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- [Announcer] Defense
News is proudly sponsored

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by Navy Federal Credit Union.

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If you're a member of our
nation's Armed Forces,

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the Department of Defense,
or if your family is,

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we'd be proud to serve you too.

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- [Narrator] On this episode
of Defense News Weekly,

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we hear about a program
to help veterans find work

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in the growing commercial drone industry.

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And need to get the most
from your VA benefits?

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meet VetsForever and hear
how they want to help.

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Plus, we speak to a producer

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from Ken Burns latest film

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on the American Revolution.

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He talks through how they tackled telling

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an iconic American story.

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Also, defense dollars is back

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with the inside track on
defense contracting news.

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Find out which country is
buying new fighter jets.

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It's the latest in news and analysis

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from the Pentagon to the platoon

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here on Defense News Weekly.

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(lively music)

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(lively music continues)

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Welcome back to Defense News Weekly.

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With the cost of commercial
drones continuing to fall,

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there's an emerging need
for qualified drone pilots

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to do everything from
real estate marketing

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to search and rescue operations.

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On our recent visit to
Las Vegas for MCON 2025,

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we spoke with Drones to Vets,

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an organization that trains vets

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to find careers in that growing market

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to find out how former service
members can take advantage

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of a new opportunity.

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(lively music)

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- My name is Tony Canaday
and I am at MCON 2025,

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and I am with Vets to Drones,

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a nationwide nonprofit organization

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that specializes in providing
workforce development,

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mental health resources,

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and industry solutions to enable veterans

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to become qualified in the UAS industry.

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Currently in the UAS industry,

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or what some people currently know it

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as the drone industry, right?

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There's many different echelons

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and environments that you can use drones.

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We train our veterans to
have the industry standard

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solutions to enable them to be successful

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in most, if not all of them.

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So once a veteran or one of our members

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acquires their Part 107 license,

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we help and assist them

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in utilizing industry standard
tools and capabilities

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that are very industry specific,

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real estate,

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construction

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mapping.

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We also give them access
to things like RGIS.

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We are partnered with

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emergency response
resources such as Airdata

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that enables us to provide

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livestream capabilities of the drones

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in a search and rescue environment

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if there's a natural disaster.

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None of our veterans pay a single dime

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for any of our resources,

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it is completely free to them.

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The only thing that we ask of them is time

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in order to study the material.

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And then once they acquire their 107

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and take their 107 test through the FAA,

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they will purchase their own drone

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and use the industry
resources and capabilities

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to go out and test those resources

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and become comfortable with them.

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That's the important thing.

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Every veteran, in order
to get them certified,

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is ultimately dependent on them

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and how much time that
they invest into it.

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The best trip or tick that

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was given to me

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was schedule your test first, don't study.

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It gives you that capstone
event, if you will,

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that we're familiar with
in the veteran industry of,

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I have two weeks to study for this test

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and I am scheduled to take
this test in two weeks.

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'Cause the test is expensive, it's $120.

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And sometimes that can
be a little overbearing

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for a veteran, right?

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But if you set that expectation

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and you set that goal in two weeks,

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I'm gonna go take that test,

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then you invest yourself,
investing yourself

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in your future to go take that test,

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and we see about a 97% pass rate overall.

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For all of our veterans
that are very interested

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and might be nervous
in getting into the UAS

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or the drone industry,

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it's okay to feel uncomfortable,

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it's okay to feel nervous and anxious.

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But rest assured that we have a network

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of qualified veterans across the country

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in every state that are ready
to answer your questions

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and provide guidance,
direction, and support,

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and enabled you to be successful
in the drone industry.

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In order for veterans to get
involved with Vets to Drones,

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all they have to do is go to our website.

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It's www.vetstodrones.org.

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You'll verify your veteran status

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or your dependent status through ID.ME.

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You'll answer a handful of questions,

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and you'll get an onboard email

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and give you all the instructions

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in order to move on to the
next step to be a full member.

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So if you're a veteran,
dependent, gold star family,

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and you're interested in
becoming a qualified UAS pilot,

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feel free to go to our website.

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And always remember,

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to move forward, just look up.

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- [Narrator] Also from our
trip to MCON this year,

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we spoke to VetsForever,

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an organization that
seeks to help veterans

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get the most from their VA benefits.

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- Hi, I'm Trinidad Aguirre,

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I'm the CEO and Co-founder of VetsForever,

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a VA accredited law group.

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And we're here at MCON this weekend

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really to help educate the, you know,

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everybody here in this veteran community

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about why accreditation matters.

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What does VA accreditation mean?

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What it means is we are actually trusted

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and empowered by the
VA to prepare, present,

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and prosecute a VA claim.

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So we are truly vetted by the VA

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to help service the veteran

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with the care and empathy that they need.

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Anybody who does not
have this accreditation

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is allowed to really
charge what they want.

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They're unregulated.

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Should we have much
stricter, ethical standards?

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You know, some of the work
we do has to be pro bono.

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And in a sense, you know,
you know that you have

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a trusted representative with the VA

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to properly service that veterans.

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Because for us,

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accreditation is really not guiding vets,

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but representing veterans before the VA

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regardless of where they are

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in the VA disability claim process.

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So whether they're in, you know,

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they're filing the first claim,

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or they've had appeals and
denials that need to overturn,

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we can actually represent them

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as a VA accredited law group.

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Additionally to that,

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we have access to what
is the VA actually saying

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about their case,

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so we can really give them

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that in-depth knowledge that we all seek.

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When we take that CMP exam
and we're a little nervous,

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we lower that anxiety and that stress

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so they can navigate, you know,

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the complexity of that process,

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knowing that an attorney
is taking care of them.

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Why does VetsForever exist?

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Our three co-founders,

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we are all a hundred percent
service disabled veterans.

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So when you talk to us,

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we're actually walked the walk

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and gone through this journey ourselves.

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So why should veterans go?

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Well, several reasons.

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One, not only are the life-changing,

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non-taxable benefits that
we all talk about and love,

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but there are additional benefits,

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whether it's CHAMPVA,

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whether it's chapter 35 for your kids,

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should the service member pass,

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they can get DIC benefits so their spouse

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and or their family members
can be taken care of.

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It's more about taking care of
the veteran and their family,

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and you know, that's what
we're there to help facilitate.

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Veterans can connect with us

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going to our website
at www.vetsforever.com.

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Schedule a free case evaluation

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so that way we can, you know,

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really go through, you know,

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from an A to Z standpoint
on what hurts today?

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What could we offer
them, and tell 'em, like,

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you probably need to go
get a doctor's appointment

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so it's medically diagnosed,

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or, you know, let's, do you have anything

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in your service treatment records

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so we can get a better case profile.

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So when we do the work,

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it's seamless and flawless for them.

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So going to our website
at www.vetsforever.com,

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it's the best and easiest
way to contact us.

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We could not have been more excited

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about being here at MCON,

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because this really has been a refreshing,

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invigorating experience
when we get to talk

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to our veteran community,

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really hear firsthand what's going on,

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what's on their minds,

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so we can better serve our veterans.

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We're blessed and we look
forward to being here next year.

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- [Narrator] When we come back,

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our defense dollars segment returns

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with the latest from the
military contracting world.

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Stay tuned.

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(lively music)

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Welcome back to Defense News Weekly.

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On this edition of Defense Dollars,

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it's all about fighter jets.

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Who's buying France's
latest generation aircraft,

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and is the US selling
F-35s to Saudi Arabia?

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Stay tuned to find out.

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- Welcome Defense Dollars,

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a weekly update on the
deals, contracts, and sales

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from around the international
defense industry.

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Let's dive in.

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First up on Monday,

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France and Ukraine announced
they had reached an agreement

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for the embattled nation to buy 100

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of its Rafale fighter
jets in the coming decade

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according to the AP.

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the Rafale is the latest
generation jet from Dassault

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and joins the Gripen as part
of Ukraine's growing fleet

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of European-made war planes.

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A few weeks ago, Ukraine
signed a similar agreement

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with the Swedish government

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for a similar number of
its fighters made by Saab.

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The deal between France and Ukraine

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also includes commitments
to purchase other weaponry,

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including drones and
ground to air systems,

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along with armaments to be mounted

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on the French fighter jets.

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No price was named for
the purchase agreement,

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which French president Emmanuel
Macron called a new step

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in defense relations
between the two countries.

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Next up, speaking of
aircraft sales in Europe,

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the Netherlands and several NATO partners

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announced recently they will abandon plans

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to buy new Airborne Warning
and Control Systems,

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also known as AWACS from US Maker Boeing.

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The Dutch Ministry of Defense said

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that following the United States' decision

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to move away from buying E-7 Wedgetails,

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it would also look elsewhere
to update its fleet.

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At stake was the sale of six Wedgetails

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to improve the NATO AWACS core,

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currently a fleet of 14
aircraft based in Germany.

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Those jets will reach the
end of their lifespan in 2035

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according to the Dutch MOD.

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The US, for its part,

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said it would end the Wedgetail program

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earlier this year, citing
survivability concerns,

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cost increases, and a desire to move

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towards more space-based systems.

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Over the summer, it said it planned

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to simply cancel the
acquisition of the E-7.

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00:10:43,410 --> 00:10:45,690
that raised prospects
for Swedish based Saab,

266
00:10:45,690 --> 00:10:49,050
which makes the GlobalEye,
an AWACS alternative

267
00:10:49,050 --> 00:10:51,150
that mounts radar and other sensors

268
00:10:51,150 --> 00:10:54,093
on a Bombardier long-range business jet.

269
00:10:55,590 --> 00:10:58,740
Saab's CEO said the company
was seeing huge interest

270
00:10:58,740 --> 00:11:01,140
in the GlobalEye from NATO countries.

271
00:11:01,140 --> 00:11:04,260
But is the American E-7 program dead?

272
00:11:04,260 --> 00:11:07,140
New reporting from Defense
News is Stephen Losey this week

273
00:11:07,140 --> 00:11:09,120
showed that the bill
reopening the government

274
00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:10,920
signed recently by the president

275
00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:13,440
contains $400 million in funding

276
00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:16,470
to keep development of
the Wedgetail on track,

277
00:11:16,470 --> 00:11:18,990
despite the Pentagon's efforts to kill it.

278
00:11:18,990 --> 00:11:20,340
So is it gone?

279
00:11:20,340 --> 00:11:21,790
We'll be tracking it closely.

280
00:11:22,710 --> 00:11:24,900
And on the subject of
the government shutdown

281
00:11:24,900 --> 00:11:27,630
with civilian employees back
to work at the Pentagon,

282
00:11:27,630 --> 00:11:29,130
the Department of Defense released

283
00:11:29,130 --> 00:11:31,890
a number of backlogged
contract announcements

284
00:11:31,890 --> 00:11:34,233
covering a wide range of systems.

285
00:11:35,070 --> 00:11:37,290
Some highlights from the recent data dump,

286
00:11:37,290 --> 00:11:39,210
drone maker Anduril industries

287
00:11:39,210 --> 00:11:41,040
was awarded $50 million

288
00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,500
for development of its Altius 600.

289
00:11:43,500 --> 00:11:45,810
The Altius is an unmanned
loitering munition

290
00:11:45,810 --> 00:11:48,630
that can be launched
from land, sea, or air,

291
00:11:48,630 --> 00:11:50,430
and is already in the
running with the army

292
00:11:50,430 --> 00:11:52,530
for a greater contract.

293
00:11:52,530 --> 00:11:57,090
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin also
picked up a $78 million deal

294
00:11:57,090 --> 00:11:58,860
for space vehicle development

295
00:11:58,860 --> 00:11:59,760
with work to be done

296
00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:02,640
at Cape Canaveral Space
Force Station in Florida.

297
00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:06,330
That's expected to be
completed in early 2028.

298
00:12:06,330 --> 00:12:07,530
Also in the realm of space,

299
00:12:07,530 --> 00:12:09,630
Modern Technology Solutions in Virginia

300
00:12:09,630 --> 00:12:13,410
was awarded an additional $111 million

301
00:12:13,410 --> 00:12:16,320
for development of
space-based interceptors,

302
00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:18,750
bringing the total of its
contract with the Pentagon

303
00:12:18,750 --> 00:12:21,450
to 227 million.

304
00:12:21,450 --> 00:12:24,810
That work is set to be done
in Huntsville, Alabama.

305
00:12:24,810 --> 00:12:28,890
And finally, RTX's Goodrich
arm based in Massachusetts

306
00:12:28,890 --> 00:12:32,250
was granted $197 million for production

307
00:12:32,250 --> 00:12:36,030
of the MS-110 airborne
reconnaissance system.

308
00:12:36,030 --> 00:12:38,010
That's an order for the
reconnaissance pods,

309
00:12:38,010 --> 00:12:40,440
ground stations, engineering support,

310
00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:43,410
and a range of associated costs.

311
00:12:43,410 --> 00:12:45,420
And one more quick one before we go.

312
00:12:45,420 --> 00:12:46,920
President Donald Trump on Monday

313
00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:50,190
said he will sell
advanced F-35 fighter jets

314
00:12:50,190 --> 00:12:51,616
to Saudi Arabia.

315
00:12:51,616 --> 00:12:53,460
- They've been a great ally.

316
00:12:53,460 --> 00:12:55,320
They've gotta like us very much.

317
00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:57,060
Look at the Iran situation,

318
00:12:57,060 --> 00:13:01,440
what we did in terms of
obliterating, you know,

319
00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,110
we obliterated their nuclear capability.

320
00:13:04,110 --> 00:13:06,930
Yeah, I will say that
we will be doing that.

321
00:13:06,930 --> 00:13:08,910
We'll be selling F-35s here.

322
00:13:08,910 --> 00:13:11,070
- The president made the
statement just ahead of a visit

323
00:13:11,070 --> 00:13:13,170
to the White House by Saudi Crown Prince

324
00:13:13,170 --> 00:13:14,850
Mohammed bin Salman.

325
00:13:14,850 --> 00:13:17,400
Past administrations have
been wary of such a move

326
00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:19,500
motivated by a drive to keep Israel

327
00:13:19,500 --> 00:13:22,050
as the dominant military
force in the region,

328
00:13:22,050 --> 00:13:23,520
and the concern that China,

329
00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:25,680
which has close ties to Saudi Arabia,

330
00:13:25,680 --> 00:13:28,710
will somehow obtain the F-35's technology.

331
00:13:28,710 --> 00:13:30,570
President Trump's
statement came in the hours

332
00:13:30,570 --> 00:13:31,770
before we filmed today,

333
00:13:31,770 --> 00:13:35,460
so we'll keep a close eye
to see if the story updates.

334
00:13:35,460 --> 00:13:38,280
And that wraps up your
defense dollars for this week.

335
00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,070
Join us on cheddar.com and defensenews.com

336
00:13:41,070 --> 00:13:42,933
for more stories like those.

337
00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:45,090
- [Narrator] When we come back,

338
00:13:45,090 --> 00:13:46,590
the latest tips from our expert

339
00:13:46,590 --> 00:13:48,900
on securing your financial future.

340
00:13:48,900 --> 00:13:49,803
Don't go away.

341
00:13:50,677 --> 00:13:53,260
(lively music)

342
00:13:57,780 --> 00:13:58,770
Welcome back.

343
00:13:58,770 --> 00:14:00,480
On this episode of Money Minute,

344
00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:02,790
Jeanette Mack from Navy
Federal Credit Union

345
00:14:02,790 --> 00:14:04,350
is back with her latest tips

346
00:14:04,350 --> 00:14:07,980
on how you can prepare for
a bright financial future.

347
00:14:07,980 --> 00:14:09,240
- As savings rates rise,

348
00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:12,300
where you keep your money
becomes increasingly important.

349
00:14:12,300 --> 00:14:14,160
To make the most of your
hard earned dollars,

350
00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:17,280
get savvy about interest
rates and savings accounts.

351
00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:19,500
Start by exploring the big three,

352
00:14:19,500 --> 00:14:22,350
traditional savings accounts,
money market savings,

353
00:14:22,350 --> 00:14:24,990
and certificates of deposit, or CDs.

354
00:14:24,990 --> 00:14:26,760
Traditional savings accounts are great

355
00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:28,020
if you're just starting out,

356
00:14:28,020 --> 00:14:29,520
building emergency savings,

357
00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:31,920
or for short- and long-term savings goals

358
00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:35,160
because the funds are always
accessible without penalty.

359
00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:37,830
Money market savings accounts
offer higher interest rates

360
00:14:37,830 --> 00:14:39,600
in return for the higher
balance you'll have

361
00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:41,250
to maintain in the account,

362
00:14:41,250 --> 00:14:43,500
and withdrawals are penalty free.

363
00:14:43,500 --> 00:14:46,080
CDs offer the highest rates of the three,

364
00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:47,010
which is great.

365
00:14:47,010 --> 00:14:47,970
You just have to be sure

366
00:14:47,970 --> 00:14:49,470
you won't need access to that money

367
00:14:49,470 --> 00:14:51,660
for the set term On the account.

368
00:14:51,660 --> 00:14:55,230
CD terms range from a
year to 10 years or more.

369
00:14:55,230 --> 00:14:57,480
Go with one or all
three of these accounts.

370
00:14:57,480 --> 00:14:59,730
The important thing is to save.

371
00:14:59,730 --> 00:15:00,990
You work hard for your money,

372
00:15:00,990 --> 00:15:04,470
make sure your money is
working hard for you.

373
00:15:04,470 --> 00:15:05,430
- [Narrator] To get more coverage

374
00:15:05,430 --> 00:15:07,200
of military and defense topics,

375
00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:10,110
lock on to the coordinates
for militarytimes.com

376
00:15:10,110 --> 00:15:12,780
and defensenews.com for more headlines.

377
00:15:12,780 --> 00:15:15,120
And to be the most
up-to-date drill sergeant

378
00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:16,500
screaming at the recruits,

379
00:15:16,500 --> 00:15:18,510
sign up for our Early Bird Brief,

380
00:15:18,510 --> 00:15:20,130
compiled each morning bringing you

381
00:15:20,130 --> 00:15:21,990
the most recent headlines.

382
00:15:21,990 --> 00:15:24,270
And if social media is
how you stay up to date,

383
00:15:24,270 --> 00:15:27,690
follow us on YouTube,
Facebook, Instagram, and X.

384
00:15:27,690 --> 00:15:28,980
And we're on TikTok,

385
00:15:28,980 --> 00:15:31,290
so go follow us there as well.

386
00:15:31,290 --> 00:15:32,460
When we come back,

387
00:15:32,460 --> 00:15:35,130
we hear from the producer
of Ken Burns's newest film

388
00:15:35,130 --> 00:15:36,633
on the American Revolution.

389
00:15:37,500 --> 00:15:40,083
(lively music)

390
00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:47,310
Up next, Ken Burns spent nearly a decade

391
00:15:47,310 --> 00:15:48,840
preparing a documentary series

392
00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:50,820
on the foundational military conflict

393
00:15:50,820 --> 00:15:53,970
of US history, the American Revolution.

394
00:15:53,970 --> 00:15:56,160
As the series rolled
out to viewers recently,

395
00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:58,080
we spoke to a producer on the project

396
00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:01,293
about how they decided to tell
the defining American story.

397
00:16:04,230 --> 00:16:07,413
- [Narrator] From a small
spark kindled in America,

398
00:16:08,370 --> 00:16:09,813
a flame has arisen.

399
00:16:11,130 --> 00:16:12,900
- What do you hope this unvarnished look

400
00:16:12,900 --> 00:16:14,040
at our nation's founding

401
00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:16,380
brings to the American people?

402
00:16:16,380 --> 00:16:17,610
Because like you said,

403
00:16:17,610 --> 00:16:21,240
you spent a decade
diving into the research,

404
00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:23,520
and it's not just kind of, you know,

405
00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:27,510
the elementary school
line of this, you know,

406
00:16:27,510 --> 00:16:31,020
small rabble fighting
against the British Empire.

407
00:16:31,020 --> 00:16:31,947
It's so much--

408
00:16:32,790 --> 00:16:34,350
- But it is that too.

409
00:16:34,350 --> 00:16:38,610
So it's, I don't think that there's

410
00:16:38,610 --> 00:16:41,430
a part of us that's trying
to, you know, dispel myths.

411
00:16:41,430 --> 00:16:43,110
We're not myth busters out there

412
00:16:43,110 --> 00:16:45,570
to make you poke holes
in your understanding

413
00:16:45,570 --> 00:16:46,650
of the American Revolution.

414
00:16:46,650 --> 00:16:48,750
In fact, what we're doing is

415
00:16:48,750 --> 00:16:51,600
taking what you already
know, really rebooting it.

416
00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:53,640
So you don't forget entirely what you knew

417
00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:55,830
going in the door, but what
you knew going in the door

418
00:16:55,830 --> 00:16:58,950
was gonna be supplemented by
all sorts of other information

419
00:16:58,950 --> 00:17:00,750
that's gonna make what you already know

420
00:17:00,750 --> 00:17:02,550
make much more sense.

421
00:17:02,550 --> 00:17:03,630
I think all of us,

422
00:17:03,630 --> 00:17:06,240
before we even have conscious memories,

423
00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:09,120
have some concept of
the American revolution.

424
00:17:09,120 --> 00:17:11,580
You know, George Washington
is on our currency,

425
00:17:11,580 --> 00:17:14,880
the flag, it's all there for us, right?

426
00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:15,873
4th of July.

427
00:17:19,164 --> 00:17:20,520
And then we learn about
it in elementary school.

428
00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:21,390
We learn about it again,

429
00:17:21,390 --> 00:17:22,650
maybe in middle school and high school,

430
00:17:22,650 --> 00:17:24,570
and then we don't really learn about it.

431
00:17:24,570 --> 00:17:27,120
So the only way that
we've really discussed it

432
00:17:27,120 --> 00:17:30,180
is in those elementary school ways,

433
00:17:30,180 --> 00:17:31,740
or maybe in middle school or high school,

434
00:17:31,740 --> 00:17:33,030
we get a little bit more time with it.

435
00:17:33,030 --> 00:17:34,590
But your teacher's worried that, you know,

436
00:17:34,590 --> 00:17:36,960
this is a survey course
on American history.

437
00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:40,590
They're worried they're not
gonna get to the 20th century,

438
00:17:40,590 --> 00:17:42,240
much less the 21st century

439
00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:45,120
if they spend the time that they,

440
00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:48,090
that it deserves to spend
on the American Revolution.

441
00:17:48,090 --> 00:17:50,370
I think also

442
00:17:50,370 --> 00:17:52,950
a lot of us are hungry for,

443
00:17:52,950 --> 00:17:55,690
curious for history and knowledge and

444
00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:00,450
miss being able to dive
into this sort of history.

445
00:18:00,450 --> 00:18:03,540
So for adult learners like you and me,

446
00:18:03,540 --> 00:18:05,370
here's an opportunity.

447
00:18:05,370 --> 00:18:08,370
And yeah, there's just a
lot more out there than

448
00:18:08,370 --> 00:18:10,470
the stuff that we learned
when we were kids.

449
00:18:10,470 --> 00:18:11,880
But the stuff that we
learned when we were kids

450
00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,490
is still very much part of this story.

451
00:18:14,490 --> 00:18:17,160
I think that people are
gonna come away with this

452
00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:18,840
with different interpretations.

453
00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:20,490
I am grateful for that.

454
00:18:20,490 --> 00:18:22,320
I welcome that for sure.

455
00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:25,323
Our intention is not to make
you think a certain way.

456
00:18:26,340 --> 00:18:28,860
It's definitely not to make
you feel a certain way,

457
00:18:28,860 --> 00:18:30,687
but maybe we can give
you something to think

458
00:18:30,687 --> 00:18:33,330
and to talk and to feel about

459
00:18:33,330 --> 00:18:34,530
and to communicate with other people

460
00:18:34,530 --> 00:18:36,303
and find out how they did the same.

461
00:18:38,220 --> 00:18:41,130
So I'm glad that you had
good experience with it.

462
00:18:41,130 --> 00:18:44,370
- And we kind of touched on
this a little bit too but,

463
00:18:44,370 --> 00:18:46,800
you know, the war is,

464
00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:48,750
you know, a war for independence,

465
00:18:48,750 --> 00:18:52,200
but it's also a civil war and a world war.

466
00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:55,233
How does the series address its magnitude?

467
00:18:56,700 --> 00:18:59,460
- So, you know, one of the things that

468
00:18:59,460 --> 00:19:00,600
I feel like I should have known this,

469
00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:01,950
but was surprising to me

470
00:19:01,950 --> 00:19:05,310
when making this film is
the American Revolution,

471
00:19:05,310 --> 00:19:08,250
While it absolutely did
win American independence,

472
00:19:08,250 --> 00:19:10,560
of course, and unite the states

473
00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:12,090
and create the republic that,

474
00:19:12,090 --> 00:19:14,310
you know, we still live under,

475
00:19:14,310 --> 00:19:15,990
none of those were on
the table at the start.

476
00:19:15,990 --> 00:19:20,130
Those weren't war objectives
on April 19th, 1775.

477
00:19:20,130 --> 00:19:23,580
They became necessary to win the war.

478
00:19:23,580 --> 00:19:26,820
They're kind of outcomes of
the war rather than goals.

479
00:19:26,820 --> 00:19:28,890
What they were really trying
to do at the start was

480
00:19:28,890 --> 00:19:31,443
to liberate Boston and to,

481
00:19:33,210 --> 00:19:34,680
you know, get a redress of grievances

482
00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:36,540
and to bring things back
to the way they were

483
00:19:36,540 --> 00:19:37,530
under the British Empire

484
00:19:37,530 --> 00:19:39,990
when things worked out
the way that they did.

485
00:19:39,990 --> 00:19:41,880
But in order to win the war,

486
00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:44,400
they had to involve all
sorts of American people

487
00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:46,380
who otherwise might not get along.

488
00:19:46,380 --> 00:19:48,900
And coalition building made it

489
00:19:48,900 --> 00:19:50,253
a war about liberty,

490
00:19:51,210 --> 00:19:53,910
made it this

491
00:19:53,910 --> 00:19:55,530
fight for union,

492
00:19:55,530 --> 00:19:56,820
and it just gets bigger and bigger,

493
00:19:56,820 --> 00:19:58,650
and then in order to win the war,

494
00:19:58,650 --> 00:20:01,080
they had to involve foreign powers.

495
00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:02,820
French came in, the Spanish came in

496
00:20:02,820 --> 00:20:04,140
as the allies of the French,

497
00:20:04,140 --> 00:20:06,510
the Dutch declared war on the British.

498
00:20:06,510 --> 00:20:08,820
And the war ends up
being fought, not just,

499
00:20:08,820 --> 00:20:10,800
you know, it begins on Lexington Green,

500
00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:12,360
it spreads all throughout,

501
00:20:12,360 --> 00:20:14,550
not just the original 13 colonies,

502
00:20:14,550 --> 00:20:18,060
but over the mountains
to the Ohio River country

503
00:20:18,060 --> 00:20:19,260
along the Gulf Coast,

504
00:20:19,260 --> 00:20:21,120
even out to the Mississippi River.

505
00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:22,860
It's also in the Caribbean.

506
00:20:22,860 --> 00:20:25,350
It's fought off of England

507
00:20:25,350 --> 00:20:27,720
with John Paul Jones at Flamborough Head.

508
00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:29,940
It's fought in the Atlantic Ocean.

509
00:20:29,940 --> 00:20:31,470
It's fought along the coast of France,

510
00:20:31,470 --> 00:20:33,060
fought along the coast of Africa.

511
00:20:33,060 --> 00:20:35,790
It's even fought in the
Indian subcontinent.

512
00:20:35,790 --> 00:20:37,230
And that's just the war.

513
00:20:37,230 --> 00:20:39,000
The ideas

514
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,390
just grow and grow and inspire revolutions

515
00:20:42,390 --> 00:20:46,320
and have inspired revolutions
for the past 250 years

516
00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:48,510
all throughout the world.

517
00:20:48,510 --> 00:20:51,690
Ho Chi Minh, when he declared
Vietnamese independence,

518
00:20:51,690 --> 00:20:55,530
had two United States OSS
officers standing next to him

519
00:20:55,530 --> 00:20:59,190
and was quoting in
Vietnamese Thomas Jefferson.

520
00:20:59,190 --> 00:21:03,060
- And then kind of turning
more towards the war itself.

521
00:21:03,060 --> 00:21:06,540
You know, the revolution is
almost kind of the definition

522
00:21:06,540 --> 00:21:08,340
of when Ulysses S. Grant,

523
00:21:08,340 --> 00:21:09,270
one of my favorite scenes

524
00:21:09,270 --> 00:21:10,890
is we'll look 'em tomorrow.

525
00:21:10,890 --> 00:21:14,220
And we lose a majority of the
battles against the British.

526
00:21:14,220 --> 00:21:18,180
Yet we emerge victorious, kind of,

527
00:21:18,180 --> 00:21:20,373
this is a broad question, but how?

528
00:21:21,330 --> 00:21:22,770
- Yeah, I mean, well, okay,

529
00:21:22,770 --> 00:21:24,900
so my previous experience studying war

530
00:21:24,900 --> 00:21:26,580
was with the Vietnam War.

531
00:21:26,580 --> 00:21:30,510
So I would, I could be
colored by that interpretation

532
00:21:30,510 --> 00:21:32,730
where it's just, you know,
this is an insurgency,

533
00:21:32,730 --> 00:21:35,040
an insurgency just has to outlast

534
00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:37,080
the counterinsurgency.

535
00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:38,640
Outlast the counterinsurgency.

536
00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:43,230
But I don't think George
Washington realized that at first.

537
00:21:43,230 --> 00:21:45,300
And so it's something that he learned

538
00:21:45,300 --> 00:21:46,600
through the war

539
00:21:47,700 --> 00:21:49,200
initially when they were,

540
00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:51,870
when his continental army
forces were ringing Boston,

541
00:21:51,870 --> 00:21:53,500
he proposed

542
00:21:55,230 --> 00:21:56,590
going across the ice

543
00:21:57,480 --> 00:21:58,690
of the Charles River

544
00:22:00,043 --> 00:22:03,450
and invading Boston, occupied Boston,

545
00:22:03,450 --> 00:22:06,633
you know, that very
likely would've been bad.

546
00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:09,300
And he took good counsel
and they told him,

547
00:22:09,300 --> 00:22:10,133
you know, don't do that.

548
00:22:10,133 --> 00:22:11,850
And he agreed with them, didn't do it.

549
00:22:11,850 --> 00:22:15,390
But then the next year after
they had had taken Boston,

550
00:22:15,390 --> 00:22:18,960
he put armies on Long Island and Manhattan

551
00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,240
in a time when Britain rules the waves.

552
00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:23,310
You know, this is rule Britannia.

553
00:22:23,310 --> 00:22:25,113
The British Royal Navy is the,

554
00:22:25,950 --> 00:22:28,680
the best military force in the world,

555
00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:29,850
probably at that time,

556
00:22:29,850 --> 00:22:32,790
just completely supreme on the high seas.

557
00:22:32,790 --> 00:22:35,733
And New York is surrounded by water.

558
00:22:37,140 --> 00:22:38,940
Horrible mistakes were made

559
00:22:38,940 --> 00:22:41,823
in the Battle of Long Island
in the lead up and after.

560
00:22:43,530 --> 00:22:45,963
So the how there, I mean,

561
00:22:48,180 --> 00:22:49,403
I think that the,

562
00:22:49,403 --> 00:22:52,410
that if you take the
Vietnam interpretation,

563
00:22:52,410 --> 00:22:55,770
it's hard to imagine Britain ever beating

564
00:22:55,770 --> 00:22:58,050
a united insurgency in the face of this.

565
00:22:58,050 --> 00:23:00,480
But it wasn't that united in 1776.

566
00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:03,270
There's still very
strong Loyalist presence

567
00:23:03,270 --> 00:23:06,180
and also lukewarm Patriots.

568
00:23:06,180 --> 00:23:09,030
And Washington, if he had been captured

569
00:23:09,030 --> 00:23:10,480
at the Battle of Long Island,

570
00:23:11,340 --> 00:23:13,950
it could have been a
completely different story.

571
00:23:13,950 --> 00:23:15,510
- [Narrator] Well, that's
all we have time for

572
00:23:15,510 --> 00:23:16,470
in this episode.

573
00:23:16,470 --> 00:23:17,400
Thanks for joining us,

574
00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:19,176
and we'll see you next week.

575
00:23:19,176 --> 00:23:21,759
(lively music)

576
00:23:29,217 --> 00:23:32,634
(lively music continues)

577
00:23:39,956 --> 00:23:42,346
(lively music continues)