WEBVTT 00:00.009 --> 00:02.319 I congratulations to the other 00:02.319 --> 00:04.880 inductees that are are being inducted 00:04.880 --> 00:07.360 today . Uh , it's a great privilege and 00:07.360 --> 00:09.638 honored to be inducted with that class . 00:10.039 --> 00:12.150 Um , for those of us that have earned 00:12.150 --> 00:14.095 the privilege of wearing a pumpkin 00:14.095 --> 00:16.039 patch , we know what it means when 00:16.039 --> 00:19.170 somebody says being on the trail . Our 00:19.170 --> 00:21.760 first inductee today blazed that trail , 00:21.969 --> 00:23.747 and the rest of us stood on his 00:23.747 --> 00:25.802 shoulders , so I wanna say thank you 00:25.802 --> 00:28.360 very much for for doing that . I wanna 00:28.360 --> 00:30.138 thank you drill Sergeant , uh , 00:30.290 --> 00:33.279 association for honoring me in this way , 00:33.720 --> 00:35.942 um , but I showed him my card . I'm one 00:35.942 --> 00:38.109 of the original members that I already 00:38.109 --> 00:39.998 have a lifetime membership to the 00:39.998 --> 00:42.164 association , so kind of missed out on 00:42.164 --> 00:45.520 that . Um , also for 26 , 00:46.049 --> 00:48.779 I spent 40 years in uniform . 30 of 00:48.779 --> 00:51.001 those years were in the IMT environment 00:51.290 --> 00:53.457 having to deal with the drill sergeant 00:53.457 --> 00:56.130 for 26 of those 30 years . My wife was 00:56.130 --> 00:58.849 my operations NCO . They kept me on the 00:58.849 --> 01:01.016 right track , so I wanna say thank you 01:01.016 --> 01:02.127 very much for her . 01:08.660 --> 01:10.882 They just have one other thing to say , 01:11.580 --> 01:15.449 generational , it happens all the time 01:15.860 --> 01:18.690 that one generation I look on Facebook 01:18.690 --> 01:21.139 and I see soldiers talking about how 01:21.139 --> 01:23.195 the soldiers today don't match up to 01:23.195 --> 01:25.250 the soldiers that came before them . 01:25.250 --> 01:27.083 This has been going on since the 01:27.083 --> 01:29.195 American Revolution , but I think the 01:29.195 --> 01:31.417 biggest divide was the Vietnam veterans 01:31.417 --> 01:33.417 and the World War II veterans . The 01:33.417 --> 01:35.583 Vietnam veterans weren't accepted when 01:35.583 --> 01:37.750 they came home as not have fought in a 01:37.750 --> 01:39.900 war like World War II , and it was in 01:40.069 --> 01:42.125 the veterans of foreign wars and the 01:42.125 --> 01:44.291 American Legion , you know , it took a 01:44.291 --> 01:46.513 while to get over that and it's kind of 01:46.513 --> 01:48.791 going on for that . So people today go , 01:48.791 --> 01:50.902 well , the soldiers today are not the 01:50.902 --> 01:52.902 soldiers like used to be . Well our 01:52.902 --> 01:55.013 young soldiers today . Just fought 20 01:55.013 --> 01:57.010 years of war and the young men and 01:57.010 --> 01:59.121 women are coming into service today . 02:00.279 --> 02:02.446 weren't even born when 9/11 happened . 02:04.029 --> 02:06.519 And I can't even get that into my mind , 02:06.980 --> 02:08.809 but I'm on the board of the 108 02:08.809 --> 02:12.270 Association , which covers all of the 02:12.270 --> 02:14.326 drill sergeants in the United States 02:14.326 --> 02:17.100 Army , the 95th , 98th , and 104th 02:17.100 --> 02:19.929 divisions . The president of the board 02:19.929 --> 02:23.479 is a is a major general tired colonels , 02:23.779 --> 02:25.899 man sergeants , majors , warrant 02:25.899 --> 02:27.955 officers , and I sat in the room one 02:27.955 --> 02:30.419 day and I listened and I'm talking 02:30.419 --> 02:32.949 about today's military . And I said if 02:32.949 --> 02:35.005 I was a young person today and I was 02:35.005 --> 02:37.227 listening to you people talk I wouldn't 02:37.227 --> 02:40.740 join the military today . 10 years ago 02:40.740 --> 02:43.289 74% of veterans recommended that their 02:43.289 --> 02:46.919 children join the military and uh 02:47.369 --> 02:49.889 earn a living or learning a job and 02:49.889 --> 02:51.945 serve their country . In the last 10 02:51.945 --> 02:55.080 years that's dropped to 61% . We are 02:55.080 --> 02:58.369 our worst enemies . So talk to talk , 02:58.720 --> 03:00.831 unfortunately my wife and I never had 03:00.831 --> 03:03.259 children , but I have 6 nephews and 03:03.259 --> 03:06.419 nieces . One of my nieces was career 03:06.419 --> 03:09.259 Air Force , uh , Air National Guard . 03:10.000 --> 03:13.699 And I got 4 . I got 3 nephews now . One 03:13.699 --> 03:16.820 served in the first cab , and he's 03:16.820 --> 03:18.931 currently , he's gotten out now , but 03:18.931 --> 03:20.987 he's , he's going to school . I have 03:20.987 --> 03:24.179 one that's currently serving in the 1st 03:24.179 --> 03:26.068 Infantry division at Fort Riley , 03:26.068 --> 03:28.460 Kansas , and I have a 3rd that's 03:28.460 --> 03:30.682 serving in the 82nd Airborne Division . 03:30.682 --> 03:32.399 Hunter stand up . This is my 03:34.160 --> 03:35.160 nephew Hunter . 03:39.960 --> 03:42.016 Now I don't wanna say that I had any 03:42.016 --> 03:44.016 encouragement of the fact that they 03:44.016 --> 03:46.016 joined the army , but Hunter , what 03:46.016 --> 03:48.071 would you say about that ? You had a 03:48.071 --> 03:51.779 lot of . OK . So this , this is us , 03:51.789 --> 03:54.380 this is this generation and people talk 03:54.380 --> 03:56.436 about , well , the training today is 03:56.436 --> 03:58.380 not what it used to be . Well , we 03:58.380 --> 04:00.380 raise these children we raise these 04:00.380 --> 04:02.491 grandchildren , so if we want tougher 04:02.491 --> 04:04.491 training , we need to raise tougher 04:04.491 --> 04:07.020 kids , right ? OK , so that I'm gonna 04:07.020 --> 04:08.360 get off my pedestal . Thank you .