On the desert road to Baghdad, did you care when the ground began to shake?  Was there time between your meets, in your chair? Did you care? Was it fair? I'm looking for a shadow, hoping for a drink, walking past an idea, trying not to think, fighting for a general, a thousand miles away, eating lousy rations while he tries to cut up pay. So Robin, for the second time today, how are you brother? I'm good, I managed to make my teeth faster than you did. Yes, so friends at home, massive welcome to the podcast, massive welcome to welcome Robin back. I've just been off and made myself a cup of tea because we've just done another podcast prior to this with Olympic, Great Britain's Olympic, I hate to use the word hope, but I think that's the expression for the Paris 2024, it was Georgina Roberts and the three of us discussed shooting, which is her shotgun shooting is her discipline. So now we're going to go again, and Robin's going to very kindly discuss his latest publication. Warrior poet, a soldier's songs. And I've had a read of this earlier, I have to say, it got a bit smoky in here because I think that's a sign you've hit the spot, Robin, isn't it? I think it is, I think it is Chris, the thing about my generation, especially when they hear about poetry, they, oh my God, don't talk to me about that. It's horrible. And they remember having to learn something at school in language that made absolutely no sense to them. And yet, in real life, you know, every day, a lot of a quote poetry, we quote Shakespeare, Richard Orr poetry, and you know, we love rhyme and we love rhythm, and sometimes it's funny and sometimes it's sad, and the joy of making up a silly limerick, for example, is great fun. But, and we love songs, and songs, you know, are really poems with music. So it's a peculiar thing, but to hit them up really, really well, it has to have emotion and emotion in words that are, that people can feel rather than remember. And it's a performance art, which is the thing about a book is that you have to try and get the whole rhythm in your head, the way it works. So I put little, I put little sentences in before saying that we're inspiring. And in some cases, it's people like Benny Hill. So you get the kind of pattern that goes with it, and sometimes it has to be done with a hard Scottish accent. And it's available on Amazon. It's only available on Amazon, but that itself publishes. Publishers are still trying to catch up on last year because of Covid. So rather than sit on it and wait, but it's fully illustrated all the way through every every two pages is fully illustrated with photographs turned into works of art. Yes, and there's one particular picture, if I can find it. I've just made a few marks here. Hang on a sec. Bear with me. Look at this wasting five minutes of our podcast. It froze for me. Was I freezing? Just for a moment, yeah. Oh, God. Yes, this picture, I believe I stood next to that. Isn't it in Reykjavik? That's it, yeah. That's where I took it, yeah. Very modern sort of modern art statue of, I'm guessing, what would have been a Viking longboat back in the day? Yeah. Yeah, and we did the whole thing in black and white to add to the mood, which I think it really does all the way through. But the illustrations are done by a wonderful illustrator called Tommy Brabham, who I met here in Prague. And between the two of us, I think we've produced something that's rather extraordinary.  You know, it's something for everybody, but it's something you can leave on your coffee table and talk about the next three years. Yes, I think there's I'm just going to say here and now, friends at home, what an absolutely excellent gift to give to anyone, not just whether they've been a veteran or not, but particularly if they have, this is going to resonate. This picture caught my eye, Robin. Is that the one of my old friends, Stuart McLaughlin? Yes. He was killed just after he'd sold him out, longed him a three-barre. And I say, is he probably the only person I ever knew that I ever absolutely regarded as a hero, a great friend. I read all about his exploits, his bravery. Oh, God, putting myself on the spot here in that wonderful book written by former para. I usually have my books on my shelf to jog my memory. Vince Bramley. No, I don't know. Bramley wrote a book. I think it was called Something Along the Lines of Descent into Hell. For anybody watching who wants to read it, go into the notes below this video and you'll see my shop, Christopher's shop, and that book is in my shop. It's just basically a direct link that takes you to Amazon. Lots of people said this gentleman should have won the Victoria Cross. Did I get that right? Yeah, I agree with that entirely. If anybody deserved a VC in the Falklands, it was Stuart McLaughlin. He fought tirelessly on that mountain, taking over when the higher command was getting killed, leading the younger soldiers and setting the example as they took out the enemy trenches, took out a lot of enemy and then, sadly, ultimately, I think even towards the end of that battle, lost his own life. No, he was wounded and he was walking back to the medical aid station and an artillery shell, a random, killed him. God, awful. So how should we approach this, Robin? Shall I just quickly do a quick, not praise, that's the wrong word, but I love this piece, Dawn's Early Light. I won't read all of it. And I hope I can do it justice, if not, Robin, feel free to take over. But for endless years, we huddled in a dark night and defended ourselves from the cold. I'm probably not giving this the right cadence, but from the cold concealing from the cold, concealing ourselves in silent fear from the demons of hate hidden in the shadows. We waited, hoping beyond all hope that a new day would come after the long, long night, a night of years. What came into my mind was when we, when we were hunter-garras and we would have lived in caves and just that sheer reassurance that daybreak brought when the sun came over the horizon and it was no longer dangerous animals prowling around and terrible cold to deal with. And also I've read a lot of life raft stories like Stephen Callaghan's 76 Days Adrift, very brilliant book, folks. I think that's in my in my shop. And that's it, that's it. It's about holding on when everything seems lost and holding on and holding on, enduring the bad times. I want to say about people who are in despair. Hold on. Yeah. Yes. So it's about that. And it's the last poem in the book. So, you know, there's some very profound stuff in there. There's some really funny stuff in there, too. Because, you know, you don't want to be all boom and gloom and misery. You know, the one on, I think it's on page two, which is a useless banker. You know, that's a funny one. I can read that for you quickly. Go for it. You're going to do it more just just than I probably did. Yeah. It says it's a simple poem about excuses. Useless banker.  It's not my fault I work with forms. I tried for top celebrity, but ended up making people fee.  Perhaps I'm lacking mental wealth. I couldn't cope. I couldn't work.  I couldn't wait, despite the shapes and drugs I took, but on the brakes. I didn't learn to read and write because my attitude was shaped. I couldn't go for a position work inflames my skin condition. I think that I should get more breaks. I think my mum should make me cakes. I think that I'd deserve much more. I really I'm really worth the pay of four. It's not my fault. I'm not a banker. I'm really God made me a useless. I think we all saw that that line coming. Yeah. I'm this one, I think it's going to touch you. Deeply in a few people's heart. I haven't got my glasses on, but about the sinking of the Segalahad. Bluff Cove in 1982. Memories of the weather clearing, the sun shining and the blood flowing in the water. And the beauty of this, it's it's so simple. It's both novel and and and just the beauty of this is. The simplicity of this is beautiful, I think. Segalahad, great ships, great seas, great skies. Blue skies, red ships, red skins, red seas. Yes. And that was, um. Oh, no, it's gone. It's the Welsh Gods, you know, the Jets came in, bombed them all around the ship. Yes, I was just trying to think of the Royal Marine's officer's name who was absolutely incandescent about it, because I think he was in charge of amphibious landing and he told the Welsh Gods to get off or apologies if it wasn't the Welsh Gods, he told, but he told he tried to organise and getting ashore and getting dug in. And that's right. That's exactly what happened. The Royal Marines are on shore, two paro on shore with them. But the Marines sent out the flat platform to bring the truth to shore before dawn or just after dawn. And they, the commander of the guards officer in charge said, I'll bring my men ashore when I want to. And a short time later, the Jets came in and hit the ship with the bombs and locked a lot of men, a lot of men. Should say hello to my friend, Simon Weston. Simon, if you ever get to watch this, very graciously came on the on the podcast. What an incredible, incredible human being. Yeah, there's a lot of good work for other people who really does. Can you read this one to us, Robin, page 39? That's a picture a lot of us dads will relate to. Yeah, that's a that's a photograph that my wife took just after I got back from the Falklands. My first son, Alex, was born 10 days after the surrender and that's me holding him and it was called first meeting in the in the Marines, Robin, we'd say, get a haircut. In fact, get two haircuts. First meeting. Hello, here we are both with our roles. My father, your son, a joining of souls. Yes, and that last line, I think is where some fathers fall down, isn't there?  And it's a commitment, it's a commitment, Robin, isn't it? Yeah, I wrote about it back in my first book, Fighting Scared, my autobiography, and I said I felt that somebody had joined a piece of something joined between us, like a cord joined between us that could never be broken. If it was, it would be one of the most painful experiences I could ever ever imagine. You know, and that's the same with all my children. Yeah, I sat when I worked in Mozambique, a place we both both worked in. I was there as a that I was actually there as a development instructor, but my role at the top, my role was a teacher in a street children's school. And I sat on the beach in Nicarla, Nicarla Porto, which was near to the village we worked in.  And he didn't answer. And when I sort of looked, I could see he was trying. I was going to set me off now. He was trying not to burst into tears.   And even though, unfortunately, I've still got my father. And I just knew the how tragic that, you know, to lose your dad, the the one person a boy looks up to more than he's going to look up to more than anyone else on the planet to have them taken away and taken away by war. Gar, we were both in tears, Robin. It was it was awful. Absolutely awful. I was in Nicarla on Christmas 1990 or eighty nine. I was part of that war. I was a major in Frolimo, working out of Nampoula in the north. And at Christmas, we drove to the sea, which was a bit risky, but we decided to go for it because we were very short of food and there was plenty of food on the coast. And we got we got on the coast there and managed to get some fresh fish and some meat and some even some champagne and some beer and me and a guy called Roger Bram, we set up at the coast and we're going to have Christmas Day, having a barbecue on the beach by the sea, looking out at the ocean rather than the situation in land where there was a pretty tough war going on starvation. And as soon as we arrived, there was nobody there. And then people started to gather around us wanting a piece of what we had. And I got quite upset because I like this is the one day of the year where I want something for just for me and you people. And I was getting quite upset about it and quite angry.  And there was me trying not to share my champagne and not share me barbecue and get rid of these people.  Muslim philosophy, isn't it? Or Muslim way, as you share half half of Christians. But it was the bridge had been visited by the ghost of Christian. Yeah. Oh, as Western as Robin, we get these wake up calls when we go abroad. I mean, Mozan be good example. Sort of what is it? Like a. It's a mix, isn't it? There's kind of the witchcraft kind of thing going on there, which is very serious. And I met with witch doctors while I was there and met people. Just took it so seriously. Then you've got the Christian influence. And then, of course, you've got the Muslim influence. But you get in a car with, you know, someone's.  You see some hitchhikers. You pick them up. It's a woman and a baby or a man and a woman. One of them's got the malaria, full blown malaria, and they're heading to the hospital to try to get some chloroquine or whatever it is. And they're they're shaking, but they're still smiling. Yeah, and they get there. They're one bread out for the day. And the first thing to do is rip it in half and give you half. And it. That's right. As a country that I was very sad to come home from. Yeah, yeah, incredible place. I was in tears when I left. The sharing, the ability to enjoy the good things in life every single day because death is so close and you see death every single day, not just for war, but from disease, from starvation. When I had my own, I had in the south in Coromana, I had my own troops. And on a cold night, we would have two men dead from malaria on a regular basis. She wake up in the morning, who died of malaria last night. So, yeah, it's it's very different. You can't tell a blind man what a tolerance is. People have to experience it. But the beauty of people that live for today and can be at the smallest of things. And then you come home and it's a hell of a shock to find that somebody says she's traumatised because the nanny had to take a day off or the milkman didn't come. You know, I hate when I've been out travelling the world and experiencing this incredible hospitality, which I've had in eighty five countries now.  And I excuse me, mate, do you know that where I can get the bus to?  They just look at you and what's your point? Like I said, blind men and blind men and colours, you know, they don't care. You've got in Britain today, I find that everybody's so densely packed in. There's an every everybody's wound up by social media and by the national media as well and made to feel anxious all the time. And they forget how to sing and they forget how to dance and they forget how to sit around as a family and share food and laugh and take the mickey out of one another and not take everything so seriously. And how can you have humour if every word has to be taken seriously and disassembled and turned into something that is was never intended to be? So, yeah, British society, people complain about them, their mental health a lot of the time, but it's the engagement that they have with society through a camera rather than by sitting at a table. People say things on a camera or on the Internet that they would never dare say to somebody in the same room. Why do they do it? Because they feel safe to be as rude and horrible as they wish. And people remember the frowny faces, not the happy faces.  Yeah, I was at the we actually lived. Was it? Nicala Porto was the city, wasn't it? We lived in Muzvani Byro, which just I think Byro is Portuguese for village right on the cliff overlooking that beautiful. Was it the Indian Ocean or the Mozambique Channel? Yeah, that's it. And at weekends, we had a friend who was a sort of aid worker there. I actually know he was in customs at the port and he rocked up in his Land Rover because we didn't have transport to take us out to one of the beaches, not not every weekend, but did this five or six times. And I'm not sure if it's Niharangi Beach or whether that's I'm getting the name wrong there. But I was fishing with my Hungarian friend, Joe. And I'd taken my backpack off. And amongst the various things in there was a mask and snorkel. My stepfather had given me before I left the UK and went, A, our son, you take that one. And he was a lovely, lovely man. Dave died, died very, very, very young, tragically. And he was very, very even incredibly ill at that time, dying of leukemia. So the fact he'd given me this mask was a special thing. So I took my backpack, my day sack off, put it down on the rocks, walk to the edges you do and cast out. The next thing Joe said, Chris, look. And I looked over. Two locals. And I'd wondered why I'd seen these black faces popping up in, you know, the scrub in Mozambique, it's thick, thick thorn scrub, isn't it? It's almost almost impenetrable. And I looked over my shoulder. These guys legged it out of the bush. Ran across these razor sharp rocks. They were razor sharp. I was a westerner. You never you could never have gone bare foot, foot, foot on them. Obviously, I have my, my, my sandals on. Hopped across these rocks as if they were nothing.  My first thought was that diving mask from my, from my stepdad. And as you show. Hold the fishing rod and I tore after them, Robin, probably a bit of a silly thing to do by charging to that scrub a hundred mile an hour. The thorns were just ripping or ripping my clothes apart.  In the hope. That having in a cunha, so a westerner, shouting, I'm going to kill you and not giving up would just be enough for them to drop the bag and learn, behold, I got about 30 feet into this thing. I by the time I got those completely torn up and there was my bag and I lifted the flat. It was all still in there, including my bottle of rum. So yes, yes, Mozambique, incredible. Justing an incredible place to visit when when you and I were there as war torn and smashed up and everywhere stunk of can we say you you know what, because obviously there were no toilets when was when the Portuguese left, they filled the sewers with concrete, didn't they, as in in almost in spite of the of the locals so there were no sewers or anything. They're trying about feet and we're going over rocks. I used to take my soldiers for runs in the morning inside the inside the minefield perimeter and they should take their boots off to go running because the boots were for parades. Yeah. You know, so when they're in uniform, probably they put their boots on, but they preferred it without them. But their their soles of their feet, when we finished the run, they would be pulling camel thorns out of their feet and just, you know, no big deal. Unbelievable. We used to hold football matches at the school and the lads would rock up. Only half of them had training shoes. Most of the trainers were donated. So when you go in a shoe shop and you buy a new pair and they say, do you want to leave your old pair here? That's that's where they go. They get given to some aid organisation who then gets them out to such countries. So only half the guys would have training, a quarter rather. And what they do is one would wear the right and one would wear the left. Doesn't matter even if you were a right foot striker, that you might have a left just just the left. The kid, the football the the kids played with not not not in this case of a proper football for these kind of Sunday league matches.  And that they had nothing else, Robyn. Well, I don't I don't need to tell you, do I? They didn't have any Western toys, nothing. Some of them when they're worried about. Illness, when they're worried about their family, when they're worried about enough food, when they're, you know, when they're worried, maybe the roof's coming down because you've got a hurricane or something like that.  They only worry about what's really, really important on a day to day basis. If you ask them something along the lines of, you know, how do you feel? They will tell you how they feel in that moment. They wouldn't be worrying about how they're going to feel tomorrow or how something's affecting them. They would just they're just getting on and living life. And it's not a bad idea. Yes, exactly. One of the poems in your book you might have to give me a steer or I'll be here forever. It's the one about the mother, wasn't it? And we were discussing it earlier. Yeah, Unspoken Love. Yeah, what page are we on just so I can read them? Yeah, it's near the back. It's going towards the end of the book, Unspoken Love. And it's about my it's my mother died when she was 37. She had me when she was 17. And so, yeah, it's page 89. And when you're a selfish young person are getting on with your life and growing up, you don't have much appreciation for your parents. And she was gone before I was old enough to appreciate that. And I grew up in an environment where we didn't touch, we didn't shake hands, we didn't express our feelings for one another. And, you know, so the poem is called Love Unspoken. And it's about how we felt for one another, but we didn't say it, we didn't express it. That's about that, you know. Yes, I'm not going to read any unless Robin particularly wants to.  You're a good reader. Well, funny you should say that. I was in a library group once when I was a youth, no, I think it was when I was a substance misuse specialist. So basically a drug worker used to go to this organisation because one of my clients used to attend. And I would go there to sort of shuffle around him for one of an incorrect one of the proper term. And in this slide, we said, right, who's going to read the book next? And someone said, Chris, would you? Of course, I was just getting into writing my own books then and that sort of thing and sometimes you can really nail it. You can get, you know, the pauses in the right place, clarity of voice. Yeah, really just. And another time you when you try talking into one of these to record your audio book, I think you sound like an absolute plank. You sound much better if you're stood up because your lungs work better. And if you've written it yourself, obviously, the emotion and the depth and the rhythm is exactly how you want it to be rather than somebody else doing it. I mean, one of the joys, I mean, I broke my neck when I was 54 and I was having some real problems with recovery, not in terms of paralysis, but in terms of constant headaches. And so I thought I'd take my mind off it by going to university. I couldn't teach karate anymore. So I went off to university as an undergrad at 56. And I did creative writing with English literature. The one thing in the creative writing that really gripped me was that I knew absolutely nothing about poetry and its different forms and its different makeups and how it works and how clever it can actually be. And although we use it, we don't understand. We can sing a song. We don't understand how to write the song or what to use it. And it really gripped me. And so I wanted to use some of that three years of academia in warrior soldiers songs to try and express some of the things I've learned. And it really is a labor of love. It's not a commercial product. You know, write something about bombs and guns and gat and bash them and smash them. And, you know, you're going to get an audience. But I'm hoping that there's a certain clientele out there take the time to sit down and try to just see what that what what what it's about. It's it's got things about suicide, deaths of my friends in war. It's got that hard attitude as well as the sort of morose attitude. It's got that.  Passion, you know, it's got some of that in there as well, because there needs to be a balance. But yeah, it's very much a labor of love. It will. I want to talk about literature and your depth of knowledge and that sort of thing. Even you mentioned the sagas later on in your book, the kind of the Norsk or Icelandic texts that that is how they how they remembered history, isn't it? But just this. This love unspoken. So this is the poem about your mother. And it's really funny. Well, it's not funny. But grief is a funny thing. Because I I choose I try not to do it.  Most in just tragic circumstances. My best mate Lee drowned when we were on holiday in. Portugal. That's a funny situation of being stood on a beach with your best mates, dead body at your feet. Didn't even I hadn't even met his parents, Robin, it was just. But I'm just like, OK, hey, let's move on.   I move on.  Lee triggered me because he'd left a tea stain in my kitchen. I remember saying to him, oh, and months later, it was still on it was on a plastic bag and I just looked at it. And then it was God, the floodgates open.  So you're crying for yourself. Your loss, it's your loss. Not there when my. My mum died. It was a it was a funny situation. And I hope to our young people who might be watching this, you can maybe take something from this. But one of my best experiences as a toddler stroke child. I was going shopping with my mum. And I think you say here, we held on to the the pram or whatever.  I'm with my mum, right? And yet it's got older and went through lots of upheaval. I think three, three separations led to divorce. I won't even go into the depths of what went on, but it was. It wasn't wasn't very pleasant. And off the back of that, there were lots of remarriages. Way more than you need in this life. Hopefully you can do it in a one of folks. I won't even get married. I've got a girlfriend and she's just awesome, right? Anna waited forty five years for her. But I didn't always hear off with my mum and we would just it was all personality issues, Robin, you know, she had a lot going on. I don't I to this day, I couldn't tell you why, because that generation would never discuss it with you. Right, my son, I'll tell him everything. Well, he's young. I don't obviously go too deep, but he's going to know all my faults.  If I if I do wrong, I'm going to say sorry, right? And he gets I love you 50 times a day, along with 50 hugs and about 500 kisses every day, probably doing this a bit wrong, folks. But maybe I'm overcompensating. A one hug off my dad as a kid one. And it was when he come back from the pub a bit, a bit pissed. No, he's not slagging my dad off. This is how things very often were back then. People not in touch with their feelings and all kinds of like bullshit etiquette, really, that people conform to. And it was just all a bit silly. But so there I am two days after or three days after my mum died. And I'm so glad that we got it together in the end. And I was able to nurse her. She she died of asbestos poisoning. She was a nurse in in Charing Cross Hospital in London. After the war, the place was full of asbestos because of the rebuilding from the bombing. There she was trying to do her best for people as a nurse, poisoners poisoning herself as she worked there.  She actually went on for a year. So we had a bit more time time with her than most people get. And in that time, there was no Arjibarjee. There wasn't there wasn't going to be any arguments. It was just me and my mum. And as I think I said to Robin, two days after she died, I went to the house. I was met with more cards than I've ever seen in my life. So I start to read them, you know, one at a time. And it's. And it was to her husband at the time. It was Chuck called Paul Paul. Barbara was just the loveliest woman we ever had the pleasure to meet. Every time I walked past her showing shops, you know, she would wave every time I took a pair of jeans in. She'd just take them up for Robin. I'm reading about a woman I never knew. I never knew this, you know. So I'd encourage anybody out there.  And they ain't going to change. It's just it seems to be the nature of things. People have a lot of pride and, well, get rid of your pride, you know, give your parents a hug, tell them that you love them and, you know, don't do what I did, which is find out two days after they'd gone. Mum died, God, years ago now, Robin, but I think it's only just. I'm only just starting to think about it now. So thank you for your. Thank you for your poem, you know. I hope somebody can engage with it.  Anyone else is a bonus. Well, I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm proud of it, regardless. It's it's a work of art and, you know, it has a limited audience. But I'm glad it's out there. I think I think it's worth it. Yes. You're obviously very well read or where there's lots of books out there on there, so that's kind of subjective. But is it how did you get in? Have you always been a reader? Yeah, I've always loved books. I love books more than television. I think being a soldier, you know, I didn't the idea of going into TV and not being able to watch the program you want, because the other lads are watching top of the pops or something. You know, so you I can I can escape in books. I remember being stuck up in the barracks in Northern Ireland, you know, reading Leon Eurus is Trinity and then gradually getting into more and more books and being in the jungle.   You know, maybe not that tired. So you like a candle and you get this big book that's going to last you for the four or five weeks that you're there. And so you start to read more and more. And nowadays, I tend to have about six, six books on the go at the same time, but different books. So I'm reading what am I reading? I'm reading Barack Obama's A Promised Land. I'm reading The Rise and Fall of Communism. I'm reading a Stephen Hawking's book. I can't remember the title of and I leave them around the house. And the most difficult one I leave in the toilet. And they're different books, but they're words, words of power. If you're eloquent, I mean, so many people out there want to say something, but won't say anything at all because they don't feel that they have the vocabulary to express themselves. So most of the ones express themselves to me, haven't got the vocabulary. Don't seem to bother them. That's right. You know, so there are people that really have something important they want to say. If you say it for them, then they're really pleased because they are. Yes, that's what I wanted to say. That's what I meant. He said it for me good for him. And reading, reading people, you know, I mean, I'm a great admirer of Barack Obama and I'm a great admirer of Boris Johnson as well. Reading the eloquence in their language and some of it's written for them. But it means a great deal to me. And I read, take little notes of how I wanted to say it. That's I'm going to say it in the future because words are power. We're all people control us with their words and they lift our emotions and they drop our emotions. It's what theater does. It's what music does. So and poetry is emotion in words. So that connection. So a lot of us get frustrated because we're angry about something, but we can't express it. So we do it with swear words or frustration because we can't actually say what it is that's making us angry in a way that won't make the other person angry.  You've perfected the art, haven't you? You have replying to people. I've noticed that on your social media. You're you're always very gracious, but quite direct. And and yes, I think it's good. I it's it's a difficult place to be when you're in the public eye and you've got social media because. Is that your page where people come to celebrate you because they enjoy what you do, what you say, how how you enable their lives? Yeah, I mean, I've got the old why wise old paratrooper stuff that goes out, you know, which is what I named my little trilogy of books, wise old paratrooper books. But I kept coming out with these little short maxims, these little short saying that would carry a message. And so, you know, the wise old paratrooper tag started to attach to me. And then you start to get people asking you in private or messenger for advice. And many times they start by attacking you. So they're like, you shouldn't have said this, you should have done that.  And in some cases, not in all, in some cases, you end up being their counsellor or their guide. So that's that's quite humbling and quite nice to be able to use your language skills with with a certain amount of benefit to others. Well, that's teaching as well. That's what teachers do. And I love teaching. So there's an aspect of teaching to those comments. But when you come across people who open an engagement on social media with an insult, then it's best just to block and delete. Oh, block and delete. And occasionally I get I'm in a bad mood or, you know, something I'm not too happy on that particular day and I'll send a cutting comment back. And then I'll feel bad about it and I'll delete it. So best not to engage. Yes, the the more the bigger your audience becomes, it really starts to become a juggling thing because. Am I going to reply to a guy? That's just been rude about either myself or my guests. Right. And it's and if I take the might be 15 minutes to get the reply to mean what you want it to mean, then it doesn't end now. Very often, Robin, it's a Chris, I'm so sorry. Yeah, love your podcast, mate. Love what you do, right? It's the same when I meet someone in public. And I happen to know. What they've been saying in, you know, behind my back and it is. Are you Chris full? Oh, I love your OK. And yeah, I flew all the way to Hong Kong to have one of those those type meetings. Believe that's quite that you walk into a.  Not not not that I but when people do that, when people do that, it says so much to the public about them. It says nothing about you. And there's there's one individual in the whole world who spends an awful lot of his time and energy doing that to me. And all he's doing is telling everybody what he is rather than what I am.  Then just ignore it. It really is it can be tough.   What I was. What I'm sort of thinking now is it's like, dude, I could spend 50 minutes replying. You wrote if you're going to be one of these people that just comes back and you haven't completely haven't either listened to what I said or been gracious. Sorry, dude, you're gone. It's because I could be with my son and then it gets to the point where I've been where who should you be replying to? And it gets hard because some people are very kind. They say, Chris, and they'll write a whole thing. And at the end, I say, look, please don't reply to me. I know you're busy and they get it, right? Others send me 30 video links. Videos are an hour and a half each. And I think you don't really understand what what the life of a content producer is like. What it takes to to try to try to make a success of something in this world without having a, you know, outside of a job. I don't have a time to watch a half hour video that I want to watch, let alone to watch 32 hour videos that I don't get me wrong, folks. I appreciate the connection. But it does get to the point where who should you be replying to?  And I've already spent too much time. Yeah. And I get I get people complaining that I don't respond to them. And so I'll put up a general post saying, guys, you know, I'd love to respond to everybody. But sometimes I'll get I'll get six or seven hundred different comments in a day. And, you know, I can't. But I do scan through them to see if it's anything of, you know, that I I think is of great importance, but you can't reply to everybody much as you'd like to. And the same goes for people who will send you links. Well, if you've got a link, stick it up on stick it up on Facebook. Don't send it to me on Messenger, you know, because it's not enough hours in the day and I've got a life, too. Yeah, I'm having to start to get team members involved now. But I've got wonderful people on the on the on the team because there just there isn't enough hours in the day is there. That it's not it becomes not fair on you in the end, because I can sit here, get to the end of a day. I might have been up since, well, this morning I was up. Four. Outrunning, I think, by half four shower for five. Then I'll sit down at the computer and I can still be here at 10 o'clock at night. And I've not done one single piece of work. I've just spent it replying to this. They see the emails that just keep coming, the comments, keep coming, the messages. And you've got to ask yourself, hang on, what am I? Do I produce stuff or do I just don't think there's a definitely think there's a way to get a balance? I can understand people like the Joe, Joe Rogan and who. Yeah, he just. Doesn't reply to any think he's got. You need to when you get to that level of celebrity, you just need to let people know that, you know, you're you're seeing their stuff, but you haven't got time to get back to them and carry on and not worry about it because five minutes later they've written it and they're not worried about you. Yeah, and if somebody's doing something negative, sometimes they're just getting some kind of satisfaction prompting a response from you anyway. People people who put up an insult shouldn't expect you to read the next sentence because I don't.  It's blocked and deleted. The rest of it doesn't count. It's very sad that there's so many unhappy people in this modern life is creating more of this. There was a time if you engage, interact with another person, you had to be polite. It's just the way it was. If you didn't get one of those and then you went, you know what, I'm actually going to be a bit more polite in it. But yeah, funny, funny life, isn't it? Well, it's something you mentioned earlier on about doing your ten secrets for success and there's exactly that point in it.  Did you say in the past you were watching Top of the Pops? Oh, yeah, definitely. Abba. Abba. Well, yeah, I get that. I just I would pitch you more watching cooking, cooking programs. And I had to watch what everybody else had to watch. You had a television room with one television in it that you were allowed to watch on a Wednesday night. And you went in there and put Top of the Pops was on. And that's when I was a boy soldier. And of course, you know, 15, 16 year old boys and Abba, they go together very, very well. And that's what everybody wanted to watch and probably need to. My day was all videos. So can you imagine trying to watch the watch till the end of a film when your guard shift changes every four hours? It's almost almost a bit necky to put a film on because you're going to watch it. But half of these guys are only going to get only going to watch. Well, before videos, we had books. One of the books I read as the boy soldier was The Exorcist. And, you know, I was 16, 16 and a half when I was reading it. Scary book, scary book to read. I mean, the film, OK, everyone was kicking up hell about the film and people parading outside cinemas and saying how terrible and destructive it was. But 16 year old reading that book. Yeah, I remember that. That was that was quite a book.  That's why it's something real that you can hold on to as well, rather than a book, you know, much as I sell my books on Kindle, not worry a poet because because it's illustrated and you can't really get those illustrations across very well on Kindle. But so that's going to be that's going to be what it is. Now, that's going to be what it is. That photograph was taken on Mount Longdon. It's an artistic expression of a photograph. But that was taken on Mount Longdon by one of my opera two sergeants called Graham Colbeck, and he's credited at the beginning of the book for that. So it's an actual it's not an it's not an imaginary scene. It's a real scene. I just I'd encourage anybody to read Vince Brownlee's book. I think it's called Excursion to Hell. As I said, I'm not sure if I said it in this podcast or the one before. But it's if you look at the description below this video that says Christopher's shop and all the books in the podcast you can find there. And there's also all the books that I've loved in my life that really have helped shape the person that I've become. Someone that's just massively wanted to see the whole world in latter life who's taken up the sort of extreme endurance stuff. It's all off the back of our reader book and go, I want to do that. Yeah, Vince, Vince Brownlee's book about mainly centres on the attack on Mount Longdon. And it's just an eye opener, a real, real eye opener.   I'm not putting anything down, but it's the last time that the Air Force, the Navy and the Army were involved in together in combined operations and in a scenario that was straight out of, in some ways, the Second World War. It really was.  Everybody did, mate. I when I got picked up, I parachuted into the sea and got picked up by the Andromeda and the morale and the spirit of the Matlows, the Navy guys was tremendous.  You know, I just want one of them gave me his bunk to lay on because I get seasick very, very easily and brought me tea and everything. You weren't with Bob Shepard by any chance, were you? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I spoke to I was on the phone to Bob a couple of days ago. He's been in New York now. Yeah, I'm in touch with him, yeah. He said he's come with friends. He's coming on the show in a couple of weeks time. He said, yeah, we parachuted into the sea. I'm like, well, slow, slow, slow, slow down. Well, you can't do this on the podcast. You've got to do. Want to tell us a bit more about that, Robin, because it really sounds. Well, we we were coming towards the end of the campaign and we were supposed to go into Argentina and on a one way mission to take out the jets that were sinking our ships. But the mission finally got canceled. So our commanding officer managed to get us permission to fly down and do another mission coming into possibly coming into Port Stanley from the rear. But so there were two aircraft with sixty five as their soldiers bursting to get into the war still flying down one of the aircraft's refueling nozzle broke. So that one had to turn back to now there's thirty five of us. And we get down there and all our equipment has been prepared by the ref in one some boxes to go out the back on heavy drop parachutes. So we're all standing there waiting to jump out in dry suits. Out goes the out goes all our equipment and all the parachutes come on. And so and we follow it out and all our equipment is bombing the ships that are waiting in the fleet to pick us up. So there we are. You know, thirty five men from B Squadron twenty two SES arrived to take part in the war and our kit. Most of our kit goes to the bottom of the ocean. We get picked up and put on the ship. But the Argentinians, fair to fair, the Argentinians heard that these thirty men from B Squadron twenty two SES had arrived and two days later they surrendered. So job done. Hey, they're only human, mate. I tell you what, if any country wants to get kitted out for for for for a conflict, just hoover up the bottom of the South Atlantic, isn't it? I think all of our a lot of our equipment went went down there, sadly. You know, a lot of a lot of good ships, a lot of good men as well. And a lot of good good Chinooks, wasn't it? Well, the Atlantic conveyor was first hit when it was in San Carlos, and went down with our sea areas. Yeah. Yeah, incredible, incredible. We do our ten points. Yes, let's bring this part to a close, because I'll put that out as a as a as a as a as a separate one. So, Robin, here's the book, folks, to our dear friends at home. Warrior poet, a soldier's songs highly, highly recommended. Give this to definitely give this to any veteran. And now that would be something that they will will treasure. But as I said earlier, I think it's to be appreciated by by everybody. If I could ask you all at home, please like and subscribe so we can keep keep building the channel and have more enlightening and educating chats like that, that would be wonderful. And Robin, until the next time.


Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the U.S. Naval War College graduation ceremony. I'm Captain Cindy Dieterly, the Dean of Students, and will be serving as the MC for today's ceremony. You are welcome to take pictures at any time. We have official photographers taking pictures today, and you will find those photos posted on our Flickr site for you to download. At this time, as a courtesy, please put your cell phones on silent or vibrate. Please remain seated for the student procession. Please rise and remain standing for the arrival of the official party, national anthem, and the invocation. The national anthem will be sung by musician second class Holden Moyer from the Navy Band Northeast. Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming, And the rocket's red glare, Commander Richard Smothers, Command Chaplain, Naval Station Newport will deliver the invocation. Everyone to whom much was given of them much will be required, and from them to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. Lord, as these graduates complete this season of learning, we thank you for each of them. Their pursuit of mastery in the profession of arms has led them through a challenging season of education aboard the Naval War College. We pray for each graduate that mission success with enduring honor will be their legacy. May they and their loved ones experience great encouragement because of their time aboard. We give thanks today for the Naval War College team, staff, researchers, instructors, and students. May their tireless efforts bear much fruit for just and noble service in the years to come. Lord, now please bless those who will speak in this hour. May their words challenge and empower us to be men and women of integrity, zeal, honor, and fidelity personally and professionally. We ask these blessings humbly and gratefully. In your mighty name, amen. Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. It gives me great pleasure to introduce the members of our official party. Professor Sean Hensler, Deputy Dean, College of Maritime Operational Warfare. Dr. Dean Peter Dutton, Interim Dean, Center for Naval Warfare Studies. Rear Admiral retired Margaret Klein, Dean, College of Leadership and Ethics. Professor Walt Wilderman, Dean, College of Distance Education. Professor Thomas Mangold, Dean, International Programs and Maritime Security Cooperation. Dr. Tim Schulz, Associate Dean of Academics. Dr. Jay Hickey, Interim Provost, United States Naval War College. Captain Patrick Kulakowski, Professor, Strategic and Operational Research Department. And Rear Admiral Shoshana S. Chatfield, the 57th President of the United States Naval War College. Several years ago, we began a tradition at the US Naval War College of allowing the graduating student body to nominate their guest speaker from amongst all the talented professionals at the college. I would like to ask graduating student Commander Matthew Hefinger to introduce your faculty guest speaker. Matt. Admiral, faculty and staff, guests, fellow graduates. It's my privilege to introduce Captain Patrick Kulakowski, United States Navy as a guest speaker for our graduation. Captain K is a career service warfare officer with a subspecialty in nuclear propulsion. He has served on three cruisers and two carriers and he commanded the USS car. In addition to a number of other staff assignments, he was the officer in charge of the Atlantic surface nuclear propulsion mobile training team, maintaining the safety of our nuclear fleet, as well as the NORAD Maritime Warning Chief responsible for early warning to both Canada and the United States of any maritime threats North America. Here at the Naval War College, Captain K is the Deputy Director of the Russian Maritime Studies Institute and the Director of the Holloway Advanced Research Program, which is a Russia focused war game. As I'm sure everyone has seen in the news lately, this has become much more topical than it was when we started classes. The Naval War College is an academic institution, but a unique one that is designed to train military leaders at the graduate level. Operationalizing academic concepts and putting them into practice can be far more complicated than it sometimes seems in the classroom, but that's why we're here. We're expected to apply Sun Tzu and Class Switch to the real world, navigate the interagency process and drive the planning of military operations. Captain K is the one that operationalized the Holloway War Game for us, making it more than just an academic exercise. His example in translating numbers and data into something real says an example for how we can use our education in the future. Those of us that had the opportunity to learn from him are very grateful for it. Captain K, thank you for speaking today. Ladies and gentlemen, Captain Kulikowski. So Matt, thanks for that introduction. It was more than I deserve. Admiral Chatfield, distinguished guests, colleagues, graduates and families, thank you for this opportunity to talk to the student body today. So I didn't plan on talking about it, but it was a rough day for me yesterday. We all know bad things come in three. So there was potential for bad things to happen today. So if you have cameras, get them ready, I could topple off the stage. So it began yesterday when I, Charlie Brown in the parking lot ended up on my back, couldn't breathe for a few minutes. That was exciting. Last night, my pit bull at seven o'clock at night decided to run off on me. So two hours later, I was in shorts and a sweatshirt. Two hours later, I got him back. So those are my two bad things. And if you didn't know, it was pretty cold last night. All right, so I don't know how you got me as your guest speaker. Only the Dean of Students truly knows the process that went on behind the scenes. But, you know, I just want to note this command is filled with lots of talented people. Many who are more, way more elegant than me, more thoughtful and better at communicating their thoughts. But somehow you got me today. So I'm not going to attempt to hide it. I'm not the most prolific speaker, but I got a few things for you. I think you can take away, should depart, go over the bridges. Just want to relate to the Dean of Students what happened when I was chosen. So it was like a sting operation. I was in my office and out of nowhere come students and the Dean of Students. And they just all started moving towards me. Do I know what a sting operation is like? Yes, I have actually been in the sting operation in 1993. If you'd like to talk about it afterwards, I'll give you that story. So she really thought I was going to try to back out of this. But quite frankly, if the students want me to speak and they were touched by me in some way, then I am here to speak and carry out my duty. And then after I graciously accept that I got my wallets and key back. So that helped too. All right, so I have an overwhelming need for transparency as my students know, as my wife knows and regrets many times as I tell lots of things that she wishes I wouldn't. But I will tell you this is my first graduation ceremony since 1988. And I don't remember it. I know there's pictures of me at my high school graduation in 1988. So I definitely was there, but was said I am not sure. So I was behind the eight ball about what the guest speaker was supposed to talk about. So lacking experiences watching guest speakers over the year, I went to my go to place YouTube. So I keyed up the first video that came up, and I felt like it was a flashback to the Seinfeld Festivus episode. I got a problem with you people. And I decided that is probably not something I want to do today. Second one was a little touchy feely. I'm not a very touchy feely person, so that probably wasn't the way to go either. So I gave up on YouTube, watch a couple more videos, but is it is what it is. So then I went to my Facebook community. So I got lots of friends out there, lots of previous people I've served with. I got enlisted people chiefs in there. I got senior officers, I got mid grade officers and I reached out to them and told them what I'd be doing today. And said hey, I need a little bit of help here. What should I talk about. And wow, I received dozens and dozens of comments, truly tremendous outpouring of responses, all just not appropriate for this venue. So then I thought about it and said okay, if I'm sitting in the audience with you guys, as you, what would I want to hear about. So I sat down and thought it through.  I came up with a list of five. So those five things I'll hit on, well I'll show this four because my wife nixed one of my five. So we won't hear about that. I'm also not going to quote behind. I won't talk about any historic naval battles or the planning process. You probably got your fill of that for now. All right, so before I go on further I want to address the most important people in the room which is not the front of the room, it's the families in the back. I want you, we can't do this. You're essential. And families I also mean friends. I don't know if it's a New England thing but I have lots of aunts, uncles and cousins who are related to me in no way at all.  So I'm sure you hear from your service member regularly how much you support them through good times and bad times. But if not, I'm here to thank you for what you do to support the armed forces when we're out there. Sometimes it's really challenging. You're fixated on what you're doing on the ship or the unit and the problem and you come home and you're still thinking about that. And the family has to deal with that. And they do and they support you. Sometimes when we're deployed and we're away and we can't be here to support the families as well. The most important thing I think the families do is to cut us down to size when we think we're up to here right we think we're all that. If that's never happened in your life before at some point that'll happen where you think you're all that you have all the answers and your families there and your friends are there to tell you. Come on come back down to earth. Be grounded. So the family members who were in Rhode Island with your service member hope you guys got out to enjoy my portion of the country. I know COVID presented a lot of challenges. But there's a lot to do in this area. Hope you get back as well. All right. Topic one. The value of any war college. So more about me. I did not attend the naval war college. Although I had orders to the naval war college I got about three weeks out when big Navy decided I had to go to the nuclear propulsion examining board. So quickly I changed what I was going to do and headed to North and consider lovely Newport had many friends arrive here and try to figure out what happened to me along the way. I explained it all. So although I didn't go here. I'm pretty confident in my first thought. Although the education you receive here is very important. It's not the most important important aspect of your time here. It's not what you learn in the core curriculum. It's not JMO. It's not national security decision making strategy and policy leadership and the profession of arms. As someone who directs who does an elective.  So the most important real value here is everybody in the front and the conversation you guys had together. You know, inner service stuff having a slow talk to an aviator learn what they do having an army guy talk to a Navy guy learn what he does. And then if you have international partners as well that's an opportunity where you should interact. So moving forward. Your grades not the important part of this your degree is not the important part. I think regardless of your grades and how you did here. You have failed if you fail to keep in communications with the rest of your classmates, at least a small country. Right. So keep in touch as you go forward. Fewer students, maybe even one or two faculty. And use these people as you go forward.  You need to find somebody. You know, feel free to reach back to the people you spent time with here and get their advice. See what experiences they've had. Or do what sailors do the best. Complain and just let off some steam when you need to. So stay in contact. Topic two knowledge and personal growth. So this shouldn't be shocking to hear, but you haven't learned everything you need know from this college going forward. You headed out to take charge and lead some very challenging situations. You have to commit to continuous learning. You need to be able to think critically. You need to develop your own personal curriculum, in my opinion, to continue to excel. There's not going to be some structured course for me going forward that's going to teach you everything. So with a commitment to continuous learning, you need to be well rounded. Yes, you need to continue to look at military history, leadership strategy books, lectures, podcasts, but expose yourself to other things. Expose yourself to things that you don't necessarily agree with different perspectives. As many viewpoints as you can get, the better. The more topics, the better. You might have felt that you've achieved a higher plane of knowledge while you've been here and you're ready to go out. Draft some Graham strategy. Maybe develop some old plans from scratch. Make sure that you go back to the basics to you need to know the capability and limitations of your equipment. The forces you'll bring to the fight. And speaking with my arpad on, you need to take time to study your potential adversaries as well. You need to know their equipment. You need to know their weapons. You need to know the tactics. So strategy and big picture thinking is great, but you got to get into the weeds as well. So Halsey Alpha Halsey Bravo and Holloway. We're only able to take a very few amount of students in. I wish everybody could go through one of the ARPs and learn wargaming and get some insights like that, but you can't. So my challenge to those who have attended the ARPs, go forward with that knowledge, take that to your next unit and spread the methods and the things we've taught you there. So I can only touch. I think we had 15 students this time. And if those 15 students go out and teach, you know, another 15 just multiplies and multiplies. That's how we're going to get that job done. Topic three, it's not about you. Right. So I've been through many leadership courses, many command courses, and every time somebody stands up and says it's not about you. Just remember, it's not about you. It's about your people, the mission. So I've sat, I counted it up. I did some brainstorming. I have 14 people I've sat through those classes with who have been fired along the way for doing inappropriate things. Like running aground is one thing, but there's other things you could do that you could prevent. So I want to take a different perspective on that. It's a little bit about you. And I think you need to realize it's a little bit about you. And you need to take time to think about your ego and ambitions. So when you get in some of those situations, you don't follow all those other people have gone before you're doing the bad path. None of us here want to go down the bad path. I'm sure you're all thinking good thoughts now. But it happens. You need to time that time to think about that and prevent it. You're all good people.  That's the topic for the last topic. Everybody's favorite topic is the last topic entitled rules and regulations. So it's critical that you know rules and regulations. And there's a ton of them out to go adhere to. And everybody says, Oh, that's enlightening. Well, I didn't know that. Thanks. So as a surface nuke. I'm in a career path that's known for following the rules strictly following the rules. In fact, we have a whole instruction that tells you the word shall or should mean shall. Right. But I'm going to tell you right now that sometimes you're going to need to break rules. So Patrick twitch it has a quote I like rules are for the guidance of the wise and the obedience of fools.  So I validated rules when I was in command and other places but I knew what the rule was and I knew why I was going to violate it. Sometimes you need to do that. Rules are sometimes capture a picture in time or certain circumstances that might not fit where you find yourself. So you need to use your expertise and your experience and you also need to be prepared to stand up and say, Yeah, I broke that rule. And this is why I did it. And I'll accept the consequences good or bad. And you guys have made it through most of my speech. So war fighters, congratulations on completing this rigorous curriculum at the Naval War College. Thank you for enduring my nasally voice and what these been accent. And best of luck to all of you as you continue to move forward in your careers and continue to do good things out there. And one more thing. For you, those of you driving south today, watch out for those states in Connecticut and New Jersey. Captain Kulakowski on behalf of the students, staff and faculty. I thank you for your comments and your ongoing contributions and service to our country. For each graduating class, one student is selected for recognition as the president's honor graduate recipients of this award are chosen based on their outstanding achievement across a spectrum of disciplines, including academic performance, participation in Naval War College activities, participation in civic and community activities, and promotion of armed government services in the public interest. George Lang, Chief Executive Officer of the Naval War College Foundation, please join Admiral Chatfield in presenting these awards. For the College of Naval Warfare, the honor graduate for the March 2022 graduating class is Colonel Brad hip US Marine Corps, please come up on stage to receive your award. He finished number one of 16. He was JMO and NSDM seminar leader, JMO capstone exercise team lead, NSDM final exercise team leader. He participated in the President's Cup ax throwing competition, the Navy War College winter ball and the New Hampshire US Marine Corps birthday ball. He was also an assistant coach for his son soccer team. For his certificate, the Naval War College will be presenting him a Weems and Plath compass kindly gifted by the Naval War College Foundation. For the College of Naval Command and staff, the honor graduate for the March 2022 graduating class is Lieutenant Commander Ryan pedifer US Navy. Please come up to the stage to receive your award. Colonel pedifer finished number one of 45. He was a TSTM seminar academic rep, providing feedback information analysis, a vital element of ongoing dialogue and academic and operational decision making at the Naval War College. Along with a certificate, the Naval War College will be presenting him a Weems and Plath compass kindly gifted by the Naval War College Foundation. We will now give our honor graduates a few moments to address their fellow graduates and classmates. In the chat field, I've seen faculty and staff fellow students families and honored guests. I'm humbled and honored to receive this recognition. However, I didn't get to hear along. Like most meaningful endeavors success depends on having a robust support network and morale system to keep you motivated, even when your motivation fails. So instead of giving my thoughts on leadership or the future. I just want to thank a few people who have helped me along the way. First faculty, Dr. Nottingham seeing Dr. Gina Palmer stand out amongst them. Nottingham you captured my interest. It gave me a new lifelong career future career path and interest in your China African class. You know, you managed to convince the skeptic and devil's advocate of the importance of the nuanced approach to leadership. That gave me skills and frameworks for continuous growth and self assessment. Next, my fellow classmates, I value your honest and frank debates, both in and out of seminar. I can honestly say I learned as much from you as I did from the coursework itself. And this goes doubly so for our international partners, as well as our interagency classmates. So what's your what's your interests were prior to coming here, but I value that and you give me many things to think about here moving forward. Finally, I'd like to thank my family for the support, patience and encouragement. Your support and sacrifice enabled me to focus on the task of hand. During numerous hours spent reading, writing and researching Rebecca. You've been my first and best editor, you give me frank and honest advice and at times brutal about when my arguments failed to make any semblance of sense. So today, you all have enabled my success and I appreciate that. And finally, I just want to say thank you for the journey. And I wish you all the best in the future. So last Thursday afternoon, our seminar presented our final project for an SDM, and I thought I was done with the Naval War College. Then the students called me on Saturday I was skiing with my family in Vermont, gave me one more assignment, the opportunity to speak here at graduation. So here we are one more assignment. So bear with me. I also really look forward to the feedback on this assignment, which will inevitably be the NWC great job and corresponding grade of 88. Good afternoon Admiral Chatfield distinguished faculty and guests colleagues and most importantly families. In all seriousness it's an absolute honor to take the stage here in spruce throughout our time spruance sorry throughout our time here. Over our 14 months. We've had the service chiefs incredible panels and many excellent lectures from the PhDs across the institution, all of which stimulated deep reflection and taught us a great deal. As off cycle students, we most certainly have the best schedule. We showed up in the heart of COVID and had our warm up trimester SMP for the senior class and JMO for the junior class. Then like real college kids we got a summer break. It was amazing. Like many of you I showed up looking for a break from the high operational tempo of the fleet. And the time off in the summer was just what our families needed. Trimester was a brutal way to start. And I'm thankful to the NWC leadership for shouldering the risk to get us back on campus for our final two trimesters. Getting us back on campus was vital to the most significant advantage to attending the resident program here. That's the friendships and network we've built throughout our time through exposure to the diverse students from 56 nations. With many US agencies and all specialties throughout the armed forces, we've gained worldwide and unique perspectives from the best of the best. These relationships will not maintain themselves. My charge shows of us graduating today is to take the time and energy to maintain those friendships. These bonds may be the advantage that allows our joint force partners and allies to win the fights of the future. Fellow graduates we've accomplished quite a bit in the last year. We've read thousands of pages. We've read thousands of pages of challenging texts, written papers and taken part in rigorous academic exchange. The challenging program most certainly developed and advanced our critical thinking, preparing us for the complicated, complex and wicked problems of the future. The current stability of the world order is in question. Authoritarian governments are on the rise with indications that democracy may be backsliding. If there's anything that we can take away from last week, it's that despotic leaders will attempt to reshape the world order, stepping on the week to meet their objectives. I'm thankful for my time here to study and reflect on warfare and strategy of the past, and to consider warfare and strategy for the coming decades. As graduates of this fine institution, it's our job to ensure our country, its leaders, partners and allies and the joint force are prepared to compete on the world stage. Finally, when required, the officers in this room must be prepared to lead to correction, must be prepared to lead the joint force and fight and win across all domains. With all graduates, congratulations. The hard work has paid off. We made it. To the faculty and staff, thank you for your tireless support that helped all of us make it to graduation. We've learned an incredible amount from you. To our families, it's easy to ask for and justify family sacrifice when we're deployed, working late while leading, leading the operating, leading and operating in the fleet. It's much more difficult to ask for isolation to read a book or to write a paper. Thank you for your support and understanding over the last year. Finally, fellow graduates, good luck as you move on to your subsequent assignments. I hope our paths cross again soon. First of all, a master of arts degree in national security and strategic studies or defense and strategic studies as appropriate will now be conferred to the graduates. Will the graduates please rise and remain in place. For Admiral Chatfield, please approach the podium. Admiral, I have the honor to present the March graduates of the United States Naval War College candidates for the master of arts in national security and strategic studies or defense and strategic studies. They have been thoroughly examined and approved by the faculty. By the power vested in me by the Congress of the United States, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the New England Commission of Higher Education. I confer upon you the appropriate degrees and diplomas from the United States Naval War College with all the honors, rights, and privileges pertaining thereto. It's the March 2022 graduates of the United States Naval War College. Thank you Admiral graduates please be seated. Beyond the requirements for graduation, certain individuals have distinguished themselves through academic excellence. For those in the top 5%, they are receiving a diploma with highest distinction. Those in the next 15% will receive a diploma with distinction. Graduates will now receive their diplomas. Graduates please proceed to the stage as your name is read. Guests are welcome to come forward to take pictures. Please try to hold your applause until all names have been read. Rear Admiral Chatfield, Captain Kulakowski, Dr. Hickey, and Dr. Schultz please rise. Presenting the graduating members of the College of Naval Warfare. Captain David Blouser, U.S. Navy. Colonel Donald Brayman, U.S. Army. Captain Andrew Cook, U.S. Navy. Commander Edward David, U.S. Navy. Commander Harry Evans, U.S. Navy. Commander Andrew Gerla, U.S. Navy. Colonel Brad Hip, U.S. Marine Corps with highest distinction. Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Keane, U.S. Army National Guard with distinction. Commander Craig Macklemore, U.S. Navy with distinction. Captain Todd Santella, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Schaefer, U.S. Army Reserve. Commander Richard Smith, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Colonel Scott Steffen, U.S. Marine Corps with distinction. Commander Nicholas Walker, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Walters, U.S. Army Reserve. Presenting the graduating members of the College of Naval Command and Staff. Lieutenant Commander David Botwin, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Commander Shane Brenner, U.S. Navy. Major Andrew Kaley, U.S. Army. Major Matthew Darnley, U.S. Army. Major Jason Decker, U.S. Army. Major Darrell Diltz, U.S. Army. Lieutenant Commander Mark Edson, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Commander William Fenerman, U.S. Navy with distinction. Lieutenant Commander Alexander Glass, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Joshua Gray, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Commander Mark Grissom, U.S. Navy with distinction. Lieutenant Commander Donald Hampton, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Matthew Harvey, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Commander Timothy Henkin, U.S. Navy with highest distinction. Commander Matthew Heffinger, U.S. Navy with distinction. Lieutenant Commander Thomas Hoffman, U.S. Navy. Major Todd Horvath, U.S. Army Reserve. Lieutenant Commander Michael Jennings, U.S. Navy. Major Randall Kizer, U.S. Army National Guard. Major Jesse Kopchinsky, U.S. Army National Guard. Lieutenant Commander William Light, U.S. Navy. Major Alex Longo, U.S. Army Reserve. Lieutenant Commander Colin Lubey, U.S. Navy with distinction. Lieutenant Commander Christopher Martin, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Commander Luis Martinez, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Commander Kyle Mason, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Commander Michael Melser, U.S. Navy. Commander Antonia Miggins, U.S. Navy. Major James Moore, U.S. Army Reserve. Lieutenant Commander Timothy Motlow, U.S. Navy. Major Jacob Oates, U.S. Army. Lieutenant Commander Ryan Pettifer, U.S. Navy with highest distinction. Major Joshua Phyllis, U.S. Army National Guard. Major Brian Quinn, U.S. Army with highest distinction. Commander Catherine Burke-Repart, U.S. Navy with distinction. Lieutenant Commander Kevin Schroet, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Commander Craig Searles, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Commander Devin Snyder, U.S. Navy. Major Michael Spasic, U.S. Army National Guard with distinction. Lieutenant Commander Nathan Stein, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Christine Walker, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Commander Timothy Warburton, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Commander Eric Wright, U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Commander Andrew Wyman, U.S. Navy with distinction. Ladies and gentlemen, please join us in another round of applause for our graduates, honorees, and their families. Your Admiral Chatfield will now issue the charge to the graduates. Admiral?  What a fantastic day it is. I want to welcome you all again. I want to recognize our C&O Distinguished Fellows Admiral Guillermo Barrera, Admiral Nirmal Verma, Admiral Darsanis. Thank you for all you've done to enrich the lives of our students. I'd also like to recognize our Interim Provost Jay Hickey, our deans and chairs, our incredible faculty and staff, all of our graduates, and families and friends. Before I begin, let's just whoop it up one more time for these graduates. Boy, I really loved hearing from Captain Kulikowski. Thank you for your remarks to all of our graduates, to all of those assembled here and watching virtually. Thanks for the message. It really came from the heart and from the experience that you have. And I know that they'll appreciate it as they go on to higher levels of achievement and responsibility in their services within the Department of Defense, and continue to do valuable work with our interagency and our international partners. To George Lang, our Chief Executive Officer of the Naval War College Foundation, to you and your staff, to the wonderful and community-minded trustees and members of the Foundation, thank you for all of your generous gifts this year. It really provided critical funding for our programs. It's enriched and enhanced the initiatives that we have and the quality of life and educational experience of our students here at the college. To all those who work as faculty and staff, I know that you are cheering every time we see a graduate cross the stage. That confirms our purpose and mission here at the college, our efforts. And I wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving all that you do for the tremendous experience in education that our graduates walk away with. And now to our dedicated families. I know we've already heard from Captain Kulikowski. The families and loved ones, we rely so much on you, your love, your support, and sort of the patience and endurance that you have for how we are called and what we are called to do. You enable our warfighters to do those incredible things and develop the ability to protect and serve our great nation. We know that the pandemic has affected each of you and your families. It's affected your quality of life with COVID came very difficult decisions and transitions that you might not have made otherwise. For those who accompanied your student to Newport. We, we really appreciate the move, even on a short timeline, less than a year for this tour. And it adds additional stress to your families to have to settle in and then to have to move again. So thank you for that. And for all of you who supported your student from afar. We know that the separate that the separation that you endured added to your stressors this year, and that you've missed those personal touches that only come with face to face interaction and intimacy. Thank you all for supporting your service and your graduate. And to all of our spring 2022 are March graduates, you are now graduates of the United States Naval War College. For the last year you've been part of this colleges great mission. You've committed to education research and outreach, and now as graduates it's your responsibility to use your knowledge, as you return to the dynamic security environment that you will find yourselves in. And to serve your subordinates well. And to grow and develop as warfighters. You're provided with a new set of tools here. You're freshly honed. You're able to anticipate and prepare for the future. During your time here at the Naval War College. We've helped you to develop vertically and horizontally as leaders and warfighters. Our goal was to increase your knowledge by exposing you to new ideas concepts and perspectives. This would help you develop a greater cognitive capacity and help you enable you to succeed in a complex security environment. We've provided you new lenses and models to understand the world around you. And with that new skill set, we are counting on you to help strengthen the foundations of peace and to create a decisive warfighting advantage for the United States for our maritime partners and our allies. You see the United States is a maritime nation. Our security and prosperity depend on the seas. As President Biden stated in his March 2021 international security guidance, our world is at an inflection point. The United States must renew its enduring advantages so that we can meet today's challenges from a position of strength. As stated in our tri-service maritime strategy. Our service chiefs have committed to working together to build, lead and advance a rules based international system through shared commitments with our allies and partners. To maintain a naval force that is ready to defend our shores, maintain sea control and protect our national security and economic interests. You have only to turn on your television today to understand that this, this has never been more important than it is today. Graduates, we have loaded you up with academic concepts, theories, case studies, etc. It was your own self reflection, your own conversation with peers, your own personal growth that supported your vertical development as an ethical leader in the profession of arms. We provided the venues and opportunities for you to build a strong worldwide network of maritime partnerships, united in common purpose and with a relentless drive to anticipate, think creatively and lead through change. Your careers as service members have been filled so far with unpredictability and momentous change. Yet example after example proved to us that a dynamic reality can be leveraged for good as long as we support each other and keep our energy and our efforts directed toward a higher vision and clearly identified objectives. Our leaders have made clear that continuous learning is a strategic enabler. An enabler to the success of our fighting forces to the success of our interagency and to the success of our international partners. This year of education is a direct investment into gaining war fighting advantage and advances in the maritime environment. The development of our soldiers sailors marines airmen guardians and coasts guardmen are our most important consequential endeavor. Every one of our service members brings different and special contributions to our teams. Cultivating a high performing and innovative workforce built on the foundations of diversity and inclusion starts at the top, and it must be carried out by you, our frontline leaders. Set the example of inclusive leadership and hold your standards high for those around you. In order to create high performing and organizations, you are going to need to be able to tap into the energy and capabilities of all of your war fighters, valuing and integrating individual perspectives ideas and contributions. This type of inclusive leadership will cast new light on existing challenges and future obstacles and enable your units to maximize their potential. My charge to you, as you return to your operational positions throughout the world is to lean on and utilize the new tools that you worked on here. Analyze how we fight frame problems, develop and assess solutions and build winning teams. Although your academic year here in Newport is only a small slice of the continuum of learning that will take place throughout your career, you must continue to invest in personal and professional development for yourself, and for those you lead. So find time to continue to access our faculty and the content that we continue to generate here at the Naval War College. We have lots of content and reminders for you available through our YouTube channel and through your connection via hybrid lectures and our conferences. We know that our service leaders, we know that our service leaders have identified key traits that are sought in joint officers. Collaboration, integration, innovation. So do not be content to sit comfortably in your subject matter expertise. Press out to the edges seek opportunities to interact with others whose specialties and knowledge and viewpoints differ from yours. That is where innovative ideas are born, and those ideas just might be the key to our future success. Don't return to the old habits you had make a new habit in your work life that reminds you to access the knowledge and experience that you've gained here. New practices of intellectual engagement, wider sources and perspectives to access improved analytical skills. And lastly, you have spent the year here attaining a higher level of oral and written expression. Take the time to invest in building those skills in the high performing teammates you lead. Your job here is not complete because you are now members of the United States Naval War College alumni. It goes back 137 years. I encourage you to stay connected and engaged with each other and with us. Reach out and find those other Naval War College graduates within the Naval Joint Interagency and International Alumni. Among this group cultivate lifelong partnerships based on respect for diverse perspectives and enhanced by your mutual beliefs in upholding the principles of democracy. Of territorial integrity of sovereignty of respect for the international rules based order. And of working together collaboratively to enhance war fighting effectiveness and interoperability. We will continue to ask for your feedback as you navigate your future assignments. We hope that you will communicate with us. And that those pearls that you share with us will inform future changes to our curriculum and continue to enable improvements in our delivery of excellence in education research and outreach. I'd like to conclude my remarks by once again addressing our families and friends here today. Thank you so much for being the pillar of strength for your graduate. And for taking the time to share in the successes today. It's a momentous achievement. To all of our March graduates. Congratulations to those Navy types. We've done a really great job here and we wish you the best of luck. Congratulations. Please rise and remain standing for the benediction and the departure of the official party. Eternal Father, Almighty God, may we never forget the high privileges and weighty responsibilities entrusted to us as we serve and lead. Grant to each warrior family represented here your grace, strength and joy each day. And may each of these graduates go out in joy and be led forth in peace. Grant to them safe journeys to the next place of service and may each of us honor you, our great Creator God and everything we do each day. For all of these things we pray confidently in your most holy name. Amen. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our graduation ceremony. Thank you for joining us this afternoon.