WEBVTT 00:10.569 --> 00:13.689 Good morning everyone . So we had to 00:13.699 --> 00:16.959 put this together um because General 00:16.969 --> 00:19.080 Balton was gracious enough to give it 00:19.080 --> 00:21.302 more time . And what we asked her to do 00:21.302 --> 00:23.525 is just kind of run down and give us an 00:23.525 --> 00:25.691 oversight and her views on uh women of 00:25.691 --> 00:27.636 leadership , especially within the 00:27.636 --> 00:29.858 corps . She has served at every echelon 00:29.858 --> 00:32.080 within the military from the two leader 00:32.080 --> 00:33.969 commander on all the way up . She 00:33.969 --> 00:36.509 served in uh at the L A district . 00:36.520 --> 00:38.687 She's the commander of the Albuquerque 00:38.687 --> 00:40.880 District . So she's had a plethora of 00:40.889 --> 00:42.450 experience in , in leading 00:42.459 --> 00:44.570 organizations . Now , she's the , the 00:44.570 --> 00:46.681 Deputy Committee General for Military 00:46.681 --> 00:50.029 and International um International IIS . 00:52.939 --> 00:55.590 Um And , and again , she's gracious 00:55.599 --> 00:57.655 enough to kind of cover up some time 00:57.655 --> 00:59.988 during this trip and , and meet with us . 00:59.988 --> 01:02.799 And uh I just wanted to say thank you 01:02.810 --> 01:05.059 for this and give us the opportunity to 01:05.190 --> 01:09.180 be here from uh thank you . 01:09.949 --> 01:10.949 Thank you . 01:13.849 --> 01:15.960 Oh , I am . I , oh , that's right . I 01:15.960 --> 01:18.071 don't need that . Well , can you hear 01:18.071 --> 01:19.910 me ? Is this so ? OK , so I know 01:19.919 --> 01:21.975 Britney is really leading the show , 01:21.975 --> 01:23.975 but I wanna say one thing because I 01:23.975 --> 01:26.141 think you're gonna have to leave early 01:26.141 --> 01:29.330 Joshua . But um as a husband , 01:29.449 --> 01:33.349 um a brother and a father of 01:33.360 --> 01:35.569 two daughters , you know , you play an 01:35.580 --> 01:37.580 important role and I would say that 01:37.580 --> 01:39.802 it's , it's not just as we talk , we're 01:39.802 --> 01:41.802 gonna have lots of discussions . Um 01:41.802 --> 01:44.059 It's not just women and women 01:44.069 --> 01:46.180 supporting each other . That's really 01:46.180 --> 01:48.180 important , but it's also important 01:48.180 --> 01:50.347 that we are supporting each other . Uh 01:50.347 --> 01:53.599 collect . And so a great example . Uh 01:53.610 --> 01:55.777 yesterday of you , of us being able to 01:55.777 --> 01:57.666 promote you , but I wanna make an 01:57.666 --> 01:59.888 emphasis that it's the role we all play 01:59.888 --> 02:02.220 in supporting all of those around us . 02:02.230 --> 02:04.660 And often times , you know , our 02:04.669 --> 02:06.836 mentors and I'll kind of give you some 02:06.836 --> 02:08.947 thoughts . They shouldn't always just 02:08.947 --> 02:11.169 look exactly like us . You wanna have a 02:11.169 --> 02:13.447 variety of folks that you reach out to , 02:13.447 --> 02:15.558 to get support from and we need to be 02:15.558 --> 02:17.725 supporting all of those around us . Um 02:17.725 --> 02:19.613 So anyway , as an example because 02:19.613 --> 02:21.929 you're perfect fit . Um looking at your 02:21.940 --> 02:24.162 daughters yesterday and looking at what 02:24.162 --> 02:26.384 they see when say you in uniform , they 02:26.384 --> 02:28.496 also need to be able to see that they 02:28.496 --> 02:30.662 can be in that uniform and they can do 02:30.662 --> 02:32.773 whatever they wanna do when they grow 02:32.773 --> 02:34.940 up . And that's an important role that 02:34.940 --> 02:37.107 we all play in different places in our 02:37.107 --> 02:36.729 lives . So anyway , thanks for the 02:36.740 --> 02:38.910 intro and Brittany and now we'll ask 02:38.919 --> 02:42.649 the men to leave , please . Right . 02:44.149 --> 02:46.149 Well , good morning again , ma'am . 02:46.149 --> 02:48.260 Thank you so much . For joining us at 02:48.260 --> 02:50.482 the Fort Worth District . We're so glad 02:50.482 --> 02:52.482 to have you . I do have a couple of 02:52.482 --> 02:54.649 questions and then at the end , if you 02:54.649 --> 02:57.259 wanna open it up to the floor , then we 02:57.270 --> 02:59.899 can do that as well . Ok . And then I , 02:59.910 --> 03:02.188 I have brought a , depending on timing . 03:02.188 --> 03:04.354 I brought a couple of slides to , to , 03:04.354 --> 03:06.632 to help talk through some thoughts too , 03:06.632 --> 03:08.854 just for thought provoking . Well , the 03:08.854 --> 03:10.966 first question will probably tie into 03:10.966 --> 03:13.630 the slides and it just ask , can you 03:13.639 --> 03:15.417 tell us a little bit about your 03:15.417 --> 03:17.472 background and your story of how you 03:17.472 --> 03:19.639 got here ? Ok . Oh , that's good . All 03:19.639 --> 03:21.695 right . Well , then you can throw up 03:21.695 --> 03:23.806 some , some pictures . Um , so I will 03:23.806 --> 03:26.028 just say one , to start out with , this 03:26.028 --> 03:27.806 is a number of pictures of , of 03:27.806 --> 03:29.972 different things . Um , you know , and 03:29.972 --> 03:32.380 I talk about my , my story , you know , 03:33.410 --> 03:36.309 my career in the army . And , um , I 03:36.320 --> 03:38.487 would say , as I reflect on that and I 03:38.487 --> 03:40.431 was thinking a little bit about it 03:40.431 --> 03:42.098 yesterday , many people in my 03:42.098 --> 03:44.520 generation , you know , were latchkey 03:44.529 --> 03:46.949 kids , a single parent , my parents 03:46.960 --> 03:49.410 divorced when I was really young around . 03:49.419 --> 03:51.308 You know , it wasn't that I had a 03:51.308 --> 03:53.419 father around but it was really , you 03:53.419 --> 03:55.308 know , we lived with my mom , she 03:55.308 --> 03:57.197 worked , she worked nights and so 03:57.197 --> 03:59.419 there's a lot of responsibility . I was 03:59.419 --> 04:01.530 the oldest . And so , and that I hear 04:01.530 --> 04:03.586 that story a lot from , you know , a 04:03.586 --> 04:05.808 lot of folks . Um it's not uncommon and 04:05.808 --> 04:08.030 then there's some things that you , you 04:08.030 --> 04:10.197 get out of that . I think that build a 04:10.197 --> 04:12.363 little more resilience , a little more 04:12.363 --> 04:14.586 grit , a little more uh persistence and 04:14.586 --> 04:16.586 a little more understanding what it 04:16.586 --> 04:19.980 means to take on responsibility . Um If 04:19.989 --> 04:22.211 you wanna do something , you know , you 04:22.211 --> 04:25.059 may have to uh dig down deep and find a 04:25.070 --> 04:27.260 way to , to do it with your own 04:27.269 --> 04:29.491 resources or go out and make some other 04:29.510 --> 04:32.850 uh efforts to connect some things to 04:33.720 --> 04:36.339 help yourself and then obviously to be 04:36.350 --> 04:39.369 able to help others . Um And so I had 04:39.380 --> 04:41.380 to find a way to pay for school for 04:41.380 --> 04:44.989 college . Um First job was at Burger 04:45.000 --> 04:48.489 King , um which I , I tend to not go 04:48.500 --> 04:50.556 there anymore . Not that it was , it 04:50.556 --> 04:53.269 was just like I had my fill of , of the , 04:53.279 --> 04:55.335 of the Burger King , but it was OK . 04:55.335 --> 04:57.446 Where can I get a job where I can get 04:57.446 --> 05:00.100 to and be to , to earn some extra money ? 05:00.109 --> 05:02.510 And then ROTC was a way for me uh to 05:02.519 --> 05:05.309 pay for college . And as I started , 05:05.320 --> 05:08.149 you know , ROTC in college , I had no , 05:08.660 --> 05:12.359 no plans or no idea that I was one 05:12.369 --> 05:14.536 gonna be , become a general or stay 30 05:14.536 --> 05:16.809 years , you know , in the army . But 05:16.820 --> 05:19.042 it's those little things like a rolling 05:19.042 --> 05:21.153 stone , picking up moss or a snowball 05:21.153 --> 05:23.209 that as it goes , you pick up things 05:23.209 --> 05:25.320 along the way . And kind of what this 05:25.320 --> 05:27.376 is reflective of is , I think as you 05:27.376 --> 05:29.619 and I mentioned this yesterday to major 05:29.630 --> 05:31.797 Haynes's daughters , you know , as you 05:31.797 --> 05:34.130 start your life out , those experiences , 05:34.130 --> 05:37.019 those jobs people I met at the Burger 05:37.029 --> 05:40.529 King or at school or in the army , you 05:40.540 --> 05:43.239 pick up people along the way that show 05:43.250 --> 05:45.417 you things or teach you things or help 05:45.417 --> 05:48.970 you , uh be better to be your best self . 05:49.410 --> 05:51.299 You discard those people that are 05:51.299 --> 05:53.466 bringing you down and that are pulling 05:53.466 --> 05:55.929 you in a negative direction or aren't 05:55.940 --> 05:59.029 pushing you to be better , um , or 05:59.040 --> 06:01.262 helping you along the way . And I think 06:01.262 --> 06:03.779 I've , I've , I've been able to do that 06:03.790 --> 06:06.029 throughout life and career and I think 06:06.040 --> 06:08.450 that's what helped me uh be successful , 06:08.459 --> 06:10.681 but it's kind of a constant check and I 06:10.681 --> 06:12.792 will talk , you gotta kind of recheck 06:12.792 --> 06:14.959 your asthma every so often and in land 06:14.959 --> 06:17.126 navigation . Um And I'll just stand up 06:17.126 --> 06:19.015 for a minute because , you know , 06:19.015 --> 06:21.292 you're , you have to shoot an Asmi and , 06:21.292 --> 06:23.292 and this is military . So , and you 06:23.292 --> 06:25.403 wanna take an Asmi and you gotta move 06:25.403 --> 06:27.626 in a direction , but every so often you 06:27.626 --> 06:29.792 gotta take a knee and stop and recheck 06:29.792 --> 06:31.959 your Asma to make sure you're going in 06:31.959 --> 06:34.109 the right direction . Um because 06:34.119 --> 06:36.175 sometimes you got to navigate around 06:36.175 --> 06:38.510 some obstacles and some of those things 06:38.519 --> 06:40.910 could get you off course and then 06:40.920 --> 06:43.142 you're not going in the right direction 06:43.142 --> 06:45.198 anymore and you don't realize that . 06:45.198 --> 06:47.364 And so I think taking a moment to kind 06:47.364 --> 06:49.420 of stop check your asthma , check in 06:49.420 --> 06:51.642 with those people , and that'll kind of 06:51.642 --> 06:53.864 be a theme of what I think is important 06:53.864 --> 06:55.976 is those people that you've collected 06:55.976 --> 06:55.940 along the way that are your trusted 06:55.950 --> 06:58.540 agents or those that , you know , have 06:58.549 --> 07:00.500 your best interest in mind and are 07:00.510 --> 07:02.700 really telling you the things that you 07:02.709 --> 07:04.653 need to hear , whether it's candid 07:04.653 --> 07:07.640 feedback , um , because they genuinely 07:07.649 --> 07:10.880 care about you . I think that's very 07:10.890 --> 07:13.168 important to know who those people are . 07:13.168 --> 07:15.223 Be open to bringing new people in as 07:15.223 --> 07:18.209 you go . Don't be exclusive . Um , but 07:18.570 --> 07:21.230 trust your instincts and know , uh , 07:21.540 --> 07:23.596 you know , who those , those , those 07:23.596 --> 07:26.279 people are , uh , for you , um , and 07:26.290 --> 07:29.290 lean on them . And so that said , I 07:29.299 --> 07:31.299 would also never thought that I was 07:31.299 --> 07:33.230 gonna be a mom , you know , as a 07:33.239 --> 07:35.489 lieutenant colonel and that kinda , and 07:35.500 --> 07:37.920 working and that came in , I was 07:37.929 --> 07:40.739 probably in the , maybe in my , like 07:40.750 --> 07:42.989 28th year , 20 I was a lieutenant 07:43.000 --> 07:46.089 colonel . So I guess 22 years I was in 07:46.100 --> 07:48.859 already and so very much later , uh , 07:48.869 --> 07:51.260 in life . Uh , my son's 12 now than 07:51.429 --> 07:54.329 many of my peers . Um , but it was a 07:54.339 --> 07:57.325 blessing and being able to do that made 07:57.334 --> 07:59.445 me change a little bit in how I was , 07:59.445 --> 08:01.667 you know , I , some of the things I was 08:01.667 --> 08:03.834 able to do , you know , without having 08:03.834 --> 08:05.934 a child , uh , definitely got much 08:05.945 --> 08:08.001 harder and much more challenging but 08:08.001 --> 08:10.855 very doable . And it was because of um 08:11.619 --> 08:14.980 again , being able to be willing to ask 08:14.989 --> 08:17.519 for help , being able to accept help 08:17.529 --> 08:20.380 and being ok with that , it didn't mean 08:20.390 --> 08:23.260 that I was weak or incompetent . It 08:23.269 --> 08:25.380 just , I think meant that I came to a 08:25.380 --> 08:27.491 realization that that's kind of a key 08:27.491 --> 08:29.658 to , to being able to move forward and 08:29.658 --> 08:32.359 to do all of the things you , you , you 08:32.369 --> 08:34.425 know , wanna do in life . And that , 08:34.425 --> 08:36.702 that's also I think a good example for , 08:36.890 --> 08:39.001 you know , Children and others to see 08:39.001 --> 08:41.690 is that we aren't , you know , robots , 08:41.840 --> 08:44.380 you know , we can't do everything alone . 08:44.919 --> 08:47.739 There's a team aspect about kind of why 08:47.750 --> 08:49.979 I like being in the army and a team 08:49.989 --> 08:52.340 aspect about , you know , how we get , 08:52.349 --> 08:54.405 get through life . And that really , 08:54.405 --> 08:56.460 it's the people around you that help 08:56.460 --> 08:58.349 make you better , help , make you 08:58.349 --> 09:00.571 successful and help make you be able to 09:00.571 --> 09:02.738 realize the dreams and aspirations and 09:02.738 --> 09:06.099 things that , that you wanna do . Um So 09:06.109 --> 09:08.276 that's kind of a little bit of my , my 09:08.276 --> 09:10.442 history . I kinda started out and then 09:10.442 --> 09:12.442 it just kinda went from there and I 09:12.442 --> 09:14.553 have just been very , so very blessed 09:14.553 --> 09:14.489 to have seen a lot of different places 09:14.500 --> 09:16.722 around the world and to meet the people 09:16.722 --> 09:19.469 that I have uh by being able to serve 09:19.479 --> 09:21.530 in the army . And I didn't think it 09:21.539 --> 09:23.761 would stick . But when every assignment 09:23.761 --> 09:26.190 was different and exciting and a new 09:26.200 --> 09:29.059 opportunity to pick up some new people , 09:29.070 --> 09:31.359 pick up some new experiences to grow 09:31.369 --> 09:33.460 and to stretch , you know , it just 09:33.469 --> 09:35.691 kept going and , and from there , I , I 09:35.691 --> 09:38.169 never , I never looked back . So that's 09:38.179 --> 09:40.401 a little bit of my beginnings . Is that 09:40.429 --> 09:43.049 yes , ma'am . Thank you . So , you've 09:43.059 --> 09:45.330 been able to be a leader at several 09:45.340 --> 09:48.359 levels with over 30 plus exper years of 09:48.369 --> 09:51.940 experience . How can we be able to lead 09:51.950 --> 09:55.820 from whether we're the , the GS 09:55.830 --> 09:59.309 two , the Gs four to the Gs 15 level . 09:59.320 --> 10:02.299 How can we do that as well ? So let me 10:02.309 --> 10:05.789 go to the next slide . I will , I will 10:05.799 --> 10:09.049 say that . Um So this is a one , a one 10:09.059 --> 10:11.226 how and then I have a , a couple other 10:11.226 --> 10:13.559 things that I would say , know yourself . 10:13.559 --> 10:16.719 And when I was a second lieutenant , 10:17.159 --> 10:19.326 whether you're a GS two or three , you 10:19.326 --> 10:21.609 know , to , to where you are today , 10:23.000 --> 10:25.479 you are growing and you are learning 10:25.489 --> 10:28.270 about yourself and , and find 10:28.280 --> 10:31.830 opportunities to know yourself . And 10:32.359 --> 10:36.099 when I say be authentic as a leader , I 10:36.109 --> 10:38.276 also say , know yourself , know , know 10:38.276 --> 10:42.239 your values . Um that as myth , try 10:42.250 --> 10:45.210 to stick to them , don't let people 10:45.590 --> 10:48.770 veer you in other directions . Um maybe 10:49.500 --> 10:52.510 um lower your values or your 10:52.520 --> 10:54.520 expectations , I would say , try to 10:54.520 --> 10:57.159 stay true to those uh that , you know , 10:57.169 --> 10:59.336 are your , the things that you want to 10:59.336 --> 11:01.450 be known for and then whatever the 11:01.460 --> 11:03.799 moment is that you are in , whether 11:03.809 --> 11:06.031 you're leading on a team as a member of 11:06.031 --> 11:08.142 the team or you're leading the team , 11:08.380 --> 11:11.799 be there . Give it your all . Like my , 11:12.049 --> 11:14.160 I stick , this sticks me a quote from 11:14.160 --> 11:16.271 my track coach which was , you know , 11:16.271 --> 11:18.438 if it's worth doing , it's worth doing 11:18.438 --> 11:20.327 well . Don't half it , you know , 11:20.327 --> 11:22.382 there's a lot of people that like to 11:22.382 --> 11:24.605 half , a lot of stuff and I say that uh 11:24.605 --> 11:26.827 cause I hate it like going in and , and 11:26.827 --> 11:28.938 i it drives me bonkers when we try to 11:28.938 --> 11:31.105 like , and then , and when I do it too 11:31.105 --> 11:33.271 and I'm not saying I don't do it . I'm 11:33.271 --> 11:33.200 human . We're all human , right ? So 11:33.210 --> 11:34.988 there's things that we can't do 11:34.988 --> 11:37.266 everything , the , the to the absolute , 11:37.266 --> 11:39.669 to perfection . But wherever you are , 11:39.679 --> 11:41.901 whatever moment you're in , think about 11:41.901 --> 11:44.123 the people you're around and , and I'll 11:44.123 --> 11:46.401 talk about a few of these because they , 11:46.401 --> 11:48.512 they've resonated with me is be there 11:48.512 --> 11:50.735 in the moment with those people on that 11:50.735 --> 11:52.770 team , whatever that thing is that 11:52.780 --> 11:56.320 you're doing um demonstrate , I think 11:56.330 --> 11:59.880 and check yourself . Do you wanna , you 11:59.890 --> 12:02.001 know , be there ? I think the leading 12:02.001 --> 12:05.429 by example um People see that people 12:05.440 --> 12:07.329 know that you don't have to be in 12:07.329 --> 12:10.359 charge um of everything uh to lead . 12:10.469 --> 12:12.700 But I think being a leader which is you 12:12.710 --> 12:15.080 wanna be on a team and you wanna be 12:15.090 --> 12:17.469 successful . I think most folks , if 12:17.479 --> 12:19.701 you're on a team , you want the team to 12:19.701 --> 12:23.039 be successful uh versus just get by . 12:23.150 --> 12:25.909 Um And I think if not be true to 12:25.919 --> 12:28.030 yourself and say , maybe I don't need 12:28.030 --> 12:30.030 to be on this team , maybe this job 12:30.030 --> 12:32.409 isn't right for me because I'm not 12:32.419 --> 12:34.641 happy to be here . I'm uncomfortable or 12:34.641 --> 12:36.641 I'm not willing to put in the extra 12:36.641 --> 12:39.580 work to make this be successful . So if 12:39.590 --> 12:41.849 I say be authentic , know yourself and 12:41.859 --> 12:44.859 then know those are around you and then 12:45.150 --> 12:47.700 know what's important . And some of 12:47.710 --> 12:50.460 these things were variety of 12:50.469 --> 12:53.890 individuals , promotions . I had the 12:54.179 --> 12:57.849 honor . Um But the unfortunate um 12:58.619 --> 13:01.539 responsibility to present a flag to a , 13:01.549 --> 13:04.789 a widow uh for her husband uh that was 13:04.799 --> 13:06.799 killed in Iraq . And I've had to do 13:06.799 --> 13:09.570 that on a couple occasions and I think 13:09.580 --> 13:12.500 uh being there uh in that moment and 13:12.510 --> 13:14.788 kind of fully understanding their loss , 13:15.109 --> 13:17.276 um You can't be distracted , you can't 13:17.276 --> 13:19.387 be anywhere else . You gotta be fully 13:19.387 --> 13:21.498 there in that moment with them . It's 13:21.498 --> 13:23.590 not , hey , transactional , I'm just 13:23.599 --> 13:25.766 here , you know , to present this flag 13:25.766 --> 13:28.840 to you , but , you know , their family 13:28.849 --> 13:31.590 lost someone , they volunteered to 13:31.599 --> 13:33.710 serve and in that , you know , came a 13:33.710 --> 13:36.043 selfless sacrifice of losing their life . 13:36.043 --> 13:37.988 And so often times there's so much 13:37.988 --> 13:40.043 going on around us , uh sometimes we 13:40.043 --> 13:41.766 forget where we are and we are 13:41.766 --> 13:44.570 distracted and it's , it's noticeable . 13:44.580 --> 13:47.969 And so I would say it's important to 13:47.979 --> 13:50.849 know yourself and know where you are at 13:50.859 --> 13:53.081 and , and , and know if , if you're not 13:53.081 --> 13:55.270 in the right frame of mind to , to be 13:55.590 --> 13:57.701 in a position where you're leading or 13:57.701 --> 13:59.869 you're gonna be , uh doing something 13:59.880 --> 14:01.880 because we all have personal things 14:01.880 --> 14:04.047 going on . And again , you gotta check 14:04.047 --> 14:06.158 yourself . Sometimes we need to think 14:06.158 --> 14:08.380 about , we never know what other people 14:08.380 --> 14:07.690 are going through at this time . And 14:07.700 --> 14:09.756 sometimes we have to understand that 14:09.756 --> 14:11.756 sometimes we are going through some 14:11.756 --> 14:15.090 things and be OK with telling people 14:15.099 --> 14:17.266 that , you know , maybe I'm not up for 14:17.266 --> 14:19.432 this right now and here's what's going 14:19.432 --> 14:19.219 on with me , but it doesn't mean I'm , 14:19.440 --> 14:21.780 you know , I just , I'm being true to 14:21.789 --> 14:24.099 myself and understanding that maybe I , 14:24.109 --> 14:26.479 I can't do this right now . Um And so I 14:26.489 --> 14:28.711 don't think it shows weakness . I think 14:28.711 --> 14:31.469 it shows understanding uh that I think 14:31.479 --> 14:33.729 is really important . So I hope that 14:33.739 --> 14:36.260 gets to answer your questions . I 14:36.270 --> 14:38.603 didn't quit exactly ladies out that way . 14:38.603 --> 14:40.630 But I was trying to um it all comes 14:41.140 --> 14:44.429 together . OK ? What experience with 14:44.440 --> 14:47.080 challenges in a male dominated career 14:47.090 --> 14:49.659 field ? Have you experienced and how 14:49.669 --> 14:51.058 have you overcome them ? 14:54.659 --> 14:57.799 Um OK , so you can go to the next one 14:57.880 --> 15:00.429 because I think this is right . So I 15:00.440 --> 15:02.329 was gonna weave these into you to 15:02.329 --> 15:04.329 whatever somehow . Um And I said it 15:04.329 --> 15:07.070 already and partnerships and support 15:07.080 --> 15:09.080 networks and I kind of mentioned or 15:09.080 --> 15:11.191 alluded to it with highlighting Major 15:11.191 --> 15:13.750 Haines . Sorry , I stand a little bit 15:13.760 --> 15:17.299 so I can see everybody . Um , it's ok 15:17.309 --> 15:20.239 to , to have a support network . Uh , 15:20.250 --> 15:22.361 you know , I don't think I would have 15:22.361 --> 15:24.694 been able to do some of the things , uh , 15:24.694 --> 15:26.694 that I have done if I didn't have a 15:26.694 --> 15:28.917 true trusted group of friends that were 15:28.917 --> 15:31.028 willing to share with me , uh , and I 15:31.028 --> 15:33.139 was willing to share with them and it 15:33.139 --> 15:35.083 wasn't a , I'm in this for me or I 15:35.083 --> 15:37.139 don't want to share with you because 15:37.139 --> 15:39.361 then you're gonna look good and I'm not 15:39.361 --> 15:41.528 gonna look good . And there's a lot of 15:41.528 --> 15:41.320 that that happens out there . There's 15:41.330 --> 15:43.820 this strange competitiveness even 15:43.830 --> 15:46.969 sometimes between women um that you're 15:46.979 --> 15:49.035 sort of like , well , there's only a 15:49.035 --> 15:51.159 couple of us and um we have to be 15:51.219 --> 15:54.510 better and put that aside and be 15:54.520 --> 15:57.219 willing to partner and get support in 15:57.229 --> 15:59.396 our personal life and our professional 15:59.396 --> 16:01.562 life . And so I think , and we need to 16:01.562 --> 16:03.729 support others as well . And also look 16:03.729 --> 16:05.729 for those folks that may not have a 16:05.729 --> 16:08.820 support uh network or someone at work 16:08.830 --> 16:10.997 that is willing to kind of show them . 16:10.997 --> 16:13.219 Um Here's some of the things you know , 16:13.219 --> 16:15.380 that I've done uh to be successful or 16:15.390 --> 16:17.612 here's some of the places you go to get 16:17.612 --> 16:19.001 these resources . And so 16:21.270 --> 16:23.520 sometimes , and I'm not saying 16:23.530 --> 16:25.752 everywhere , um some of the things that 16:25.752 --> 16:28.179 I've felt is is that the men only 16:28.190 --> 16:31.270 listen to the men . And so , and I 16:31.280 --> 16:34.530 think some of that is real and some of 16:34.539 --> 16:36.539 it is perceived but definitely have 16:36.539 --> 16:38.706 been there where it's real when you've 16:38.706 --> 16:40.706 been at the table and somebody says 16:40.706 --> 16:44.289 something and the male in the room , 16:44.299 --> 16:46.521 well , there's many and often times and 16:46.521 --> 16:48.632 one of the few females says something 16:48.669 --> 16:51.210 and they're heard and you've said 16:51.219 --> 16:53.299 something similar , maybe using some 16:53.309 --> 16:55.420 different words and maybe articulated 16:55.420 --> 16:58.500 it differently and it's not heard . Um , 16:58.510 --> 17:02.510 and so I've been very , uh 17:02.520 --> 17:05.279 much um 17:05.948 --> 17:08.479 honing in my acuteness to being aware 17:08.489 --> 17:11.389 of that in , in , in different forums 17:11.399 --> 17:15.269 and listening for uh the voice that 17:15.279 --> 17:17.649 is not heard and trying to find ways 17:17.659 --> 17:21.629 myself to now amplify somebody 17:21.639 --> 17:23.695 else's voice and it could be male or 17:23.695 --> 17:27.630 female . Um um I've seen it a lot 17:27.640 --> 17:29.696 being female , but it's also someone 17:29.696 --> 17:31.807 else who's maybe uncomfortable or new 17:31.807 --> 17:35.270 or not feeling um confident in their 17:35.280 --> 17:37.530 environment that has something to say 17:37.540 --> 17:40.089 or they're quiet and they just aren't 17:40.099 --> 17:42.377 given an opportunity to say , you know , 17:42.377 --> 17:44.543 I'd really like to know what you think 17:44.543 --> 17:46.599 because I've had a conversation with 17:46.599 --> 17:48.821 them or I know they've said something , 17:48.821 --> 17:48.359 but it was kind of brushed over very 17:48.369 --> 17:52.030 quickly . And so I found that in the 17:52.040 --> 17:54.699 spirit of partnering and teamwork um 17:54.709 --> 17:57.660 and supporting each other , find ways 17:57.670 --> 18:01.310 to amplify and 18:01.589 --> 18:04.699 um get some visibility for those around 18:04.709 --> 18:06.949 you . Uh That , that , that's voice is 18:06.959 --> 18:08.903 not maybe being heard because it's 18:08.903 --> 18:11.070 happened to me . Um Don't say , has it 18:11.070 --> 18:13.292 happened to anybody else in here . Have 18:13.292 --> 18:15.403 you kind of felt like you've been run 18:15.403 --> 18:17.570 over , you've not been heard and , and 18:17.570 --> 18:19.903 then just move on and , and you're like , 18:19.903 --> 18:22.237 I think I just said the same thing . Um , 18:22.237 --> 18:24.819 but ok , um , we'll , we'll move on . 18:24.829 --> 18:27.439 And so now I think I've tried to take a 18:27.449 --> 18:29.520 different look and see where I have 18:29.530 --> 18:32.130 opportunity , uh , to call out other 18:32.140 --> 18:33.862 people to be able to get their 18:33.862 --> 18:35.696 perspective . And I think that's 18:35.696 --> 18:38.369 another important part of great teams 18:38.380 --> 18:40.436 is getting a different perspective . 18:40.436 --> 18:42.491 But if we're not willing to listen , 18:42.491 --> 18:44.602 and I , and I think there's , there's 18:44.602 --> 18:47.949 some of that um out there and I , I , 18:47.959 --> 18:50.270 again , I don't want to stereotype but , 18:50.280 --> 18:52.280 but sometimes I would say in a male 18:52.280 --> 18:54.002 dominant environment , they're 18:54.002 --> 18:55.780 listening to the loudest , most 18:55.780 --> 18:59.739 forceful person speaking , maybe 18:59.750 --> 19:02.819 not , you know , the most uh 19:03.959 --> 19:06.181 the one that makes the most sense . And 19:06.181 --> 19:09.819 so so I , I think just being 19:09.829 --> 19:12.239 persistent uh to be able to find 19:12.250 --> 19:15.339 different ways to get your point out or 19:15.349 --> 19:18.339 if you have a vision of where you think 19:18.349 --> 19:20.516 this needs to go or what you'd like to 19:20.516 --> 19:22.627 see as an end state , be innovative , 19:22.627 --> 19:25.900 be creative . Um Don't get angry . Uh 19:25.920 --> 19:28.630 just be smarter and more thoughtful 19:28.640 --> 19:30.920 about how can I come at this from a 19:30.930 --> 19:32.709 different angle ? And it's not 19:32.719 --> 19:34.886 everybody is like that . I think we've 19:34.886 --> 19:37.160 all learned and become more open uh in 19:37.170 --> 19:39.979 our environment to listening , not just 19:39.989 --> 19:42.719 talking , but sometimes we have to 19:42.729 --> 19:44.829 create the space for that . And so I 19:44.839 --> 19:47.006 think working in a very male dominated 19:47.006 --> 19:49.260 environment , um there is a lot of 19:50.760 --> 19:53.270 testosterone and a lot of like , the 19:53.280 --> 19:55.336 bigger you are , the bigger you make 19:55.336 --> 19:57.391 yourself feel the better you . And , 19:57.391 --> 19:59.558 and sometimes I will say I'm guilty uh 19:59.558 --> 20:01.613 to fall and pray to that too because 20:01.613 --> 20:03.891 sometimes that's kinda what only works . 20:03.891 --> 20:06.113 So if I , if you gotta kinda come at it 20:06.113 --> 20:08.113 and be a little louder to kinda put 20:08.113 --> 20:11.859 people back and it's not necessarily 20:11.869 --> 20:15.489 my , you know , preferred 20:15.500 --> 20:19.430 uh natural state , but depending on the 20:19.459 --> 20:21.681 our environment you're in , sometimes I 20:21.681 --> 20:24.890 find I might have to utilize a little 20:24.900 --> 20:27.709 bit of that skill to get the message 20:27.719 --> 20:31.310 across or to make up a point or to 20:31.319 --> 20:34.390 enable somebody else to uh come in and 20:34.400 --> 20:36.400 be able to present their opinion or 20:36.400 --> 20:39.989 their perspective . So , what about 20:40.000 --> 20:42.260 your legacy and what you would like to 20:42.270 --> 20:44.390 leave within the district once you do 20:44.400 --> 20:47.949 decide to retire or do something else ? 20:48.959 --> 20:51.015 It's a tough question . It's a great 20:51.015 --> 20:54.469 question though . Um You know , um and 20:54.479 --> 20:56.930 I'll , I'll stand up . So I actually 20:56.939 --> 20:59.390 did go to a retirement preparation 20:59.400 --> 21:03.180 class a couple of weeks ago and it does 21:03.189 --> 21:06.130 make you think a lot uh about all of 21:06.140 --> 21:08.251 that , about yourself and about kinda 21:08.510 --> 21:11.479 what , what have I done ? And we , we 21:11.489 --> 21:13.489 built a lot of great projects and I 21:13.489 --> 21:15.433 could probably talk about a lot of 21:15.433 --> 21:17.600 projects that I'm proud to have been a 21:17.600 --> 21:19.767 part of in some way , shape or form to 21:19.767 --> 21:19.599 have moved the ball forward to enable 21:19.609 --> 21:22.060 it to , you know , not just be a plan 21:22.069 --> 21:24.380 but to be , you know , implemented to 21:24.390 --> 21:26.670 be constructed , to make a difference 21:26.680 --> 21:28.880 in whether it was a community . And so 21:29.130 --> 21:31.297 I am proud about that , but I will say 21:31.297 --> 21:33.463 that I am , you know , definitely most 21:33.463 --> 21:37.390 proud um or I would say if there 21:37.400 --> 21:39.709 was a legacy to be left , it's , it's 21:39.719 --> 21:43.260 really the people um that I was able to 21:44.020 --> 21:47.079 either empower or to help along the way 21:47.400 --> 21:50.040 uh to give them an opportunity . I , I 21:50.050 --> 21:52.050 think as I've gotten more senior in 21:52.050 --> 21:54.161 rank , you know , one of the things I 21:54.161 --> 21:58.160 find most value 21:58.170 --> 22:00.969 things that put gas back in my tank 22:00.979 --> 22:03.719 versus take gas out are when you get to 22:03.729 --> 22:06.119 re recognize people or touch people's 22:06.130 --> 22:08.380 lives or yesterday , you know , being 22:08.390 --> 22:10.168 able to be part of major Haines 22:10.168 --> 22:13.599 promotion um and talking to people and 22:13.609 --> 22:16.040 learning a little bit about why people 22:16.050 --> 22:18.849 serve um how , what opportunities are 22:18.859 --> 22:20.915 out there out there to help them see 22:20.915 --> 22:24.239 other doors that they can open um 22:25.199 --> 22:27.310 that they may not know about . I love 22:27.310 --> 22:29.579 giving people ideas about different 22:29.589 --> 22:32.180 options and helping people see that 22:32.189 --> 22:35.040 there's so many options out there that 22:35.050 --> 22:37.900 that can fulfill them um in their , 22:37.910 --> 22:40.077 their life that I think that's kind of 22:40.077 --> 22:42.021 the , the people that I've touched 22:42.021 --> 22:44.188 along the way , the people that I know 22:44.188 --> 22:46.299 that I will uh stay in touch with the 22:46.299 --> 22:48.521 people that maybe I've written a letter 22:48.521 --> 22:50.688 for a recommendation that , you know , 22:50.989 --> 22:53.211 has helped in some way . I mean , a lot 22:53.211 --> 22:55.433 of it is their own uh credentials . But 22:55.433 --> 22:57.322 if you can , you know , give some 22:57.322 --> 22:59.267 little extra thing that makes them 22:59.267 --> 23:01.489 stand out those things , I think mean , 23:01.489 --> 23:03.711 more to me that there's gonna be people 23:03.711 --> 23:05.878 that come behind , um , that are gonna 23:05.878 --> 23:07.989 serve , you know , in those positions 23:07.989 --> 23:10.100 that I've served in the 30 plus years 23:10.100 --> 23:12.719 and continue to serve , you know , our 23:12.729 --> 23:16.650 nation , um , in a variety of ways , 23:16.660 --> 23:18.670 uh , to give back because I think I 23:18.680 --> 23:22.329 have seen no more selfless , 23:22.650 --> 23:24.969 you know , people then , you know , 23:25.189 --> 23:27.522 when you look at the Corps of Engineers , 23:27.522 --> 23:29.800 we , we run the gamut of uniformed and , 23:29.800 --> 23:32.729 and civilian , you know , dedicated , 23:32.890 --> 23:35.609 uh , federal servants , you know , that 23:35.619 --> 23:38.449 are willing to support contingencies 23:38.459 --> 23:40.829 when there's wildfires or natural 23:40.839 --> 23:44.040 disasters , um , to provide facilities 23:44.050 --> 23:46.383 and infrastructure at home that protect , 23:46.383 --> 23:48.750 you know , people's , uh , property and 23:48.760 --> 23:51.920 personal , um , livelihoods , you know , 23:51.930 --> 23:54.319 supporting the country in so many 23:54.329 --> 23:56.739 different ways . Park rangers out on 23:56.750 --> 23:59.109 our lakes and dams that are interacting 23:59.119 --> 24:01.008 with the Children , um , that are 24:01.010 --> 24:03.579 visiting or the public , um , or 24:03.589 --> 24:05.700 retirees that are just coming through 24:05.700 --> 24:07.922 to camp . I mean , they , we provide so 24:07.922 --> 24:10.145 many different aspects . It's just been 24:10.145 --> 24:12.256 such a rewarding experience to be not 24:12.256 --> 24:14.533 only in uniform in the army , you know , 24:14.533 --> 24:16.811 to serve our nation at home and abroad . 24:16.811 --> 24:18.978 But also to do some of the things that 24:18.978 --> 24:21.256 we do in the Corps of Engineers . It's , 24:21.256 --> 24:23.367 uh it's been a really rewarding , you 24:23.367 --> 24:25.145 know , experience for me . It's 24:25.145 --> 24:27.256 definitely made me better as a person 24:27.256 --> 24:29.770 and , and it is the people I think that 24:29.780 --> 24:31.947 I collected along the way is that kind 24:31.947 --> 24:34.069 of rolling stone , uh that I will be 24:34.079 --> 24:36.301 most proud of having been able to be in 24:36.301 --> 24:38.412 their lives , to be a part of it , to 24:38.412 --> 24:40.635 hopefully have pushed people like other 24:40.635 --> 24:42.801 people have pushed me along the way to 24:42.801 --> 24:45.023 be better or to strive for a higher bar 24:45.023 --> 24:47.246 uh versus , you know , uh a lower bar , 24:47.246 --> 24:49.301 but to be able to push themselves in 24:49.301 --> 24:51.468 ways they , they couldn't see before . 24:51.468 --> 24:54.000 Thank you , ma'am with our district 24:54.010 --> 24:56.177 here in the Fort worth . We know we're 24:56.177 --> 24:57.899 part of a larger mission , but 24:57.899 --> 25:01.199 sometimes that may not be seen . So , 25:01.209 --> 25:03.487 since you're at the headquarters level , 25:03.487 --> 25:05.598 can you kind of tell us what does our 25:05.598 --> 25:07.839 work at the district level translate ? 25:07.849 --> 25:10.071 How does that translate to the division 25:10.071 --> 25:13.319 and then the headquarters level ? Good 25:13.329 --> 25:17.180 question . Um So I think I'm like 25:17.219 --> 25:19.900 super hot but I am um 25:21.800 --> 25:24.900 haven't served at a district myself a 25:24.910 --> 25:27.410 couple of times . I think I was a young 25:27.420 --> 25:30.709 officer in uh a Los Angeles district 25:30.719 --> 25:32.663 when I was a captain . So that was 25:32.663 --> 25:34.869 probably at my like eight year mark in 25:34.880 --> 25:38.160 the army . And then um came back in 25:38.170 --> 25:40.059 Albuquerque District and then Los 25:40.059 --> 25:42.392 Angeles district again to command . And , 25:42.392 --> 25:44.503 and so I have been at the district in 25:44.503 --> 25:46.559 multiple , you know occasions in the 25:46.559 --> 25:48.781 Afghanistan district overseas . I would 25:48.781 --> 25:50.837 say that , I mean , the the district 25:50.837 --> 25:52.614 and I told your corporate board 25:52.614 --> 25:54.837 yesterday , I mean , you guys are a , a 25:54.837 --> 25:57.059 heavy hitter in the , as the Fort Worth 25:57.059 --> 26:00.430 District in the portfolio of districts 26:00.439 --> 26:02.606 that we have , each of them are unique 26:02.606 --> 26:05.939 and deliver unique things . Um And the 26:05.949 --> 26:08.282 chief likes to say we have dotted bound , 26:08.282 --> 26:10.227 dotted line boundaries between our 26:10.227 --> 26:12.171 districts because we do enterprise 26:12.171 --> 26:14.171 things and we are , we should be to 26:14.171 --> 26:16.338 those out there , the US Army Corps of 26:16.338 --> 26:18.282 Engineers , not just I only get my 26:18.282 --> 26:20.338 services from Fort Worth District or 26:20.338 --> 26:22.650 Charleston District or , you know , New 26:22.660 --> 26:24.819 York District . We are all supporting 26:24.829 --> 26:27.089 each other . And again , you send , you 26:27.099 --> 26:29.266 have a lot of people in here that have 26:29.266 --> 26:31.377 gone over to , you know , the Pacific 26:31.377 --> 26:33.321 to support , you know , the debris 26:33.321 --> 26:35.210 removal uh following the wildfire 26:35.210 --> 26:37.959 response . So we are one us army Corps 26:37.969 --> 26:40.729 of engineers , but by way of heavy 26:40.739 --> 26:43.060 hitter , powerful districts that 26:43.069 --> 26:45.236 deliver a lot for our enterprise . You 26:45.236 --> 26:47.347 know , you are one of those very full 26:47.347 --> 26:49.569 service , very known and kind of for me 26:49.569 --> 26:52.560 in my portfolio , military uh programs , 26:52.569 --> 26:54.569 military construction , interagency 26:54.569 --> 26:56.569 work and international , you know , 26:56.569 --> 26:58.680 work , you know , the Fort District , 26:58.869 --> 27:01.510 Fort Worth District does a lot of that . 27:01.520 --> 27:04.780 And um so I'm trying to , to get to all 27:04.790 --> 27:06.910 of those , but it builds , right ? So 27:06.979 --> 27:10.910 what you do , you are the the sometimes 27:10.920 --> 27:13.339 the pointy tip of the spear , you know , 27:13.349 --> 27:15.571 the one that's meeting with the partner 27:15.571 --> 27:17.709 uh face to face daily on the ground . 27:17.890 --> 27:20.699 Um you know , delivering a 27:20.709 --> 27:24.329 capability , a service that reflects 27:24.349 --> 27:26.516 all of the corps of engineers . So the 27:26.516 --> 27:29.869 castle , we all were division 27:30.900 --> 27:33.729 um headquarters , sometimes our 27:33.739 --> 27:37.319 partners only see what you uh provide 27:37.329 --> 27:40.060 for them . The , the talent you provide , 27:40.260 --> 27:42.427 uh good , bad or ugly . You know , the 27:42.427 --> 27:44.482 district is what they remember . The 27:44.482 --> 27:47.449 district is kind of what combined with 27:47.459 --> 27:49.626 all the districts is the reputation of 27:49.626 --> 27:51.681 the Corps of Engineers is , is based 27:51.681 --> 27:53.403 upon , you're really the those 27:53.403 --> 27:55.859 foundational blocks of what happens , 27:55.869 --> 27:58.036 you know , at the highest levels , you 27:58.036 --> 28:00.202 know , starts , starts at the district 28:00.202 --> 28:02.420 level . Um I mean , we don't get 28:02.430 --> 28:04.541 anything done without the districts . 28:04.630 --> 28:06.852 And so it is sort of tough , you know , 28:06.852 --> 28:09.079 and as I've gone up from district to 28:09.089 --> 28:11.560 division to headquarters , I've had a 28:11.569 --> 28:13.569 hard time . There's always friction 28:13.569 --> 28:15.902 between your headquarters and , and you , 28:15.902 --> 28:17.958 wherever that is , whether you're at 28:17.958 --> 28:17.910 the district with the division or at 28:17.920 --> 28:20.087 the division with the headquarters and 28:20.087 --> 28:22.309 now at the headquarters and I spent the 28:22.309 --> 28:24.253 last year being very uncomfortable 28:24.253 --> 28:26.476 about what do we do as a headquarters ? 28:26.476 --> 28:25.430 And I'm sure , you know , if you're at 28:25.439 --> 28:27.495 the district , you're like , what do 28:27.495 --> 28:29.717 you do at the headquarters ? You know , 28:29.717 --> 28:31.939 you cause us a lot of trouble and a lot 28:31.939 --> 28:33.772 of pain . Um But there should be 28:33.772 --> 28:35.939 relationships fostered at each level . 28:35.939 --> 28:38.260 Um And we should be looking at how can 28:38.270 --> 28:40.979 we support each other at each level and 28:41.569 --> 28:43.910 realizing that the district executes 28:43.920 --> 28:46.569 certain things . And we all need a 28:47.540 --> 28:49.596 extra layer of review , just like in 28:49.596 --> 28:51.800 our personal professional lives , need 28:51.810 --> 28:53.977 another perspective . You want someone 28:53.977 --> 28:55.921 to be able to point out your blind 28:55.921 --> 28:58.319 spots or to be able to proof read your 28:58.329 --> 29:00.920 material or to tell you , hey , here's 29:01.000 --> 29:03.689 and coach and mentor you . And so it 29:03.699 --> 29:05.699 should be that the more experienced 29:05.699 --> 29:07.810 folks , you know , go to the division 29:07.810 --> 29:09.977 and they're being able to provide that 29:09.977 --> 29:12.199 context of a regional perspective and 29:12.209 --> 29:14.880 provide that quality assurance review 29:15.359 --> 29:17.248 because they've been there at the 29:17.248 --> 29:20.589 district and they can help you not um 29:21.079 --> 29:23.660 fall trap to some mistakes because this 29:23.670 --> 29:25.726 is maybe your first time executing a 29:25.726 --> 29:27.948 project of this magnitude and they have 29:27.948 --> 29:30.170 experience versus other projects in the 29:30.170 --> 29:32.003 region and the same thing at the 29:32.003 --> 29:34.226 headquarters , we don't want it to be , 29:34.226 --> 29:36.337 we can only execute this project over 29:36.337 --> 29:38.503 here . Well , but we cannot execute it 29:38.503 --> 29:40.559 in Los Angeles . Well , we should be 29:40.559 --> 29:42.781 connecting the dots between the regions 29:42.781 --> 29:44.892 to make sure that there's consistency 29:44.892 --> 29:46.781 because some of our partners have 29:46.781 --> 29:48.892 projects on the East Coast as well as 29:48.892 --> 29:51.114 the west coast . But they don't want to 29:51.114 --> 29:51.030 see a different standard in , you know , 29:51.040 --> 29:53.060 California than they do in Texas or 29:53.069 --> 29:55.739 they do , you know , in Virginia they 29:55.750 --> 29:58.099 wanna see it as the US Army Corps of 29:58.109 --> 30:01.750 Engineers produces quality and 30:02.020 --> 30:05.760 uh delivers um , uh great 30:05.770 --> 30:08.479 projects in all of our regions . Not 30:08.489 --> 30:10.609 one is better than the rest . So part 30:10.619 --> 30:12.230 of the responsibility at the 30:12.230 --> 30:15.140 headquarters is to assure and ensure 30:15.150 --> 30:18.260 that sort of consistent quality that 30:18.270 --> 30:20.048 continues to make sure that our 30:20.048 --> 30:22.270 reputation is what we , you know , want 30:22.270 --> 30:24.159 it to be . We all wanna have that 30:24.159 --> 30:26.670 castle mean something um not mean 30:26.680 --> 30:28.847 something different on in one district 30:28.847 --> 30:30.847 than another district . I hope that 30:30.847 --> 30:33.069 gets at your question . Britney . Yes , 30:33.069 --> 30:35.291 ma'am . It does . You spoke about being 30:35.291 --> 30:37.402 authentic and about careers and about 30:37.402 --> 30:39.760 mentoring . What is some advice do you 30:39.770 --> 30:41.937 have for us for civilian development ? 30:43.410 --> 30:46.810 So I would say , um when I mentioned it , 30:46.819 --> 30:49.430 I'll repeat it , um pick up different 30:49.439 --> 30:52.280 mentors along the way . And I would say 30:52.290 --> 30:55.479 it doesn't have to be always formal and 30:55.489 --> 30:57.545 it doesn't always have to be someone 30:58.270 --> 31:01.430 superior to you . I find I get a lot of 31:01.439 --> 31:04.670 benefits sometimes talking uh to folks 31:04.680 --> 31:07.410 that used to work for me and kind of 31:07.420 --> 31:09.859 get a little reverse mentorship . So I 31:09.869 --> 31:11.869 would say no , that it's not always 31:11.869 --> 31:14.130 just someone , you know , you got 31:14.140 --> 31:17.540 lateral mentorship and then sort of a , 31:17.819 --> 31:20.510 you know , reversion and above . So 31:20.640 --> 31:22.807 people that have been there before you 31:22.807 --> 31:24.807 that are sort of in positions or in 31:24.807 --> 31:26.807 places you wanna go and then , um , 31:26.807 --> 31:29.140 perhaps people that have worked for you , 31:29.140 --> 31:31.140 they can give you some , you know , 31:31.140 --> 31:33.251 feedback because they know you , uh , 31:33.251 --> 31:35.251 they kind of know your style , they 31:35.251 --> 31:37.418 know maybe your faults . Um , and then 31:37.418 --> 31:39.418 your peers , you know , how do your 31:39.418 --> 31:41.473 peers see you ? And I'd say more and 31:41.473 --> 31:43.751 more . We do those 360 evaluations and , 31:43.751 --> 31:45.807 uh , how you work with your peers is 31:45.807 --> 31:47.918 really important , you know , again , 31:47.918 --> 31:50.029 do they see you as the backstabber or 31:50.029 --> 31:52.251 do they see you as the team builder and 31:52.251 --> 31:54.529 the , you know , the , the team uplift ? 31:54.709 --> 31:56.820 And , and so I think that's important 31:56.820 --> 31:58.987 to get a full spectrum of , of mentors 31:58.987 --> 32:01.153 and people when you're like gotta work 32:01.153 --> 32:03.209 through something tough . Who do you 32:03.209 --> 32:05.209 call to kind of talk about with and 32:05.209 --> 32:08.520 then um developmental assignments and 32:08.530 --> 32:10.419 leadership development programs ? 32:10.419 --> 32:12.641 Definitely , I am a fan of those if you 32:12.641 --> 32:15.099 haven't taken the opportunity and it 32:15.109 --> 32:17.220 all depends on in your life where you 32:17.220 --> 32:19.387 have time to take on , you know , that 32:19.387 --> 32:21.498 what maybe a little bit of extra work 32:21.498 --> 32:23.609 or to take a developmental assignment 32:23.609 --> 32:26.339 to go somewhere else . I do believe it 32:26.380 --> 32:28.849 is important for you to see something 32:28.859 --> 32:32.449 outside of your current directorate or 32:32.459 --> 32:34.626 your current district . And so there's 32:34.626 --> 32:36.681 lots of opportunities out there . It 32:36.681 --> 32:40.290 could be um going from operations to 32:40.300 --> 32:42.469 project management or to engineering . 32:42.670 --> 32:44.614 I would say that's sort of a local 32:44.614 --> 32:46.781 developmental assignment you can do um 32:47.199 --> 32:50.050 going to another district . Uh to serve 32:50.060 --> 32:53.310 as a , maybe a supervisor or to , to do 32:53.319 --> 32:56.790 a temporary assignment going overseas . 32:56.800 --> 32:59.022 You know , we have still have positions 32:59.022 --> 33:01.244 in the Middle East in Europe , in Japan 33:01.369 --> 33:03.536 and then the F MA missions , those are 33:03.536 --> 33:05.709 a little more you can be on APR t you 33:05.719 --> 33:08.060 can be a mission manager or you could , 33:08.239 --> 33:11.790 you know , there's a variety of um , um , 33:11.800 --> 33:14.349 teams that you could be on or serve on 33:14.359 --> 33:16.689 where you can deploy for 30 days or 60 33:16.699 --> 33:19.829 days to again get that exposure , give 33:19.839 --> 33:21.950 yourself stretch yourself a bit , the 33:21.950 --> 33:23.839 leadership development programs , 33:23.839 --> 33:26.060 hopefully give you some tools and 33:26.069 --> 33:28.180 sometimes they come with depending on 33:28.180 --> 33:30.160 the tier some developmental um 33:30.170 --> 33:33.160 responsibilities uh to go out and serve 33:33.170 --> 33:35.392 in some developmental assignments . But 33:35.392 --> 33:37.337 I think it's very important to see 33:37.337 --> 33:39.559 another perspective and the more senior 33:39.559 --> 33:41.892 you go , especially when you get to the , 33:41.892 --> 33:43.948 the D PM and the SES level , I think 33:43.948 --> 33:45.837 it's really important that you've 33:45.837 --> 33:47.948 served in another district in another 33:47.948 --> 33:50.199 region . Um Again , I think one of our 33:50.209 --> 33:53.920 faults sometimes is it's a 33:53.930 --> 33:56.041 fault and , and also there's a lot of 33:56.041 --> 33:58.263 goodness to it . But I would say one of 33:58.263 --> 34:00.486 the faults is we're too insular in some 34:00.486 --> 34:02.652 of our districts that we are very much 34:02.652 --> 34:04.930 strong culture with just this district . 34:04.930 --> 34:07.030 And this is how we do things and why 34:07.040 --> 34:10.800 sometimes we hate to hear from our 34:10.810 --> 34:12.921 division and our headquarters that we 34:12.921 --> 34:15.143 need to do it differently because we we 34:15.143 --> 34:17.550 get very much focused in on . Well , 34:17.560 --> 34:19.909 this is how we do it here in Fort Worth 34:19.919 --> 34:22.929 District and resist the change or the 34:22.939 --> 34:25.189 input , the feedback that there's 34:25.199 --> 34:27.255 better ways to do it out there . You 34:27.255 --> 34:29.379 just need to listen . Um , but you 34:29.389 --> 34:31.556 haven't seen that if you've only maybe 34:31.556 --> 34:33.667 been in one district . And so I think 34:33.667 --> 34:35.722 accepting or being willing to go out 34:35.722 --> 34:37.889 and look and ask for folks to keep you 34:37.889 --> 34:39.945 in mind if they have a developmental 34:39.945 --> 34:41.945 assignment out there or if it's the 34:41.945 --> 34:44.000 right time in your life . And I know 34:44.000 --> 34:45.945 different times whether it's aging 34:45.945 --> 34:47.945 parents or you have Children or you 34:47.945 --> 34:50.167 can't take a developmental assignment , 34:50.167 --> 34:52.333 you know , see if there is and kind of 34:52.333 --> 34:54.556 mark out on your timeline . Hey , where 34:54.556 --> 34:56.611 can I maybe do something like that ? 34:56.611 --> 34:58.667 That would work and maybe there's an 34:58.667 --> 34:58.449 opportunity to , you know , take your 34:58.459 --> 35:00.679 partner with you and say , let's let's 35:00.689 --> 35:02.929 both go to Japan , you know , for two 35:02.939 --> 35:05.161 years and do an assignment over there . 35:05.560 --> 35:07.671 But you gotta work that out with your 35:07.671 --> 35:09.727 own personal situation . But I think 35:09.727 --> 35:11.782 there's a lot of value in growing by 35:11.782 --> 35:13.893 taking on developmental assignments . 35:13.893 --> 35:16.060 Thank you so much . We have some time 35:16.070 --> 35:18.181 to kind of open it up to the floor if 35:18.181 --> 35:21.780 that's ok . Do we have any questions ? 35:23.659 --> 35:26.320 Surely there's one or two or few ? 35:29.620 --> 35:32.530 Ok , ma'am . What are your address ? 35:32.719 --> 35:34.886 You look personally and privately pass 35:34.886 --> 35:38.139 that over so we can hear for you if you 35:38.149 --> 35:41.229 look at your life professionally and 35:41.239 --> 35:43.949 privately , um , on a personal level , 35:44.209 --> 35:46.431 when you look back and think about what 35:46.431 --> 35:48.542 you're gonna tell your son someday as 35:48.542 --> 35:50.653 he gets close to any high school or , 35:50.653 --> 35:52.709 uh , moving on to college , what are 35:52.709 --> 35:54.820 you going to share with him that your 35:54.820 --> 35:56.987 regrets may have been so that he might 35:56.987 --> 35:59.629 learn ? That's a good question . That's 35:59.639 --> 36:01.810 a great question . Um , 36:08.639 --> 36:10.917 yeah , that's a good question . That's , 36:10.917 --> 36:13.850 that's a tough one . I will say that 36:13.860 --> 36:17.389 definitely , I have Bogan , we're all 36:17.399 --> 36:19.566 human , I'm human . So I have , I have 36:19.566 --> 36:22.699 not been perfect by any means and , and 36:22.709 --> 36:24.765 we'll ask trainer , I made a trainer 36:24.765 --> 36:26.987 about that , right ? I am not perfect . 36:26.987 --> 36:30.179 I make mistakes all the time . And um I 36:30.189 --> 36:32.467 will say that as I look back on things , 36:32.469 --> 36:36.110 I would say , sometimes I wasn't always 36:36.169 --> 36:39.479 in the moment or able 36:39.489 --> 36:41.060 to um , 36:42.750 --> 36:46.209 ascertain or understand what was most 36:46.219 --> 36:49.510 important and I think I constantly 36:49.520 --> 36:53.239 still need to do that now . Um And so 36:53.250 --> 36:55.306 there's been definitely some moments 36:55.306 --> 36:58.850 where maybe I wasn't absolute and then 36:58.860 --> 37:00.804 I would say part of it is and as I 37:00.804 --> 37:03.027 learned , you know , have people around 37:03.027 --> 37:05.193 you that are helping you uh with those 37:05.193 --> 37:07.360 decisions . Uh but , but probably , um 37:08.459 --> 37:10.292 you know , and these , these are 37:10.560 --> 37:12.782 moments but not , not so specific , but 37:12.782 --> 37:16.449 moments where maybe I spent too much 37:16.459 --> 37:19.489 time at work and should have gone home , 37:19.500 --> 37:22.840 um or , you know , prior , uh , to 37:22.850 --> 37:25.899 being , you know , married , um , you 37:25.909 --> 37:28.760 know , maybe lost a relationship 37:28.770 --> 37:32.610 because I chose work over , uh , you 37:32.620 --> 37:34.787 know , saying I was gonna be somewhere 37:34.787 --> 37:36.953 and not coming through . Right . And , 37:36.953 --> 37:39.120 like , I'll be home in an hour or I'll 37:39.120 --> 37:41.342 meet you for dinner in an hour and then 37:41.342 --> 37:43.509 three hours later I'm still working on 37:43.509 --> 37:45.564 some , at the time , probably stupid 37:45.564 --> 37:47.620 order or something for my boss . And 37:48.179 --> 37:51.510 maybe it was important , but I had not 37:51.600 --> 37:54.139 honed or really developed my ability to 37:54.149 --> 37:56.780 kinda understand what was important to 37:56.790 --> 37:59.719 me . What those moments were . I think , 38:00.120 --> 38:02.287 you know , one of the things I think I 38:02.287 --> 38:04.429 learned from becoming a parent , um , 38:04.899 --> 38:07.121 you know , understanding what are those 38:07.121 --> 38:09.177 things , you know , for him that are 38:09.177 --> 38:11.232 important that I need to be there at 38:11.232 --> 38:13.343 and it can't be there everywhere , uh 38:13.343 --> 38:17.139 for sure . Um I don't re regret , but I 38:17.149 --> 38:19.316 learned a lot from it . Like , I think 38:19.316 --> 38:21.538 one of the hardest things I ever had to 38:21.538 --> 38:25.010 do was deploying to Afghanistan as a 38:25.020 --> 38:27.899 mom , my prior deployments , both times 38:27.909 --> 38:30.530 before that I wasn't a parent , I 38:30.540 --> 38:33.760 wasn't married and a and it wasn't as 38:33.770 --> 38:35.860 hard but deploying as a parent and 38:35.870 --> 38:38.639 having a five year old at home , 38:38.969 --> 38:42.040 definitely stretched me more , uh than 38:42.050 --> 38:44.280 I realized . And I , I learned a lot 38:44.290 --> 38:46.739 from that . Um And it was challenging , 38:46.750 --> 38:49.100 I don't necessarily regret , you know , 38:49.110 --> 38:51.709 going uh on that deployment I needed to , 38:51.719 --> 38:53.770 I think , I think we learned some 38:53.780 --> 38:55.891 things as a family about , you know , 38:55.891 --> 38:58.113 when you volunteer to serve and in , in 38:58.113 --> 39:00.419 uniform capacity , it wasn't really , 39:00.429 --> 39:02.699 uh , completely a volunteer thing . It 39:02.709 --> 39:04.820 was like I needed to go . Um , and it 39:04.820 --> 39:07.060 made me a better person for sure , 39:07.070 --> 39:08.681 learning the things I did in 39:08.681 --> 39:10.681 Afghanistan and I think he saw some 39:10.681 --> 39:12.959 things from that too , which is what 39:12.969 --> 39:15.025 does it mean for my mom to be in the 39:15.025 --> 39:17.136 army . Um But there's definitely been 39:17.136 --> 39:19.790 some times along the way where I didn't 39:19.800 --> 39:21.911 stop and do that asthma check . And I 39:21.911 --> 39:25.560 didn't really give importance to those 39:25.570 --> 39:27.737 things that are important . So there's 39:27.737 --> 39:29.737 a thing , the chief of staff of the 39:29.737 --> 39:31.737 army told us a few years ago and he 39:31.737 --> 39:33.929 made a little uh slide that he shared 39:33.939 --> 39:35.828 with a lot of senior , you know , 39:35.828 --> 39:37.828 leaders that he would talk to about 39:37.828 --> 39:39.995 list out for yourselves . What's those 39:39.995 --> 39:42.161 important things ? And I think this is 39:42.161 --> 39:44.217 something we gotta revisit regularly 39:44.217 --> 39:46.439 because if you put it away , it doesn't 39:46.439 --> 39:48.495 stay at the forefront of your mind , 39:48.495 --> 39:48.060 list out those things that are 39:48.070 --> 39:50.989 important and then whether it's , you 39:51.000 --> 39:53.000 know , and he , he said this is Der 39:53.000 --> 39:55.167 mcconville . He got asked to interview 39:55.167 --> 39:57.222 to be the chief of staff of the army 39:57.222 --> 39:59.333 and it was at a time that his son was 39:59.333 --> 40:01.444 coming back from his first deployment 40:01.444 --> 40:03.444 from Iraq and he was like , I can't 40:03.444 --> 40:05.611 make that time . I said I was gonna be 40:05.611 --> 40:07.833 down at Fort Campbell to welcome my son 40:07.833 --> 40:10.000 back from his very first deployment to 40:10.000 --> 40:12.000 Iraq . Um But normally it would say 40:12.000 --> 40:14.056 like , wow , you've been asked to go 40:14.056 --> 40:16.056 interview with the Secretary of the 40:16.056 --> 40:18.000 Army . You know , you should , you 40:18.000 --> 40:20.167 should do it . You know , this is your 40:20.167 --> 40:22.389 opportunity to be the chief of staff of 40:22.389 --> 40:22.169 the army , but that was on his 40:22.179 --> 40:24.179 nonnegotiable list . And I think we 40:24.179 --> 40:26.235 have to look at those things , those 40:26.235 --> 40:28.123 things that are important , those 40:28.123 --> 40:30.290 moments and places where we need to be 40:30.290 --> 40:33.610 and then know them and then put the 40:33.620 --> 40:35.676 importance and the prioritization to 40:35.676 --> 40:37.787 them . And so there's definitely been 40:37.787 --> 40:41.290 some regrets where I've chosen uh wrong 40:41.620 --> 40:44.399 and , you know , and maybe not told 40:44.409 --> 40:46.465 people around me , like if I told my 40:46.465 --> 40:48.520 boss that I needed to be somewhere , 40:48.520 --> 40:50.631 I'm sure he would have not kept me at 40:50.631 --> 40:52.719 work or expected me to keep making a 40:52.729 --> 40:55.610 good product . Perfect . I , I could 40:55.620 --> 40:58.060 have done well and left , but I didn't 40:58.070 --> 41:01.280 communicate that this was important or 41:01.370 --> 41:03.537 that I needed to be somewhere for some 41:03.537 --> 41:05.314 reason . And I think we need to 41:05.314 --> 41:07.259 communicate that better . And so I 41:07.259 --> 41:09.203 guess my regret is speaking up for 41:09.203 --> 41:11.370 myself a little more and understanding 41:11.370 --> 41:13.592 myself a little better on some of those 41:13.592 --> 41:15.648 things where um and I've tried to do 41:15.648 --> 41:17.648 better at understanding some things 41:17.648 --> 41:19.814 that are important and there's lots of 41:19.814 --> 41:21.981 things that are important , but trying 41:21.981 --> 41:21.530 to pick those ones that , hey , these 41:21.540 --> 41:23.873 are the things that I need to commit to , 41:23.873 --> 41:26.151 to be at . I hope that helps . I don't , 41:26.151 --> 41:28.919 uh , I try , I , I beat myself up . 41:28.929 --> 41:31.151 That's another thing . I beat myself up 41:31.151 --> 41:33.262 a lot . I would say . I don't know if 41:33.262 --> 41:36.270 it's a woman thing or , or not , but if 41:36.280 --> 41:38.860 you all do that , I think we do . I 41:38.870 --> 41:40.870 will replay things in my mind about 41:40.870 --> 41:42.926 what I said or what I shouldn't have 41:42.926 --> 41:45.259 said or why did I say it that way , man . 41:45.259 --> 41:47.592 I look like an idiot . I'm really sorry . 41:47.592 --> 41:50.070 Um And I will play that over in my head 41:50.080 --> 41:52.136 over and over and over and be like , 41:52.136 --> 41:55.149 all right , and I'm learning uh to 41:55.159 --> 41:58.389 better embrace it , compartmentalize it , 41:58.489 --> 42:02.229 apologize , put it back there and then 42:02.510 --> 42:05.679 going forward , you know , work on it 42:05.689 --> 42:08.479 differently and not let that just eat 42:08.489 --> 42:10.810 away at me . And so I've , I've , I've 42:10.820 --> 42:14.280 tried to work on that um over the years 42:14.290 --> 42:17.149 to be better at that because um so I've 42:17.159 --> 42:19.340 tried to minimize the regrets . I 42:19.350 --> 42:22.840 definitely make mistakes and also 42:23.610 --> 42:25.830 like to try to communicate to others 42:25.840 --> 42:28.007 that I will make mistakes , you know , 42:28.007 --> 42:30.118 we're a team . So please help me help 42:30.118 --> 42:32.500 each other , not make mistakes , but 42:32.510 --> 42:34.621 there is gonna be mistakes and I'm ok 42:34.621 --> 42:36.788 and I'm willing to admit I was wrong . 42:36.788 --> 42:38.939 Um But I'm also trying to kinda not 42:38.949 --> 42:41.399 beat myself up as much as I would have 42:41.409 --> 42:43.465 uh in the past and know that I'll be 42:43.465 --> 42:45.989 better if I let that go and move on to 42:46.000 --> 42:48.333 the next thing and try to make the next , 42:48.333 --> 42:50.444 you know , uh moment better from what 42:50.444 --> 42:53.919 I've learned . Thank you , ma'am . 42:54.120 --> 42:58.110 Another question we have is in 42:58.120 --> 43:00.770 the room we're considered the minority 43:01.080 --> 43:03.389 based on gender and in some cases , 43:03.399 --> 43:05.949 race , how can we as 43:05.959 --> 43:09.870 minorities be able to make an impact or 43:09.879 --> 43:11.989 are we making an impact currently ? 43:16.850 --> 43:19.199 Two minute ? OK , I would say just be 43:19.209 --> 43:22.820 there be present . Um again , be the 43:22.830 --> 43:26.699 example uh for others uh to 43:26.709 --> 43:28.709 see that you're , you're willing to 43:28.709 --> 43:31.239 show up . And I think , um 43:32.919 --> 43:35.229 invite yourself , I , I , you hear this 43:35.239 --> 43:37.239 a lot , but I'm always like , hey , 43:37.239 --> 43:39.295 invite yourself to the , to the , to 43:39.295 --> 43:41.461 the table , to the meal . If there's , 43:41.461 --> 43:43.461 if there's not a chair , you know , 43:43.461 --> 43:45.969 pull one up , find ways to look across 43:46.030 --> 43:48.399 what is going on out there , places 43:48.409 --> 43:51.149 that maybe there isn't representation 43:51.679 --> 43:54.979 and raise your hand or make a little 43:54.989 --> 43:57.709 room . And one of the things for all of 43:57.719 --> 43:59.939 us , II , I like to say too , and 44:00.270 --> 44:03.280 there's those that have done it for me . 44:03.290 --> 44:05.179 Um especially in , if you're more 44:05.179 --> 44:07.639 senior , you know , as a female . Um 44:07.649 --> 44:09.705 There's one thing about , you know , 44:09.705 --> 44:11.482 going through the , the door or 44:11.482 --> 44:13.649 breaking through a glass ceiling , but 44:13.649 --> 44:15.816 I would say it's important for us to , 44:15.816 --> 44:17.982 if you do get through the door to hold 44:17.982 --> 44:20.870 it open for others and find a way to um 44:20.879 --> 44:23.550 keep that door open and invite others 44:23.560 --> 44:26.479 in because I think that again , that's 44:26.489 --> 44:28.711 the , we're not always gonna be there . 44:28.711 --> 44:30.600 You need to bring others into the 44:30.600 --> 44:32.100 environment and give those 44:32.100 --> 44:34.322 opportunities to others that are , that 44:34.322 --> 44:34.300 are coming behind us . So there's a 44:34.310 --> 44:36.899 responsibility to not only get through 44:36.909 --> 44:39.199 the door but hold the door open for 44:39.209 --> 44:43.129 others . If you were sent or 44:43.139 --> 44:46.350 asked to speak to high school students 44:46.360 --> 44:49.300 that has not yet decided what they're 44:49.310 --> 44:51.421 gonna do with their lives , how would 44:51.421 --> 44:55.090 you encourage them to pick between 44:55.100 --> 44:57.790 college and military or how would you 44:57.800 --> 44:59.610 encourage them to put them both 44:59.620 --> 45:01.787 together to make the success for their 45:01.787 --> 45:04.419 lives ? Well , um , that's a great 45:04.429 --> 45:06.596 question . And I think , you know , we 45:06.596 --> 45:08.929 are , uh , right now challenged in 45:08.939 --> 45:11.750 recruiting young men and women , uh , 45:11.760 --> 45:14.850 to join the service because I think we 45:14.860 --> 45:18.540 have to tell our story better and 45:18.590 --> 45:20.534 differently . And there's a lot of 45:20.534 --> 45:22.757 competing opportunities out there and a 45:22.757 --> 45:24.868 lot of misconceptions that I can just 45:24.868 --> 45:27.090 work from home and I don't have to talk 45:27.090 --> 45:28.979 to anybody and I can just be on a 45:28.979 --> 45:31.090 computer and there's lots of jobs out 45:31.090 --> 45:33.939 for me that way . But being able to , I 45:33.949 --> 45:37.590 think , or being willing , 45:37.659 --> 45:40.560 um , to join something like the army , 45:40.580 --> 45:43.219 um , which I think the Army Corps of 45:43.229 --> 45:45.451 Engineers is part of that . And I think 45:45.451 --> 45:47.929 part of why we do need to have people , 45:47.959 --> 45:50.439 uh to talk to people in a more 45:50.449 --> 45:52.338 personable setting . There's good 45:52.338 --> 45:54.449 opportunities to work from home . But 45:54.449 --> 45:56.505 we don't grow and learn and unless I 45:56.505 --> 45:58.560 think we're really looking people in 45:58.560 --> 46:00.727 the eye and coming in . And so joining 46:00.727 --> 46:02.782 the army , joining the Army Corps of 46:02.782 --> 46:05.116 Engineers as , as a , as an opportunity , 46:05.449 --> 46:07.616 I think , especially for young men and 46:07.616 --> 46:09.782 women coming out of and again , coming 46:09.782 --> 46:12.129 out of high school , joining the army , 46:12.139 --> 46:14.306 you can learn a skill , you know , you 46:14.306 --> 46:16.417 are going to , you know , think about 46:16.417 --> 46:18.790 your personal health and you're gonna 46:19.030 --> 46:21.300 be pressed to be more fit and you're 46:21.310 --> 46:24.310 going to stretch and be made uh to 46:24.320 --> 46:26.750 stretch and achieve things you didn't 46:26.760 --> 46:28.704 think you could achieve and you're 46:28.704 --> 46:30.982 gonna push yourself in a different way . 46:30.982 --> 46:33.038 And over the course of that , you're 46:33.038 --> 46:35.038 gonna develop a skill in some way , 46:35.038 --> 46:37.204 shape or form that's gonna be valuable 46:37.204 --> 46:39.879 and in every one of those things you're 46:39.889 --> 46:42.209 learning in the army . And I think a 46:42.219 --> 46:44.275 lot of it we do in the Army Corps of 46:44.275 --> 46:46.108 Engineers . Like we talked about 46:46.108 --> 46:48.275 leadership development programs in the 46:48.275 --> 46:50.629 army . It's a natural leadership 46:50.639 --> 46:53.469 machine or academy , everything you're 46:53.479 --> 46:55.590 doing from the beginning . You know , 46:55.590 --> 46:57.701 when I started as a second lieutenant 46:57.701 --> 47:00.790 until now was opportunities to lead a 47:00.800 --> 47:03.959 team , a platoon or a company and along 47:03.969 --> 47:06.899 the way , lead a challenge and you're , 47:06.909 --> 47:09.076 you're , you're growing and developing 47:09.076 --> 47:11.242 as a leader . And so whether you serve 47:11.242 --> 47:13.939 for four years or 30 years , that is a 47:13.949 --> 47:16.005 very valuable skill out there . When 47:16.005 --> 47:18.282 you go into a corporation or a company , 47:18.282 --> 47:20.449 if it's not the government that says , 47:20.449 --> 47:22.449 wow , you've served in the army for 47:22.449 --> 47:24.505 four years , you know , a little bit 47:24.505 --> 47:26.969 about leadership or teamwork , um , 47:27.110 --> 47:29.969 which I think is very valuable and is 47:29.979 --> 47:33.010 very marketable um to many companies 47:33.020 --> 47:36.280 out there that go and um 47:36.419 --> 47:39.489 actually source out uh military leaders 47:39.500 --> 47:41.750 to come talk to their companies because 47:41.760 --> 47:43.927 they , they have a team but they can't 47:43.927 --> 47:46.038 get that team to gel . They can't get 47:46.038 --> 47:47.649 that team to work together . 47:47.649 --> 47:49.816 Everybody's kind of working from their 47:49.816 --> 47:52.038 own corners and not working uh to bring 47:52.038 --> 47:54.260 the synergy of the whole is better than 47:54.260 --> 47:56.427 the sum of the parts . They're all out 47:56.427 --> 47:58.593 for their own thing . And that's maybe 47:58.593 --> 47:58.020 why their company is not successful . 47:58.030 --> 48:00.939 So industry looks at us , I think when 48:00.949 --> 48:03.300 we talk about the army as , as a 48:03.310 --> 48:05.570 success . But I think for the young men 48:05.580 --> 48:07.636 and women out there , we got to tell 48:07.636 --> 48:09.802 them the opportunities that they might 48:09.802 --> 48:11.913 not know about . Uh that it really is 48:11.913 --> 48:14.080 an opportunity to see the world if you 48:14.080 --> 48:15.858 want to , you can go in so many 48:15.858 --> 48:17.858 different directions and to pick up 48:17.858 --> 48:19.913 skills that are yours that stay with 48:19.913 --> 48:21.858 you . You know , the education the 48:21.858 --> 48:23.969 army's given me the opportunities the 48:23.969 --> 48:26.191 army's given me are mine that are on my 48:26.191 --> 48:28.540 resume or part of my experiences that 48:28.550 --> 48:30.899 stick with me . Uh They don't stay with 48:30.909 --> 48:32.965 that , that , that I get to bring to 48:32.965 --> 48:35.020 wherever else I go from there . So I 48:35.020 --> 48:37.131 hope that helps . But it is something 48:37.131 --> 48:39.298 we are working on . I think across the 48:39.298 --> 48:41.409 army is trying to show that everybody 48:41.409 --> 48:43.576 can be all you can be . Right . That's 48:43.576 --> 48:45.576 our back to basics model uh motto , 48:45.576 --> 48:48.590 which is , it's an opportunity to be 48:48.600 --> 48:52.290 your best self come in . And we have so 48:52.300 --> 48:54.189 many opportunities as civilian or 48:54.189 --> 48:56.550 military to be able to challenge 48:56.560 --> 48:58.729 yourself and be your best self in the 48:58.739 --> 49:00.795 army . And I think the Army Corps of 49:00.795 --> 49:03.459 Engineers as well . Thank you uh for 49:03.469 --> 49:05.969 organizing this . Um If you can kind of 49:05.979 --> 49:08.146 come up here , I would like to present 49:08.146 --> 49:10.090 you a coin in front of everybody . 49:10.090 --> 49:12.257 Britney for organizing this and making 49:12.257 --> 49:14.800 this a success . Um 49:16.129 --> 49:19.780 Excellent example . Uh You could , 49:19.969 --> 49:21.969 you could definitely be a talk show 49:21.969 --> 49:25.899 host um and getting and for 49:25.909 --> 49:28.020 all of you for , for showing up today 49:28.020 --> 49:30.469 just to have a discussion . Um I think 49:30.479 --> 49:32.646 it is really important that we talk to 49:32.646 --> 49:34.590 each other , talk about what we're 49:34.600 --> 49:37.070 going through , um be there for each 49:37.080 --> 49:39.247 other , support each other , encourage 49:39.247 --> 49:41.689 each other again , not just go through 49:41.699 --> 49:43.921 the door ourselves but hold it open for 49:43.921 --> 49:46.032 those . Um Coming in behind us , find 49:46.032 --> 49:48.199 opportunities to pull an extra seat up 49:48.199 --> 49:50.870 at the table um to do the things we 49:50.879 --> 49:53.179 need to do so that we do love our jobs 49:53.189 --> 49:55.620 because there's only so many hours in a 49:55.629 --> 49:57.851 day , so many hours in a week , so many 49:57.851 --> 50:00.219 days in a week , so many weeks in a 50:00.229 --> 50:03.070 year and , and so on and so forth . But 50:03.770 --> 50:05.840 there's a lot of things we could do 50:05.850 --> 50:09.399 with our time and really you gotta love , 50:09.409 --> 50:11.631 you know , if you love your job and you 50:11.631 --> 50:13.742 love the people you're with at work , 50:13.742 --> 50:15.742 uh , as much as you love the people 50:15.742 --> 50:15.159 that , you know , your family , you , 50:15.169 --> 50:17.058 you know , this needs to make you 50:17.058 --> 50:19.225 better , right ? Being here is , needs 50:19.225 --> 50:20.891 to be something that you find 50:20.891 --> 50:23.113 satisfying , that's helping you grow as 50:23.113 --> 50:25.169 a person and be the best person that 50:25.169 --> 50:27.439 you can be . But if it's an environment 50:27.449 --> 50:30.580 where you're surviving , not thriving , 50:30.750 --> 50:32.861 you know , then that causes angst and 50:32.861 --> 50:35.459 that causes , you know , um you not to 50:35.469 --> 50:37.525 have that feeling when you go home , 50:37.525 --> 50:39.636 you know , um that you're not happy . 50:39.636 --> 50:41.747 And so it is the whole person I think 50:41.747 --> 50:43.913 having , when we talk a lot about work 50:43.913 --> 50:46.025 life balance , I think it's trying to 50:46.025 --> 50:49.820 make sure that the whole uh person is , 50:49.830 --> 50:53.360 is again , finding uh the 50:53.370 --> 50:56.590 value , finding uh satisfaction , 50:56.600 --> 50:59.439 finding joy in what you're doing . And 50:59.449 --> 51:01.671 I think we need to help each other make 51:01.671 --> 51:03.729 sure we find that um whether it's 51:03.739 --> 51:06.072 through the different positions at work , 51:06.072 --> 51:08.239 finding the right seat on the bus , um 51:08.239 --> 51:10.461 driving or doing things that you didn't 51:10.461 --> 51:12.461 think you could do . I think it's , 51:12.461 --> 51:14.683 it's , it's really is about how we help 51:14.683 --> 51:16.795 each other realize those things and , 51:16.795 --> 51:19.017 and be the best people that we can be . 51:19.017 --> 51:18.899 So , thanks for setting up this forum 51:18.909 --> 51:21.242 where we could just talk about it again . 51:21.242 --> 51:23.353 I think that's kind of what , when we 51:23.353 --> 51:25.298 leave here , when we leave , we're 51:25.298 --> 51:27.520 gonna retire at sometime or we're gonna 51:27.520 --> 51:29.687 leave or , you know , whatever it is , 51:29.979 --> 51:31.969 uh You wanna feel that you made a 51:31.979 --> 51:34.090 difference in people's lives and that 51:34.090 --> 51:35.868 you , you helped a partner or a 51:35.868 --> 51:37.868 teammate , uh succeed and that they 51:37.868 --> 51:39.812 helped you succeed . And I kind of 51:39.812 --> 51:41.923 think that's what it's all about . So 51:41.923 --> 51:43.979 Britney , thanks again . Thank you . 51:43.979 --> 51:44.540 All right . Picture . Yeah .