WEBVTT 00:00.140 --> 00:01.140 mhm , 00:04.140 --> 00:05.140 mm hmm . 00:16.540 --> 00:19.150 Mhm , mm hmm . 00:31.740 --> 00:35.520 My name is Chris 00:35.520 --> 00:38.600 Gray . I am a retired air force 00:38.600 --> 00:41.180 reservist did five years active duty 00:41.190 --> 00:44.460 and then another 17.5 in the reserves . 00:44.840 --> 00:46.950 So I grew up in texas . So I didn't 00:46.950 --> 00:49.520 grow up around the military uh , but 00:49.520 --> 00:52.650 was texas boy texas , high school 00:52.650 --> 00:55.180 football uh played since I was eight 00:55.180 --> 00:57.291 years old , was very passionate about 00:57.291 --> 00:59.513 it . Uh , ended up getting recruited to 00:59.513 --> 01:01.680 multiple schools . One of them was Air 01:01.680 --> 01:03.902 Force Academy and there's a coach there 01:03.902 --> 01:06.069 by the name of Fisher Deberry . And as 01:06.069 --> 01:08.124 I was taking my different recruiting 01:08.124 --> 01:10.236 visits , he had a slogan up above his 01:10.236 --> 01:12.347 wall that said the measure of a coach 01:12.347 --> 01:14.458 is not his win loss record . It's the 01:14.458 --> 01:18.150 kind of men that his players become . 01:22.840 --> 01:26.060 Well . I grew up in southern California 01:26.070 --> 01:28.730 in a small beach community right south 01:28.730 --> 01:30.980 of santa Monica went to an all girls 01:30.980 --> 01:33.870 catholic high school and I did lots of 01:33.870 --> 01:36.092 sports . I was a cross country runner , 01:36.092 --> 01:38.890 a soccer player and springboard diver 01:38.900 --> 01:40.900 in high school . So I did all three 01:40.900 --> 01:44.240 sports and then I was recruited to 01:44.250 --> 01:47.790 um significant colleges because of the 01:47.790 --> 01:49.846 diving knows that that was the sport 01:49.846 --> 01:52.068 that was I was recruited most for . And 01:52.068 --> 01:54.234 then the phone rang from the Air Force 01:54.234 --> 01:57.760 academy and the diving coach there 01:57.770 --> 02:01.070 mickey king . She was , she's an icon 02:01.070 --> 02:03.181 in the diving world so she could have 02:03.181 --> 02:05.410 called from anywhere and I would have 02:05.420 --> 02:08.720 gone there and you talk about just kind 02:08.720 --> 02:10.820 of what influences you to join the 02:10.820 --> 02:12.940 service . And I think that answer is 02:12.940 --> 02:15.310 different for a lot of us . Some of us 02:15.310 --> 02:17.643 grew up with it . Some of us , you know , 02:17.643 --> 02:19.910 we're inspired by something on tv but I 02:19.910 --> 02:22.300 remember hearing somebody say it 02:22.300 --> 02:25.100 doesn't matter so much why you come in 02:25.100 --> 02:27.530 and join the service . They weren't 02:27.530 --> 02:29.697 disregarding that . But they said what 02:29.697 --> 02:31.863 matters more is why you stay . And the 02:31.863 --> 02:34.030 best airmen is a diverse group of 02:34.030 --> 02:36.300 airmen . Whether that's a difference in 02:36.300 --> 02:38.300 socioeconomic backgrounds , whether 02:38.300 --> 02:40.560 racial backgrounds , the faith 02:40.570 --> 02:42.737 community backgrounds . I really think 02:42.737 --> 02:44.903 that richness that we need here in the 02:44.903 --> 02:47.237 guard to do this mission is so critical . 02:47.240 --> 02:49.790 I have found that value in my own life , 02:49.790 --> 02:51.957 in my own personal life . And that was 02:51.957 --> 02:54.290 something that I really wanted to share . 02:54.290 --> 02:57.560 Especially this month . Mm hmm . 03:00.440 --> 03:03.080 And I've gotten a lot of blessings from 03:03.080 --> 03:05.440 the military , from my education to 03:05.440 --> 03:07.607 meeting my wife to a lot of my closest 03:07.607 --> 03:10.950 friends personally . It changed the 03:10.950 --> 03:13.117 course of my life because it put me in 03:13.117 --> 03:14.894 the wake of other people that I 03:14.894 --> 03:16.839 wouldn't have had normally had the 03:16.839 --> 03:18.950 opportunity to cross paths with . And 03:18.950 --> 03:21.172 so Rebecca and I traveled a lot for the 03:21.172 --> 03:20.800 military and then we traveled for our 03:20.800 --> 03:22.920 degree program together as well . And 03:22.930 --> 03:25.300 that included India and china among 03:25.310 --> 03:27.990 those . But when I look at that , it it 03:28.000 --> 03:31.150 it really enabled me to think outside 03:31.150 --> 03:34.600 of myself and to think outside of my my 03:34.610 --> 03:38.050 upbringing , my upbringing with the 03:38.060 --> 03:40.282 current , that current family structure 03:40.282 --> 03:43.390 if you will . And um and with the level 03:43.400 --> 03:47.230 of commitment to um diversity here in 03:47.230 --> 03:50.110 the military , it really showed me that 03:50.120 --> 03:52.570 um there's a richness that can come 03:52.570 --> 03:54.940 from it that you could actually make 03:54.950 --> 03:57.130 create your family and that richness 03:57.130 --> 03:59.810 and not just your work , your work life 03:59.820 --> 04:01.876 if you will somewhere is just on our 04:01.876 --> 04:04.650 hearts that as we wanted to grow a 04:04.650 --> 04:08.250 family that we felt equipped . 04:08.640 --> 04:11.310 Um and just this desire in our hearts 04:11.320 --> 04:13.542 to adopt , I would say we went down the 04:13.542 --> 04:15.709 adoption route really just through our 04:15.709 --> 04:17.598 travels . I mean we were studying 04:17.598 --> 04:19.820 abroad at the time we were studying , I 04:19.820 --> 04:19.510 was studying , I was working on my 04:19.510 --> 04:21.621 doctorate at the time and studying in 04:21.621 --> 04:23.890 India and china and we , we were in 04:23.900 --> 04:25.900 china and it was just an incredible 04:25.900 --> 04:28.990 opportunity to um visit a few of the 04:28.990 --> 04:32.360 orphanages and and see what was was 04:32.360 --> 04:34.730 happening at the time when we were with 04:34.730 --> 04:37.240 the one child policy and a few of the 04:37.250 --> 04:39.740 challenges that the , the government 04:39.740 --> 04:41.962 was facing with the explosion of pop of 04:41.962 --> 04:43.684 the population and some of the 04:43.684 --> 04:45.796 decisions that they were making . And 04:45.796 --> 04:47.907 um , and so it was an opportunity for 04:47.907 --> 04:50.040 us to um go down the adoption route . 04:50.050 --> 04:52.272 And so that was what we have decided to 04:52.272 --> 04:54.606 do and how we wanted to grow our family . 04:54.606 --> 04:56.772 And so I think because Rebecca and I , 04:56.772 --> 04:58.661 you know , different parts of the 04:58.661 --> 05:00.820 country , different ethnicities , 05:00.830 --> 05:02.497 different stories , different 05:02.497 --> 05:04.497 personalities . And we said , hey , 05:04.497 --> 05:06.663 we're a little bit different . We're a 05:06.663 --> 05:09.150 diverse couple . Uh , and we can bring 05:09.150 --> 05:11.490 in some diverse Children . So we 05:11.490 --> 05:13.730 adopted three kids from china and 05:13.730 --> 05:15.786 they're not all three in high school 05:15.790 --> 05:18.880 the richness and the value I found , I 05:18.880 --> 05:21.102 guess in the military coming into basic 05:21.102 --> 05:23.047 training and just moving through a 05:23.047 --> 05:25.780 career of , of , of , you know , close 05:25.780 --> 05:29.500 to three decades now . Um , it's it's 05:29.500 --> 05:31.667 allowed me that there is a possibility 05:31.667 --> 05:34.030 to do that both personally and so for 05:34.030 --> 05:36.252 us , it just seemed like a natural , It 05:36.252 --> 05:38.710 seemed very natural . But it gives us 05:38.710 --> 05:40.710 just this awareness and sensitivity 05:40.710 --> 05:44.240 that we raise our kids up in that 05:44.250 --> 05:47.360 trust is a very loving environment for 05:47.360 --> 05:49.670 them . I wanted to take this time to do 05:49.670 --> 05:52.060 this to share my story because I wanted 05:52.060 --> 05:53.782 people to know my commitment , 05:53.782 --> 05:56.890 especially in this space really . Um , 05:56.900 --> 05:59.770 and it guides me , it directs me and it 05:59.790 --> 06:02.670 informs me in decisions . That's a 06:02.670 --> 06:05.820 commitment to celebrate some of our 06:05.820 --> 06:08.060 differences . And while the military , 06:08.060 --> 06:10.282 while we don't do everything perfect in 06:10.282 --> 06:12.449 this area , we do lead the way in this 06:12.449 --> 06:14.671 area . We do lead the way and in making 06:14.671 --> 06:16.671 sure that we bring in that richness 06:16.671 --> 06:19.850 into our force and that we do as best 06:19.850 --> 06:21.794 as we can . And and we've got more 06:21.840 --> 06:24.007 progress to make in this area . But we 06:24.007 --> 06:26.510 have come a long way and we've led our , 06:26.520 --> 06:28.670 our nation in this effort . It's very 06:28.670 --> 06:30.837 important to me . And I wanted to make 06:30.837 --> 06:33.750 sure I verbally communicated that , 06:35.240 --> 06:35.960 mm hmm .