WEBVTT

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- Had I not gone into the air force,

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I probably would have gone into prison.

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My father was an alcoholic, and so, we you know,

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growing up in poverty, I just remember the most overriding

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thought I had was, I really want to escape this lifestyle.

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I joined the air force, in 1989, my air force

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specialty code was obviously, security specialist,

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so I finished as a senior airman, I joined the police

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department in 1995, and so when I tested, I tested with

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probably 450 other applicants, and because I was a veteran,

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I received additional points, and I'm thankful for

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my military status, I'm thankful for the fact that

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being a veteran in this country means something.

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It gave me another opportunity, it plucked me from

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an impoverished childhood and it gave me the opportunity

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to succeed in the civilian world.

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And I haven't ignored that, I've worked on that,

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and it ultimately commentated with me being the youngest

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police chief in the history of the city of Abilene.

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(dramatic music)

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So I want to go back basically about 27 years ago,

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and I was an E-2 and I was over seas and I lost

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my brother...

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And I remember distinctly, the air force working with

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me logistically, and financially, to the point where

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I only had a couple of months left on my deployment

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over seas, and they ended the deployment early,

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so I could go back and be with my family to bury

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my brother, that had an impact on me, that has enabled

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me to walk along aside these families, with more care,

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compassion, and not simply as a uniform.

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Since then, I have buried officers, I have buried many

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of our citizens, I have attended so many funerals,

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I don't even want to count.

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I recognize I do not live in Utopia, and nor do our

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veterans live in Utopia, we all walked through issues

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to become the man or woman we are today.

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So my message to the veterans is this,

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number one, thank you for your service,

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number two, recognize that serving your country

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probably was not easy, nothing worth while is

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ever easy, so I thank you for having the fortitude,

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the perseverance, in forging through all those issues

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to serve this country, I think this country is worth it.