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Gen Z & Military Service
370 Plays2 years ago
Is there alignment between military service and Gen Z's interests and passions? This episode features a conversation with Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. We discuss the strengths of Gen Z service members and the opportunities for Gen Zers within military service and the United States Air Force.
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Transcript
Introduction to Episode 42
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to Hashtag Gen Z. I'm your host, Megan Grace.
00:00:18
Speaker
Hello and welcome back. This is episode 42 of hashtag Gen Z and a very special one at that.
Curiosity About Gen Z in Military
00:00:25
Speaker
This episode explores a topic that I've been curious about for a while now, Generation Z and military service. As you know, much of my lens at looking at Generation Z comes from a higher education, education, or career and workplace view. I've always been interested in understanding this generation from a teen and young adult perspective, but have never explored the path of military service among Generation Z.
00:00:47
Speaker
until now. A while back I was fortunate enough to speak at a virtual event for the Civil Air Patrol which is an auxiliary of the United States Air Force and works to engage citizen volunteers in aviation.
00:00:59
Speaker
Civil Air Patrol offers emergency services and aerospace education, as well as operates a cadet program for youth development. This interaction really started to get me thinking about how military service looks for Gen Z, especially if that path might align with Gen Z's motivations, perspectives, and passions. And when I think about what I know from our research on Gen Z motivations, career interests, concerns, military service does check a lot of those boxes.
Guest Introduction: General Charles Q. Brown Jr.
00:01:27
Speaker
Fast forward a little bit and I was lucky enough to be connected with my guests for this episode. General Charles Q. Brown Jr. is the Chief of Staff for the United States Air Force.
00:01:37
Speaker
As Chief, he serves as the Senior Uniformed Air Force Officer, responsible for the organization, training, and equipping of 689,000 active duty, guard, reserve, and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the General and other service chiefs function as military advisors to the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council, and the President.
00:02:03
Speaker
General Brown is a distinguished graduate of the ROTC program at Texas Tech University and has served in many positions in the squadron and wing levels. He served at the U.S. Air Force Weapons School as an F-16 Fighting Falcon instructor and on staff tours including aid to camp to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Director Secretary of the Air Force, Chief of Staff Executive Action Group,
00:02:26
Speaker
and Deputy Commander United States Central Command. He also served as a National Defense Fellow at the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, Virginia. General Brown has commuted a fighter squadron, the U.S. Air Force Weapons School, two fighter wings, and United States Air Force's Central Command. Prior to serving as the Air Force Chief of Staff, General Brown was the commander of Pacific Air Forces, air component commander for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
00:02:54
Speaker
General Brown is a command pilot with more than 2,900 flying hours, including 130 combat hours. Now that I've shared with you all the official and incredibly impressive things General Brown has done, I can also share that from the time I spent with him. He's a very insightful leader with a desire to learn and a knack for great listening and thoughtful replies. It was an absolute honor to visit him at the Pentagon in Washington DC to record this episode, and I truly hope you enjoy our conversation. Please help me in welcoming General Brown to the episode.
00:03:29
Speaker
So General Brown, please, I've been able to spend time with you and learn more about your story. I think it is so motivating and inspiring in the role that you hold in serving
Role and Responsibilities of Air Force Chief of Staff
00:03:40
Speaker
our nation. But can you share a little bit more about what you do and the journey that you've taken to get to what you do in our service?
00:03:48
Speaker
Sure, Megan, it's a real honor and pleasure to be here with you today. My role as the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, I'm the senior uniform member of the United States Air Force. In that role, I have the opportunity to lead nearly 689,000 airmen, and that's an active guard, reserve, and civilian.
00:04:07
Speaker
And then I would also add in the number grows when you start talking about the families as well. The job and role I have is to organize, train, and equip. And so it's the aspect of how to organize the Air Force. How do we go after resources to equip and then also work the training aspects. And that's the role I spend a lot of time here and I work in the
00:04:29
Speaker
Pentagon and working very much with the Department of Defense as well as members on Capitol Hill because they hold the purse strings by law. And so there's a lot of dialogue that I do in addition to working very closely with Airmen that are out in the station really around the world and around the country. My journey.
00:04:51
Speaker
I grew up as a military child.
General Brown's Journey to the Air Force
00:04:53
Speaker
My father's a retired Army colonel. This whole thing was his idea. He encouraged me when I was graduating in high school, starting to look to my future. He talked to me about going to one of the academies. I was not that interested in the military, but he had taught ROTC after his second tour in Vietnam and encouraged me to apply for ROTC scholarships because they had decent grades in high school. I ended up
00:05:18
Speaker
Applying for Army, Navy, and Air Force did not go to the Navy interview because I knew for a fact that I did not want to go to the Navy. I got both the Air Force and Army Scholarship. I was pursuing a dual degree in architecture and civil engineering. And my dad knew how the assignment process worked in the Army, so he encouraged me to go Air Force. And so my intent was to do four years and get out. I got to fly in a T-37 when I was a trainer at Kraft.
00:05:46
Speaker
I looked around those others that had pilot slots in that point, I decided I wanted to become a pilot. And that's what I did throughout my Air Force career. I flew F-16s for the bulk of my career, although I've throughout my career been able to fly about probably about 20 different aircraft. And so that's kind of how I got here. And I'm still having fun. I've been doing this for 37 years plus. And it's, you know, not sure what I'm going to do when I grow up, to be honest with you.
00:06:12
Speaker
I don't think anyone does, or at least that's what my mom told me terrifyingly a few years ago. And I was like, mom, you can't just drop that on someone who's apparently an adult. But I do think it's, I love that story because your family was so critical to that. And I think that that is so present with young people today and lots of people.
00:06:31
Speaker
and I was able to interact with some of your colleagues, and that was very present in how they made that decision and the role that the people directly around us influence our decisions. And so first, I'm glad your father encouraged that. Sometimes parents do know better than us. We hate to admit it when we're teenagers, but sometimes they do know a little bit better about something that might be good for us. And I thank your father for that, and I thank you for your service. I'd be remiss not to take that opportunity for everything that you've done for our country and the ways that you've served.
00:07:02
Speaker
I want to I would really love to talk about how Air Force Service might actually line with Generation Z and you know where I come into this conversation is I've spent a lot of time observing and researching Generation Z. You see it in a very different lens and I think that's so important and we've been able to chat more about how some of their characteristics and being responsible and loyal and motivated and really
00:07:27
Speaker
open-minded to things while also being very motivated by relationships, having something you can advocate for, and then really advancement within their careers and paths to success.
Gen Z's Values and the Air Force Mission
00:07:38
Speaker
Keeping that in mind, where do you see the alignment with Air Force Service as an opportunity for Generation Z as they think about their future careers, whether that is beyond high school or even throughout college and beyond college?
00:07:52
Speaker
Well, I see a lot of alignment and a lot of things you hit on are things that are important to me as a senior officer, but it's also important to our Airmen and her families. And, you know, I have sons that are, you know, one is definitely in the middle of Gen Z. One's probably on the borderline between Gen Z and millennial. And so I live it a bit firsthand. And I think about the percentage of our Airmen that are Gen Z.
00:08:16
Speaker
The things I do think about is the core values for the United States Air Force. That's integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do. And as I've spent time thinking about Gen Z and how I personally connect with Gen Z and in some cases connect with my sons.
00:08:34
Speaker
It's you know doing something that's bigger than yourself and that that's the thing I find with Gen Z They want to serve and we talk about service before self It's not that you completely sacrifice everything but it you're looking to do things to to make the world better And you want to do it in a way that's you know a level of excellence But you also want to be able to look yourself in the mirror with integrity that you're doing something bigger than yourself and so the sense of service for those that are in uniform is
00:09:03
Speaker
I think very much aligns with Gen Z that they want to serve, but in some cases they want to serve in their own way. And that's the other part I think about as an Air Force. When we talk about talent management, we have to adapt as well in some cases to align ourselves with
00:09:19
Speaker
one, what the nation needs, but also the demographics in the nation. And when they want to serve and they're going to ask more questions to be more inquisitive, they have more access to information. We got to change our game as well. So in the aspect of loyalty and relationships, that is probably the part that I enjoy the most is the relationships I've been able to build. What I've talked about is I've never had a bad assignment.
00:09:44
Speaker
some locations have been met better than others, but it's the people I've had a chance to work with in those long-term relationships and the folks that I've known for
00:09:54
Speaker
probably plus 30 plus years that I still correspond with and I think the the aspect of social media and being able to text I'm able to actually stay much more connected than I did much earlier in my career and that part to me is exciting about the relationships and we travel and go places we're always crossing paths with someone that we serve with or you know the six degrees of separation where you know you know somebody you know somebody and you can build that continue to start to expand those relationships as well.
00:10:20
Speaker
I can imagine those relationships, you're going through such an important intensive but also in that time of your life. It's that really critical age where those relationships do matter. You learn so much about yourself and I imagine that the relationships that a person develops in that phase of their early career, whether it's through military service or
00:10:39
Speaker
and other professional avenues. Those are the people that kind of stick with you. And it seems like from what you're sharing, the relationships that are an opportunity to be built within Air Force service and military service have not only really profoundly impacted your experience, but have an opportunity to be the relationships that potentially Gen Z might be seeking out.
00:11:00
Speaker
And from a career perspective, I think I would love to learn a little bit more because what we're seeing about Gen Z is those really important relationships, not just with colleagues and peers, but with mentors and leaders. But they're also very interested in opportunities to do meaningful work and they're interested in the ability to have jobs that do make a positive impact.
00:11:23
Speaker
But developmentally, they're also looking for experiences within career areas that allow them to gain new skills. Can you speak a little bit more from, it might be more of a talent management perspective, but potentially what are the career development experiences that might align with Generation Z within military service and specifically within the Air Force?
00:11:46
Speaker
Well, one of the things you highlight is meaningful work. I'll tell you, the United States Air Force has a lot of meaningful work that is available to anyone that wants to join us. And the aspect of meaningful work is getting levels of responsibility that you may not get in some other career fields.
00:12:02
Speaker
the opportunity to lead and particularly as you come in whether you're you come in enlisted or you come in through the officer corps there are great opportunities to lead and get great responsibility and if you're innovative and have initiative you can get even more and that's one of the things I see those that have a lot of a initiative we tend to lean on a bit more because you know they're able to deliver but you also get a chance to experience
00:12:28
Speaker
And you have opportunities to go and see places and do things. I remember a story my dad told me when I went to seventh and ninth grade in Europe. And my dad said, you're going to get to see things most kids only read about. I will say the same thing when you come into the military. You'll get to do things that most people only read about.
00:12:46
Speaker
And I look at my own biography of all the things I've been able to do, all the places I've been able to go. I pinch myself to think about the opportunities I've had. The fact that I've been able to go throughout my Air Force career to every continent. I just went to Antarctica a couple years ago and got to the South Pole. Never thought, never imagined I would have the opportunity to do that.
00:13:05
Speaker
the ability to fly all these various aircraft, the ability to meet some outstanding people and outstanding people in leadership or in entertainment or sports. I've had so many different opportunities and I think that's the aspect of
00:13:22
Speaker
what the Air Force is able to provide. And there is a number of different career fields. And based on your aptitude, you know, the goal is to match you, you know, when you talk about talent, matching the individual up to where their skill sets are and where their passions are and where they feel have a level of comfort.
00:13:43
Speaker
The last thing I'd say on this, it's also the aspect of working for a high-powered team. And when you grew up, like I did playing sports, you really value your teammates and being able to work closely and you get to go through thick and thin together. And that's the part of the relationship piece that is important as you work together and you have these unique experiences that you share, even if they're tough experiences, and how you come out on the other side and you build your fortitude and your character. That's a part, I think,
00:14:13
Speaker
I think another key part of the military as well. So I'd love to come back to something that you said that I think is really important is this idea of exploration of passions and interests. When I think about especially young people today, there's a lot to sift through and try to figure out what am I going to do and what's my place in this world.
00:14:32
Speaker
And I know that that can feel overwhelming to anyone of any generation, but I think now with the perspective of looking at the world with so much information, I think that's even more so amplified for today's young people within Generation Z. And from what I'm hearing, there's actually a really good opportunity. If there isn't this immediate, I know what my passions are. Air Force and military service actually could be a great way to try it on and explore.
00:14:57
Speaker
while developing skills, developing friendships and relationships and leadership opportunities. You know, it's something I hadn't really thought about before as there is this opportunity to figure out what do I want to do and what do I want to give back if there is that motivation.
00:15:13
Speaker
And what I'm really hearing is, from what you're sharing, this experience allows people to be connected to something, be connected, develop skills, but also learn about themselves and be a part of something much larger than themselves. I think it's really hard to deny that the ability to make an impact is very clear there. And I've loved what you've been kind of framing that service is different for everyone. And I think that really does align with
00:15:38
Speaker
how we've looked at, we being my research partner and I, looking at Gen Z's concept of service, even just for my, let's say volunteer service within their own communities, we're seeing nonprofits, we're seeing college campuses and a lot of other traditionally volunteer service experiences, having declining engagement. And I think it's, we're seeing this that there's a narrowly defined way to give
Misconceptions and Opportunities in Military Service
00:16:03
Speaker
back or there's a narrowly defined way to give.
00:16:05
Speaker
and Gen Z is really interested in finding their own path to giving but giving might look different for this generation and I think that kind of leads to my next question is there might be a lot of misconception that people that haven't served or don't have familiarity with military service
00:16:22
Speaker
might hold. I know I'm one of those people that I know I have lots more to learn about military service. And so can you share a little bit about potentially some of the misconceptions that people have about military service and serving in the Air Force and shedding a little bit of light on the reality and some of those positive benefits that might not be as known?
00:16:41
Speaker
Well, you know, when you think about the military, we often think about conflict. But our role goal is to not go to conflict, to be a strong military so that we talk about deterrence. But it's really the aspect of how we provide national security
00:16:57
Speaker
and not just our national, but our global security. So all the things that we enjoy and love doing, we're able to do. We also, as a nation, have economic prosperity. And so that's really our role. But the other part of this is there are great opportunities. There's great opportunities for education, not just the experience you get. As you kind of described a little bit earlier,
00:17:19
Speaker
Some young people join the military don't know exactly want to do but once they come in and start to see various career paths Then they have opportunities because there's opportunities to cross train you may come into a career field and forgot that's not for you And you can move to another career field. There's great opportunities for education with the aspects of our GI Bill and education particularly the Air Force because we have a community college of the Air Force so you can take your
00:17:43
Speaker
job experience and apply that and get college credit, which will lead to an associate's degree, then other opportunities to go on to get a bachelor's and master's degrees. And that's where a lot of our airmen use those opportunities to help develop themselves and figure out
00:18:00
Speaker
You know kind of navigate through various career paths. There's also health care There's you know 30 days of paid make paid leave each year the opportunity to travel and You know as I said, I've been every continents partly because I've had a chance to live overseas both as growing up as a military child but also as a military member to be able to see and experience different cultures and and build friendships with Those from not from the United States and various countries and so there there's
00:18:31
Speaker
So many different opportunities and I think for all of us, no matter whether you're in the military or not, what you put in is what you get out. And if you're able to, you make the best of things based on the locations and the relationships and friendships you build and the opportunities and the issues you take in the
00:18:49
Speaker
in the career fields that you choose, and even internalist career fields, to be able to do some things that even I haven't thought of, to be able to get some satisfaction and move forward. I think that's a great point that many people are point of reference. Unless you know if you were part of a military family or you know someone directly, even then sometimes you can't walk a mile in those shoes to fully understand it. And that familiarity is so important, I think, for motivating factor.
00:19:19
Speaker
But I think for people that have never served and don't have that familiarity, we only really have a singular view of, well, our military goes to war for us. I never really thought about our military actually tries to keep us away from conflict because the world doesn't want to be in conflict. Everyday people do not want to be in conflict. And I think that's a very big misconception a lot of people have or that everybody that enlists will be going to the front lines when there's so many important roles that
00:19:47
Speaker
make up a big part of the team that I think a lot of people don't realize. I am a big nerd. I love Star Wars. And I always think like when I try to tell people that everyone can give back in a different way, not everyone gets to be like red leader in the squadron of the pilots. Like some people do need to be looking at command back at the base. And then like, let's not forget about the role that the Ewoks played. Like everyone plays a role in that. Sorry to get super nerdy, but that's the alignment that I'm thinking about of how people
00:20:16
Speaker
can view that this is a big team, big operation. And there's so many opportunities that align with career interests, not only right now, but how it's potentially a good stepping stone into a next field or a next opportunity, while also minimizing in some cases and helping young people navigate what I think is the ambiguity of asking the big question of like, what am I going to do when I get older and when I become a big kid?
00:20:44
Speaker
and get my big kid job. Sometimes our big kid job is the job we do for the rest of our lives, and I think that's great. So I know that I've certainly learned so much in just being able to interact with you today and reshape my mindset around military service and what people do within the Air Force.
00:21:00
Speaker
I would love to actually look forward and I know that you are very visionary. You want to take the Air Force to great new heights. I know your accelerate change or lose initiative really starts to frame some of the tenants of where you would like to take service. Can you share a little bit more about that and what are some of the maybe the guiding principles within that and how you see Gen Z and young people today playing a part in making that possible?
00:21:27
Speaker
When I came in as the Chief of Staff of the Air Force about two years ago, I wrote Accelerate, Exchange, or Lose.
Vision for the Future of the Air Force
00:21:32
Speaker
And that was partly based on our national defense strategy and the areas we needed to focus on. Two, we could be in a position to, one, deter future conflict, assure our allies and partners in our national population. And if called upon to do so, if there is a conflict, so we make sure we don't lose. And when I think about what's at stake, it is our national security.
00:21:57
Speaker
the the aspect of our credibility as as a nation and as a as a military but it's also the we might lose quality airmen and our families. I'm not be able to bring in people if we don't do some things internal to the Air Force thinking about talent management and how we take care of our airmen and our families. And one of the key tenants that I put into Accelerate Change or Lose was the the word collaboration because
00:22:23
Speaker
There's a quote I often use, success takes help, failure you can do alone. And so any one of us that's been successful in any form or fashion, no matter what generation you are, has gotten some level of help from somebody, whether it's an influencer who's pointing you in a direction like my father did.
00:22:38
Speaker
you know coach or high school counselor or it's your peer group or someone that you know is mentored you or someone that you're being mentored by from from below it has a different perspective. That collaboration to me is how do you bring people together to talk through difference of opinion or
00:22:57
Speaker
really tap into the diversity, whether it's demographic diversity, whether it's race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or just diversity and thought based on where they grew up in a different part of the country and what they experienced, that collaboration makes us stronger. And that's the value of having, you know, differences in generations that come in too, because they look at things from a different perspective because they grew up differently. You know, I think about Gen Z who
00:23:22
Speaker
I joke about it when I talk to our young folks. When I first came to the Air Force, I didn't get my first email address until I was probably six, seven years into the Air Force because email didn't exist back then.
00:23:34
Speaker
for our young people today, they don't know what to do without email or text or any other piece of social media. And so it's a different dynamic, but that collaboration to me is important to ensure we're doing the best that we can for the nation. At the same time, the best that we can to support our Airmen. And the last thing I'd say on this that I focus on, I want to create an environment where every one of our Airmen and their families can reach their full potential.
00:24:01
Speaker
and to take away any detractors and distractors, but open up as many opportunities as I can to provide them a rewarding experience. So when they join our United States Air Force or our military, they actually have an opportunity to really explore and learn more about themselves. And then even if they only stay for four to six years or they stay for a full career, they're able to walk away. And so this has been really helpful to me and my family and my own development.
00:24:31
Speaker
I appreciate that perspective of thinking about the ways that instead of saying, you will come here and we will change you. I appreciate the kind of the perspective you're bringing into this of we recognize the need to be innovative.
00:24:49
Speaker
and to think, I don't want to say differently, but thinking creative ways about how you can make that experience positive. I think that in itself is a misconception that people, you join, you conform, we will change you who you are.
00:25:04
Speaker
And it feels like what you're bringing into this is we're going to continually focus on creating a better experience to build you up, to help you realize your potential. I think it's something that really does resonate with many people, whether they're Gen Z or not. I think everyone wants to feel fulfilled and finding passion and finding their potential, but certainly with what we know about serving.
00:25:26
Speaker
There is that age demographic that Gen Z's really smacked up in the prime of that. But I think that that's a message that they want to hear is that this is the place where you can bring who you are, become the best version of you and give back in a meaningful way. And it is as simple as I can really distill it down. I don't want to distill down a really important piece of work, but I think that that is something that I'm continually hearing throughout our conversation and the ability that we've had to chat so far.
00:25:53
Speaker
I would say there's a bit of balance there because it is a military organization, so there are certain things we've kind of uniformed.
00:26:00
Speaker
some yellow uniformity, but we also want to think about the individual. So there's a balance between the two. And that to me is, as a senior leader, is I've got to listen to all aspects of our organization to ensure that if I don't, then they're not going to want to stick around and continue to work. And it's no different than any other business or corporation. If it's not the right environment, they'll move on to go do something else.
00:26:24
Speaker
Yeah, and I think we're seeing that in industry outside of military service very, very presently. And I think some of it is that exploration of like, this isn't for me. But I do think that something that will be interesting with Gen Z is understanding of systems and bureaucracy. This is not my warning to you, I don't want to say that.
00:26:44
Speaker
But they're questioning of why. And not in a way of they think it's bad, but they might ask, well, why does this policy exist? Purely because they actually want to know. And I think that that is, if you aren't aware of that with Gen Z, you might say, wow, how disrespectful for that young person to ask me. But they actually just probably want the full scope of an understanding that if there's a policy that they might say, I don't really fully understand it, instead of just completely checking out, they might ask why.
00:27:13
Speaker
And a leader that would have never dreamed of doing that 20 years ago, 30 years ago, might take offense to it when in reality that that young person actually just wants to know the purpose that it serves. But also that young person asking that question why could say, hmm, that policy or practice, thank you for bringing that up. I've actually never thought about that. I know that I've experienced that in being an educator being like, yeah, that is an interesting policy included in the syllabus that
00:27:38
Speaker
doesn't actually serve our goals effectively. And I think that that's something that I think you're doing a very good balance of allowing that to allow them to have their voice be present, allow them to share while also balancing the priorities, the safety and everything else that occurs with really managing a very large organization. When I think about policies,
00:28:01
Speaker
many of those policies no matter you know what organization they're based on a certain set of facts and assumptions and those facts and assumptions you know happen at a certain time period and those fact you know they may change over time which is why you to go back and revisit some of these and be able to explain the why that when I talk about leading those in leadership have to have a vision but you need to explain why you're going to people want to follow
00:28:29
Speaker
you can't explain it then it's probably the visions probably needs a little work yeah and I think that's an important aspect and that's why I appreciate the Gen Z and the fact that they will ask why because it helps to challenge us to really strengthen the vision and approach we're going to take when we're leading because if you can't explain why
00:28:47
Speaker
You need to look yourself in the mirror and understand why you're doing it. If you can't explain it to yourself, much less to someone of Gen Z or any other generation, then it really questions the approach you're taking and where you're headed and what you're trying to get done.
00:29:01
Speaker
I think that's really important to know because when I think about this generation and their views on leadership, they're actually a little bit, they're a little bit wary about taking on a formal leadership role. They want to be a part of leadership. They might not want to be the leader. And in their cases, sometimes it's they want to be involved in conversations around decision making. They might not want to be the decision maker.
00:29:26
Speaker
And so I think about the importance of voice and the validation of their ability to give feedback, even though they might not be the person to execute, is going to be an interesting balance that we'll see as this generation moves into organizations beyond K-12 higher education and more formally in their careers and how that changes those spaces.
00:29:46
Speaker
I'm really excited. I really have enjoyed our conversation today leading up to today. And I know you listen to the podcast and you know the question that's coming, but what is your favorite thing about the Gen Z that you work with and that you get
Gen Z's Innovation and Norm-Challenging
00:30:00
Speaker
to lead? I know you get to live with one as well. So you can toss that in there as well. We know that- Well, he's out of the household now. He's out of the house now. He's gone. He's off the payroll, but he's still on my cell phone plan. That's how that works I've heard. And just don't boot him with the health insurance. It's like ripping the whole Band-Aid off.
00:30:13
Speaker
Now, what I like about Gen Z is their ability to operate on intent. And if you were able to bring intent and they're very innovative about how they approach things, they're inquisitive. And just like we just talked about, they'll ask why. They're not afraid to challenge the status quo. And I think that's valuable. One of the things that I
00:30:38
Speaker
often you have a meeting and no one says anything. I'd rather have that dialogue, which I think is hopefully would be inviting to someone of Gen Z or any other generation. And the other part is they're well informed. They have a lot more access to information than I probably didn't growing up. I had to search it out and it's getting pushed them in different forms. And so they were all informed. They ask, you know, very challenging questions. That's when I traveled and talked to particularly like ROTC units and some of our young airmen, some of the questions they come up with.
00:31:08
Speaker
Wow me because I don't know that I probably would have come up with a question like that when I was their age and that's the part I really appreciate is the the willing challenge disaster quo they're willing to ask hard questions and And force us that are a bit older to really think hard about why we're and what we're doing And then that helps us be a more cohesive team as an air force, but also as a nation
00:31:31
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. I think we interact with them in different lenses in different environments, but I see that so presently. They're tenacious, I think is the way that I'd put it. They've got definitely, I think that they're motivated, they're very informed, as you've pointed out. And I think about as older generations, what can we do? I'm like, we're all getting tired, but these young people have the energy. So what can we do beyond develop them and get them on a path to create good things?
00:31:59
Speaker
And I think that a common thread through everything we've chatted about today is that there's really great opportunity that some people, young people in Gen Z and those who support Gen Z might not know is available within military service and serving within the Air Force. And so I want to thank you for your time. It has been just so fascinating to learn with you and learn from you.
00:32:18
Speaker
But also, thank you for raising Gen Z, leading Gen Z, and the wonderful service that you provide to keeping our nation safe. I know that I sleep well at night knowing there's someone like you taking care of us. So thank you for that. Thank you, Megan. I appreciate it. And I've learned a lot from you as well. Wonderful. It goes both ways. Thank you.
00:32:39
Speaker
First, I want to thank General Brown for taking the time to connect with me and the sincere hospitality I experienced during my visit. Hearing about his story, serving, and leading the Air Force is beyond inspirational. His commitment to innovative leadership and engaging and empowering young people in military service is something I deeply admire and that I think many people, civilian and military service members alike, can learn from.
00:33:02
Speaker
Nearly every school, organization, college or university or company that I talk to shares the desire to better understand and engage young people in the Gen Z cohort in some way or another.
00:33:13
Speaker
But making the commitment to evolving an organization to align with the motivations, interests, skills, and passions of a new cohort, which is key to strong engagement, can feel like a scary challenge. And I commend General Brown for his and his team's desire to learn and listen to the young people in the Gen Z cohort who are currently enlisted and who may serve in the future.
00:33:35
Speaker
And not only for identifying the aspects of military service and Air Force service that align with Gen Z interest motivation, but also recognizing areas in which military service can evolve in advance to effectively engage this population in meaningful ways. I can fullheartedly share that I learned so much about the opportunities that exist within the Air Force and military service that I didn't know about before. And so many of those opportunities are prime for what Gen Z hopes to get out of a career and align with their motivations.
00:34:06
Speaker
I also want to say a big thank you to the members of General Brown's team who are instrumental in bringing this conversation to life. Juan Famath and the whole Air Force television team at the Pentagon, thank you for your help in production recording. And Captain Annabelle Monroe and Captain Nikki Ferreira, thank you for your stellar planning, hospitality, and kindness. I strongly believe you can tell a lot about a leader by the people they have on their team. And I can say firsthand that General Brown has an excellent team.
00:34:33
Speaker
And thank you to our many service members in the Air Force and all branches of the United States military. Your commitment to serving our country is something I'll never be able to repay, but something that I'll also never ever take for granted.
00:34:47
Speaker
And finally, thank you for tuning into this episode. As always, if you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. This not only helps me improve the podcast, but it helps other listeners find the show and learn about things just like we did today. So stay tuned as we continue to explore topics and trends related to understanding Gen Z in future episodes. However, if there's something you want me to learn about, I'll always happily make that happen. Please reach out via my website, meganandgrace.com,
00:35:16
Speaker
or on social media to share about your questions or any suggestions you might have. Thank you again for stopping by. Let's continue this conversation and we'll chat soon.