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Deaf in the military [Subtitled] | Keith Nolan | TEDxIslay — Transcript

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0:00Transcriber: Translate TED Reviewer: claire ghyselen
0:10(Interpreter voice-over) Hello, everyone. My name is Keith Nolan.
0:14I’m a cadet private.
0:19My talk today is on the topic of the military.
0:23How many of you out there thought you’d ever like to join the military?
0:27I see a number of you nodding.
0:29And I thought the same thing ever since I was young.
0:31Growing up, I’d always wanted to join the military.
0:35I loved military history
0:37and I’ve read a great deal on the subject.
0:39Also, I have various family members, such as my grandfather and great uncle,
0:43who fought in World War II.
0:45And like them, I wanted the same thing: to serve my country.
0:48So the question is: Can I?
0:50No, I can’t.
0:51Why? Simply because I’m deaf.
0:54Regardless of that fact, I still had that longing to join the military.
1:00For example, after I graduated from high school,
1:03three months before 9/11 occurred,
1:06I went to a naval recruiting center with high hopes of joining the navy.
1:10I went in and a strapping naval man stood up and addressed me.
1:14As he was speaking to me, it was impossible for me to read his lips,
1:18so I said, “I'm sorry, I’m deaf.”
1:22He tore off a little piece of paper and wrote down three words:
1:25“Bad ear. Disqual.”
1:28He didn't even fully spell out "Disqualified,"
1:30just: “Bad ear. Disqual.”
1:33So I went on my way.
1:36I tried various locations a number of different times, trying to join,
1:39but over and over again, I got the same response:
1:42“Sorry, you’re deaf. We can’t accept you.”
1:44So I shifted gears and decided to become a teacher.
1:47I completed a master's in deaf education and taught for almost two years,
1:51until this past spring, when three things occurred
1:53that changed that course,
1:55the first of which, while I was teaching a high school history class.
1:59I’d lectured on the Mexican-American War.
2:01The bell had rung, and I was seated at my desk,
2:04when one of my students, who is deaf, approached me
2:07and said that he’d like to join the military.
2:09I said, “Ah, sorry. You can’t. You're deaf.”
2:12Then I caught myself.
2:13It struck me that all along I had been told no, I can’t,
2:16and now I was perpetuating that same message
2:19to the next generation, to my own student.
2:21That realization had a large impact that really resonated with me.
2:25Now, the second thing that happened, my friend had just moved to Israel.
2:28Did you know that in Israel they accept deaf people into the military?
2:32How can deaf people be in the military, right?
2:34Could this really be true? Come on!
2:36Well, I went to Israel last summer to see for myself.
2:39I interviewed 10 deaf Israeli soldiers,
2:42all of those video interviews and questions I’ve compiled,
2:45and the findings, I’ll share with you later.
2:48Thirdly, CSUN here, my alma mater,
2:51had recently started up an Army ROTC program.
2:54ROTC, which stands for Reserve Officer Training Corps,
2:59allows students working on their college majors
3:02to concurrently participate in the ROTC program.
3:04Upon graduation, ROTC students have a military career
3:08ready and waiting for them.
3:09So if one joined the army, one could commission as a second lieutenant.
3:13That's generally the ROTC program here at CSUN.
3:16Having learned that, I was intrigued.
3:18I already had a profession as a teacher,
3:20but I went ahead anyway and sent an email off to the program,
3:23explaining that I was a teacher of the deaf,
3:25wondering if I could take a few classes with them
3:28and perhaps share their lessons with my students.
3:30I got an email response back,
3:33and surprisingly, it was the first time that I wasn't told,
3:36"Sorry, no, you can’t. You’re deaf."
3:38It said, "Well, that's interesting.
3:40I think maybe we can work something out
3:42and you can take a few classes with us."
3:45This was unprecedented.
3:47So naturally, I was shocked.
3:49Although I was teaching, I decided I had to grab the opportunity right away
3:52and get my foot in the door.
3:54Altogether, that's how it transpired.
3:56Now, with all my life experiences,
3:59having talked with all the people I had, and given everything I’ve read,
4:02I decided to write a research paper called “Deaf in the Military.”
4:06I'll share with you what those 98 pages entail.
4:11Here in America, we’ve actually had deaf soldiers serving in the past.
4:15In fact, during the Texas War of Independence,
4:18there was a key character named Deaf Smith,
4:20who made a large contribution to that war effort.
4:23For the American Civil War,
4:25Gallaudet University actually has archived a list of deaf soldiers in that war
4:29from the North and the South,
4:30showing that deaf soldiers were even fighting against each other.
4:34During World War II, there are a few rare examples
4:36of deaf people who made it into the military at that time
4:39and were able to serve their country as well.
4:42History illustrates the fact that America has had deaf soldiers,
4:45in contrast to today.
4:46In my paper, I also discuss the deaf Israeli soldiers.
4:50I learned that they serve in non-combat roles.
4:53The deaf soldiers are not on the front lines engaged in fire,
4:56but rather, are behind the lines serving in supportive roles.
4:59There are a plethora of various non-combat jobs accessible to the deaf:
5:03intelligence, computer technology, map drawing, supply,
5:06military dog training --
5:07the list goes on.
5:09The communication between deaf Israeli soldiers
5:12and other soldiers who are hearing
5:13is carried out with the same approaches deaf people in general use
5:17with the hearing public on a daily basis.
5:19You can use your voice, lip-read, gestures,
5:21sometimes another soldier knows sign language and that can be utilized,
5:24pen and paper, texts, computers, emails --
5:27seriously, there’s no magic wand necessary.
5:30It's the same thing we do every day.
5:32Interpreters are used there primarily for boot camp training.
5:35For the average work, it’s not necessary to have an interpreter by your side.
5:39The Israeli Army is comprised of small groups.
5:41Each of these units with deaf soldiers have developed
5:44their own way of communicating with each other,
5:46so there’s no need for interpreters.
5:49The top picture is of one soldier I met.
5:52The bottom photo is of Prime Minister Begin
5:54with a deaf soldier in Israel.
5:58Another part of my paper touches on disabled soldiers in the US Military.
6:02Obviously, military work can be dangerous and involve injury.
6:06One example here is Captain Luckett.
6:09Due to an explosion, he lost his leg.
6:12He’s recovered and currently has a prosthetic leg.
6:15Now that he’s strong, he's back in combat, still fighting in Afghanistan.
6:21It’s remarkable.
6:22And guess what? He’s not the only one.
6:25There are 40 other soldiers like him,
6:27amputees who are serving in combat zones.
6:31Incredible.
6:32Also, we have a blind soldier here.
6:34While he was in Iraq,
6:35an explosion from a suicide car bomber destroyed his eyesight.
6:40He’s recovered and hasn’t left the army.
6:43The army has retained him on active duty,
6:46and he’s currently running a hospital for wounded soldiers.
6:49I also found out online about another soldier,
6:51who is deaf in one ear.
6:53He’s developed civil programs in Iraq,
6:55one of which actually started a school for the deaf in Iraq.
7:01All of this is incredible.
7:03But I am going to ask all of you:
7:06If the US Military can retain their disabled soldiers,
7:09why can’t they accept disabled citizens as well?
7:15Moreover, out of all the US Military jobs, 80% are non-combat positions.
7:21There are many jobs that we in the Deaf community can do.
7:24If I were to be in the military, I’d like to do intelligence work.
7:28But there is an array of other things we can do,
7:30such as mechanics, finance, medicine, etc.
7:33So to summarize, I’ve presented three premises to support my argument,
7:37the first being, Israeli defense openly accepts deaf soldiers.
7:41If you have the qualities and skills required, they’ll take you.
7:44Secondly, the US Military has accommodations
7:47for retaining their disabled soldiers.
7:49And lastly, 80% of occupations in the military are non-combat.
7:54Now, can we Deaf Americans serve our country?
7:57Yes! Of course! Absolutely, without a doubt!
8:03Now I’ll explain a bit about my experience in the Army ROTC,
8:06which began last fall.
8:08I have been involved with that thus far and it’s still going on now.
8:11Really, I need to preface this
8:13by saying that this is the first time my battalion had ever had a deaf cadet.
8:18They had never experienced that before.
8:20So of course, they were taken aback, wondering, initially,
8:24how I would do this or that, how would we communicate and such,
8:27which is a natural reaction,
8:29considering that many of them had never interacted with a deaf person
8:32prior to me.
8:33Plus, I was taken aback by this -- it was the real thing, the army.
8:37I had to learn a whole new world, full of military jargon,
8:41with its own culture and everything.
8:44So we started out slow, getting to know each other
8:47and learning how to work together, progressively.
8:51For example, on the first day of class, I had no uniform.
8:55So I showed up in regular clothes,
8:56while the other cadets were all in uniform.
8:59I found out that every morning at 5:30, there was physical training, PT.
9:04On Fridays, there would be field training -- labs -- off-campus,
9:08and occasionally, we would have weekend training at a military base.
9:12So I showed up, ready, each morning at 5:30,
9:14with all the cadets in uniform and me in civilian clothes.
9:17They told me, “Hey, you know, you don't need to work out.
9:20You can just simply take classes.”
9:22I told them I wanted to, anyway.
9:23They acknowledged that, and I continued to show up every morning to train.
9:27When Friday came, I asked if I could do the field training.
9:30I was told no, just stick with class.
9:32I insisted that I wanted to try.
9:34Somewhat reluctantly, they let me attend the lab,
9:37but only as an observer;
9:38I would only be allowed to sit and watch, not participate.
9:43Alright, so, I showed up on Friday,
9:44and watched as the cadets learned marching drill commands,
9:47like how to stand at attention, how to properly salute,
9:50and all the basics.
9:51I had to ask again if I could join.
9:54Finally, I got the go-ahead.
9:55I went to get in formation.
9:57I figured I better stand in the second line,
9:59so I could watch what the cadets were doing in the row ahead of me.
10:02But the officer who opened the door for me to join the ROTC program
10:06spotted me in the back and said, “Hey! Uh-uh. I want you in the front.
10:10You want to be a soldier?
10:12You've got to learn the commands just like the rest of them.
10:15You’re not going to follow other people. Learn it yourself!”
10:17I thought, "Wow.
10:19He’s viewing me like any person, giving dignity to who I am."
10:22I was impressed by that.
10:23So as the weeks went by, I still didn’t have a uniform.
10:26I asked if it would be possible to get one, but I was told it wasn't.
10:30So I continued on that way,
10:32until one day, I was informed that I’d be getting a uniform.
10:36"Please!" I said, “Really? Why? What changed?”
10:39I was told, “We see your motivation, you show up every morning, dedicated,
10:43and always gave a 110% effort.”
10:45They wanted to give me the uniform.
10:47It was remarkable.
10:49We went to the warehouse to get my uniform.
10:51I assumed I’d just get a uniform and a pair of boots, nothing more.
10:54But they filled two duffel bags chock-full of gear:
10:57helmet, ammo vest, shovel, sleeping bag -- the whole nine yards.
11:01I was astonished.
11:03And I have to tell you,
11:06each morning that I get up and put on my uniform,
11:09I feel privileged.
11:12It’s truly an honor to wear the uniform.
11:16So, moving along,
11:18when it came time to train at the garrison base,
11:20at first, I was told I couldn’t go.
11:22There was concern on the ROTC's part
11:24that if the interpreter were to get injured during the training,
11:27it would be a liability issue.
11:29So we had to figure out all those issues and confusion,
11:31but we worked it out, and in the end, they let me go.
11:34That's how events were unfolding; I was permitted to do more and more.
11:37Once, at the garrison base, during one of the training days,
11:41a huge Chinook helicopter with its tandem rotors landed right down to us,
11:45forcefully spinning exhilaration in the air.
11:48All of us cadets were supposed to be getting on board.
11:51Everyone was geared up and ready.
11:53However, the cadre had decided
11:54I wasn’t going to be able to ride the Chinook.
11:57They were afraid if the pilot shouted out orders,
11:59how would I be able to follow the instructions?
12:02I’d potentially cause a disruption.
12:04So I had to stand aside,
12:06while the others were filing toward the helicopter.
12:09I could see the cadre huddled up, discussing, mulling it over.
12:12At the last minute, one of them said, “Come on! Get on the helicopter!”
12:15I rushed over and got in. It was such a thrill.
12:19And that was the spirit of learning about and supporting one another
12:23that carried over.
12:24And since then, I’ve been involved in everything they do,
12:27without any separation.
12:28This is where my passion lies.
12:30I love them. I’ll show you some pictures here.
12:35Bruin Battalion, Bravo Company -- that’s the name of the group I belong to.
12:38The cadre are the officers and sergeants who oversee the ROTC program.
12:43In the beginning, you can see, it was a bit of an awkward phase.
12:46But once they learned more about me and what I’m capable of doing,
12:50there's been tremendous support and unity.
12:52The cadets, my fellow peers -- well, when you train and sweat together,
12:55you feel the bond of camaraderie right away.
12:57A brother- or sisterly cohesiveness makes them like family.
13:01In training and military science classes, we learn theories of warfare,
13:04how to lead soldiers, how to do reconnaissance,
13:07strategies, how to knock out a bunker
13:10and land navigation, where you’re finding your way out in the mountains.
13:15As far as accommodations, I’ve been provided with interpreters
13:19through the National Center on Deafness, NCOD, here at CSUN.
13:23And I really have to thank them,
13:25because it's hard to find interpreters
13:27who are willing to wake up at 4:30 in the morning,
13:29or sometimes even 3:30 in the morning.
13:31That's the officer who emailed me back,
13:34saying I think you can have a few classes with us.
13:36That's Lieutenant Mendoza.
13:39That’s my interpreter there, before class starts.
13:41This is a picture from last fall, when we were new to training.
13:46This is Lieutenant Colonel Phelps,
13:49this being his name sign.
13:51He's the commanding officer of the entire Bruin Battalion.
13:55Every time I see him walk by, it’s rather inspiring.
13:58I mean, the way he presents himself, you can see he’s the epitome of a soldier.
14:04Plus, he doesn't view me as a deaf person.
14:07He looks at my skills and capabilities instead.
14:09He’s really pushed for me, and I respect him for all that.
14:12That’s me during one of the exercises.
14:14This is that Chinook helicopter I almost didn’t get on.
14:17Every cadet has a mentor.
14:20My mentor is Cinatl.
14:23He’s a really sharp soldier.
14:25He teaches me all the finer points and how to execute them ideally.
14:30This top picture is when a group of us went to Las Vegas
14:33to compete in a test,
14:35to see if we could match the German troops' physical training standards.
14:39It involved swimming, timed sprints, marksmanship and numerous fitness events.
14:43I passed them and satisfied the requirements
14:45to be awarded the gold German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge right here.
14:51This is one of the sergeants, Sergeant Richardson.
14:53I love this guy. He doesn't take baloney from any of us cadets.
14:59Here I am one morning,
15:01when we trekked seven and a half miles with a 40-pound rucksack
15:04in less than two hours.
15:07Here are a few of my fellow cadets.
15:10I've been with them long enough that I’ve developed name signs for them.
15:15On the right, here, is Trinidad.
15:17I gave him this name sign because he's always very sarcastic.
15:21He's a veteran, having served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
15:24The female is Frigo, whose nickname is "Refrigerator,"
15:27hence her name sign.
15:28We’re always competing intellectually in class.
15:31The cadet on the end is Jarvy. He's a top athlete.
15:35I've given him this sign because of the scar he has here.
15:39Do you know who this is?
15:40This is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
15:43He is the highest-ranking military officer
15:46and principal military advisor to President Obama
15:49and Secretary of Defense Gates.
15:51He gave a talk at UCLA to a full house.
15:54Afterwards, I lined up to shake his hand.
15:56Having done so, I greeted him, “It’s a great pleasure to meet you.”
15:59I signed and my interpreter voiced for me.
16:01Admiral Mullen turned to the interpreter and said, “It’s nice to meet you,”
16:04addressing the interpreter, who refrained to clarify.
16:07He seemed a little confused and just quickly moved on
16:10to shake hands with the rest of the soldiers.
16:12So I’m not sure whether he really knew that I'm deaf or not.
16:15So everything’s been moving along, gung-ho, full speed ahead,
16:19until two weeks ago,
16:23when something occurred.
16:25Well, the ROTC has four levels.
16:28I’m currently doing the first two levels, which finishes up this May.
16:32The third level will begin in the fall.
16:34But in order to move up, you need to pass a medical exam.
16:38Obviously, I’m deaf, so I’d fail a hearing test.
16:44So we sat down,
16:46and I was told that if I wanted to continue to the third level,
16:51I couldn’t do any of the PT workouts in the morning,
16:54nor the Friday lab field trainings, nor the army base trainings.
16:59My uniform, I would have to give back as well.
17:03I could take the classes, audit them, and that’s all.
17:07It really hit me. It was a huge blow.
17:13Many of the officers and cadets have empathized
17:16with this sudden shock of disappointment,
17:19and are wondering why this has to be the case.
17:22Colonel Phelps has tried to speak with the higher-ups
17:25in the chain of command
17:26and explain to them that I’m one of the top cadets,
17:29having passed all the events and receiving high marks on my exams.
17:32But their response is unwavering:
17:34policy is policy, and if you’re deaf, you’re disqualified.
17:38I know that the cadre has tried to find various ways.
17:42They found out that there's a deaf cadet at The Citadel,
17:47a military college in South Carolina.
17:50That particular cadet will be completing his fourth year there
17:53and graduating this May.
17:54Yet, he's in the same predicament that I'm in --
17:56unable to join the army because he’s deaf.
18:00Yet, all of my fellow cadets and the officers have told me
18:03not to give up; the policy must change.
18:06I was advised to talk with my congressman.
18:08And I've brought this issue to Henry Waxman,
18:11the district congressman here in LA,
18:13to get the ball rolling with his advocacy for my cause.
18:16However, I need your help and support to lobby.
18:18All of us, you know?
18:20If you remember back in US history, African-Americans were told
18:23they couldn’t join the military,
18:25and now they serve.
18:26Women as well were banned, but now they've been allowed.
18:29The military has and is changing.
18:30Today is our time. Now it’s our turn.
18:33Hooah!
18:34(Applause)

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