I feel a little bit weird standing here
in my civvies or uniform every day so
I’m just gonna call this my tactical
civilian camouflage for today so about
seven years into my army career I had
the opportunity to apply to graduate
school with the ultimate goal of coming
here to West Point to teach in the
Department of English and Philosophy now
I was stationed in South Korea at the
time about 20 miles just south of the
DMZ so there was a pretty distinct
logistical challenge and getting back to
the United States to go visit colleges
and meet with professors and so forth so
I hadn’t do my entire application
process online or something that’s
old-timers call snail mail and this
process was a little caused a little bit
of anxiety for me as an army captain on
active duty I was well aware that there
in the academic community there was some
healthy dissent about the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan they were both going
full-tilt at that time and I was
concerned about how my military service
my leadership experience would be
perceived by admissions committees I
thought it would was what set me apart
is what why they would want me I wasn’t
so sure I couldn’t be sure that that was
gonna be valued my admission as I was
thinking about it my admission into
graduate school seemed to be kind of a
chance and it relied on strangers who I
didn’t know and their impressions their
understanding of the military as an
institution and the people within it a
fair amount of anxiety now I was very
lucky I did get into the school of my
choice and about a year and a half well
I got into school of my choice but not
with about a fair amount without a lot
of anxiety and trepidation about a year
and a half into my studies I I learned
that a lot of that anxiety and
trepidation was not without merit I was
talking with one of my professors who I
developed a really good relationship
with and
out of the blue she stopped and looked
at me and said you know I’m the reason
why you’re here I was really taken aback
and she continued her story she said she
held held her application or excuse me
she held my graduate school application
on her desk for weeks just waiting
trying to come up with a valid excuse to
reject it she told me she was anxious
she had some reservations about my
military service how would I fit in
amongst the other students how would I
fit in amongst her colleagues she looked
me in the eye and said she had biases
towards people in the military because
of her lack of understanding and because
of that she just about rejected my
application from grad school now
ultimately she decided that it wasn’t
fair of her to hold those biases against
me and so she took a chance and so
standing here today as an assistant
professor at West Point I cannot tell
you how grateful I am that she did take
so what this story shows or illustrates
is one of the many ways in which the
lack of understanding or connection
between the civilian world and the
military population can manifest itself
the simple truth is that more and more
of our American society is out of touch
with the military out of touch with who
we are out of touch with what we do out
of touch with all the places across the
world that we are currently deployed we
call this the civil military divide and
it refers to the informational and
cultural gap between the two segments of
society those who serve and those who
don’t
now this issue has been written about
widely in recent years and there’s a
very commonly held belief amongst most
authors and scholars that the two groups
of our society are not as well connected
as they ought to be and when you
consider how frequently and widely our
military is deployed over the course of
the world and all over the eight
eighteen years that disconnection
you see it’s the civilian world that
controls the military how we’re funded
how we’re equipped and ultimately where
we go off to fight and so if you believe
in the basic tenets of democracy that
our elected leaders our civilian leaders
answer to and work on behalf of the
American people then it only follows
logically that the American people need
to be well versed fully vested and
engaged in what the military is doing
and who they are how else are they going
to hold their civilian civilian leaders
accountable for their decisions based on
a regarding the military now the civil
military divide is a complicated issue
there’s many aspects that go into it but
when you break it all down on the most
simple level the civil military divide
exists because in our population of
about 350 million people only one and a
half million of us actually serve in the
active-duty military force in the Army
the Navy the Air Force the Marines and
the Coast Guard that’s less than 1/2 a
percent put it into perspective that’s
one in 200 it’s kind of lonely now if
you factor our brothers and sisters who
are veterans that gets us a little bit
further there’s still a big potential
for the divide the civil military divide
also exists because in our country right
now our 50 states don’t contribute
equitably to our military forces forty
to forty five percent of the current
military the unactive Duty come from
these southern states you can see the
imbalance
and that leaves portions like the
Northeast the Upper Midwest large
portions of the West Coast and the
Central States largely underrepresented
in terms of the military force that also
contributes to this divide so it’s easy
to see on a basic level how and why this
divide exists the more people that don’t
have a close connection with people in
the military or don’t have a close
connection with the military
geographically they become a lot more
vulnerable to believing stereotypes the
various stereotypical narratives that
are all too common in our news media our
television and our movies and so the
divide that is normally here already
pretty significant grows even wider now
the stereotypes are on all that both
that they run the gamut the full scale
many of these stereotypes on the surface
seem pretty positive
they depict us as larger-than-life
heroes who carry the weight of the
United States on our shoulders and we
ought to be proud of that and well I
think probably make us feel good for a
while they don’t actually do anything to
bring us together to create a connection
between the two groups if anything they
kind of put us up on a pedestal an
uncomfortable pedestal that acts like a
barrier it keeps us from connecting now
on the other side of the spectrum these
stereotypes depict us in a much more
negative if not even tragic light we are
undereducated the military was our last
resort
we are hardworking but maybe a little
bit unstable we’re prone to depression
substance abuse and aggression or all of
the above
we’re closed-minded in our views
politically and socially that many in
the rest of the United States might
value so when you have so many people
vulnerable to these stereotypes they
miss or become blind to the reality of
it that most servicemembers are actually
pretty well educated reasonably well
adjusted and seemingly normal members of
society who just want to do their jobs
the best way that they can these
stereotypes create a very clear barrier
that keep the two groups from coming
together in the most simple way as
fellow citizens as human beings so what
can we do I believe the answer lies in
the power of conversation simple
everyday one-on-one conversation I
believe that every man and woman who
wears the uniform of the United States
military whether the most junior private
the most senior officer and yes even
cadets I believe we all collectively
have the ability over time to bridge
this civil military divide one
conversation at a time
now the government doesn’t need to go
get nuts on this thing we don’t need to
form high-level committees at the
Department of Defense we don’t need to
appoint a civil military divides our we
don’t need to schedule a plethora of
feel-good military appreciation events
that’s not going to do it what we need
to do and what the government and the
military needs to do is empower every
one of us that’s in the military and
entrust us to go outside of our
comfortable gated communities and make a
the military needs to set the
expectation that every one of us that
wears the uniform has an obligation to
be an ambassador and as an ambassador it
is our job our duty to make an active
attempt to stay connected with the rest
of the population one conversation at a
time now these are conversations that
can happen anywhere they happen at the
airport when we’re getting ready to get
on a plane they happen at the grocery
store they happen sitting at Starbucks
they happen standing on the sidelines of
our children’s soccer game these are
conversations that don’t use a script
they don’t involve talking points and
they don’t begin with the intention of
trying to transform somebody into a
fervent military supporter these are
just average everyday conversations
about two people trying to find
something that unites them and they can
connect these are conversations that
quickly blow through stereotypes and
quickly debunk the overblown myth of the
valiant military hero or the deep crepin
and broken-down veteran these are
conversations that quickly illustrate
that despite the differences in military
and civilian culture actually we all
have a lot more in common than people
realize these are conversations about
who our pick is for the Super Bowl there
are conversations about our
cross-country trip last summer there are
conversations about our children about
their schools about their after-school
activity about their recent piano
recital these are conversations about
our spouses about their career
aspirations and all the different
sacrifices that they’ve made these are
conversations about our hopes for the
national economy
and yes these are conversations about
our collective frustration and angst
these are conversations that do not
happen often enough these are
conversations that have the ability to
leave a lasting impression on both
people involved civilian and military so
before I left graduate school I had one
last conversation with my professor she
looked at me and smiled and reiterated
the fact that she was very skeptical
about letting me into graduate school
and would didn’t didn’t think that I
would be very successful she paused for
a little bit and looked at me and said
she was really really glad that she did
let me in she said having me there in
her classes around her other colleagues
and other nurse other students she said
her entire opinion of the military
changed for the better so you never know
what impact you might have through the
power of conversation but I guarantee
you you will leave an impression and if
you approach your conversations with the
same values in sincerity that you do
with your military service I think the
odds are pretty good that you’ll leave a
long lasting positive impression one conversation at a time thank you
in my civvies or uniform every day so
I’m just gonna call this my tactical
civilian camouflage for today so about
seven years into my army career I had
the opportunity to apply to graduate
school with the ultimate goal of coming
here to West Point to teach in the
Department of English and Philosophy now
I was stationed in South Korea at the
time about 20 miles just south of the
DMZ so there was a pretty distinct
logistical challenge and getting back to
the United States to go visit colleges
and meet with professors and so forth so
I hadn’t do my entire application
process online or something that’s
old-timers call snail mail and this
process was a little caused a little bit
of anxiety for me as an army captain on
active duty I was well aware that there
in the academic community there was some
healthy dissent about the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan they were both going
full-tilt at that time and I was
concerned about how my military service
my leadership experience would be
perceived by admissions committees I
thought it would was what set me apart
is what why they would want me I wasn’t
so sure I couldn’t be sure that that was
gonna be valued my admission as I was
thinking about it my admission into
graduate school seemed to be kind of a
chance and it relied on strangers who I
didn’t know and their impressions their
understanding of the military as an
institution and the people within it a
fair amount of anxiety now I was very
lucky I did get into the school of my
choice and about a year and a half well
I got into school of my choice but not
with about a fair amount without a lot
of anxiety and trepidation about a year
and a half into my studies I I learned
that a lot of that anxiety and
trepidation was not without merit I was
talking with one of my professors who I
developed a really good relationship
with and
out of the blue she stopped and looked
at me and said you know I’m the reason
why you’re here I was really taken aback
and she continued her story she said she
held held her application or excuse me
she held my graduate school application
on her desk for weeks just waiting
trying to come up with a valid excuse to
reject it she told me she was anxious
she had some reservations about my
military service how would I fit in
amongst the other students how would I
fit in amongst her colleagues she looked
me in the eye and said she had biases
towards people in the military because
of her lack of understanding and because
of that she just about rejected my
application from grad school now
ultimately she decided that it wasn’t
fair of her to hold those biases against
me and so she took a chance and so
standing here today as an assistant
professor at West Point I cannot tell
you how grateful I am that she did take
so what this story shows or illustrates
is one of the many ways in which the
lack of understanding or connection
between the civilian world and the
military population can manifest itself
the simple truth is that more and more
of our American society is out of touch
with the military out of touch with who
we are out of touch with what we do out
of touch with all the places across the
world that we are currently deployed we
call this the civil military divide and
it refers to the informational and
cultural gap between the two segments of
society those who serve and those who
don’t
now this issue has been written about
widely in recent years and there’s a
very commonly held belief amongst most
authors and scholars that the two groups
of our society are not as well connected
as they ought to be and when you
consider how frequently and widely our
military is deployed over the course of
the world and all over the eight
eighteen years that disconnection
you see it’s the civilian world that
controls the military how we’re funded
how we’re equipped and ultimately where
we go off to fight and so if you believe
in the basic tenets of democracy that
our elected leaders our civilian leaders
answer to and work on behalf of the
American people then it only follows
logically that the American people need
to be well versed fully vested and
engaged in what the military is doing
and who they are how else are they going
to hold their civilian civilian leaders
accountable for their decisions based on
a regarding the military now the civil
military divide is a complicated issue
there’s many aspects that go into it but
when you break it all down on the most
simple level the civil military divide
exists because in our population of
about 350 million people only one and a
half million of us actually serve in the
active-duty military force in the Army
the Navy the Air Force the Marines and
the Coast Guard that’s less than 1/2 a
percent put it into perspective that’s
one in 200 it’s kind of lonely now if
you factor our brothers and sisters who
are veterans that gets us a little bit
further there’s still a big potential
for the divide the civil military divide
also exists because in our country right
now our 50 states don’t contribute
equitably to our military forces forty
to forty five percent of the current
military the unactive Duty come from
these southern states you can see the
imbalance
and that leaves portions like the
Northeast the Upper Midwest large
portions of the West Coast and the
Central States largely underrepresented
in terms of the military force that also
contributes to this divide so it’s easy
to see on a basic level how and why this
divide exists the more people that don’t
have a close connection with people in
the military or don’t have a close
connection with the military
geographically they become a lot more
vulnerable to believing stereotypes the
various stereotypical narratives that
are all too common in our news media our
television and our movies and so the
divide that is normally here already
pretty significant grows even wider now
the stereotypes are on all that both
that they run the gamut the full scale
many of these stereotypes on the surface
seem pretty positive
they depict us as larger-than-life
heroes who carry the weight of the
United States on our shoulders and we
ought to be proud of that and well I
think probably make us feel good for a
while they don’t actually do anything to
bring us together to create a connection
between the two groups if anything they
kind of put us up on a pedestal an
uncomfortable pedestal that acts like a
barrier it keeps us from connecting now
on the other side of the spectrum these
stereotypes depict us in a much more
negative if not even tragic light we are
undereducated the military was our last
resort
we are hardworking but maybe a little
bit unstable we’re prone to depression
substance abuse and aggression or all of
the above
we’re closed-minded in our views
politically and socially that many in
the rest of the United States might
value so when you have so many people
vulnerable to these stereotypes they
miss or become blind to the reality of
it that most servicemembers are actually
pretty well educated reasonably well
adjusted and seemingly normal members of
society who just want to do their jobs
the best way that they can these
stereotypes create a very clear barrier
that keep the two groups from coming
together in the most simple way as
fellow citizens as human beings so what
can we do I believe the answer lies in
the power of conversation simple
everyday one-on-one conversation I
believe that every man and woman who
wears the uniform of the United States
military whether the most junior private
the most senior officer and yes even
cadets I believe we all collectively
have the ability over time to bridge
this civil military divide one
conversation at a time
now the government doesn’t need to go
get nuts on this thing we don’t need to
form high-level committees at the
Department of Defense we don’t need to
appoint a civil military divides our we
don’t need to schedule a plethora of
feel-good military appreciation events
that’s not going to do it what we need
to do and what the government and the
military needs to do is empower every
one of us that’s in the military and
entrust us to go outside of our
comfortable gated communities and make a
the military needs to set the
expectation that every one of us that
wears the uniform has an obligation to
be an ambassador and as an ambassador it
is our job our duty to make an active
attempt to stay connected with the rest
of the population one conversation at a
time now these are conversations that
can happen anywhere they happen at the
airport when we’re getting ready to get
on a plane they happen at the grocery
store they happen sitting at Starbucks
they happen standing on the sidelines of
our children’s soccer game these are
conversations that don’t use a script
they don’t involve talking points and
they don’t begin with the intention of
trying to transform somebody into a
fervent military supporter these are
just average everyday conversations
about two people trying to find
something that unites them and they can
connect these are conversations that
quickly blow through stereotypes and
quickly debunk the overblown myth of the
valiant military hero or the deep crepin
and broken-down veteran these are
conversations that quickly illustrate
that despite the differences in military
and civilian culture actually we all
have a lot more in common than people
realize these are conversations about
who our pick is for the Super Bowl there
are conversations about our
cross-country trip last summer there are
conversations about our children about
their schools about their after-school
activity about their recent piano
recital these are conversations about
our spouses about their career
aspirations and all the different
sacrifices that they’ve made these are
conversations about our hopes for the
national economy
and yes these are conversations about
our collective frustration and angst
these are conversations that do not
happen often enough these are
conversations that have the ability to
leave a lasting impression on both
people involved civilian and military so
before I left graduate school I had one
last conversation with my professor she
looked at me and smiled and reiterated
the fact that she was very skeptical
about letting me into graduate school
and would didn’t didn’t think that I
would be very successful she paused for
a little bit and looked at me and said
she was really really glad that she did
let me in she said having me there in
her classes around her other colleagues
and other nurse other students she said
her entire opinion of the military
changed for the better so you never know
what impact you might have through the
power of conversation but I guarantee
you you will leave an impression and if
you approach your conversations with the
same values in sincerity that you do
with your military service I think the
odds are pretty good that you’ll leave a
long lasting positive impression one conversation at a time thank you
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