Recorded at | April 23, 2011 |
---|---|
Event | TEDxIslay |
Duration (min:sec) | 18:25 |
Video Type | TEDx Talk |
Words per minute | 217.52 very fast |
Readability (FK) | 65.15 very easy |
Speaker | Keith Nolan |
Description | teacher; deafness rights campaigner |
Official TED page for this talk
Synopsis
Keith Nolan always wanted to join the United States military. The challenge: he is Deaf, which is an automatic disqualification according to military rules. In this talk, he describes his fight to fight for his country. (In American Sign Language with real-time interpretation by Rita Alexander)
1 | 00:10 | (Interpreter voice-over) Hello, everyone. My name is Keith Nolan. | ||
2 | 00:14 | I’m a cadet private. | ||
3 | 00:19 | My talk today is on the topic of the military. | ||
4 | 00:23 | How many of you out there thought you’d ever like to join the military? | ||
5 | 00:27 | I see a number of you nodding. | ||
6 | 00:29 | And I thought the same thing ever since I was young. | ||
7 | 00:31 | Growing up, I’d always wanted to join the military. | ||
8 | 00:35 | I loved military history and I’ve read a great deal on the subject. | ||
9 | 00:39 | Also, I have various family members, such as my grandfather and great uncle, who fought in World War II. | ||
10 | 00:45 | And like them, I wanted the same thing: to serve my country. | ||
11 | 00:48 | So the question is: Can I? | ||
12 | 00:50 | No, I can’t. | ||
13 | 00:51 | Why? Simply because I’m deaf. | ||
14 | 00:54 | Regardless of that fact, I still had that longing to join the military. | ||
15 | 01:00 | For example, after I graduated from high school, three months before 9/11 occurred, I went to a naval recruiting center with high hopes of joining the navy. | ||
16 | 01:10 | I went in and a strapping naval man stood up and addressed me. | ||
17 | 01:14 | As he was speaking to me, it was impossible for me to read his lips, so I said, “I'm sorry, I’m deaf.” | ||
18 | 01:22 | He tore off a little piece of paper and wrote down three words: “Bad ear. Disqual.” | ||
19 | 01:28 | He didn't even fully spell out "Disqualified," just: “Bad ear. Disqual.” | ||
20 | 01:33 | So I went on my way. | ||
21 | 01:36 | I tried various locations a number of different times, trying to join, but over and over again, I got the same response: “Sorry, you’re deaf. We can’t accept you.” | ||
22 | 01:44 | So I shifted gears and decided to become a teacher. | ||
23 | 01:47 | I completed a master's in deaf education and taught for almost two years, until this past spring, when three things occurred that changed that course, the first of which, while I was teaching a high school history class. | ||
24 | 01:59 | I’d lectured on the Mexican-American War. | ||
25 | 02:01 | The bell had rung, and I was seated at my desk, when one of my students, who is deaf, approached me and said that he’d like to join the military. | ||
26 | 02:09 | I said, “Ah, sorry. You can’t. You're deaf.” | ||
27 | 02:12 | Then I caught myself. | ||
28 | 02:13 | It struck me that all along I had been told no, I can’t, and now I was perpetuating that same message to the next generation, to my own student. | ||
29 | 02:21 | That realization had a large impact that really resonated with me. | ||
30 | 02:25 | Now, the second thing that happened, my friend had just moved to Israel. | ||
31 | 02:28 | Did you know that in Israel they accept deaf people into the military? | ||
32 | 02:32 | How can deaf people be in the military, right? | ||
33 | 02:34 | Could this really be true? Come on! | ||
34 | 02:36 | Well, I went to Israel last summer to see for myself. | ||
35 | 02:39 | I interviewed 10 deaf Israeli soldiers, all of those video interviews and questions I’ve compiled, and the findings, I’ll share with you later. | ||
36 | 02:48 | Thirdly, CSUN here, my alma mater, had recently started up an Army ROTC program. | ||
37 | 02:54 | ROTC, which stands for Reserve Officer Training Corps, allows students working on their college majors to concurrently participate in the ROTC program. | ||
38 | 03:04 | Upon graduation, ROTC students have a military career ready and waiting for them. | ||
39 | 03:09 | So if one joined the army, one could commission as a second lieutenant. | ||
40 | 03:13 | That's generally the ROTC program here at CSUN. | ||
41 | 03:16 | Having learned that, I was intrigued. | ||
42 | 03:18 | I already had a profession as a teacher, but I went ahead anyway and sent an email off to the program, explaining that I was a teacher of the deaf, wondering if I could take a few classes with them and perhaps share their lessons with my students. | ||
43 | 03:30 | I got an email response back, and surprisingly, it was the first time that I wasn't told, "Sorry, no, you can’t. You’re deaf." | ||
44 | 03:38 | It said, "Well, that's interesting. | ||
45 | 03:40 | I think maybe we can work something out and you can take a few classes with us." | ||
46 | 03:45 | This was unprecedented. | ||
47 | 03:47 | So naturally, I was shocked. | ||
48 | 03:49 | Although I was teaching, I decided I had to grab the opportunity right away and get my foot in the door. | ||
49 | 03:54 | Altogether, that's how it transpired. | ||
50 | 03:56 | Now, with all my life experiences, having talked with all the people I had, and given everything I’ve read, I decided to write a research paper called “Deaf in the Military.” | ||
51 | 04:06 | I'll share with you what those 98 pages entail. | ||
52 | 04:11 | Here in America, we’ve actually had deaf soldiers serving in the past. | ||
53 | 04:15 | In fact, during the Texas War of Independence, there was a key character named Deaf Smith, who made a large contribution to that war effort. | ||
54 | 04:23 | For the American Civil War, Gallaudet University actually has archived a list of deaf soldiers in that war from the North and the South, showing that deaf soldiers were even fighting against each other. | ||
55 | 04:34 | During World War II, there are a few rare examples of deaf people who made it into the military at that time and were able to serve their country as well. | ||
56 | 04:42 | History illustrates the fact that America has had deaf soldiers, in contrast to today. | ||
57 | 04:46 | In my paper, I also discuss the deaf Israeli soldiers. | ||
58 | 04:50 | I learned that they serve in non-combat roles. | ||
59 | 04:53 | The deaf soldiers are not on the front lines engaged in fire, but rather, are behind the lines serving in supportive roles. | ||
60 | 04:59 | There are a plethora of various non-combat jobs accessible to the deaf: intelligence, computer technology, map drawing, supply, military dog training -- the list goes on. | ||
61 | 05:09 | The communication between deaf Israeli soldiers and other soldiers who are hearing is carried out with the same approaches deaf people in general use with the hearing public on a daily basis. | ||
62 | 05:19 | You can use your voice, lip-read, gestures, sometimes another soldier knows sign language and that can be utilized, pen and paper, texts, computers, emails -- seriously, there’s no magic wand necessary. | ||
63 | 05:30 | It's the same thing we do every day. | ||
64 | 05:32 | Interpreters are used there primarily for boot camp training. | ||
65 | 05:35 | For the average work, it’s not necessary to have an interpreter by your side. | ||
66 | 05:39 | The Israeli Army is comprised of small groups. | ||
67 | 05:41 | Each of these units with deaf soldiers have developed their own way of communicating with each other, so there’s no need for interpreters. | ||
68 | 05:49 | The top picture is of one soldier I met. | ||
69 | 05:52 | The bottom photo is of Prime Minister Begin with a deaf soldier in Israel. | ||
70 | 05:58 | Another part of my paper touches on disabled soldiers in the US Military. | ||
71 | 06:02 | Obviously, military work can be dangerous and involve injury. | ||
72 | 06:06 | One example here is Captain Luckett. | ||
73 | 06:09 | Due to an explosion, he lost his leg. | ||
74 | 06:12 | He’s recovered and currently has a prosthetic leg. | ||
75 | 06:15 | Now that he’s strong, he's back in combat, still fighting in Afghanistan. | ||
76 | 06:21 | It’s remarkable. | ||
77 | 06:22 | And guess what? He’s not the only one. | ||
78 | 06:25 | There are 40 other soldiers like him, amputees who are serving in combat zones. | ||
79 | 06:31 | Incredible. | ||
80 | 06:32 | Also, we have a blind soldier here. | ||
81 | 06:34 | While he was in Iraq, an explosion from a suicide car bomber destroyed his eyesight. | ||
82 | 06:40 | He’s recovered and hasn’t left the army. | ||
83 | 06:43 | The army has retained him on active duty, and he’s currently running a hospital for wounded soldiers. | ||
84 | 06:49 | I also found out online about another soldier, who is deaf in one ear. | ||
85 | 06:53 | He’s developed civil programs in Iraq, one of which actually started a school for the deaf in Iraq. | ||
86 | 07:01 | All of this is incredible. | ||
87 | 07:03 | But I am going to ask all of you: If the US Military can retain their disabled soldiers, why can’t they accept disabled citizens as well? | ||
88 | 07:15 | Moreover, out of all the US Military jobs, 80% are non-combat positions. | ||
89 | 07:21 | There are many jobs that we in the Deaf community can do. | ||
90 | 07:24 | If I were to be in the military, I’d like to do intelligence work. | ||
91 | 07:28 | But there is an array of other things we can do, such as mechanics, finance, medicine, etc. | ||
92 | 07:33 | So to summarize, I’ve presented three premises to support my argument, the first being, Israeli defense openly accepts deaf soldiers. | ||
93 | 07:41 | If you have the qualities and skills required, they’ll take you. | ||
94 | 07:44 | Secondly, the US Military has accommodations for retaining their disabled soldiers. | ||
95 | 07:49 | And lastly, 80% of occupations in the military are non-combat. | ||
96 | 07:54 | Now, can we Deaf Americans serve our country? | ||
97 | 07:57 | Yes! Of course! Absolutely, without a doubt! | ||
98 | 08:03 | Now I’ll explain a bit about my experience in the Army ROTC, which began last fall. | ||
99 | 08:08 | I have been involved with that thus far and it’s still going on now. | ||
100 | 08:11 | Really, I need to preface this by saying that this is the first time my battalion had ever had a deaf cadet. | ||
101 | 08:18 | They had never experienced that before. | ||
102 | 08:20 | So of course, they were taken aback, wondering, initially, how I would do this or that, how would we communicate and such, which is a natural reaction, considering that many of them had never interacted with a deaf person prior to me. | ||
103 | 08:33 | Plus, I was taken aback by this -- it was the real thing, the army. | ||
104 | 08:37 | I had to learn a whole new world, full of military jargon, with its own culture and everything. | ||
105 | 08:44 | So we started out slow, getting to know each other and learning how to work together, progressively. | ||
106 | 08:51 | For example, on the first day of class, I had no uniform. | ||
107 | 08:55 | So I showed up in regular clothes, while the other cadets were all in uniform. | ||
108 | 08:59 | I found out that every morning at 5:30, there was physical training, PT. | ||
109 | 09:04 | On Fridays, there would be field training -- labs -- off-campus, and occasionally, we would have weekend training at a military base. | ||
110 | 09:12 | So I showed up, ready, each morning at 5:30, with all the cadets in uniform and me in civilian clothes. | ||
111 | 09:17 | They told me, “Hey, you know, you don't need to work out. | ||
112 | 09:20 | You can just simply take classes.” | ||
113 | 09:22 | I told them I wanted to, anyway. | ||
114 | 09:23 | They acknowledged that, and I continued to show up every morning to train. | ||
115 | 09:27 | When Friday came, I asked if I could do the field training. | ||
116 | 09:30 | I was told no, just stick with class. | ||
117 | 09:32 | I insisted that I wanted to try. | ||
118 | 09:34 | Somewhat reluctantly, they let me attend the lab, but only as an observer; I would only be allowed to sit and watch, not participate. | ||
119 | 09:43 | Alright, so, I showed up on Friday, and watched as the cadets learned marching drill commands, like how to stand at attention, how to properly salute, and all the basics. | ||
120 | 09:51 | I had to ask again if I could join. | ||
121 | 09:54 | Finally, I got the go-ahead. | ||
122 | 09:55 | I went to get in formation. | ||
123 | 09:57 | I figured I better stand in the second line, so I could watch what the cadets were doing in the row ahead of me. | ||
124 | 10:02 | But the officer who opened the door for me to join the ROTC program spotted me in the back and said, “Hey! Uh-uh. I want you in the front. | ||
125 | 10:10 | You want to be a soldier? | ||
126 | 10:12 | You've got to learn the commands just like the rest of them. | ||
127 | 10:15 | You’re not going to follow other people. Learn it yourself!” | ||
128 | 10:17 | I thought, "Wow. | ||
129 | 10:19 | He’s viewing me like any person, giving dignity to who I am." | ||
130 | 10:22 | I was impressed by that. | ||
131 | 10:23 | So as the weeks went by, I still didn’t have a uniform. | ||
132 | 10:26 | I asked if it would be possible to get one, but I was told it wasn't. | ||
133 | 10:30 | So I continued on that way, until one day, I was informed that I’d be getting a uniform. | ||
134 | 10:36 | "Please!" I said, “Really? Why? What changed?” | ||
135 | 10:39 | I was told, “We see your motivation, you show up every morning, dedicated, and always gave a 110% effort.” | ||
136 | 10:45 | They wanted to give me the uniform. | ||
137 | 10:47 | It was remarkable. | ||
138 | 10:49 | We went to the warehouse to get my uniform. | ||
139 | 10:51 | I assumed I’d just get a uniform and a pair of boots, nothing more. | ||
140 | 10:54 | But they filled two duffel bags chock-full of gear: helmet, ammo vest, shovel, sleeping bag -- the whole nine yards. | ||
141 | 11:01 | I was astonished. | ||
142 | 11:03 | And I have to tell you, each morning that I get up and put on my uniform, I feel privileged. | ||
143 | 11:12 | It’s truly an honor to wear the uniform. | ||
144 | 11:16 | So, moving along, when it came time to train at the garrison base, at first, I was told I couldn’t go. | ||
145 | 11:22 | There was concern on the ROTC's part that if the interpreter were to get injured during the training, it would be a liability issue. | ||
146 | 11:29 | So we had to figure out all those issues and confusion, but we worked it out, and in the end, they let me go. | ||
147 | 11:34 | That's how events were unfolding; I was permitted to do more and more. | ||
148 | 11:37 | Once, at the garrison base, during one of the training days, a huge Chinook helicopter with its tandem rotors landed right down to us, forcefully spinning exhilaration in the air. | ||
149 | 11:48 | All of us cadets were supposed to be getting on board. | ||
150 | 11:51 | Everyone was geared up and ready. | ||
151 | 11:53 | However, the cadre had decided I wasn’t going to be able to ride the Chinook. | ||
152 | 11:57 | They were afraid if the pilot shouted out orders, how would I be able to follow the instructions? | ||
153 | 12:02 | I’d potentially cause a disruption. | ||
154 | 12:04 | So I had to stand aside, while the others were filing toward the helicopter. | ||
155 | 12:09 | I could see the cadre huddled up, discussing, mulling it over. | ||
156 | 12:12 | At the last minute, one of them said, “Come on! Get on the helicopter!” | ||
157 | 12:15 | I rushed over and got in. It was such a thrill. | ||
158 | 12:19 | And that was the spirit of learning about and supporting one another that carried over. | ||
159 | 12:24 | And since then, I’ve been involved in everything they do, without any separation. | ||
160 | 12:28 | This is where my passion lies. | ||
161 | 12:30 | I love them. I’ll show you some pictures here. | ||
162 | 12:35 | Bruin Battalion, Bravo Company -- that’s the name of the group I belong to. | ||
163 | 12:38 | The cadre are the officers and sergeants who oversee the ROTC program. | ||
164 | 12:43 | In the beginning, you can see, it was a bit of an awkward phase. | ||
165 | 12:46 | But once they learned more about me and what I’m capable of doing, there's been tremendous support and unity. | ||
166 | 12:52 | The cadets, my fellow peers -- well, when you train and sweat together, you feel the bond of camaraderie right away. | ||
167 | 12:57 | A brother- or sisterly cohesiveness makes them like family. | ||
168 | 13:01 | In training and military science classes, we learn theories of warfare, how to lead soldiers, how to do reconnaissance, strategies, how to knock out a bunker and land navigation, where you’re finding your way out in the mountains. | ||
169 | 13:15 | As far as accommodations, I’ve been provided with interpreters through the National Center on Deafness, NCOD, here at CSUN. | ||
170 | 13:23 | And I really have to thank them, because it's hard to find interpreters who are willing to wake up at 4:30 in the morning, or sometimes even 3:30 in the morning. | ||
171 | 13:31 | That's the officer who emailed me back, saying I think you can have a few classes with us. | ||
172 | 13:36 | That's Lieutenant Mendoza. | ||
173 | 13:39 | That’s my interpreter there, before class starts. | ||
174 | 13:41 | This is a picture from last fall, when we were new to training. | ||
175 | 13:46 | This is Lieutenant Colonel Phelps, this being his name sign. | ||
176 | 13:51 | He's the commanding officer of the entire Bruin Battalion. | ||
177 | 13:55 | Every time I see him walk by, it’s rather inspiring. | ||
178 | 13:58 | I mean, the way he presents himself, you can see he’s the epitome of a soldier. | ||
179 | 14:04 | Plus, he doesn't view me as a deaf person. | ||
180 | 14:07 | He looks at my skills and capabilities instead. | ||
181 | 14:09 | He’s really pushed for me, and I respect him for all that. | ||
182 | 14:12 | That’s me during one of the exercises. | ||
183 | 14:14 | This is that Chinook helicopter I almost didn’t get on. | ||
184 | 14:17 | Every cadet has a mentor. | ||
185 | 14:20 | My mentor is Cinatl. | ||
186 | 14:23 | He’s a really sharp soldier. | ||
187 | 14:25 | He teaches me all the finer points and how to execute them ideally. | ||
188 | 14:30 | This top picture is when a group of us went to Las Vegas to compete in a test, to see if we could match the German troops' physical training standards. | ||
189 | 14:39 | It involved swimming, timed sprints, marksmanship and numerous fitness events. | ||
190 | 14:43 | I passed them and satisfied the requirements to be awarded the gold German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge right here. | ||
191 | 14:51 | This is one of the sergeants, Sergeant Richardson. | ||
192 | 14:53 | I love this guy. He doesn't take baloney from any of us cadets. | ||
193 | 14:59 | Here I am one morning, when we trekked seven and a half miles with a 40-pound rucksack in less than two hours. | ||
194 | 15:07 | Here are a few of my fellow cadets. | ||
195 | 15:10 | I've been with them long enough that I’ve developed name signs for them. | ||
196 | 15:15 | On the right, here, is Trinidad. | ||
197 | 15:17 | I gave him this name sign because he's always very sarcastic. | ||
198 | 15:21 | He's a veteran, having served in Iraq and Afghanistan. | ||
199 | 15:24 | The female is Frigo, whose nickname is "Refrigerator," hence her name sign. | ||
200 | 15:28 | We’re always competing intellectually in class. | ||
201 | 15:31 | The cadet on the end is Jarvy. He's a top athlete. | ||
202 | 15:35 | I've given him this sign because of the scar he has here. | ||
203 | 15:39 | Do you know who this is? | ||
204 | 15:40 | This is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. | ||
205 | 15:43 | He is the highest-ranking military officer and principal military advisor to President Obama and Secretary of Defense Gates. | ||
206 | 15:51 | He gave a talk at UCLA to a full house. | ||
207 | 15:54 | Afterwards, I lined up to shake his hand. | ||
208 | 15:56 | Having done so, I greeted him, “It’s a great pleasure to meet you.” | ||
209 | 15:59 | I signed and my interpreter voiced for me. | ||
210 | 16:01 | Admiral Mullen turned to the interpreter and said, “It’s nice to meet you,” addressing the interpreter, who refrained to clarify. | ||
211 | 16:07 | He seemed a little confused and just quickly moved on to shake hands with the rest of the soldiers. | ||
212 | 16:12 | So I’m not sure whether he really knew that I'm deaf or not. | ||
213 | 16:15 | So everything’s been moving along, gung-ho, full speed ahead, until two weeks ago, when something occurred. | ||
214 | 16:25 | Well, the ROTC has four levels. | ||
215 | 16:28 | I’m currently doing the first two levels, which finishes up this May. | ||
216 | 16:32 | The third level will begin in the fall. | ||
217 | 16:34 | But in order to move up, you need to pass a medical exam. | ||
218 | 16:38 | Obviously, I’m deaf, so I’d fail a hearing test. | ||
219 | 16:44 | So we sat down, and I was told that if I wanted to continue to the third level, I couldn’t do any of the PT workouts in the morning, nor the Friday lab field trainings, nor the army base trainings. | ||
220 | 16:59 | My uniform, I would have to give back as well. | ||
221 | 17:03 | I could take the classes, audit them, and that’s all. | ||
222 | 17:07 | It really hit me. It was a huge blow. | ||
223 | 17:13 | Many of the officers and cadets have empathized with this sudden shock of disappointment, and are wondering why this has to be the case. | ||
224 | 17:22 | Colonel Phelps has tried to speak with the higher-ups in the chain of command and explain to them that I’m one of the top cadets, having passed all the events and receiving high marks on my exams. | ||
225 | 17:32 | But their response is unwavering: policy is policy, and if you’re deaf, you’re disqualified. | ||
226 | 17:38 | I know that the cadre has tried to find various ways. | ||
227 | 17:42 | They found out that there's a deaf cadet at The Citadel, a military college in South Carolina. | ||
228 | 17:50 | That particular cadet will be completing his fourth year there and graduating this May. | ||
229 | 17:54 | Yet, he's in the same predicament that I'm in -- unable to join the army because he’s deaf. | ||
230 | 18:00 | Yet, all of my fellow cadets and the officers have told me not to give up; the policy must change. | ||
231 | 18:06 | I was advised to talk with my congressman. | ||
232 | 18:08 | And I've brought this issue to Henry Waxman, the district congressman here in LA, to get the ball rolling with his advocacy for my cause. | ||
233 | 18:16 | However, I need your help and support to lobby. | ||
234 | 18:18 | All of us, you know? | ||
235 | 18:20 | If you remember back in US history, African-Americans were told they couldn’t join the military, and now they serve. | ||
236 | 18:26 | Women as well were banned, but now they've been allowed. | ||
237 | 18:29 | The military has and is changing. | ||
238 | 18:30 | Today is our time. Now it’s our turn. | ||
239 | 18:33 | Hooah! (Applause) |