February 18, 2025 • 25 mins
Join us for an enlightening conversation with Jackie Schmillen, Director of Public Affairs for the Iowa National Guard. Jackie is a dynamic media personality and dedicated community advocate from Iowa. Discover her impressive journey from a traffic reporter to a celebrated TV host, and her unexpected musical talents showcased at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. Jackie provides a firsthand look into the Guard’s crucial role in local and national missions.
We discuss the importance of transparency and how Jackie's media expertise helps navigate these inquiries. To wrap things up, we invite listeners to engage with us on social media and share their thoughts or suggestions for future episodes. With humor and gratitude, we thank you for being part of our journey.
email: boomerandgenxer@gmail.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome, welcome, welcome everyone to today's show
.
A boomer and a Gen Xer walkinto a bar, Coming to you not
from the rabbit hole studio butthe rabbit run studio, because,
yes, we are still on the road,but you, as our listener, will
experience some wit and wisdom,some smart assery and a mother
and daughter questioning.
Are we even related?
(00:26):
So my name is Jane Burt, myco-host is my daughter, bobbi,
and for the next I don't know 20to 25 minutes.
We're here to entertain you but, bobbi, I am so excited today
(00:56):
because we have a guest in thestudio with us.
We do tell you what this womanis a workaholic, she's always in
the media, she's always doingsomething to promote the
community, promote the events inour areas.
And, um, jackie was the formertraffic reporter on kccitv, a
big news channel here in thestate of iowa, and, uh, also,
(01:21):
she was a former host and headco-host on KCWI-TV.
And there's several otherthings that she certainly is an
expert on.
And I will say this I do knowshe is quite the vocalist also
Because, jackie, you have beento the National Rodeo in Las
Vegas, is that correct?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
That is correct, Jane .
You covered everything.
Good night, everybodyAppreciate your time no no.
You don't get off that easily.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Not that easily at all.
So Jackie actually competed forthe opportunity to sing the
National Anthem at the NationalRodeo, did a fabulous job.
Maybe some of you rememberhearing her.
Was it once, or more than once,jackie, that you went?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
as a national finals Roneo.
I've only had the opportunityonce.
I would love to do it againbecause, uh, it's all a blur
from how nervous I was.
I've never.
That was by far the largestarena and audience I've ever had
.
You know, and you kind of go inwith this confidence and I'm
not even sure if I hit any notes.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Oh, give me a break.
I watched it.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
I would love to do it again and consciously be there
and remember what happened.
I watched it and I heard youand you were fantastic.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Now I can imagine how nervous you were, but, uh,
jackie is also very muchinvolved in the playhouse here
in Iowa, in Des Moines, iowa,where she is not only the
vocalist there but she's donesome acting there on stage and
you're just all over the place,jackie, and so you're so
(02:59):
interesting and you have such aninteresting job and I see you
out and about doing so manythings.
But I wanted to talk aboutspecifically the Iowa National
Guard.
Now you have a new commander inchief and I wanted to kind of
talk about you know what is theprimary function of the National
Guard and what's your role andhow do they serve the community?
(03:23):
I don't think everybody knowswhat these guys do.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, no, I really appreciate that.
Thank you so much for thisincredible opportunity and
platform.
Any opportunity I get to talkabout the incredible men and
women I get to work with, everysingle day, I cherish.
So, yes, so I work with theIowa National Guard, which is
made up of nearly 9,000 men andwomen who serve in both the Army
and Air Guard here in the greatstate of Iowa.
(03:52):
We have armories in, orreadiness centers in, 36
communities across the state ofIowa, and I say that because
we're the only military branchor entity that is special in
that we serve both state andnation.
So we're the only militarybranch or entity that is special
in that we serve both state andnation.
So we're the only militaryentity that can say that.
So our boss is the governor ofthe state, but then also the
(04:15):
president, depending if we'reworking in a state status or a
federal status.
So what does that mean?
That means if our communitiesneed us and usually people think
of that if there's a flood or aderecho tornado God forbid,
covid, anything like that we canbe called upon to serve our
local communities or otherstates that need our assistance,
(04:37):
which we did this summer withHurricane Helene and other
locations as well.
So we can do that being a partof the Guard, but then, if our
country calls upon us, we canthen also work in a federal
status as well.
So that's how we're unique inworking in both state and
federal capacities.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Okay, that's good to know, Because I think, and I
know I I did not know, I thoughtit was just a state and you
know.
Then, when I listened to thepresident talk about who they're
calling upon for border patrol,for helping with riots, to help
with the fires that have beenout in California, the flooding,
(05:18):
any type of hurricanes ortornadoes, they mentioned the
National Guard right.
Yes, they mentioned theNational Guard right and and and
so let me ask you this has the,has the population of the
National Guard gone down overthe years, or is it up?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
I will say the the big subject matter anytime you
talk, any military branch, Ifeel like in the last couple of
years has been recruitment.
Where are we at?
Has it been going down?
And I will say, around what welovingly call the COVID years
and during that kind of timewhere we lost connection.
I'll even go back further thanthat.
(05:59):
I have quite a few servicemembers.
I've only been a part of theorganization for two years now,
two years and some change, andI'm still learning every single
day.
But I'll say there was a time,especially where I'm based,
which is Camp Dodge in Johnston,iowa, which is our largest
military base in the state ofIowa they had a public pool.
(06:20):
So when the community went tothe local pool, they went to
Camp Dodge.
So when the community went tothe local pool, they went to
Camp Dodge.
So it was very comfortable forcommunity members to come on to
a military base and hang out.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
That is so interesting.
I was still there.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
It looked amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yeah, yeah, and we were up there, yeah we used to
go up there.
Yeah, to go swimming, andwasn't it like the largest
swimming pool in the UnitedStates or something?
I mean, I know I'm gonna quoteit wrong, but it's like the size
of like two Olympic pools orsome insane was massive, just
(06:55):
massive.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Ronald Reagan, I guess, was you know pool boy or
something.
But incredible history.
But it goes back to the factthat no one thought to sense
about going onto a military basebecause that's where the local
community pool was Right.
Ever since 9-11, things changedand instead of gates being open
(07:15):
and saying, hey, come check outwhat we're doing behind these
doors, it changed and gates wentup and said closed, you can't
come in here, right.
And so ever since then ourgates have come back open.
But it's now trying to say it'sokay, you can come on to base,
you can come hang out with us,you can come see what we're
(07:36):
doing.
And people just don't have thatcomfort level like they used to.
Granted, there's not acommunity pool there anymore
that would lure people in.
We try to have other events,like summer concert series and
things, so people do feelcomfortable.
No-transcript but it.
(08:03):
We're constantly now working toget people's I wouldn't say
trust, but just understanding ofwho we are, because once we put
up those gates people were justlike, oh, that's us and them
Right right.
We're willing to kind of figureout what was going on.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Well, and I think that we looked at it.
As you know, that's such asecure facility.
We have no business ascivilians being there.
We're going to get in troublefor being on that property and I
think that's really.
I know that's what my mindsetwas, and I know a lot of people
that I've talked to.
You mentioned the summer musicseries that you have out there,
(08:41):
which I will say is fantastic Ifyou are in the Iowa area I've
been out there numerous timesBeautiful, beautiful grounds,
beautiful facility.
They have a what is it almostlike a shelter, but they put the
band up in this area and it'sjust so conducive to having
(09:03):
events out there.
I mean, I could see havingweddings out there.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
It's just so beautiful and we do.
Oh, yeah, okay, okay.
That's the thing that we try,or we try to express, not only
with Camp Dodge, which obviouslyhas many incredible buildings
that people can rent utilizeevent spaces, but any of our
readiness centers across thestate of Iowa.
People want to use it as acommunity space.
You can.
Wow, that's good to know, peoplejust don't think of that.
(09:29):
They're like again, they'relike that's them and this is us,
and I don't feel comfortablewalking in there because you
know a person in uniform isgoing to be like hey, and it's
like ah, and we're trying tochange that.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
Yeah, I know, you know not only the pool but, um,
you know back when I was beingrecruited for the military, you
know not only the pool but youknow back when I was being
recruited for the military, youknow they had the base open for
where we could go work out.
When my kids were smaller theywent to a taekwondo camp that
was actually held on the base.
They stayed in the old barracksand things like that and they
(10:03):
had a lot of fun and I know youknow COVID kind of screwed it up
and they had a lot of fun.
And I know you know COVID kindof screwed it up.
But yeah, a lot of it is, youknow, reopened and revamped and
things like that and it is areally it's a welcoming space.
You know where you can just goand you know, have a family
event, have a concert, have someplace.
You know that's kind of and itis kind of central to everybody.
(10:26):
You know us.
You know that that's kind ofand it is kind of central to
everybody.
You know us.
You know coming from where welive, to meet my family down in
Des Moines, things like that, itis kind of just a central space
even to just, you know, meet upin the parking lot that has the
tanks and the aircraft in itthat you could come see.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
You know that's always been a meeting point.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Yeah, it's always been a meeting point, you know,
ever since high school, and evennow my son will meet his
cousins there.
Um, you know, to go motorcycleriding, because it's just, it's
an open space and we all knowwhere it is the facility itself.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
I mean again, if you haven't been out there, I would
encourage you to go out,especially for the summer uh,
music, um events that they have.
That's really kind of all Iknow, other than Bobby.
I think your uncle used to liveon the base years and years and
years ago.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Yeah, that's how we went swimming is he would get
those rolls of tickets and hewould give them to us kids and
we'd be out there all summerwith our friends.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
You're not supposed to talk about those tickets
being given away, Bobby, but itis such a beautiful facility.
I mean just the grounds are.
It's just kept so beautifullyand you got to be impressed with
it when you go out there andand see it and just know what
you're standing on.
I mean that that's kind of partof it too.
Now, jackie, um, you hadmentioned that.
(11:42):
Uh, you know the national Guardhas called out for help for a
national since the border patrolhas increased and we have had
that step up again with the newcommander in chief.
Has that affected the travel ofyour particular area?
(12:03):
The guard from Iowa area?
The guard from Iowa.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Not at this time.
So we have gone down twice onbehalf of our governor, so in a
state status, to assist withsecurity protection at the
border but we have not beenasked in a federal capacity at
this time.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Okay.
And then the other, because youknow, you think about it and
you think about the deportationtoo, because they're deporting
several illegal aliens that cameover the border.
And I know, here in Georgiathere's been quite a roundup
down here.
I mean, it's pretty visible andpeople talk about it all the
time.
But the other thing that Iwanted to ask about and this
(12:47):
will seem silly probably to you,but I'm going to ask this silly
question because I'm a sillycivilian and don't know these
things but, um, we had the droneissue.
You know where, oh my goodness,everybody was seeing the drones
all over the place and nobodyknew anything about it.
And then you know, all of asudden, we have a change in
administration and now, all of asudden, we do know about it.
(13:07):
And then you know, all of asudden, we have a change in
administration and now, all of asudden, we do know about it.
And was that information?
And you can tell me, if you?
If you can't tell me, that's OKtoo, but was that information
that would get shared with you?
Know the staff there?
Speaker 2 (13:25):
All I can really speak to from the public affairs
side is that it because we didhave a couple of claims that I
saw on social media where peoplewould call in and say, hey, I
saw something in the sky.
I can't verify if they actuallydid or not.
All I know is it was none ofour, it was none of our
equipment.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
None of your aircraft Right.
We don't own the things thatRight.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
We don't own the things that people were claiming
to see up in the sky, so all Ican do is verify that it was
nothing from the Iowa NationalGuard, if anyone thought they
saw something up in the skyrelated to that in Iowa.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Do those types of?
Speaker 2 (14:05):
reports put you guys on a higher alert at all, or
it's just informational.
Basically, it's more justinformational, uh it, if it got
to a level of heightenedawareness that I needed to be,
uh, brought into thatconversation, um, I certainly
would be, so I could handle anymedia uh requests or
conversations that werehappening.
Uh, so, to make sure, becauseour boss wants to make sure
we're the most, uh, um, honestand truthful organization out
(14:26):
there that's a first for him, sowe would tell you exactly what
we're allowed to say.
And we weren't related to it atall.
There was no threat of any kindfrom our stance.
So, no, it really wasn'tanything in our state.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
I have a question.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
I'm sorry, bobby, I interrupted her, so I just
talked over.
What did you say, jackie, thislast?
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Oh sorry, I was just saying from the.
I have a National Guardperspective.
It was nothing in our state.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Go ahead.
Sorry, Bobbi.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
I have a question for you.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Bobbi, so I know that you've had a very long and
illustrious career.
Um, you know, on both sides ofthe media.
Okay, that right there wasjackie.
You're not that old but youknow, that was jackie laughing
way back and laughing come on,jackie.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
To us man, this is yeah, you're highfalutin like a
superstar, yeah you'rehighfalutin now.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Does that help you in your position now, knowing both
sides of you, know not onlywhat the media is, is after what
the reporters are after whatthey're willing to go through
and not really to be mean aboutit, but how they can twist the
narrative depending on what thestory is.
(15:53):
Does that help you in dealingwith the media now on the other
side, as a representative of theNational Guard?
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Yes, and I think it was a big part of me getting
hired into this role.
I'm the first civilian to everhold this role in the state of
Iowa and, I'm pretty sure, thefirst civilian with no military
background in the country in apublic affairs position for the
National Guard specifically.
But this is a new directionthey're going and my boss at the
time of my hiring took a chanceand here I am still today.
(16:25):
But yes, I think a big part ofme getting hired was because not
only my relationships that Iworked really hard to build
throughout central Iowa andbeyond from my time in
broadcasting, but also how tohandle the media and I think the
first thing is just to realizethat they're not villains,
they're not evil people out toget us.
(16:45):
I know it can come across thatway with a lot of the politics
that have been happening overthe course of many, many years,
but especially across Iowa.
It's a very small media worldacross the country, but
especially here in Iowa.
Many of them are friends oracquaintances.
Many of them are friends oracquaintances, so it's really
easy for me to pick up the phoneand have a conversation and
(17:05):
know that we're going to be onthe same playing field and just
having a conversation, andthere's no going to be gotcha
moments or anything like that,or I'm just going to be really
honest and say this is whatwe're here to talk about and I
will give them whatever theywant, if I'm capable of.
I want everybody to know whatwe're doing.
I want people to know whatwe're doing.
I want people to knowincredible people that are part
(17:26):
of the Iowa National Guard.
So please call me.
I wish they called me more.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Yeah, on the other side of that though, jackie, I
mean they are looking for astory, right.
I mean every news person islooking for a story and
something of interest.
So you know, I get what you'resaying.
I mean you have enoughexpertise and you've been
exposed to it long enough, and Idon't want to say know the
tricks of the trade, but I wouldsay know the personalities and
(17:53):
know the approaches that peopleyou know the reporters would
take with you, which I thinkwould be a great advantage, but
they're looking for a story.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Absolutely, and they're not going to play it if
it's not a good story and youwant it to be a juicy one,
because you'd like it to playtowards the top, when most
people are watching, as opposedto, you know, channel surfing or
turning or, you know, getcaught up in other things that
are happening in their lives.
So you want it to be a goodstory and to kind of go back to
what you asked before, jane,about recruiting, I'm happy to
say our numbers are actuallygoing in the right direction and
(18:23):
we have the highest retentionrate in the state with our
people.
So I think that verbiage ischanging and going in a positive
way.
So when the usual question fromjournalists is, how's
recruiting, that now is becominga really older question.
That doesn't pertain to us muchanymore because our numbers are
going in the right direction.
(18:45):
So then it's more like it goesto our training, it goes to our
individual soldiers and airmenthat are doing incredible things
and things like that.
It's, you know, it's welcomehome ceremonies, it's mission
sets, that you know they'regoing on, if they're helping our
own neighbors in northwest Iowawith the flooding that happened
this past summer, and I'm ableto, you know, talk about the
(19:06):
incredible work that they'redoing.
You know soldiers whose ownhomes are being affected, but
they drop what they're doing sothey can help their fellow
neighbor.
You know, those are the storiesI'm hoping.
I don't want it to all bedevastation.
I also want it to becelebration, but those are the
stories I'm always working totry and get across.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Right, and I noticed on I think it was on your
Facebook maybe where theNational Guard was even helping
with Habitat for Humanity and,you know, always helping with
the community, and I think it'sgreat to kind of change that
perception of you.
Know, what we've seen in thepast or what people may have
(19:44):
perceived the military as Idon't know what other word to
say very militant, and you know,just you know, but they're very
approachable, very kind, very.
You know, like I said, whenwe've been out there,
everybody's been so helpful andjust so great out there.
Um, so we do appreciateeverything that the Iowa
(20:05):
National Guard's doing.
We do appreciate everythingthat you're doing.
Thank you and, um, oh, I'msorry, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Go.
I was just going to say I'mvery grateful.
Uh, one of my passions, uh andJane, you know this um, in what
I call many of my side hustlesor side loves, the things that I
do, is nonprofit work.
So I have a boss that alsobelieves in that and he's like,
if we have a force of peoplethat have incredible skills but
also passions for giving back,why not use them in a non, you
(20:32):
know, connecting with nonprofits?
So he identified three and wehave already wholeheartedly
supported those nonprofitstowards the end of last year and
already heading into this year.
So, yeah, very passionate andexcited to work for an
organization that has the samepassion that I do for nonprofits
.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Well, I can say this I've watched you over the years
and I don't think I've ever seenyou so happy you seem, I mean
you're so beautiful.
You're so beautiful, you're sowell-spoken, you come across so
positively in everything thatyou've done.
I've known you for years.
I was trying to think of howmany years it's been.
It's probably been 20 years now, hasn't it?
(21:13):
Yeah, it's probably 20 years.
You're not near my age but I'mgetting old.
But you know, every time I haveseen you, I mean just so
positive and I, I will tell youthat is so rewarding even you
(21:33):
know for me to see and to watchyou.
So thank you for that, thankyou for the job that you do with
the national guard.
And, uh, you guys probablyheard a little bit of shuffling
here a few minutes ago.
That was Dr Domain, who'salways in the studio and didn't
realize his mic was on.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Oh, but that dog is not mine.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
That was my noise-making dog Hold on, hold
on, hold on.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
We're coming back to that, all right you were just
talking about noise, and thenyou got set off my four dogs and
I'm like oh, that's timing.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
So Dr Domain was shoveling some paper, not
knowing that his mic was on, andI'm over here like stop, stop
and plus I think he might besniffing some pens or markers or
something.
But he had a question for you,jackie, and this is what I have
to deal with on a regular basis.
His question is, jackie, arethere really two scoops of
(22:30):
raisins in Raisin Bran?
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Oh, depends if you get the generic box or not, like
my mom used to.
I was like I can't believe.
First of all, I was in lovewith Raisin Bran when I was a
kid and I think my mom found iton sale but like the generic
brand and I swear like thebasement had 10 boxes of generic
raisin.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
I don't even know what that was called.
It was just a really uglypurple box and I ate so much of
that I don't really care ifthere's raisins in it or not
anymore.
Well.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
I just wanted you to know what we had to deal with
here in the studio, but we doappreciate you being on the show
with us and we're hopeful thatyou join us again sometime.
Oh yes, anytime it's hard to gether scheduled, folks, because I
will tell you she is all overthe place, but if you live in
Iowa, or even near Iowa, youknow the name, jackie Schmill,
(23:28):
and she's been, she's been outthere and doing her part for the
community and, uh, we reallyappreciate it, jackie.
So thank you for that and,bobby, with that I think we're
probably um, I think that's allwe've probably got for the day.
What do you think, bob?
Speaker 3 (23:44):
I think it is, but we definitely appreciate you
joining us here at the RabbitRun Studio on the road.
Be sure to follow us and likeus, and if you have anything
that you want us to talk about,if you have a suggestion or even
just a nice little comment, youcan drop us an email at
boomerandjenexeratgmailcom.
(24:06):
You can go over to our Facebookpage, which is A Boomer and a
Gen Xer.
Walk Into a Bar, the podcastofficial.
If you have hate mail, well youknow where you can put that.
So until next week, I'm BobbiJoyce and I'm Jane Burt and
you're stuck with us.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Thank you, jackie.
Thank you, jackie, thank you,guys you you.
Welcome, welcome, welcome everyone to today's show
.
A boomer and a Gen Xer walkinto a bar, Coming to you not
from the rabbit hole studio butthe rabbit run studio, because,
yes, we are still on the road,but you, as our listener, will
experience some wit and wisdom,some smart assery and a mother
and daughter questioning.
Are we even related?
(00:26):
So my name is Jane Burt, myco-host is my daughter, bobbi,
and for the next I don't know 20to 25 minutes.
We're here to entertain you but, bobbi, I am so excited today
(00:56):
because we have a guest in thestudio with us.
We do tell you what this womanis a workaholic, she's always in
the media, she's always doingsomething to promote the
community, promote the events inour areas.
And, um, jackie was the formertraffic reporter on kccitv, a
big news channel here in thestate of iowa, and, uh, also,
(01:21):
she was a former host and headco-host on KCWI-TV.
And there's several otherthings that she certainly is an
expert on.
And I will say this I do knowshe is quite the vocalist also
Because, jackie, you have beento the National Rodeo in Las
Vegas, is that correct?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
That is correct, Jane .
You covered everything.
Good night, everybodyAppreciate your time no no.
You don't get off that easily.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Not that easily at all.
So Jackie actually competed forthe opportunity to sing the
National Anthem at the NationalRodeo, did a fabulous job.
Maybe some of you rememberhearing her.
Was it once, or more than once,jackie, that you went?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
as a national finals Roneo.
I've only had the opportunityonce.
I would love to do it againbecause, uh, it's all a blur
from how nervous I was.
I've never.
That was by far the largestarena and audience I've ever had
.
You know, and you kind of go inwith this confidence and I'm
not even sure if I hit any notes.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Oh, give me a break.
I watched it.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
I would love to do it again and consciously be there
and remember what happened.
I watched it and I heard youand you were fantastic.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Now I can imagine how nervous you were, but, uh,
jackie is also very muchinvolved in the playhouse here
in Iowa, in Des Moines, iowa,where she is not only the
vocalist there but she's donesome acting there on stage and
you're just all over the place,jackie, and so you're so
(02:59):
interesting and you have such aninteresting job and I see you
out and about doing so manythings.
But I wanted to talk aboutspecifically the Iowa National
Guard.
Now you have a new commander inchief and I wanted to kind of
talk about you know what is theprimary function of the National
Guard and what's your role andhow do they serve the community?
(03:23):
I don't think everybody knowswhat these guys do.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, no, I really appreciate that.
Thank you so much for thisincredible opportunity and
platform.
Any opportunity I get to talkabout the incredible men and
women I get to work with, everysingle day, I cherish.
So, yes, so I work with theIowa National Guard, which is
made up of nearly 9,000 men andwomen who serve in both the Army
and Air Guard here in the greatstate of Iowa.
(03:52):
We have armories in, orreadiness centers in, 36
communities across the state ofIowa, and I say that because
we're the only military branchor entity that is special in
that we serve both state andnation.
So we're the only militarybranch or entity that is special
in that we serve both state andnation.
So we're the only militaryentity that can say that.
So our boss is the governor ofthe state, but then also the
(04:15):
president, depending if we'reworking in a state status or a
federal status.
So what does that mean?
That means if our communitiesneed us and usually people think
of that if there's a flood or aderecho tornado God forbid,
covid, anything like that we canbe called upon to serve our
local communities or otherstates that need our assistance,
(04:37):
which we did this summer withHurricane Helene and other
locations as well.
So we can do that being a partof the Guard, but then, if our
country calls upon us, we canthen also work in a federal
status as well.
So that's how we're unique inworking in both state and
federal capacities.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Okay, that's good to know, Because I think, and I
know I I did not know, I thoughtit was just a state and you
know.
Then, when I listened to thepresident talk about who they're
calling upon for border patrol,for helping with riots, to help
with the fires that have beenout in California, the flooding,
(05:18):
any type of hurricanes ortornadoes, they mentioned the
National Guard right.
Yes, they mentioned theNational Guard right and and and
so let me ask you this has the,has the population of the
National Guard gone down overthe years, or is it up?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
I will say the the big subject matter anytime you
talk, any military branch, Ifeel like in the last couple of
years has been recruitment.
Where are we at?
Has it been going down?
And I will say, around what welovingly call the COVID years
and during that kind of timewhere we lost connection.
I'll even go back further thanthat.
(05:59):
I have quite a few servicemembers.
I've only been a part of theorganization for two years now,
two years and some change, andI'm still learning every single
day.
But I'll say there was a time,especially where I'm based,
which is Camp Dodge in Johnston,iowa, which is our largest
military base in the state ofIowa they had a public pool.
(06:20):
So when the community went tothe local pool, they went to
Camp Dodge.
So when the community went tothe local pool, they went to
Camp Dodge.
So it was very comfortable forcommunity members to come on to
a military base and hang out.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
That is so interesting.
I was still there.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
It looked amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yeah, yeah, and we were up there, yeah we used to
go up there.
Yeah, to go swimming, andwasn't it like the largest
swimming pool in the UnitedStates or something?
I mean, I know I'm gonna quoteit wrong, but it's like the size
of like two Olympic pools orsome insane was massive, just
(06:55):
massive.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Ronald Reagan, I guess, was you know pool boy or
something.
But incredible history.
But it goes back to the factthat no one thought to sense
about going onto a military basebecause that's where the local
community pool was Right.
Ever since 9-11, things changedand instead of gates being open
(07:15):
and saying, hey, come check outwhat we're doing behind these
doors, it changed and gates wentup and said closed, you can't
come in here, right.
And so ever since then ourgates have come back open.
But it's now trying to say it'sokay, you can come on to base,
you can come hang out with us,you can come see what we're
(07:36):
doing.
And people just don't have thatcomfort level like they used to.
Granted, there's not acommunity pool there anymore
that would lure people in.
We try to have other events,like summer concert series and
things, so people do feelcomfortable.
No-transcript but it.
(08:03):
We're constantly now working toget people's I wouldn't say
trust, but just understanding ofwho we are, because once we put
up those gates people were justlike, oh, that's us and them
Right right.
We're willing to kind of figureout what was going on.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Well, and I think that we looked at it.
As you know, that's such asecure facility.
We have no business ascivilians being there.
We're going to get in troublefor being on that property and I
think that's really.
I know that's what my mindsetwas, and I know a lot of people
that I've talked to.
You mentioned the summer musicseries that you have out there,
(08:41):
which I will say is fantastic Ifyou are in the Iowa area I've
been out there numerous timesBeautiful, beautiful grounds,
beautiful facility.
They have a what is it almostlike a shelter, but they put the
band up in this area and it'sjust so conducive to having
(09:03):
events out there.
I mean, I could see havingweddings out there.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
It's just so beautiful and we do.
Oh, yeah, okay, okay.
That's the thing that we try,or we try to express, not only
with Camp Dodge, which obviouslyhas many incredible buildings
that people can rent utilizeevent spaces, but any of our
readiness centers across thestate of Iowa.
People want to use it as acommunity space.
You can.
Wow, that's good to know, peoplejust don't think of that.
(09:29):
They're like again, they'relike that's them and this is us,
and I don't feel comfortablewalking in there because you
know a person in uniform isgoing to be like hey, and it's
like ah, and we're trying tochange that.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
Yeah, I know, you know not only the pool but, um,
you know back when I was beingrecruited for the military, you
know not only the pool but youknow back when I was being
recruited for the military, youknow they had the base open for
where we could go work out.
When my kids were smaller theywent to a taekwondo camp that
was actually held on the base.
They stayed in the old barracksand things like that and they
(10:03):
had a lot of fun and I know youknow COVID kind of screwed it up
and they had a lot of fun.
And I know you know COVID kindof screwed it up.
But yeah, a lot of it is, youknow, reopened and revamped and
things like that and it is areally it's a welcoming space.
You know where you can just goand you know, have a family
event, have a concert, have someplace.
You know that's kind of and itis kind of central to everybody.
(10:26):
You know us.
You know that that's kind ofand it is kind of central to
everybody.
You know us.
You know coming from where welive, to meet my family down in
Des Moines, things like that, itis kind of just a central space
even to just, you know, meet upin the parking lot that has the
tanks and the aircraft in itthat you could come see.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
You know that's always been a meeting point.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Yeah, it's always been a meeting point, you know,
ever since high school, and evennow my son will meet his
cousins there.
Um, you know, to go motorcycleriding, because it's just, it's
an open space and we all knowwhere it is the facility itself.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
I mean again, if you haven't been out there, I would
encourage you to go out,especially for the summer uh,
music, um events that they have.
That's really kind of all Iknow, other than Bobby.
I think your uncle used to liveon the base years and years and
years ago.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Yeah, that's how we went swimming is he would get
those rolls of tickets and hewould give them to us kids and
we'd be out there all summerwith our friends.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
You're not supposed to talk about those tickets
being given away, Bobby, but itis such a beautiful facility.
I mean just the grounds are.
It's just kept so beautifullyand you got to be impressed with
it when you go out there andand see it and just know what
you're standing on.
I mean that that's kind of partof it too.
Now, jackie, um, you hadmentioned that.
(11:42):
Uh, you know the national Guardhas called out for help for a
national since the border patrolhas increased and we have had
that step up again with the newcommander in chief.
Has that affected the travel ofyour particular area?
(12:03):
The guard from Iowa area?
The guard from Iowa.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Not at this time.
So we have gone down twice onbehalf of our governor, so in a
state status, to assist withsecurity protection at the
border but we have not beenasked in a federal capacity at
this time.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Okay.
And then the other, because youknow, you think about it and
you think about the deportationtoo, because they're deporting
several illegal aliens that cameover the border.
And I know, here in Georgiathere's been quite a roundup
down here.
I mean, it's pretty visible andpeople talk about it all the
time.
But the other thing that Iwanted to ask about and this
(12:47):
will seem silly probably to you,but I'm going to ask this silly
question because I'm a sillycivilian and don't know these
things but, um, we had the droneissue.
You know where, oh my goodness,everybody was seeing the drones
all over the place and nobodyknew anything about it.
And then you know, all of asudden, we have a change in
administration and now, all of asudden, we do know about it.
(13:07):
And then you know, all of asudden, we have a change in
administration and now, all of asudden, we do know about it.
And was that information?
And you can tell me, if you?
If you can't tell me, that's OKtoo, but was that information
that would get shared with you?
Know the staff there?
Speaker 2 (13:25):
All I can really speak to from the public affairs
side is that it because we didhave a couple of claims that I
saw on social media where peoplewould call in and say, hey, I
saw something in the sky.
I can't verify if they actuallydid or not.
All I know is it was none ofour, it was none of our
equipment.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
None of your aircraft Right.
We don't own the things thatRight.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
We don't own the things that people were claiming
to see up in the sky, so all Ican do is verify that it was
nothing from the Iowa NationalGuard, if anyone thought they
saw something up in the skyrelated to that in Iowa.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Do those types of?
Speaker 2 (14:05):
reports put you guys on a higher alert at all, or
it's just informational.
Basically, it's more justinformational, uh it, if it got
to a level of heightenedawareness that I needed to be,
uh, brought into thatconversation, um, I certainly
would be, so I could handle anymedia uh requests or
conversations that werehappening.
Uh, so, to make sure, becauseour boss wants to make sure
we're the most, uh, um, honestand truthful organization out
(14:26):
there that's a first for him, sowe would tell you exactly what
we're allowed to say.
And we weren't related to it atall.
There was no threat of any kindfrom our stance.
So, no, it really wasn'tanything in our state.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
I have a question.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
I'm sorry, bobby, I interrupted her, so I just
talked over.
What did you say, jackie, thislast?
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Oh sorry, I was just saying from the.
I have a National Guardperspective.
It was nothing in our state.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Go ahead.
Sorry, Bobbi.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
I have a question for you.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Bobbi, so I know that you've had a very long and
illustrious career.
Um, you know, on both sides ofthe media.
Okay, that right there wasjackie.
You're not that old but youknow, that was jackie laughing
way back and laughing come on,jackie.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
To us man, this is yeah, you're highfalutin like a
superstar, yeah you'rehighfalutin now.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Does that help you in your position now, knowing both
sides of you, know not onlywhat the media is, is after what
the reporters are after whatthey're willing to go through
and not really to be mean aboutit, but how they can twist the
narrative depending on what thestory is.
(15:53):
Does that help you in dealingwith the media now on the other
side, as a representative of theNational Guard?
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Yes, and I think it was a big part of me getting
hired into this role.
I'm the first civilian to everhold this role in the state of
Iowa and, I'm pretty sure, thefirst civilian with no military
background in the country in apublic affairs position for the
National Guard specifically.
But this is a new directionthey're going and my boss at the
time of my hiring took a chanceand here I am still today.
(16:25):
But yes, I think a big part ofme getting hired was because not
only my relationships that Iworked really hard to build
throughout central Iowa andbeyond from my time in
broadcasting, but also how tohandle the media and I think the
first thing is just to realizethat they're not villains,
they're not evil people out toget us.
(16:45):
I know it can come across thatway with a lot of the politics
that have been happening overthe course of many, many years,
but especially across Iowa.
It's a very small media worldacross the country, but
especially here in Iowa.
Many of them are friends oracquaintances.
Many of them are friends oracquaintances, so it's really
easy for me to pick up the phoneand have a conversation and
(17:05):
know that we're going to be onthe same playing field and just
having a conversation, andthere's no going to be gotcha
moments or anything like that,or I'm just going to be really
honest and say this is whatwe're here to talk about and I
will give them whatever theywant, if I'm capable of.
I want everybody to know whatwe're doing.
I want people to know whatwe're doing.
I want people to knowincredible people that are part
(17:26):
of the Iowa National Guard.
So please call me.
I wish they called me more.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Yeah, on the other side of that though, jackie, I
mean they are looking for astory, right.
I mean every news person islooking for a story and
something of interest.
So you know, I get what you'resaying.
I mean you have enoughexpertise and you've been
exposed to it long enough, and Idon't want to say know the
tricks of the trade, but I wouldsay know the personalities and
(17:53):
know the approaches that peopleyou know the reporters would
take with you, which I thinkwould be a great advantage, but
they're looking for a story.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Absolutely, and they're not going to play it if
it's not a good story and youwant it to be a juicy one,
because you'd like it to playtowards the top, when most
people are watching, as opposedto, you know, channel surfing or
turning or, you know, getcaught up in other things that
are happening in their lives.
So you want it to be a goodstory and to kind of go back to
what you asked before, jane,about recruiting, I'm happy to
say our numbers are actuallygoing in the right direction and
(18:23):
we have the highest retentionrate in the state with our
people.
So I think that verbiage ischanging and going in a positive
way.
So when the usual question fromjournalists is, how's
recruiting, that now is becominga really older question.
That doesn't pertain to us muchanymore because our numbers are
going in the right direction.
(18:45):
So then it's more like it goesto our training, it goes to our
individual soldiers and airmenthat are doing incredible things
and things like that.
It's, you know, it's welcomehome ceremonies, it's mission
sets, that you know they'regoing on, if they're helping our
own neighbors in northwest Iowawith the flooding that happened
this past summer, and I'm ableto, you know, talk about the
(19:06):
incredible work that they'redoing.
You know soldiers whose ownhomes are being affected, but
they drop what they're doing sothey can help their fellow
neighbor.
You know, those are the storiesI'm hoping.
I don't want it to all bedevastation.
I also want it to becelebration, but those are the
stories I'm always working totry and get across.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Right, and I noticed on I think it was on your
Facebook maybe where theNational Guard was even helping
with Habitat for Humanity and,you know, always helping with
the community, and I think it'sgreat to kind of change that
perception of you.
Know, what we've seen in thepast or what people may have
(19:44):
perceived the military as Idon't know what other word to
say very militant, and you know,just you know, but they're very
approachable, very kind, very.
You know, like I said, whenwe've been out there,
everybody's been so helpful andjust so great out there.
Um, so we do appreciateeverything that the Iowa
(20:05):
National Guard's doing.
We do appreciate everythingthat you're doing.
Thank you and, um, oh, I'msorry, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Go.
I was just going to say I'mvery grateful.
Uh, one of my passions, uh andJane, you know this um, in what
I call many of my side hustlesor side loves, the things that I
do, is nonprofit work.
So I have a boss that alsobelieves in that and he's like,
if we have a force of peoplethat have incredible skills but
also passions for giving back,why not use them in a non, you
(20:32):
know, connecting with nonprofits?
So he identified three and wehave already wholeheartedly
supported those nonprofitstowards the end of last year and
already heading into this year.
So, yeah, very passionate andexcited to work for an
organization that has the samepassion that I do for nonprofits
.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Well, I can say this I've watched you over the years
and I don't think I've ever seenyou so happy you seem, I mean
you're so beautiful.
You're so beautiful, you're sowell-spoken, you come across so
positively in everything thatyou've done.
I've known you for years.
I was trying to think of howmany years it's been.
It's probably been 20 years now, hasn't it?
(21:13):
Yeah, it's probably 20 years.
You're not near my age but I'mgetting old.
But you know, every time I haveseen you, I mean just so
positive and I, I will tell youthat is so rewarding even you
(21:33):
know for me to see and to watchyou.
So thank you for that, thankyou for the job that you do with
the national guard.
And, uh, you guys probablyheard a little bit of shuffling
here a few minutes ago.
That was Dr Domain, who'salways in the studio and didn't
realize his mic was on.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Oh, but that dog is not mine.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
That was my noise-making dog Hold on, hold
on, hold on.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
We're coming back to that, all right you were just
talking about noise, and thenyou got set off my four dogs and
I'm like oh, that's timing.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
So Dr Domain was shoveling some paper, not
knowing that his mic was on, andI'm over here like stop, stop
and plus I think he might besniffing some pens or markers or
something.
But he had a question for you,jackie, and this is what I have
to deal with on a regular basis.
His question is, jackie, arethere really two scoops of
(22:30):
raisins in Raisin Bran?
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Oh, depends if you get the generic box or not, like
my mom used to.
I was like I can't believe.
First of all, I was in lovewith Raisin Bran when I was a
kid and I think my mom found iton sale but like the generic
brand and I swear like thebasement had 10 boxes of generic
raisin.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
I don't even know what that was called.
It was just a really uglypurple box and I ate so much of
that I don't really care ifthere's raisins in it or not
anymore.
Well.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
I just wanted you to know what we had to deal with
here in the studio, but we doappreciate you being on the show
with us and we're hopeful thatyou join us again sometime.
Oh yes, anytime it's hard to gether scheduled, folks, because I
will tell you she is all overthe place, but if you live in
Iowa, or even near Iowa, youknow the name, jackie Schmill,
(23:28):
and she's been, she's been outthere and doing her part for the
community and, uh, we reallyappreciate it, jackie.
So thank you for that and,bobby, with that I think we're
probably um, I think that's allwe've probably got for the day.
What do you think, bob?
Speaker 3 (23:44):
I think it is, but we definitely appreciate you
joining us here at the RabbitRun Studio on the road.
Be sure to follow us and likeus, and if you have anything
that you want us to talk about,if you have a suggestion or even
just a nice little comment, youcan drop us an email at
boomerandjenexeratgmailcom.
(24:06):
You can go over to our Facebookpage, which is A Boomer and a
Gen Xer.
Walk Into a Bar, the podcastofficial.
If you have hate mail, well youknow where you can put that.
So until next week, I'm BobbiJoyce and I'm Jane Burt and
you're stuck with us.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Thank you, jackie.
Thank you, jackie, thank you,guys you you.
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