351
operations and blossomed from there .

53:18.351 --> 53:20.296
And it was , it was because of the

53:20.296 --> 53:22.296
people . And yeah , it's a tactical

53:22.296 --> 53:22.160
skill what you're going to test pilot

53:22.160 --> 53:24.780
school and , but it's the people that

53:24.780 --> 53:26.891
really mattered just like Lisa said ,

53:26.891 --> 53:28.930
and , and uh as soon as I made that

53:28.930 --> 53:31.041
commitment , I'm like , I am all in ,

53:31.041 --> 53:33.041
I'm doing this , of course , ask my

53:33.041 --> 53:35.374
husband , the kids . Hey , can you know ,

53:35.374 --> 53:34.640
we are , we still good . We're still

53:34.640 --> 53:37.130
good . Go . So , okay ,

53:38.540 --> 53:41.030
such an important perspective . So I

53:41.030 --> 53:44.870
would say the just , uh , in terms of

53:44.880 --> 53:47.630
being able to keep our family together

53:47.630 --> 53:50.820
was important for me and , and being

53:50.820 --> 53:54.590
able to , um , because I think the ,

53:54.600 --> 53:56.822
the deal between my husband and I was ,

53:56.822 --> 53:58.878
if we couldn't find , you know , the

53:58.878 --> 54:01.044
right child care , if we couldn't make

54:01.044 --> 54:03.100
things work with all these different

54:03.100 --> 54:05.322
assignments every 2 to 3 years , then I

54:05.322 --> 54:07.489
would probably be the one to get out .

54:07.489 --> 54:09.322
So I was the one that was always

54:09.322 --> 54:11.433
looking for the , you know , the next

54:11.433 --> 54:13.378
place and calling around about six

54:13.378 --> 54:15.544
months out and trying to find the best

54:15.544 --> 54:17.767
locations , the best schools , the best

54:17.767 --> 54:19.767
and , you know , all of this , what

54:19.767 --> 54:21.767
time do you open ? What time do you

54:21.767 --> 54:23.822
close , you know , to make it work ?

54:23.822 --> 54:26.044
You got to go to the field for a couple

54:26.044 --> 54:28.100
of weeks , you know , what is , what

54:28.100 --> 54:30.211
are your options then ? That was what

54:30.211 --> 54:32.433
was first and foremost in my mind . But

54:32.433 --> 54:34.600
I will tell you that the army programs

54:34.600 --> 54:37.310
were all there And all the way back to .

54:37.310 --> 54:39.366
I mean , I'm 36 years in the service

54:39.366 --> 54:43.190
now . My daughter is , uh , is 34

54:43.200 --> 54:46.480
and so that's many years of trying to

54:46.480 --> 54:48.800
figure it out very early on and we were

54:48.800 --> 54:52.310
able to do it . So , um , yeah , I

54:52.310 --> 54:54.199
guess it was with every different

54:54.199 --> 54:56.580
assignment that it came up for . You

54:56.580 --> 54:58.747
know , not because I wanted to get out

54:58.810 --> 55:01.410
but because , you know , it might not

55:01.410 --> 55:03.577
work for our family at that point that

55:03.577 --> 55:05.577
it always did . And now the army is

55:05.577 --> 55:07.688
expanding all of those things , child

55:07.688 --> 55:09.910
care centers and making more and more .

55:09.910 --> 55:12.050
Um I'm sure the other services are as

55:12.050 --> 55:14.106
well . Let's get some questions from

55:14.106 --> 55:16.106
the back . Some of the young people

55:16.106 --> 55:18.510
that are here . I see so many right .

55:18.520 --> 55:20.853
Stand up . Oh , yes , yes , yes , ma'am .

55:20.853 --> 55:23.480
Good afternoon ladies mass on Williams .

55:23.490 --> 55:25.823
Um , my question is we're talking about ,

55:25.823 --> 55:28.410
about beyond . First , we have those M

55:28.410 --> 55:30.410
O s is where in the Marine Corps we

55:30.410 --> 55:33.060
haven't had a first yet . So with these

55:33.060 --> 55:36.610
marines being 18 1920 years old and

55:36.620 --> 55:38.676
they passed these schools , the only

55:38.676 --> 55:40.842
thing that they're gonna be remembered

55:40.842 --> 55:43.064
by is what that first that they've done

55:43.064 --> 55:45.231
is that , do you think that first is a

55:45.231 --> 55:47.453
burden for them throughout their career

55:47.453 --> 55:49.731
because of what they had to go through ?

55:49.731 --> 55:51.731
And now that's all they're gonna be

55:51.731 --> 55:53.898
remembered by ? And the second part of

55:53.898 --> 55:56.009
the question is what advice would you

55:56.009 --> 55:58.064
give those young marines even though

55:58.064 --> 56:00.231
with different branches ? But think of

56:00.231 --> 56:02.342
them as your soldiers , your airmen ,

56:02.342 --> 56:04.564
your that take , I'd say the neat thing

56:04.564 --> 56:06.676
about the military's . You write your

56:06.676 --> 56:08.898
own history , right ? You have your own

56:08.898 --> 56:11.009
story to tell . So if you're gonna be

56:11.009 --> 56:13.009
encumbered by that , then you'll be

56:13.009 --> 56:15.176
encumbered by that . The thing is , is

56:15.176 --> 56:17.064
I would say that use that to your

56:17.064 --> 56:19.580
advantage and , um , and build your own

56:19.580 --> 56:21.580
history and your own story and tell

56:21.580 --> 56:24.440
your story and not be , um , not be

56:24.440 --> 56:26.551
encumbered by the fact that maybe you

56:26.551 --> 56:28.900
were a first . The good thing is , is

56:28.900 --> 56:31.680
that you won't be the last . Right .

56:31.690 --> 56:35.210
Right . Being a first opens doors and

56:35.210 --> 56:37.630
gives you a platform to talk about all

56:37.630 --> 56:39.686
that's good in the service . And the

56:39.686 --> 56:41.686
organization , I say I joked that I

56:41.686 --> 56:43.797
don't like talking about myself , but

56:43.797 --> 56:45.963
there was , there's definitely been uh

56:45.963 --> 56:48.150
attention that has come to being a

56:48.160 --> 56:50.271
first female service chief and I very

56:50.271 --> 56:52.216
quickly pivot . So let me tell you

56:52.216 --> 56:54.271
about how great the coast Guard is .

56:54.271 --> 56:53.400
Let me tell you about what the

56:53.400 --> 56:55.567
opportunity is . We tell you about the

56:55.567 --> 56:58.050
workforce , what it means to uh serve

56:58.050 --> 57:00.460
the nation and then I can't wait to

57:00.460 --> 57:03.900
celebrate the next . Mhm .

57:04.440 --> 57:06.820
Great question . Great question . And I

57:06.820 --> 57:08.987
love that you write your own story and

57:08.987 --> 57:11.209
then tell your own story . It's a great

57:11.209 --> 57:13.710
message . Yes . Um Other questions ,

57:14.640 --> 57:17.350
future leaders . Yes , ma'am .

57:21.050 --> 57:23.161
So I'm doing reverse discrimination .

57:23.161 --> 57:24.828
I'm yelling to young people .

57:26.400 --> 57:28.289
Good afternoon , Lieutenant Nikki

57:28.289 --> 57:30.840
Kirchner . Hope U S Coast Guard . You

57:30.840 --> 57:33.420
each spoke a lot about some of the

57:33.420 --> 57:35.642
great things that you've all done . The

57:35.642 --> 57:37.809
Coast Guard in particular has recently

57:37.809 --> 57:40.031
admiral use , excuse me , signed um are

57:40.031 --> 57:42.253
harassing behavior instruction . Master

57:42.253 --> 57:44.476
Chief Webster is sitting in front of me

57:44.476 --> 57:46.642
as part of the anti harassment program

57:46.642 --> 57:46.550
office . So there have been some great

57:46.550 --> 57:49.570
policy changes recently . Um But I'm

57:49.570 --> 57:51.792
not gonna , I'm not naive enough to say

57:51.792 --> 57:54.290
that making policy changes is easy ,

57:54.300 --> 57:56.356
but in a lot of senses , it's easier

57:56.356 --> 57:58.620
than changing the culture . So can you

57:58.620 --> 58:02.330
speak please to how you would change

58:02.330 --> 58:05.310
the culture and how we as the culture

58:05.310 --> 58:07.940
keepers , the E six is the lieutenant

58:07.950 --> 58:10.800
um can shift culture to be more

58:10.800 --> 58:14.570
inclusive . Yeah , so um policy

58:14.570 --> 58:16.700
does matter but it doesn't change

58:16.700 --> 58:20.360
culture . So when you look at all of

58:20.360 --> 58:22.960
the services have been on a journey

58:22.970 --> 58:25.050
around sexual harassment , sexual

58:25.050 --> 58:28.660
assault , bullying . And I

58:28.670 --> 58:31.650
consider where we are today versus

58:31.650 --> 58:33.817
where we were , you know , eight or 10

58:33.817 --> 58:36.480
years ago in a much better position .

58:36.480 --> 58:40.030
So when somebody experiences harassment

58:40.040 --> 58:42.190
or bullying or assault , there is a

58:42.190 --> 58:44.412
strength of system in place that can be

58:44.412 --> 58:47.720
trusted and relied on accusations are

58:47.720 --> 58:49.331
fully investigated . There's

58:49.331 --> 58:51.810
accountability where those , those um

58:51.820 --> 58:55.210
uh actions are are substantiated . That

58:55.210 --> 58:57.710
wasn't always true . So that is

58:57.710 --> 59:00.980
positive change with

59:00.980 --> 59:03.820
regard to culture , right ? And I love

59:03.820 --> 59:06.042
that you use the term culture keepers ,

59:06.042 --> 59:08.790
I can talk about culture , respect ,

59:08.800 --> 59:12.370
being valued , creating opportunity , a

59:12.370 --> 59:14.481
safe work environment where everybody

59:14.481 --> 59:17.050
has heard , valued , understood where

59:17.050 --> 59:18.883
there's a sense of community and

59:18.883 --> 59:20.939
community , community and family and

59:20.939 --> 59:23.410
belonging , right ? That's what I want

59:23.420 --> 59:26.210
for our culture . But if the people on

59:26.210 --> 59:30.010
the mess deck after hours . I have not

59:30.020 --> 59:32.242
internalized that it doesn't matter how

59:32.242 --> 59:34.750
much I talk about it . Right . Each of

59:34.750 --> 59:38.090
us needs to own it . And then when you

59:38.100 --> 59:41.040
see or hear someone do something

59:41.050 --> 59:43.300
inconsistent with that , you have to

59:43.300 --> 59:45.578
call them on it . You can't walk by it .

59:46.100 --> 59:48.920
And I , you know , speaking at the Cape

59:48.920 --> 59:51.710
May graduation just , just about a week

59:51.710 --> 59:54.240
ago . And what I told the parents there

59:54.250 --> 59:56.340
is just this , this is the culture I

59:56.340 --> 59:58.800
want for the services that it's , it's

59:58.800 --> 01:00:00.856
a safe environment where everyone is

01:00:00.856 --> 01:00:03.700
valued , heard , understood and that

01:00:03.700 --> 01:00:06.490
we've got all of the right policies in

01:00:06.490 --> 01:00:08.800
place . You know , should when you have

01:00:08.800 --> 01:00:10.856
an unfortunate incident , you follow

01:00:10.856 --> 01:00:12.967
through because I told him , I said ,

01:00:12.967 --> 01:00:15.189
what I want for your sons and daughters

01:00:15.189 --> 01:00:17.244
is what I want for my daughter . And

01:00:17.244 --> 01:00:19.411
it's no more complicated than that for

01:00:19.411 --> 01:00:21.633
me that , that , you know , I would not

01:00:21.633 --> 01:00:23.744
have brought or encourage my daughter

01:00:23.744 --> 01:00:25.856
to come in . I didn't believe that we

01:00:25.856 --> 01:00:28.220
can get this done , but it is I I own

01:00:28.220 --> 01:00:30.810
it and from a describing what we're

01:00:30.810 --> 01:00:33.100
getting after , but you and I see a lot

01:00:33.100 --> 01:00:36.290
of young Coast Guard folks back to own

01:00:36.290 --> 01:00:38.512
the actual execution of it and carrying

01:00:38.512 --> 01:00:40.840
it forward day in day out because it ,

01:00:40.850 --> 01:00:42.961
it's insidious and it happens there .

01:00:42.961 --> 01:00:45.183
Most of the folks that are guilty of it

01:00:45.183 --> 01:00:47.300
are no better than to do or say those

01:00:47.300 --> 01:00:49.467
types of things than when I'm when I'm

01:00:49.467 --> 01:00:51.990
around . I would just add , as a

01:00:51.990 --> 01:00:55.690
reporter abuse fosters in silence

01:00:55.900 --> 01:00:58.450
and sunlight is the best disinfectant .

01:00:58.460 --> 01:01:00.349
And I've spent the past six years

01:01:00.349 --> 01:01:02.293
reporting about sexual assault and

01:01:02.293 --> 01:01:04.349
harassment and domestic abuse in the

01:01:04.349 --> 01:01:07.030
military . And that attention has won

01:01:07.040 --> 01:01:09.151
numerous awards , an entire team that

01:01:09.151 --> 01:01:11.207
I've worked with at CBS News . And ,

01:01:11.207 --> 01:01:13.429
you know , just this past , of course ,

01:01:13.429 --> 01:01:15.484
the Secretary of Defense made , uh ,

01:01:15.484 --> 01:01:18.300
remarkable changes after a relatively

01:01:18.300 --> 01:01:20.244
short period of study for not only

01:01:20.244 --> 01:01:22.244
business but even in the military ,

01:01:22.244 --> 01:01:24.244
they moved pretty quickly . Um , on

01:01:24.244 --> 01:01:26.300
that . So change is certainly a foot

01:01:26.300 --> 01:01:28.356
and people's voice matters on that .

01:01:28.356 --> 01:01:30.133
But I'm a reporter too and it's

01:01:30.133 --> 01:01:32.189
something we , we've , we've spent a

01:01:32.189 --> 01:01:34.244
lot of attention on because in order

01:01:34.244 --> 01:01:36.467
for women to achieve leadership roles ,

01:01:36.467 --> 01:01:38.689
they have to feel like they're valued .

01:01:38.689 --> 01:01:39.744
Um , yes , ma'am .

01:01:42.700 --> 01:01:44.970
So , uh , good afternoon . My name is

01:01:44.970 --> 01:01:48.870
Denise Rocker . And I'm a former

01:01:48.870 --> 01:01:51.060
Coast Guard officer , but that's not

01:01:51.060 --> 01:01:53.227
the question I'm gonna ask . It's more

01:01:53.227 --> 01:01:55.830
of my army background slash Rucker . Um ,

01:01:57.510 --> 01:01:59.732
about two years ago , congress passed a

01:01:59.732 --> 01:02:01.343
law that says , take all the

01:02:01.343 --> 01:02:03.177
confederate names , including my

01:02:03.177 --> 01:02:05.343
family's name off army basis . So , as

01:02:05.343 --> 01:02:07.510
a Rucker , I'm here to say thank you .

01:02:08.090 --> 01:02:11.720
But as a female officer , my question

01:02:11.720 --> 01:02:14.810
to all of you is who are you gonna put

01:02:14.810 --> 01:02:17.032
next ? Because you're in a room full of

01:02:17.032 --> 01:02:19.590
women and you're taking family names

01:02:19.590 --> 01:02:21.900
down . Thank you . But who are the

01:02:21.900 --> 01:02:24.150
women you're gonna name next ? Because

01:02:24.150 --> 01:02:26.261
you're gonna be naming ships , you're

01:02:26.261 --> 01:02:28.483
gonna be naming roads , you're gonna be

01:02:28.483 --> 01:02:30.483
naming facilities and there are 100

01:02:30.483 --> 01:02:33.520
plus years of history of women . So I

01:02:33.520 --> 01:02:35.631
ask again , as you take , my family's

01:02:35.631 --> 01:02:39.440
name off is put a woman's name on and

01:02:39.440 --> 01:02:41.662
put more than one woman . Because let's

01:02:41.662 --> 01:02:43.718
be honest , there's been a lot of us

01:02:43.718 --> 01:02:45.440
that serves . So , thank you .

01:02:54.630 --> 01:02:58.010
Okay . That's a good question . That's

01:02:58.010 --> 01:03:00.620
strong . Huh ?

01:03:01.570 --> 01:03:05.220
I agree . Well , who ,

01:03:05.230 --> 01:03:08.610
who decides what's it sets each of the ,

01:03:09.100 --> 01:03:11.322
yeah , the secretary services each have

01:03:11.322 --> 01:03:13.489
a process for doing . Exactly . So for

01:03:13.489 --> 01:03:15.433
example , you probably know in the

01:03:15.433 --> 01:03:17.656
Coast Guard , the fast response cutters

01:03:17.656 --> 01:03:19.878
there where they are service that has a

01:03:19.878 --> 01:03:21.878
fleet of ships named after enlisted

01:03:21.878 --> 01:03:23.989
heroes . But this speaks to the let's

01:03:23.989 --> 01:03:25.933
not just fall into the traditional

01:03:25.933 --> 01:03:27.711
naming conventions and look for

01:03:27.711 --> 01:03:29.700
opportunity to honor service and

01:03:29.700 --> 01:03:32.270
progress , you know , across the the

01:03:32.280 --> 01:03:32.980
communities

01:03:41.090 --> 01:03:43.201
afternoon , ladies , Captain farmer ,

01:03:43.201 --> 01:03:45.423
um you mentioned the fight at the round

01:03:45.423 --> 01:03:47.590
table to make your voice heard . Um to

01:03:47.590 --> 01:03:50.390
not let a male or another counterpart

01:03:50.400 --> 01:03:52.456
speak the same words that are coming

01:03:52.456 --> 01:03:54.567
out of your mouth and be recognized .

01:03:54.567 --> 01:03:56.622
Um It seems like as you grow through

01:03:56.622 --> 01:03:58.733
the ranks , uh seats at the table for

01:03:58.733 --> 01:04:00.900
women are smaller and smaller . You're

01:04:00.900 --> 01:04:03.011
seeing very few of us sitting there ,

01:04:03.011 --> 01:04:04.900
um especially with the population

01:04:04.900 --> 01:04:06.956
that's here . You would expect a lot

01:04:06.956 --> 01:04:08.678
more of us there . How are you

01:04:08.678 --> 01:04:11.300
fostering in your younger leaders ? Um

01:04:11.310 --> 01:04:14.760
to make it equal to accept the opinions ,

01:04:14.760 --> 01:04:17.660
not only of another gender , um of

01:04:17.660 --> 01:04:19.882
another background of another culture ,

01:04:19.882 --> 01:04:22.870
of another race . Uh just making that

01:04:22.880 --> 01:04:25.600
kind of distinguished ceiling of

01:04:25.610 --> 01:04:27.666
there's different people , but we're

01:04:27.666 --> 01:04:31.560
all one unit disappear . That's a

01:04:31.560 --> 01:04:33.671
great question . I'll start with that

01:04:33.671 --> 01:04:35.727
one . I think all of us have been in

01:04:35.727 --> 01:04:37.893
positions where we've not been heard .

01:04:37.893 --> 01:04:40.004
Our voice hasn't been heard even when

01:04:40.004 --> 01:04:42.440
we sat at the table . So , you know ,

01:04:42.450 --> 01:04:46.270
besides preparation for being at the

01:04:46.270 --> 01:04:49.310
table , it's coming upon us as leaders

01:04:49.320 --> 01:04:53.220
uh to develop people . Uh

01:04:53.230 --> 01:04:55.119
and to ensure that there are safe

01:04:55.119 --> 01:04:58.000
spaces that we can actually include and

01:04:58.000 --> 01:05:00.910
have discussions , right ? When I look

01:05:00.910 --> 01:05:02.854
around the table , I look for that

01:05:02.854 --> 01:05:05.060
diversity . Uh and if I don't have the

01:05:05.060 --> 01:05:07.004
diversity , if you , everyone that

01:05:07.004 --> 01:05:09.171
walks and talks and looks like you and

01:05:09.171 --> 01:05:11.338
is an academy graduate sitting at that

01:05:11.338 --> 01:05:13.393
table , you are not getting the best

01:05:13.393 --> 01:05:13.230
advice . So I'm not doing my

01:05:13.230 --> 01:05:15.290
organization good if I , if I don't

01:05:15.290 --> 01:05:17.940
have multiple uh folks with different

01:05:17.940 --> 01:05:20.162
experiences and different backgrounds ,

01:05:20.162 --> 01:05:22.384
but it doesn't help if they don't speak

01:05:22.384 --> 01:05:24.570
at the table . So I go around , I want

01:05:24.570 --> 01:05:26.737
to make sure one that I have diversity

01:05:26.737 --> 01:05:28.848
at the table and two , if they're not

01:05:28.848 --> 01:05:30.959
speaking , I reach out to them either

01:05:30.959 --> 01:05:33.140
publicly or privately say , hey , you

01:05:33.140 --> 01:05:35.196
know , what did you think about that

01:05:35.196 --> 01:05:37.196
issue ? Didn't say anything ? And I

01:05:37.196 --> 01:05:36.720
looked at you and you didn't , you

01:05:36.720 --> 01:05:40.010
didn't respond . So you teach them that

01:05:40.010 --> 01:05:42.840
it is okay to talk there . Uh And if

01:05:42.840 --> 01:05:45.110
someone is , you know , is in such a

01:05:45.110 --> 01:05:47.110
way that they are not ensuring that

01:05:47.110 --> 01:05:49.221
there are safe spaces to have that or

01:05:49.221 --> 01:05:51.443
that you're not being included . That's

01:05:51.443 --> 01:05:53.443
a leadership issue . We just talked

01:05:53.443 --> 01:05:55.221
about that . That is a flat out

01:05:55.221 --> 01:05:57.443
leadership issue . And we've got to get

01:05:57.443 --> 01:05:57.300
at that at every level because we will

01:05:57.300 --> 01:05:59.467
not be able to give the best advice or

01:05:59.467 --> 01:06:01.522
make the best decisions without it .

01:06:01.522 --> 01:06:03.744
And I think that starts from , from the

01:06:03.744 --> 01:06:05.967
very beginning when you create teams at

01:06:05.967 --> 01:06:08.133
basic training all the way up to where

01:06:08.133 --> 01:06:10.078
you are now . To even even at this

01:06:10.078 --> 01:06:12.022
level , my teams have to have that

01:06:12.022 --> 01:06:14.078
diverse perspective and they need to

01:06:14.078 --> 01:06:16.078
know that account on me that , that

01:06:16.078 --> 01:06:18.189
when they offer their advice , I have

01:06:18.189 --> 01:06:20.356
the courage to listen to it and to act

01:06:20.356 --> 01:06:22.770
accordingly . We have time for just one

01:06:22.770 --> 01:06:25.690
or two more quick questions . Yes ,

01:06:25.690 --> 01:06:27.912
ma'am . You first and then we'll go for

01:06:27.912 --> 01:06:30.640
it . Go ahead , ma'am . Yes , you , I'm

01:06:30.640 --> 01:06:31.640
coming .

01:06:36.830 --> 01:06:40.540
You have to use video .

01:06:41.500 --> 01:06:43.667
That's fine . I hope I'm not yelling .

01:06:43.667 --> 01:06:46.270
Okay . Hi , everyone . Staff sergeant

01:06:46.270 --> 01:06:48.540
Duggan's from joint base . Andrews High

01:06:48.540 --> 01:06:50.818
General Lenovo's nice to see you again .

01:06:50.818 --> 01:06:52.984
Um So just a quick question for all of

01:06:52.984 --> 01:06:55.151
you . I know we're talking about a lot

01:06:55.151 --> 01:06:57.610
of first here , right ? But I feel like

01:06:57.620 --> 01:07:00.010
we're failing to mention some of the

01:07:00.010 --> 01:07:03.780
next , right ? And so I've only been in

01:07:03.780 --> 01:07:05.891
for five years , the air force that I

01:07:05.891 --> 01:07:08.113
walked into is a lot different than the

01:07:08.113 --> 01:07:10.224
air force . Everybody else has walked

01:07:10.224 --> 01:07:12.002
into and still some of the same

01:07:12.002 --> 01:07:14.230
challenges persist . Like the biggest

01:07:14.230 --> 01:07:16.780
thing for me was when people were still

01:07:16.780 --> 01:07:20.110
shocked at like me being smart , right

01:07:20.120 --> 01:07:22.453
everywhere . I've been , it's just like ,

01:07:22.453 --> 01:07:24.787
oh you're so smart . But it's also like ,

01:07:24.787 --> 01:07:27.009
why is the assumption that I'm not like

01:07:27.009 --> 01:07:29.176
I made it into this Air Force the same

01:07:29.176 --> 01:07:31.231
way everybody else made it into this

01:07:31.231 --> 01:07:33.342
Air force . And I feel like we're not

01:07:33.342 --> 01:07:35.453
really talking about the stigmas that

01:07:35.453 --> 01:07:37.620
are still associated and a way forward

01:07:37.620 --> 01:07:39.731
to because we have the people all the

01:07:39.731 --> 01:07:41.787
way at the top , all of you guys and

01:07:41.787 --> 01:07:43.787
all the leadership really trying to

01:07:43.787 --> 01:07:45.953
enforce this change and we have buy in

01:07:45.953 --> 01:07:47.898
from the people all the way at the

01:07:47.898 --> 01:07:50.064
bottom , the brand new people that are

01:07:50.064 --> 01:07:52.009
just coming in . What are we to do

01:07:52.009 --> 01:07:51.320
about the people in the middle who

01:07:51.330 --> 01:07:53.510
really won't budge

01:07:58.700 --> 01:08:02.490
the middle , the frozen middle , we

01:08:02.490 --> 01:08:04.712
call them the frozen middle and they're

01:08:04.712 --> 01:08:06.712
a little insidious because I look ,

01:08:06.712 --> 01:08:08.546
it's fascinating , you know , so

01:08:08.546 --> 01:08:10.712
headquarters sitting at the top of the

01:08:10.712 --> 01:08:12.712
organization and I look down to the

01:08:12.712 --> 01:08:15.120
lieutenants and many sitting here into

01:08:15.120 --> 01:08:17.480
your point , right ? Eager for change ,

01:08:17.490 --> 01:08:19.601
eager for the change that I'm talking

01:08:19.601 --> 01:08:21.268
about , generational change ,

01:08:21.268 --> 01:08:23.490
transformational change . But what's in

01:08:23.490 --> 01:08:25.434
cities about is I peer through the

01:08:25.434 --> 01:08:28.260
middle and it's frozen solid and it's

01:08:28.260 --> 01:08:30.260
clear you don't even realize you've

01:08:30.260 --> 01:08:32.900
looked through it and they're acting as

01:08:32.900 --> 01:08:35.370
an impediment to some of that change .

01:08:35.440 --> 01:08:37.970
I , so this is , there's , it is a

01:08:37.970 --> 01:08:40.192
little bit incumbent on all of us , but

01:08:40.192 --> 01:08:42.359
at a certain point , it's either , you

01:08:42.359 --> 01:08:44.303
know , you're , you're in the boat

01:08:44.303 --> 01:08:46.414
rowing in the direction we need to go

01:08:46.414 --> 01:08:48.581
for the , the , you know , good of the

01:08:48.581 --> 01:08:50.637
order for the organization or you're

01:08:50.637 --> 01:08:52.803
not . And there's not always a seat on

01:08:52.803 --> 01:08:55.026
the bus for everybody . So at a certain

01:08:55.026 --> 01:08:57.081
point like that , if that leadership

01:08:57.081 --> 01:08:59.303
becomes that much of an impediment , it

01:08:59.303 --> 01:09:01.526
needs , it needs to move on . It's just

01:09:01.526 --> 01:09:03.526
not , not healthy for the , for the

01:09:03.526 --> 01:09:05.303
organization , but it is , it's

01:09:05.303 --> 01:09:07.414
cultural change is difficult . We are

01:09:07.414 --> 01:09:09.359
recruiting from society and so our

01:09:09.359 --> 01:09:12.340
workforces reflect societal norms ,

01:09:12.340 --> 01:09:14.730
trans good , bad and otherwise , that

01:09:14.730 --> 01:09:17.040
means every day , every person and you

01:09:17.040 --> 01:09:19.460
have to commit to the effort to build

01:09:19.460 --> 01:09:22.390
that in inclusivity , the diversity ,

01:09:22.400 --> 01:09:25.270
the opportunity to be heard to be

01:09:25.270 --> 01:09:28.350
valued and not have somebody say , oh ,

01:09:28.370 --> 01:09:30.592
you know , you're smart , right ? Why ?

01:09:30.592 --> 01:09:32.560
Why wouldn't they presume that you

01:09:32.580 --> 01:09:34.913
again , you're in the room for a reason .

01:09:34.913 --> 01:09:37.140
You've got a voice , you've got a lot

01:09:37.140 --> 01:09:39.760
of perspective to , to add one of the

01:09:39.760 --> 01:09:41.704
things that they talked about in a

01:09:41.704 --> 01:09:43.871
prior conversation that's gonna on our

01:09:43.871 --> 01:09:45.927
show , they talked about persistence

01:09:45.927 --> 01:09:45.350
and the importance of persistence ,

01:09:45.360 --> 01:09:47.582
forgive me . But I did read that one of

01:09:47.582 --> 01:09:50.750
your parents and quitting

01:09:51.310 --> 01:09:53.300
mind me . Yeah .

01:09:56.060 --> 01:09:59.390
What it said you can soar with the

01:09:59.390 --> 01:10:01.501
Eagles in the daytime or you can hoot

01:10:01.501 --> 01:10:03.730
with the owls at night and there were a

01:10:03.730 --> 01:10:06.410
bunch of other things too . But , yeah ,

01:10:06.420 --> 01:10:09.300
about winning and quitting and , um ,

01:10:09.310 --> 01:10:12.710
and all of that . And so , um , I do

01:10:12.710 --> 01:10:14.766
want to , if I could nora go back to

01:10:14.766 --> 01:10:17.530
the , I don't think we could say the

01:10:17.530 --> 01:10:19.697
answer to the question any better than

01:10:19.697 --> 01:10:21.940
Linda did . Um Just now , but the on

01:10:21.940 --> 01:10:24.107
the previous question in terms of your

01:10:24.107 --> 01:10:26.670
voice at the table sometimes , um

01:10:26.680 --> 01:10:30.680
sometimes topics , um I think that um

01:10:30.690 --> 01:10:32.912
uh and , and I would say my colleague's

01:10:32.912 --> 01:10:34.968
probably agree with me , but there's

01:10:34.968 --> 01:10:38.380
some shaping of issues and topics and

01:10:38.390 --> 01:10:40.490
influencing that you have to do ,

01:10:40.830 --> 01:10:43.160
that's saying something out in a table

01:10:43.160 --> 01:10:45.840
or at a forum might not be the right

01:10:45.840 --> 01:10:49.350
place to enter in that um that topic or

01:10:49.350 --> 01:10:52.310
that idea , there might be shaping that

01:10:52.310 --> 01:10:54.532
you need to do that you want to do . So

01:10:54.532 --> 01:10:56.699
you have those alliances . So when you

01:10:56.699 --> 01:10:58.699
do bring it up , if that's how it's

01:10:58.699 --> 01:11:00.754
gonna happen , that you do , you can

01:11:00.754 --> 01:11:02.977
count on those reinforcements that said

01:11:02.977 --> 01:11:05.199
that says already have processed it and

01:11:05.199 --> 01:11:07.366
agreed with you that , that was a good

01:11:07.366 --> 01:11:09.532
idea . Um And it's better , I think to

01:11:09.532 --> 01:11:11.643
do that on the front end , there will

01:11:11.643 --> 01:11:13.699
be times that you have to do that on

01:11:13.699 --> 01:11:15.810
the back end after um after a meeting

01:11:15.810 --> 01:11:18.143
or something like that . But , you know ,

01:11:18.143 --> 01:11:20.254
I think that that's what's good about

01:11:20.254 --> 01:11:22.477
us is we know how to do that shape that

01:11:22.477 --> 01:11:24.699
influence , give ideas , you know , how

01:11:24.699 --> 01:11:27.630
to , how to convince people that , um ,

01:11:27.640 --> 01:11:29.640
that , you know , this might be the

01:11:29.640 --> 01:11:31.807
best way to go , but sometimes how you

01:11:31.807 --> 01:11:33.640
deliver it or how you present it

01:11:33.640 --> 01:11:36.050
matters just as much . So I would just

01:11:36.050 --> 01:11:37.939
offer that . So you're saying you

01:11:37.939 --> 01:11:40.440
usually find some allies before you go

01:11:40.440 --> 01:11:42.950
into the table to use your voice , who

01:11:42.950 --> 01:11:45.061
already agree with you . So that then

01:11:45.061 --> 01:11:47.228
they second you and third you when you

01:11:47.228 --> 01:11:49.394
present an idea and that could be with

01:11:49.394 --> 01:11:51.228
anything , not just something in

01:11:51.228 --> 01:11:53.283
particular about gender or something

01:11:53.283 --> 01:11:55.339
like that , right ? That could be on

01:11:55.339 --> 01:11:58.610
anything . Um Well , I think we've got

01:11:58.620 --> 01:12:00.970
one final question I see in the back .

01:12:04.760 --> 01:12:06.760
Good afternoon . Thank you for your

01:12:06.760 --> 01:12:08.871
time . Sam slam the United States Air

01:12:08.871 --> 01:12:11.290
Force since 1947 . When the women in

01:12:11.300 --> 01:12:13.411
our integration of the Armed Services

01:12:13.411 --> 01:12:15.633
Act was signed . How close do you truly

01:12:15.633 --> 01:12:17.633
think we are to full integration of

01:12:17.633 --> 01:12:19.300
women into the service versus

01:12:19.300 --> 01:12:21.470
accommodation ? Especially given the

01:12:21.470 --> 01:12:24.100
fact that we're still facing issues of

01:12:24.100 --> 01:12:26.267
child care where predominantly we find

01:12:26.267 --> 01:12:28.378
that that falls on the woman , female

01:12:28.378 --> 01:12:30.600
access to female specialized healthcare

01:12:30.600 --> 01:12:33.360
flying while pregnant just obstacles

01:12:33.360 --> 01:12:35.416
that as it relates to parenthood and

01:12:35.416 --> 01:12:37.471
then even finding female specialized

01:12:37.471 --> 01:12:39.638
equipment so that we can do our jobs .

01:12:39.638 --> 01:12:43.180
Thank you . Yeah , sure .

01:12:43.190 --> 01:12:46.410
Um Yeah , this , this goes back to ,

01:12:46.420 --> 01:12:48.790
you know , women being accepted versus

01:12:48.790 --> 01:12:51.160
being included . If we were fully

01:12:51.160 --> 01:12:53.430
included , we would have the armor that

01:12:53.430 --> 01:12:55.550
is built for a woman's body based on

01:12:55.560 --> 01:12:58.560
how we carry the weight , uh , of the

01:12:58.560 --> 01:13:00.660
equipment we have to carry , we have

01:13:00.660 --> 01:13:02.604
flight suits that would fit us and

01:13:02.604 --> 01:13:04.716
uniforms that would fit us so that we

01:13:04.716 --> 01:13:06.938
wouldn't have to be accommodating . And

01:13:06.938 --> 01:13:08.827
the good news is where we , we've

01:13:08.827 --> 01:13:10.882
identified those things . We've made

01:13:10.882 --> 01:13:13.104
changes , we've got the body armor , we

01:13:13.104 --> 01:13:15.216
have , you know , we can do pregnancy

01:13:15.216 --> 01:13:17.327
and flying . Now you can , you know ,

01:13:17.327 --> 01:13:16.670
some work we're doing in the missile

01:13:16.670 --> 01:13:19.600
fields and so there's there's been

01:13:19.600 --> 01:13:21.600
great progress and what we need is

01:13:21.600 --> 01:13:23.822
everyone here . So who's on the wit the

01:13:23.822 --> 01:13:26.044
women's initiative team ? We have a few

01:13:26.044 --> 01:13:28.267
here . Yeah . Okay . Alright , see , so

01:13:28.790 --> 01:13:31.012
you know we with social media it's been

01:13:31.012 --> 01:13:32.846
great because we've been able to

01:13:32.846 --> 01:13:34.790
crowdsource ideas uh for continued

01:13:34.790 --> 01:13:36.568
change . What are the continued

01:13:36.568 --> 01:13:39.240
barriers ? What's the friction points

01:13:39.420 --> 01:13:41.364
that we still have that we can get

01:13:41.364 --> 01:13:43.420
after it has been a big list . We've

01:13:43.420 --> 01:13:45.531
been going after it , not just in the

01:13:45.531 --> 01:13:47.753
Air Force , but multiple services , but

01:13:47.753 --> 01:13:49.531
having the power of the women's

01:13:49.531 --> 01:13:49.520
initiative team and the Barry analysis

01:13:49.520 --> 01:13:52.910
working groups has been phenomenal . So

01:13:52.910 --> 01:13:54.966
I want to thank all the leaders here

01:13:54.966 --> 01:13:57.132
that are , that have been part of that

01:13:57.132 --> 01:13:59.354
and we're just gonna keep chipping away

01:13:59.354 --> 01:14:01.577
at , but we need to bring in society is

01:14:01.577 --> 01:14:01.430
changing our needs are changing . We're

01:14:01.430 --> 01:14:04.200
looking at the health care piece , we

01:14:04.200 --> 01:14:06.367
have to be insistent upon it . We have

01:14:06.367 --> 01:14:08.478
to continue to show what does it mean

01:14:08.478 --> 01:14:10.700
from a readiness standpoint ? Alright ,

01:14:10.700 --> 01:14:12.700
we're not ready because of this and

01:14:12.700 --> 01:14:14.644
that's , that's how we rally car .

01:14:14.644 --> 01:14:16.811
That's how we've been getting the data

01:14:16.811 --> 01:14:16.310
to say , look , we can be a more ready

01:14:16.310 --> 01:14:19.210
force if we did this . So that data

01:14:19.210 --> 01:14:21.720
based assessments that are coming

01:14:21.720 --> 01:14:23.831
forward . So that's what's on the Air

01:14:23.831 --> 01:14:26.053
Force . All of the other services speak

01:14:26.053 --> 01:14:25.960
to some of the things that they've been

01:14:25.960 --> 01:14:28.920
doing . I just wanted to add that by

01:14:28.920 --> 01:14:31.142
the time you get to be us , it's pretty

01:14:31.142 --> 01:14:33.270
hard to see what it looks like from

01:14:33.270 --> 01:14:35.570
where you are . So the one thing I

01:14:35.570 --> 01:14:37.514
would ask is that as you're seeing

01:14:37.514 --> 01:14:40.280
these barriers or these challenges , we

01:14:40.280 --> 01:14:43.100
may not necessarily be as aware of them

01:14:43.100 --> 01:14:45.156
as you are . So again , to the point

01:14:45.156 --> 01:14:47.322
about using your voice , you really do

01:14:47.322 --> 01:14:49.378
want to make sure that we have these

01:14:49.378 --> 01:14:51.544
forums and you have opportunities , we

01:14:51.544 --> 01:14:53.767
have listening tours . You know , a lot

01:14:53.767 --> 01:14:55.767
of leaders are going around out and

01:14:55.767 --> 01:14:57.878
about gathering information on how we

01:14:57.878 --> 01:14:59.989
can make things better for all of our

01:14:59.989 --> 01:15:02.156
service members . You want to continue

01:15:02.156 --> 01:15:04.322
to , to bring them up because there is

01:15:04.322 --> 01:15:06.544
a big list and I am happy to say that I

01:15:06.544 --> 01:15:06.210
think we are getting after them . It

01:15:06.210 --> 01:15:08.560
takes a little bit of time . Um But we

01:15:08.560 --> 01:15:10.782
have to be insistent on going after the

01:15:10.782 --> 01:15:12.782
challenges . So I really appreciate

01:15:12.782 --> 01:15:14.727
that , but now I see some of these

01:15:14.727 --> 01:15:16.838
challenges . I'm gonna take that back

01:15:16.838 --> 01:15:16.620
and asking my own service . We have a

01:15:16.620 --> 01:15:19.450
women's integration team as well and uh

01:15:19.450 --> 01:15:21.672
and see what , what else is on the list

01:15:21.672 --> 01:15:23.617
that we can get after I've allowed

01:15:23.617 --> 01:15:25.728
probably way too many questions , but

01:15:25.728 --> 01:15:28.006
they were all so good . So , thank you .

01:15:28.006 --> 01:15:30.061
So I will now give an opportunity um

01:15:30.061 --> 01:15:32.117
for each of you to make some closing

01:15:32.117 --> 01:15:34.228
remarks and they certainly don't have

01:15:34.228 --> 01:15:34.080
to be long , you know .

01:15:41.200 --> 01:15:43.420
Um Thank you . Bye .

01:15:45.140 --> 01:15:47.420
So , so again ,

01:15:47.430 --> 01:15:50.800
Nora , and you know , you guys have the

01:15:50.810 --> 01:15:52.977
military , you're the ones that are on

01:15:52.977 --> 01:15:55.500
time , but I just want to thank

01:15:55.510 --> 01:15:57.540
everyone that helped put the event

01:15:57.540 --> 01:16:00.930
together . It really is a privilege to

01:16:00.940 --> 01:16:03.051
be here with you . Share a little bit

01:16:03.051 --> 01:16:05.162
of perspective . And I , you know , I

01:16:05.162 --> 01:16:07.400
say this to our Coast Guard , men and

01:16:07.400 --> 01:16:09.800
women , right ? This is our service .

01:16:09.810 --> 01:16:12.720
It's our Coast Guard . This is our

01:16:12.720 --> 01:16:15.440
journey and together we make it better .

01:16:15.450 --> 01:16:17.850
We have made a ton of progress since I

01:16:17.850 --> 01:16:20.017
walked into the Coast Guard Academy in

01:16:20.017 --> 01:16:22.128
1981 . But we're not where we need to

01:16:22.128 --> 01:16:24.239
be and together , we need to continue

01:16:24.239 --> 01:16:26.730
to , to make it better . Thank you ,

01:16:31.070 --> 01:16:33.330
General . Just add my thanks . And you

01:16:33.330 --> 01:16:35.497
know , we have come a long way , but I

01:16:35.497 --> 01:16:37.608
tell you , there is great opportunity

01:16:37.608 --> 01:16:39.497
you've heard here . We have great

01:16:39.497 --> 01:16:42.260
training , uh and initiatives you can .

01:16:42.260 --> 01:16:44.371
Now , the quality of life and quality

01:16:44.371 --> 01:16:46.538
of service has tremendously changed in

01:16:46.538 --> 01:16:48.704
35 years . I've been in this service .

01:16:48.704 --> 01:16:50.649
It continues to change to meet our

01:16:50.649 --> 01:16:52.760
needs where the most lethal agile and

01:16:52.760 --> 01:16:54.927
ready force in the world . And because

01:16:54.927 --> 01:16:57.093
of you , we will continue to be . So ,

01:16:57.093 --> 01:16:55.520
thank you .

01:17:02.260 --> 01:17:04.038
It's my honor to be part of the

01:17:04.038 --> 01:17:06.370
greatest fighting force , military in

01:17:06.370 --> 01:17:08.990
the world . And I wanna thank all of

01:17:08.990 --> 01:17:11.870
you . Um It's an honor to do this . Um

01:17:11.880 --> 01:17:14.158
Thank you to my colleague sitting here .

01:17:14.158 --> 01:17:16.158
We have to make sure that there's a

01:17:16.158 --> 01:17:18.047
bench behind General Richardson ,

01:17:18.047 --> 01:17:20.158
admiral , Friend Keady , General Vano

01:17:20.158 --> 01:17:22.660
Vos and Admiral Fagan , right , who's

01:17:22.660 --> 01:17:25.120
on the bench who's behind us and who's

01:17:25.120 --> 01:17:27.510
in the pipeline , you can't take your

01:17:27.510 --> 01:17:29.500
eye off the ball or we will lose a

01:17:29.500 --> 01:17:31.444
generation . That's how quickly it

01:17:31.444 --> 01:17:33.940
happens . So , thank you for being here .

01:17:33.950 --> 01:17:36.190
Thank you for the support . And Nora

01:17:36.190 --> 01:17:39.290
again , thank you , Phyllis Jan . Thank

01:17:39.290 --> 01:17:40.290
you very much .

01:17:47.090 --> 01:17:49.257
I likewise want to say thank you . And

01:17:49.257 --> 01:17:51.368
again , it's really a privilege to be

01:17:51.368 --> 01:17:53.368
here with all the first because I'm

01:17:53.368 --> 01:17:55.590
actually never been a first , I've been

01:17:55.590 --> 01:17:57.701
a 2nd , 3rd or fourth or we never not

01:17:57.701 --> 01:17:59.923
even stopped counting by the time I got

01:17:59.923 --> 01:18:02.090
here , which is a real sign I think of

01:18:02.090 --> 01:18:04.201
the progress that all of our services

01:18:04.201 --> 01:18:06.201
has made . Again , very proud to be

01:18:06.201 --> 01:18:08.368
part of the Navy and the joint force .

01:18:08.368 --> 01:18:10.590
I would say just one thing , especially

01:18:10.590 --> 01:18:10.460
to our younger folks out there as

01:18:10.460 --> 01:18:12.990
you're planning out your career is I

01:18:12.990 --> 01:18:15.060
always adopted this philosophy of

01:18:15.060 --> 01:18:17.160
Admiral Chester Nimitz who commanded

01:18:17.160 --> 01:18:19.320
our navy in World War Two in the

01:18:19.320 --> 01:18:21.930
Pacific . And I'll paraphrase it here .

01:18:21.940 --> 01:18:24.290
He said , learn all you can do your

01:18:24.290 --> 01:18:26.401
best and don't worry about the things

01:18:26.401 --> 01:18:28.623
you can't control . I think that's good

01:18:28.623 --> 01:18:30.846
to keep that always in the back of your

01:18:30.846 --> 01:18:32.846
mind . set your sights on where you

01:18:32.846 --> 01:18:34.679
want to go and just head in that

01:18:34.679 --> 01:18:36.568
direction and you'll end up where

01:18:36.568 --> 01:18:38.568
you're supposed to . Thank you very

01:18:38.568 --> 01:18:37.170
much .

01:18:45.840 --> 01:18:48.007
Well , thank you all for participating

01:18:48.007 --> 01:18:50.007
in this incredibly historic event .

01:18:50.007 --> 01:18:52.118
Thank you . I've learned so much from

01:18:52.118 --> 01:18:54.960
sitting up here and listening to you um

01:18:54.970 --> 01:18:57.210
to many of the women in the audience .

01:18:57.220 --> 01:19:00.420
I hope that at the 100th anniversary of

01:19:00.420 --> 01:19:02.420
women in the U S military , I'll be

01:19:02.420 --> 01:19:04.531
interviewing you up here or maybe one

01:19:04.531 --> 01:19:06.587
of my daughters will be interviewing

01:19:06.587 --> 01:19:09.210
you . So stay in the pipeline . Um I ,

01:19:09.210 --> 01:19:12.130
I recently heard someone say , I don't

01:19:12.130 --> 01:19:15.490
think the future is female . Present is

01:19:15.490 --> 01:19:18.570
female . So let's make that a reality .

01:19:18.580 --> 01:19:20.850
Thanks to the museum for having us all

01:19:20.860 --> 01:19:22.971
those . Thank you so much and Jan for

01:19:22.971 --> 01:19:25.027
your leadership and thanks for being

01:19:25.027 --> 01:19:24.740
here .