Tag: got your 6

This Is Why Hollywood’s Depiction of Veterans Must Change

Posted on by robbie

When it comes to seeing veterans on the big screen, Tom Cruise leading a protest from his wheelchair in “Born on the Fourth of July” or Christopher Walken and Robert DeNiro playing a final game of Russian roulette in “The Deer Hunter” probably come to mind. But Hollywood’s usual portrayal of service members being physically and psychologically wounded is too narrow, says Charlie Ebersol, a Los Angeles-based TV and film producer. “It’s so staid and boring.”

Having on-screen veterans look like ordinary Americans, however, causes our views and politics will change, Ebersol believes. So along with Got Your 6 and support from the White House, he developed a certification system for films and television shows that “contain a representative and balanced depiction of veterans.” (Think: Chris Pratt playing a Navy veteran in the blockbuster Jurassic World, or the latest season of Dancing with the Stars, which featured an Army vet and double amputee doing the Tango.)

NationSwell recently spoke to Ebersol by phone from Southern California about the role Hollywood should be playing in bridging the civilian-military divide.

What misconceptions does traditional media perpetuate about veterans?
That they’re either heroes or they’re victims; they either need our help or they don’t need any help at all. It’s not binary, and the real story is so much more complex and interesting, in that, you have great opportunity in all these veterans coming home, but we don’t take advantage of it because we think they all have PTSD or hero syndrome.

How are you personally changing that narrative?
In keeping with Hollywood tradition, I operate from a philosophy that if you offer some sort of shiny prize or award to producers, they will do what they need to do to get said prize. So we’ve been certifying movies and television shows that do a good job telling veterans’ stories. Lo and behold, people started telling better veterans’ stories when they got a gold star at the end of their show or movie.

Should filmmakers be meeting with veterans to turn their stories into films?
It’s literally that simple. The problem is that, for so long, we were trying to drum up support for the veterans coming home. To do that, people have always [done something similar] to those ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) commercials where the dogs look really pathetic and what’s her name — [Sarah] McLachlan — is playing her sad song. You may donate money, but what they found was the best way to get people to actually adopt dogs was to show how much fun and how fabulous these dogs were.

After Word War II, veterans came back and people wanted to hire them because they were highly trained. They knew they did well under pressure, and some people started really reaching out. We don’t do that [today]. So when you look for a story, all you really have to do is talk to a veteran, say, “Thank you for your service. Can you tell me about interesting people that are in your lives or unique stories?” And the majority of the stories you’re going to hear are not going to be stories of, “oh, my buddy who’s got a massive drinking problem and is living on the street,” because that’s such a fraction of the population. A lot of the stories are going to be about guys who served two or three tours and now they run a hardware shop or now they’re working in a corporation or are in the tech business. Those stories make for interesting characters.

In telling these stories, what have you learned about what defines an American soldier?
Loyalty, duty and commitment. As an employer, when I’m interviewing somebody, if I could know inherently those were a person’s three strongest traits, that would be the ultimate cheat sheet. That’s the beauty of hiring a veteran. You know going in that that person is loyal, feels a sense of duty and is all about commitment because the guy or girl put themselves in harm’s way for their country and for their fellow soldier or sailor or airman. That’s what you’re looking for in a company, in a family, in a friend. You want people that you know are going to show up, and nobody shows up like the military.

What can the rest of us do to support veterans?
The platitude needs to stop being, “Thank you for your service,” and actualize that into something meaningful. The yellow ribbon and the stickers, that’s all well and good, but that’s not actually translating into anything. We have to look past that and ask, “How are we creating job opportunities? How are we creating community support where we’re embracing these people?” A lot of people want to do it under the guise of “They served our country, so we owe them.” That’s not what I’m saying. Don’t get me wrong: You do have to take into account that we enjoy our freedoms because of them. But I think the other side of it is significantly more important; they have show their true character and their true colors, and in showing us that and in being trained, at the absolute worst, they are certainly the best qualified people for almost any job.

It’s rare that the person I hire into my company is the most suited because they went to the right types of schools; it’s always about how they act under pressure and how they understand teamwork and the mission being bigger than the man or woman. Veterans are always significantly better at that than anyone else.

MORE: Why Is It So Hard to Understand What It’s Like to Be a Veteran?

When You Picture a Soldier, You Probably Don’t Have This in Mind

Posted on by robbie

When you think of special operations forces in Afghanistan, you probably picture a group of men: buff, tattooed and sunburnt. But right beside some of them, a “band of sisters” kept them safe. In her 2015 book “Ashley’s War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield,” journalist Gayle Tzemach Lemmon details a little-known Army program that assigned all-female units to support male soldiers. Known as Cultural Support Teams (CST), these women helped gather intelligence from mothers and daughters in Afghan households, while male counterparts conducted raids to find insurgents.
“In a conservative and traditional society like Afghanistan, particularly places where the insurgency was strongest, male soldiers — no matter how good they were at fighting — could not speak to Afghan women,” Lemmon recounts at a Got Your 6 Storytellers event in Los Angeles. Lemmon, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who spent an extensive amount of time in Afghanistan for her previous book “The Dressmaker of Khair Khana,” reported the story of Lt. Ashley White and her unit through hundreds of hours of interviews over the course of two years. In an interview with NationSwell, Lemmon discussed what she learned about women’s role in the military during her research.
What inspired you to share the story of CST in Afghanistan?
It was the impossibility of the story on the surface — this group of teammates who became friends and then family at a time when women officially were banned from ground combat. Here was a group of Americans who answered their country’s call to serve, who went onto the battlefield alongside Rangers and SEALs, and who were forever changed by it. They broke ground in service to their country, and we didn’t know them. I wanted to share this slice of history we didn’t know.
While embedded, what did you learn about what it means to serve as an American soldier?
I saw young Americans going in and out of Afghanistan, risking their lives for their nation and for the friends they had come to love. I wanted to share that connection, that friendship, that desire to serve.
What does camaraderie look like in an all-female unit?
Much the same as in an all-male unit. It was about friendship and sisterhood and caring for one another — only it was even more extreme because they were all they had out there, the only people who knew and understood all that they saw and did at the tip of the spear while women officially weren’t there.
How did meeting these female warriors change your idea of womanhood?
This story took me into a world I had never known of women who were funny and fierce, driven and kind, intense and warm. So many times the women we see on our pages or on our screens are one or the other. I wanted to show these women in all their dimensions and to tell a story that was true to who they are and were.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon talks about her experience in Afghanistan at a Got Your 6 Storyteller event.

What three words describe your experience abroad?
Afghanistan is a generous, inspiring and heartbreaking place.
What is the quality you most admired in the troops you met?
Tenacity and grit alongside great heart.
How can someone support veterans?
Get involved. Listen to veterans’ stories. Help veterans with their transition into the next phase of life and be aware of the wars we have asked them to fight. Too many are too distant from the battle and don’t want to hear what it was like for the 1 percent of the country that has fought 100 percent of its 15 years of war. That must change.
What unique challenges do female veterans face?
We must recognize that veterans are women and women are veterans. We must expand our version of the veteran to make sure it includes women and the valor they have shown these past decades of war. Otherwise, our antiquated views of what women have and are doing keeps us as a country from offering the respect and the support they deserve from us.
MORE: This Resourceful Soldier Goes From Fighting on the Front Lines to Running a Fashion Line 

Why Is It So Hard to Understand What It’s Like to Be a Veteran?

Posted on by robbie

As soon as he wrapped up his studies in film and literature at Boston University, Henry Hughes followed family tradition and signed up for the Army. For the next five years, he took fire, dodged IEDs and grappled internally with the meaning of military service while on two tours of duty in Afghanistan with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. After Hughes returned home and earned another degree from the American Film Institute, he began making movies, including his short film,“Day One,” which tells the story of a female Army interpreter facing a moral quandary during her first day on the job: saving the newborn child of a known enemy. The film was nominated for this year’s Academy Award for best live-action short.
NationSwell spoke to Hughes, a Got Your 6 Storyteller, by phone from Los Angeles about the lingering questions from war and their portrayal on film.
What inspired you to serve your country?
For me, it was a long family tradition. We basically had someone in the Army since the [American] Revolution. I wanted to be part of that tradition.
Is there one question that you continually ask yourself about your experience?
It’s probably, “why is it not so simple?” It’s a very complex part of my life, not something that is full of simply good memories or simply bad memories: it’s a mixture of all types of life. So I always wonder why it’s not like anything else. At this point, why can’t it be simpler? Why is it so difficult for everyone to understand it?
I’m guessing that’s why did you decided to make the film “Day One?”
For sure, it’s about those questions. There’s not a reducible answer like the one I just tried to give you. So that’s why I thought I could make a movie about it instead, to kind of show the way it felt. So the movie is not a true-to-life of what exactly happened to me that one day. But the feeling when I’m watching the movie, it’s that sublime space of things that are horrible and beautiful in the same breath.
What’s the most important lesson civilians can take away from art that’s made about war?
I would say that everyone’s wartime experience is subjective. I don’t know if there’s some sort of universal experience.
What’s your favorite movie about war?
For me, it’s “The Thin Red Line.” I think it touches me because there’s no other war movie like it, that accepts the soulfulness of the warrior experience. A lot of movies don’t go that way, they kind of go along the more visceral, more experiential route.
What is the quality you most admire in a comrade?
What I actually admire most is hard to come by in our community: vulnerability. When it’s a vulnerability to look at your military experience, I really love meeting those people.
Who was the most inspirational person you encountered while serving?
I would say my interpreter on my second tour. She’s the one I based the movie on, or it’s inspired by her. She’s an Afghan-American woman, naturalized as an American citizen, but born over there. The deck was stacked against her, and she looked inside herself to find out what she thought was right and wrong. It wasn’t something that someone told her to do. She just had incredible integrity.
If you could change one thing about your service, what would it be?
I wouldn’t want one of my guys to be wounded or for any of my guys to die.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I would probably say chasing down my wife. It was a long shot, and it worked out. In 2010, after my first tour, I flew to New York without knowing she was there. We hadn’t spoken in a long time. We knew each other as children, when we were 13, and I hadn’t seen her in a number of years. I thought I could track her down, and so on Facebook messenger, I basically said, “Hey, I just landed in New York. Let’s hang out. We haven’t seen each other in a decade.” We went on one date and then a few more dates. She started me writing me a lot of letters when I was in Afghanistan again for my second tour, and we decided to be together.
How can the rest of us, as civilians, do more to support veterans?
Just look at them as people first. I feel like there’s a big divide on some level, but a lot of it is imagined. The fact of the matter is that all of those veterans are just people. I would look at them that way first and then look at their experience.
To you, what does it mean these days to be a veteran?
Well, it’s inescapable, I suppose. The definition of being a veteran is you can never not be a veteran one once you are one. And that speaks to, I think, how profound that experience is. There’s no way you can stop being a veteran.

From Battle Scars to Badges of Honor: 13 Questions with Paratrooper Bobette Brown

Posted on by robbie

Bobette Brown, a U.S. Army veteran and motivational speaker, isn’t afraid to speak about her wounds, the physical and mental pain she’s experienced in life. Whether recounting a knee replacement surgery, sexual assault and harassment she experienced in the military or a five-day stretch of sleeplessness from her trauma, she believes that keeping secrets doesn’t do anyone good.

“You don’t have to look like what you’ve been through,” Brown tells the crowd at a Got Your 6 Storytellers event in New York. “See today, you can choose to take your experiences and go from scars to beauty marks. And those battle wounds can become badges of honor. It’s all your decision.”

Known to some of her fans as Lady Bobette, Brown now works as a “transformational architect,” helping to push others forward through difficult experiences through her speaking, coaching and consulting business. NationSwell caught up with Brown to ask about her service as an airborne paratrooper and advice for bouncing back.

What does it mean to be a veteran?

To me, a veteran is someone who has willingly sacrificed and served the United States of America and its citizens. Choosing to serve speaks to the veterans level of commitment, boldness and audaciousness.

What inspired you to serve your country?

I don’t have a heart-wrenching response to this question. Honestly, I decided to join the U.S. Army because I wanted… “Independence.”  I wanted to leave my parents’ home and go “be all that I could be.” The Army was very familiar to me, having grown up in the military environment. When the recruiter sweetened the deal by offering me a signing bonus if I went to Airborne school, I jumped at the opportunity.

How can someone support veterans?

Look for daily opportunities to give back and show appreciation to veterans. As much as I am grateful for the public holiday to acknowledge veterans every November 11, I think veterans should be celebrated throughout the year. Veterans are men and women who worked daily to ensure the safety and security of the U.S.A. If there is an opportunity for to volunteer, visit or validate veterans – just do it. Why wait for a “special day?”

What 3 words describe your experience in the service?

Adventurous. Fulfilling. Inspiring.

What is the quality you most admire in a comrade?

Integrity. It speaks to the character, honor and resilience of the service member. We love the slogan “Army Strong,” but the reality I’ve learned is that we are only as strong as the weakest link.

Who are your heroes in real life?

My dad, the man I am named after, Robert “Bobby” Greene, is my hero. He is a highly decorated career officer, Army Ranger, Jumpmaster trainee, Purple Heart recipient and Vietnam survivor. He served in the United States Army for 20 years. When we talk, I often ask him to share stories of his military career and lessons he learned. He is an arsenal of wisdom. He loves his family and has been married to the same woman, my mother, for over 56 years. They are an example of resilience in military families.

Who was the most inspirational person you encountered while serving?

Command Sergeant Major Daisy Brown. She had to be one of the most inspiring women I have ever met. She broke the ceiling as one of the first African American women to hold such a high rank. Yet, she still remained humble and could always find a reason to laugh. A few years ago, we lost contact. I’d love to know what she is doing now.

If you could change one thing about your service, what would it be?

Nothing. Everything I learned and experienced has made me who I am today. I would not want to change any of it.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

I do not know if I can narrow it down to one, greatest achievement, especially as I reflect on surviving those 20+ mile rucksack road marches with 30 to 45 pounds on my back. I am also proud that I successfully completed jump school and made numerous jumps without breaking a limb. I can remember the number of people who started airborne training with me but did not finish.

How does being a veteran help you to tap into your resilience?

The years of discipline and training in the military have been crucial to my ability to rebound from numerous personal obstacles that I endured throughout my life. Life is filled with stressful experiences, but when I remember the many obstacles I endured and bounced back from, it continues to serve as motivation and a reminder — if I did it before I can do it again.

What is the key to thriving after experiencing a difficult or traumatic experience?

Finding and getting help from a licensed therapist and staying committed to the course. I went to several therapists in the Veteran Affairs system before I finally found the perfect therapist for me at the Vet Center. A good therapist will challenge you to get better. She or he will challenge you to uproot some extremely painful and traumatic events. There were times when I did not want to go back. But I kept reminding myself, there would be a time when I will have to encourage others to keep going. How would I be able to do that if I gave up? So, my desire to help others really helped me to thrive. Also, I cannot downplay the key importance of having a supportive circle of family and friends.

Why is it important to let our fellow comrades in life help push us through difficult times?

They remind us that difficult times won’t last forever. In spite of all that we’ve experienced our comrades are there showing and reminding us of another reality. We can choose to live life to the fullest or we can allow it to suck the very life from us. Comrades challenge us to go the extra mile, while reminding us they are also running in the same race.

Why shouldn’t people conform?

I like to say that being and staying “authentically you” should be one of your core values. Why be a cheap copy, when you can be a truly amazing original?

From Combat to Comedy: 13 Questions with Marine Veteran Justine Cabulong

Posted on by robbie

Out at a bar, Justine Cabulong, a former Marine Corps lieutenant who was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010, sometimes gets asked, “Wait. They let girls in the Marines?” Usually, Cabulong takes a sip of her G-and-T, patiently nods and replies, “Yep, I’ve shot weapons with these tiny hands.”
As the only female member of her family to join the armed services, Cabulong has always bucked the trend. Overseas, she relied on her sense of humor to defuse confrontations, chaos and self-doubt. But once she returned home, Cabulong realized her military experience didn’t align with Americans’ traditional image of a buff white male soldier. Above, filmed at a recent Got Your 6 Storytellers event, see the audience supervisor for “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” share her story of changing perceptions of veterans and how fighting for the military was sometimes easier than fighting for herself today.
“A lot of times, we become restricted to this list of generalizations because of our military service. ‘You like to take orders and crush things and show up 15 minutes early and carry anything that’s heavy — no matter what it is and what you’re wearing,’” Cabulong says. “But to me, what I believe, is that our military careers don’t define us by any means. But they empower us towards the future and what we’re yet to be.”
In this NationSwell exclusive, Cabulong discusses how civilians can better recognize the humanity in our nation’s soldiers.
What inspired you to serve your country?
To be honest, it was mainly because I didn’t know if I had what it would take to be a U.S. Marine. I came from a family with a military background, but there weren’t any Marines, any women who served, or any officers, and I became all three. The idea of going to college and succeeding was easy to me because I did well in school, but being a U.S. Marine meant that I would work towards being greater than myself. I’m a first generation [American], so this country is mine, but not my parents’. So there’s also a go-big-or-go-home attitude that sort of sticks with me.
What 3 words describe your experience in the service?
In three separate words: challenging, rewarding, inspiring. In three words all together: “Carried heavy things.”
What is one thing people should understand about the Marine Corps?
That we are human. We are men and women from different backgrounds that come in all shapes and sizes, and we are not perfect. We are capable of both mistakes and failures, but also achievements beyond anything we could have imagined. We’re not too different from others that have dedicated themselves to a powerful cause or mission that requires a lot out of you both physically and mentally.
Also that the ‘p’ is silent in Corps.
What is the quality you most admire in a comrade?
Humility, which can be rare when you’re surrounded by a bunch of type-A personalities. But being humble grants you a certain level of awareness and the ability to respect others that is incredibly valuable as a leader. Good hygiene also goes a long way with me, too.
Was there time to laugh when you were deployed overseas?
If there isn’t, then you’re doing something wrong. Deployment really evolves your sense of humor too. Maybe it makes it broader or more crude, but laughing really bonds you in those situations, and it becomes a necessary survival tactic.
Who are your heroes in real life?
‘Heroes’ is a funny concept to me. Especially when you eventually meet one and then they hire you to work on their late-night comedy show. After Jon Stewart [former host of “The Daily Show”], I would really have to say that it’s anyone — whether it be Marines, friends, or writers that have written something that I absolutely needed to read at the moment I read it — that has just made me feel like it’s okay to really be myself. I feel like smaller, more accessible heroes is the best way forward these days.
To you, what does it mean to be a veteran?
It’s a reminder that I once gave a significant portion of my life towards being something great and will be connected to the many others that have done the same thing. It’s a very small percentage of our population that does this. I don’t know if I’ll ever do something as great, and that scares me, but I’ll continue to work hard and keep serving how I can.
What generalizations about veterans have you encountered?
For the most part, people are very kind and helpful and generous, and I think that’s probably the best thing you can expect when it comes to being generalized. I think there are still some preconceived notions about the kind of people who serve, but I mean, it’s not like we make it easy on ourselves with all our different services, traditions, uniforms and rules. I suppose I just wish we could get to a point where when I told someone I was a U.S. Marine, I wouldn’t be automatically asked, “Really?!”
How can civilians get a better sense of the people behind the military uniform?
Watch fewer military movies. The depictions of the armed services still isn’t really where I’d like to see it. I was more inspired toward the military by Disney’s “Mulan” than by “G.I. Jane,” and I think there’s something to be said about that. So yes, just talk to us more. All of us. Not all women who join the military survived some sort tragic childhood or weren’t popular in school. We come from the same place everyone else does. Two people can serve alongside each other and one can be from a rich town and the other from a poor town, but they’re doing the same job and both are out to protect each others’ lives.
Who is your favorite comedian?
This is the hardest question of the whole thing. So I will just say that in this moment, right now, it’s Eddie Izzard because I was listening to him on my way in to work.
Who was the most inspirational person you encountered while serving?
Eric Flanagan. He’s a captain now and was my partner in Afghanistan. He went from being an infantry corporal to a lieutenant and Public Affairs Officer. For me, just being a Marine Public Affairs Officer and a woman, I went through a lot for this journey. Being able to share our perspectives and have someone on my side that understood my experience had a huge impact on my life and how I thought of myself. I still email him the occasional life crisis and inside joke. It helps my sanity.
How can people use humor to get through tough times?
If watching reality tv doesn’t work to make you feel better about yourself, then I would try finding comedians who write or do stand up about things that you can relate to. That’s what I’ve found to help get me through difficult times — finding someone else who has gone through something similar and made the same observations I have. We’re not alone in our struggles, and laughing at sad things is incredibly therapeutic. So is getting a dog.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Since I’ve moved to New York, life has shifted in a way that has given me the opportunity to speak about issues that are important to me as a woman and as a Marine and working in comedy. It’s a way for me to continue to serve and to sort through my own experiences. I’m continually surprised that people are willing to listen, so that feels like a pretty good achievement.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
MORE: 13 Questions with Marine-Turned-Poet Maurice Decaul

13 Questions with Marine-Turned-Poet Maurice Decaul

Posted on by robbie

On his first day in Iraq, Maurice Decaul realized that despite being a member of the U.S. Marine Corps — an organization that, in his own words, “relentlessly trains for war” — he only had an intellectual understanding of war. That feeling was displaced quickly as artillery fire sounded around him. And in the eerie silence between booms that all but confirmed loss of life, Decaul says that he became a writer.
His transformation from soldier to poet and playwright didn’t happen overnight in a foreign land. Years later, in a veterans’ writing workshop, he recorded memories of that day — an attempt to understand what happened and how he felt about it. Finding words to express his emotions made Decaul realize that the experience completely numbed him. “But writing helped me excavate the why of why I went numb,” he explains, going on to say that the process got him “back to being in a place where I could feel again.” See Decaul share this story of resurrection and recite his poem “And The War Was In Its Infancy Then” at the recent Got Your 6 Storyteller event, a campaign that honors and celebrates the talents, skills and leadership of our veterans, in the video above.
In this exclusive interview with NationSwell, Decaul discusses what inspires his service as a veteran and his work as a poet.
What does it mean to be a veteran?
Beyond the technical definition, for me it means being of service to other veterans, especially younger people. A few months ago, I was speaking with a friend who is a veteran of the Army, and we are both writers and we both served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. I mentioned to him, for me, because I have been fortunate over the years to be offered great opportunities to write and to create, I now see it as my duty to help those coming after by sharing what I know and contacts and being a mentor.
What inspired you to serve your country?
My family and I are emigrants and one of my earliest memories is seeing a Marine Embassy Guard. After relocating to the United States, I found myself reading a lot about Marines. I remember hearing about the battle of Khafji. I remember hearing about those Recon Marines on a roof calling fire onto occupying troops and the audacity of that…I was hooked, I wanted to be like them.
What 3 words describe your experience in the service?
I served in the Marine Corps and our core values are honor, courage and respect. For me, those words drove the way I tried to behave in and out of uniform. At the core of those words is the notion of integrity — doing what is right, not what is expedient or self-serving. Drill instructors ensure that recruits fortunate enough to graduate and become Marines leave training knowing the importance of our core values and integrity. This is key to maintaining discipline and esprit, and I’ve kept these values in the civilian world.
What is the quality you most admire in a comrade?
Enthusiasm for the work we are doing.
Who are your heroes in real life?
The people who I admire are those who are able to take an idea and go beyond having the idea to making something out of it. I guess, I’m thinking broadly about risk takers. People who aren’t afraid to challenge institutions, thought patterns and naysayers. Entrepreneurial people who are courageous enough to try.
Who was the most inspirational person you encountered while serving?
I served with a Marine named Sgt. Ali while in Iraq in 2003. He was my roommate over there and beyond his general excellence, he knew how to lead. He led by example, understood fairness and is one of the most honorable and courageous Marines I ever knew. I know there were times when he must’ve felt fear, but he was resolute in the face of it. I respected him. I still respect him. I felt honored to serve with him. I would still follow him.
If you could change one thing about your service, what would it be?
I wouldn’t. It’s made me the person I am.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
There isn’t one specific thing, but I know I would’ve regretted not joining the Marines. I’m glad I did, and I am glad I got to serve with great people like Sgt. Ali and many others.
Who is your favorite writer?
I have several writers that I go back to: Yusef Komunyakaa, Yehuda Amichai, Jack Gilbert, Jorge Luis Borges and Pablo Neruda. None of them are more important to me than the others. They inform my work, my thinking. Also, I’ve been fortunate to have exceptional writing teachers such as Edward Hirsch, Sharon Olds, Yusef Komunyakaa, Timothy Donnelly and Anne Carson. I love them all, deeply.
What is your favorite topic to write about?
I write about the people forced to make difficult and/or impossible decisions. Sometimes these people are participants in conflict, sometimes not. But I am interested in the ambiguity, the space between right and wrong.
What is your favorite poem?
Jack Gilbert’s “Married” is one of them.
How does your military service impact your writing?
Well, the wars are often the theme, but I am curious about how people in extremis make decisions and how the consequences of those decisions shape their lives.
What is your motto?
There is no right answer
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Homepage photo Courtesy of Got Your 6.

How This Veteran Went from the Open Sea to Open Data

Posted on by robbie

As a Counter-Terrorism Officer in the U.S. Navy, Ian Kalin says that he fired expensive cannons at imaginary targets in the sea.
“Not a lot of terrorists floating in the middle of the ocean back then,” he jokes, pointing out how the service he was being asked to deliver was “completely disconnected from the actual needs of our nation.”
That experience helped shape Kalin’s path to becoming director of open data at Socrata, which helps public sector organizations improve transparency and service.
Kalin asks the audience at his Got Your 6 Storytellers talk where they would prefer to spend an hour: at the Department of Motor Vehicles or the Apple Store?
“The truth is that there is a big disconnect that we feel in our consumer lives compared to the services we’re receiving from our governments,” he says, addressing the widening gap between our expectations and what our government is able to deliver. “We have higher expectations because innovative products and services are making our lives better everyday.”
He also tells a story about a salmonella outbreak in jars of peanut butter. While he never would have checked the Food and Drug Administration website for the voluntary product recall, Google Shopping Express sent the grateful young dad a note saying the product he bought was at risk and even offered to reimburse him the $5.84 he spent.
Governments cannot empower people by themselves,” Kalin says, emphasizing the importance of public private partnerships to help governments improve their customer service.
Watch the video to learn how Kalin thinks open data can help us “improve the quality of our collective democracy.”

How Veterans Bring the Spirit of Service Back to the Home Front

Posted on by robbie

Koby Langley, who directed veteran, wounded warrior, and military family engagement for the White House before overseeing services to the armed forces for the American Red Cross, stands before photos of his family members during his Got Your 6 Storytellers talk.
“The majority of the men and women that serve in uniform come from military families,” he says, gesturing to a black and white portrait of Felix Powel of the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet in the 1950s, a picture of Dr. Kimberlyn Brown of the U.S. Army Medical Corps from the War in Afghanistan, and another of Langley himself, who served in Iraq. “That spirit of service that we give to our sons and daughters is critically important as we think about our national security needs in the future.”
In his talk, Langley describes how the same spirit of service that compelled every one of his family members to sign up for every major United States conflict since World War I remains upon the return home. “It shouldn’t be any surprise that communities are looking for us,” he says. “They want us to leverage the leadership skills that we learned overseas here in our communities at home.”
He zooms in on stories of specific veterans who put their leadership into action, mentioning initiatives like Hiring Our Heroes and Team Rubicon. Langley also speaks of Chris Marvin, founder and managing director of Got Your 6. “Chris flew helicopters. In Afghanistan, his Black Hawk crashed. He was stuck in the rubble, close to death. He suffered surgery after surgery after surgery when he came home,” Langley says.
One of the first things Marvin said to Langley when they first met was how he really wished people would stop thanking him for his service. “Don’t thank us for our service,” Langley explains. “When we come home, say ‘Welcome home. We still need you. Are you ready to serve again?’”

Watch: How Military Skills Translate to the Tech World

Posted on by robbie

When Don Faul, head of operations of Pinterest, first went from serving as an Infantry and Reconnaissance leader in the U.S. Marine Corps to seeking opportunities in Silicon Valley, he nearly gave up.
“I didn’t get too many calls back. I didn’t get too many interviews. I didn’t get great feedback from the companies that I was interviewing with,” he says.
The self-described gadget geek nearly came to the conclusion that the tech world might not be for him, but one opportunity led to another, eventually putting Faul in a position to lead. He points to several charts in his talk, speaking about what it takes to go from a flat line to an upward curve. Having joined Facebook in early 2008 before going on to help Pinterest become of the leading social networking companies, Faul knows a thing or two about growth.
“It took me a long time to realize that those skills and experiences that I learned in the Marine Corps were just as relevant at Facebook and Google and Pinterest as they were on the battlefield,” he says.  
Watch his talk to learn why leadership is so central is to building a successful company around a culture of sustained innovation.

How This Veteran Transitioned From Combat to Cocktails

Posted on by robbie

Steve Schneider, a former United States Marine turned world champion bartender, holds a wooden mallet. It’s his signature tool, and he uses it not only to crush ice for cocktails, but also to serve as a symbol of strength.
“I wanted to help people, you know? I wanted to make a man of myself and make a difference,” he says, explaining how he volunteered for a deployment after Sept. 11, 2001.
“In the Marine Corps I excelled, physically, academically, mentally,” he continues, reflecting on his sense of invincibility after graduating top of his class in boot camp.
But Schneider, who later built his future at a bar, almost died after a night out on the town during training for this elite unit that was headed to Japan, then Afghanistan. “I got in an accident,” he says, as the picture behind him transitions from clean cut military man to a hospital patient in a coma with two purple eyes, three plates in his skull and 52 stitches that left a scar framing his face. “I got my ass kicked, to be honest.”
Feeling lost, and thinking about his friends who he was supposed to be leading overseas, he stumbled upon a Washington, D.C. bar with a “Help Wanted” sign posted. What started out as a way to make a few extra bucks evolved into so much more — leading him to enter — and win — several speed bartending competitions and develop confidence in his craft.
Now, Schneider is one of the principal bartenders at “Employee’s Only” in New York City. “And that’s when everything started to take off for me,” says Schneider, the central character of the 2013 film Hey Bartender. “It gave me a platform to be the best at what I do.”
Watch his talk and prepare to be inspired by a veteran who is a walking, talking, mallet-bearing example of turning adversity into opportunity.