What does it take to shatter a 250-year glass ceiling? Lieutenant General Scott Dingell knows firsthand. As the 45th Surgeon General of the United States Army, he made history as the first administrator, first HBCU graduate, and second African-American male to hold this prestigious position in any military branch throughout our nation's existence.
From the neighborhood courts of Prince George's County, Maryland to commanding 122,000 personnel with a $22.1 billion budget, Dingell's journey reveals the transformative power of competitive spirit, unwavering self-belief, and strategic relationship-building. Growing up as a "latchkey kid" with parents working multiple jobs, he and his neighborhood friends pushed each other toward excellence from an early age, developing the mindset that would later define his leadership philosophy.
Surprisingly, Dingell initially refused to follow his father's military footsteps, emphatically declaring "I ain't serving in the man's army." Life had other plans. When he became a father during his college years at Morgan State, he joined the Army to support his family. What began as practical necessity evolved into an extraordinary 35-year career that would make military history. Along the way, he encountered racism and discrimination but responded with his signature philosophy: "Nobody defines who we are. Nobody but us and we got to define it."
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dingell faced unprecedented leadership challenges that pushed him to his physical limits. After nearly collapsing from exhaustion in his Pentagon office, he learned that sustainable leadership requires personal equilibrium and self-care—a lesson as valuable as any military strategy. Through stories of White House press conferences, congressional hearings, and critical pandemic response decisions, Dingell offers a master
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
All right, what's going on?
Everybody is Ron Brown, lmt,the people's fitness
professional, aka sold soldbrother number one reporting for
duty.
Today.
I have a general Scott Dingleand Dr Paul Dyer.
General Scott Dingell might behaving some technical issues
(00:34):
with his screen or what have you.
I don't know if he can hear me.
General Scott Dingell, are youhere?
He might be having some issues.
He should come, go out and thencome back in.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
As he's doing that.
Why don't you read his bio, andthen we can get right into it
why we're having this show today.
All right, let me pull that up,because one of the things we
want to talk about this show isthere's so much going on, but
(01:18):
it's about moving forward.
Right, it's about seeingourselves and seeing other
people who we don't normally seeSometimes.
That's just going to be betterfor everyone.
Read his bio, right.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Okay, we have Lieutenant General retired Scott
Dingell, 45th Surgeon Generalof the United States Army.
Hold on a second Surgeon.
Lieutenant General retiredScott Dingell is the 45th
Surgeon General of the UnitedStates Army.
(01:56):
Oh, here he is here, he is herehe is here.
He is test 1, 2, 3 yes, sir, Ihear you now, you hear me.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Test 1, 2, 3 I hear you, do you hear me?
We I hear you.
Now you hear me.
Test 1, 2, 3.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
I hear you, do you hear me?
We can hear you.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Hello.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Yes, I can hear you.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Dr, Dreyer, yep, I can hear you, sir.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Test 1 Dr Dreyer.
Okay, I'm going to sign out.
I can hear you, sir.
Test one Dr Dyer.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Okay, I'm going to sign out.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
I can hear you.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Yep, sign out, sign back in.
Okay, so to go through it again.
We have.
Lieutenant General ScottDingell is the 45th Surgeon
General of the United StatesArmy and Commanding General of
the United States Army MedicalCommand.
He was commissioned as amedical service corpse officer
(02:58):
and served on active duty for 35years and seven months.
He retired in March 2024.
He is the first graduate ofHBCU, first administrator and
second African-American male toserve as a Surgeon General in
(03:19):
any service in the 248th yearhistory of our nation.
As the Army Surgeon General hewas responsible for 122,000
soldiers and civilians with abudget of over $22 billion.
General Dingell has commandedat every level, from company
(03:46):
battalion, brigade andcommanding general of the United
States Army Medical Command.
General Dingell is a native ofUpper Marble, maryland, and is a
distinguished military graduateof Morgan State All right
Military.
Military graduate of MorganState.
All right Military graduate ofMorgan State.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
What do you think of?
I mean, you're reading it, youknow, and I know you got it from
before, but what do you thinkabout that as a person, ron?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Well, I mean, obviously he's highly he's
accomplished, that's, that'snumber one Highly accomplished
he's.
He's also, I would say, thathe's handled and managed a lot
of different things that theaverage human being hasn't, and
(04:42):
so I would assume that he'shighly intelligent.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
This is like a dead spot, so I'm not getting no
signal.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
So how often do we, as black men, can we hear you,
sir?
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Yeah, hello.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Okay, hello, yep, hold on.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I'm going to go up here.
You want to go with me, or?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
you roll?
Are you going in house?
All right, so we're going towait until he gets his thing?
Yeah, but what, I guess?
I guess what I'm getting at.
In all the things we do, and nomatter how we reach out and
touch community in so manydifferent ways, we often, as
young black men or young people,really don't see people achieve
that much success.
We hear about it, we you couldsay youtube rappers, I don't
(05:38):
know what you do you see thatsense of success through a time
period where we have alwayscalled struggles right and
discrimination or anything, andyet we still have people
complain about, who constantlycomplain about, to blame others
(06:03):
for their lack of success, whenhopefully, they just reach out
and ask for help and follow thebreadcrumbs some people have
laid before them and ask thequestions and learn.
So those are my thoughts.
You know what I mean, okay.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Okay, well, well, from from my experience, like I
grew up in Harlem, right, solike to see like, like doctors
and teachers and and people inthe military, like my
grandfather, he was in themilitary.
So like you know we have.
You know I'm used to hearingstuff like this, like great
accomplishments from black men,so to speak, dr, general,
(06:41):
general Scott Dingell.
But I understand, you hear mebrother, you hear me Can you
hear me.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Yes sir I can hear you.
I am so sorry.
I had to get in my car becausewhere I was at we could hear you
but we couldn't connect.
So I jumped in my car to driveout to get connection or
connectivity.
So hopefully you can hear menow we can hear you.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Is it the reason why you didn't have good connection,
because you're a Q?
Speaker 3 (07:13):
No, it's just the opposite, Because it was the Q
power that was only giving methe opportunity to try to tie in
, and so all the other latencyissues.
It said, okay, you got to getout the house, get in the car.
So I jumped in the car, droveup the hill to get connectivity
and the Q power came through.
(07:34):
I am so sorry.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
That's okay.
I tease because I'm a Masonmyself and I know Ron has
pledged too.
But my late-given brothers areeach other's.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
What did Ron pledge?
Ron, you pledged what.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Well, actually I went into the lodge.
I went into the lodge.
I went to the lodge some yearsago as a mason.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
So another word.
I want to be accused, justsaying.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
I would like for you to give a shout out to your
brothers across the nation andlet them know that you're on and
you can send them a good luckand best wishes.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Absolutely To all the men of Omega, psi Phi.
Fraternity, friendship, isessential to the soul.
Omega men are 10 times thenormal man, but all black men
are 10 times the normal man.
So it's all good, it's allrelative, regardless of
fraternity, sorority, we don'tdivide up like that, but it's
(08:41):
just a blessing to be here wherewe are at, and there's a lot of
work that we have to do to getwhere we need to be.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
And I think I want to honor that.
I also want to honor yourservice in public.
I was a service member myself,but where you sat it was in a
whole different rooms than whereI sat, and I think this
conversation is so much foryoung Black men about how you
suffered or how you got throughpeople discriminating you and
(09:16):
yet you kept moving on.
I think all people, not justBlack men, black boys or
whatever I think all types ofcommunity who are struggling
need to hear that from a manlike you who's been at that
pinnacle.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
And absolutely, because if we don't tell our
story, our story goes untold andoften, as we are growing up and
looking for mentors and idolsand people to emulate, when we
don't see us, then we go unseen.
And one of the things as I wascoming up, seen, and one of the
(09:59):
things as I was coming up, itwasn't a large catalog of
African-American leaders to keepyou inspired in spite of racism
, difficulties, challenges, andso often you know, you had to
dig down inside ourselves tomake sure that we were not
quitting, not giving up.
You know, staying focused,sticking to it, getting it done,
(10:22):
like Tuskegee Airmen theirmantra, because we knew that it
was something bigger than us andthat we had to just keep going.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Got you Okay.
All right, now I want to talkabout your experience.
What kept you inspired, beingthat, you said, in your area you
didn't have examples like thatFor me.
I grew up in Harlem so I alwayssaw different.
I saw teachers, people from themilitary.
(10:54):
You saw everything you know,like everything you could
possibly imagine Pretty much.
Growing up in Harlem and thengoing to school in Manhattan and
then going to WashingtonHeights, you saw like different
things to keep you inspired.
Some people went the bad, somepeople went the wrong route,
some people went the right route.
So you know I've seen it, butyou said you didn't really see
(11:19):
that coming up.
So how did you?
How were you inspired?
Speaker 3 (11:25):
so ours was different .
I'm from Maryland, so I'm fromthe DC suburbs, prince George's
County, maryland, black,predominantly black,
african-american county, upperMarlboro.
And so as we were coming up,you know, in our neighborhood,
you know it was all about theneighborhood, it was all about
(11:47):
us, and so we often pushed andinspired ourselves because we
were athletes you know in myneighborhood, a lot of us and we
pushed ourselves and wechallenged ourselves.
You know my best friend sincesecond grade you know who's with
me now.
You know we said we're going tobe the best and whether it was,
(12:10):
you know, football, basketball,baseball, you know we push each
other.
And then we took that mentalityas we were growing up Um, you
know, we seen, we, we saw thingscoming from, you know again,
prince George's County, you know, dealing with the rest of the
state of Maryland and otherthings and we said we had to be
(12:32):
the best.
And so we started setting astandard of, you know, not
selling from anything but beingthe best and dominating on the
football field, on thebasketball field, on the court,
on the track, no matter what, itis the baseball field.
We said we were going to be thebest.
(12:53):
You know, and that kind ofdrove us.
You know the, the, theneighborhood, peer pressure to
to excel, and those same tenants, you know kind of crossed over
into the college level.
You know being a state championand track and field or winning
(13:16):
whatever it may be.
You know we had a passionthrough sports for me that
helped us and taught us that heylook, you're competing and when
you compete you don't give up.
You compete and you play to winand we play to play to win.
You know, and that mentality umtransferred over to my 35 years
(13:38):
of of military service, of ofnever giving up in spite of
racism, in spite of opposition,that it's a game that you have
to win, that you cannot quit.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Gotcha.
So what was your home life likeMom and dad.
Did you have your mom and dadthere?
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Did you grow up with?
Speaker 1 (14:05):
your mom and dad.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
So kind of sort of yes, yes and no.
You know again, we grew uppredominantly here in Prince
George's County, maryland.
My dad worked two jobs, youknow he was a retired from the
Air Force and then, you know,worked as a, as a police officer
, at night Capitol Police andduring the daytime had another
(14:27):
job.
So he was always gone.
And then my mom had a jobduring the daytime and then
commuting in the, you know, theDC, maryland, virginia area.
She wasn't here during thedaytime and so we were you know
what they call what latchkeykids.
You know from the time we werelittle, where you come home and
you know you have to key to thehouse to get in, you know, ain't
(14:49):
no supervision, you know, andso our supervision was the
neighborhood, you know, and andus in the neighborhood all grew
up together because our moms anddads were African-Americans
working in Prince George'sCounty successful middle class
(15:10):
lifestyle, you know, but thatleft them being away.
But yet us raising ourselves,you know, in the neighborhood
and throughout the DC, maryland,virginia area.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Ok, so how did you?
Ok?
So you know I always ask this,this, this question on this
podcast, because this, this era,was important to me, the crack
era.
When you talk about DC andMaryland, those areas, when it
comes to crack, that era, that80s, that early 90s, it took New
(15:46):
York, DC, the whole East Coastby storm.
I want to know how did youavoid that, being a lashki kid?
Speaker 3 (15:56):
so um and and not just crack.
But it was uh, pcp, it wasangel dust, it was love boat.
Um, it was whack, it was hinkleyyeah, you know it was lamb's
breath, it was buddha, it wasall of those things that were um
, just rolling through, runningruuckshar, through the community
and the neighborhoods, you know.
(16:18):
And for us, you know, and againI can't say that for all of my
peers you know, and my partnersyou know, but for me, again, I
came from an athletic family,came from an athletic family and
so initially coming up, when,you know, before you pre-team
(16:39):
and people were getting involvedwith all those things that we
just mentioned, you know, mymindset was, man, I'm going to
be a professional athlete, I'man athlete, you know, I'm good,
I'm really good, I'm the best,and I tried to stay away from
those things.
But it was the um, the desireto be the best, the desire to go
(16:59):
to um, nfl, to be a statechampion and track and field um,
and those type things, and thededication because we were
always in practice, you know, uh, year round.
You know, because we were justseasonal athletes, whether track
, football, basketball, baseball, no matter what it was, we
played, we played, and so thatkind of helped us to stay away
(17:22):
from those.
Those in our neighborhood andthe gangs that were not athletes
were the ones that were gettingcaught up in those things you
know.
And then those that wereathletes, not saying that they
did not do it, but, um, the thepassion and commitment of being
an athlete helped us to, to, tostay away from those things you
(17:44):
know or not get consumed by thedrugs and the gang, um and the
neighborhood and the gang andthe neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Okay, so, Ron, I have a question.
So and again, it's just anhonor you being on the show I
just really think it's amazingof all the stuff you really have
done for yourself and for thiscountry.
But when we talk about movingpast discrimination, you were a
leader in place of so many typesof men and you ran into an
(18:26):
issue where people had issues.
How can we teach ourcommunities to move forward?
Speaker 3 (18:39):
like you did as a leader, even in your own company
or your battalion or whatever,because of a defect of thinking.
Well, it starts with themindset and believing in
yourself.
If you read my bio, yes, I did35 years of service to.
(19:02):
You know the military, and thenas a medical service corps
officer with what?
Three master degrees, and youknow all these different things.
I was the firstAfrican-American male and
non-clinician to be designatedthe Surgeon General in the
history of our nation.
So you're talking over 250years, 253, four years of the
(19:25):
history and founding of ournation, and I was blessed to be
the first administrator operatorto lead as the Surgeon General.
You know the Secretary ofDefense, the President.
You know the POTUS, theSecretary of the Army, chief of
(19:46):
Staff of the Army.
You know, when I was a two-stargeneral said that.
You know, hey, look, we wantleadership and we want the best
leader and they chose me,tremendously blessed, to do that
.
But it all went back to mesetting a reputation, standards
(20:13):
and actions that led to I'mbuilding great teams and success
that show that leadership andteamwork were paramount.
You know, and that's what, atmy time of going to a three star
general.
You know the president and thesecretary of defense wanted.
(20:34):
You know it wasn't my goal tobe you know it's only but one
three star general in armymedicine.
Three-star general in armymedicine Look, I was a two-star
general, it wasn't my goal.
I'm like, hey, I'm good.
You know I don't need to be atthe top.
You know I want to go down hereand relax, retire, but it was
the bosses that said no, whatour nation needs is leadership.
We're going into COVID, we weregoing into all these different
(20:58):
challenges of change, and weneed leadership.
You know leadership, you know.
And so it was that leadershiprequirement that just opened up
at the right time.
But at the same time, me, as ayoung African-American boy from
Upper Marlboro, maryland, princeGeorge's County, maryland, you
know who, never, you knowanybody would have thought, or
(21:18):
you know, thought it waspossible, possible, but yet
living dreams of just being thebest and building teams opened
up that opportunity for me to beblessed, to be selected, as you
know, the army surgeon generalokay, I have a question.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
So how did it lead from, how did it go from sports
into that?
So what inspired you to getinto the military?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
So you know true story.
You know one percent of ournation serves in the military
and I think that many peoplehave the wrong impression of
what military service really is,to include myself, Because, as
I was coming up, you know, mydad served in the Air Force.
I was born in New Mexico.
We went to Japan Misawa AirForce Base when I was less than
(22:13):
one years old and then we cameto Prince George's County,
forestville, maryland, when Iwas three years old and then I
literally grew up in Maryland,prince George's County.
I had no desire to come intothe military.
But yet what happens is that 1%of families who serve in the
(22:34):
military, they're the ones thatend up coming in the military
because they lived it, theyheard their parents talk about
it and they follow in theirfootsteps.
Me coming up, you know,initially, as an athlete, was
just the opposite.
I told my dad I am not comingin the military, I am not going
(22:56):
in the military, I ain't servingin the man's army, I ain't
putting on no boots, I ain'tstanding in the man's army, I
ain't putting on no boots, Iain't standing in no lines, I am
not doing it.
You know, and that was mymantra coming up, you know, um,
you know, through junior high,through high school, you know,
and we're a military family, youknow.
And, and going to college, um,I was heavily recruited, you
(23:20):
know, uh, in football and trackand field, and my dad wanted me
to go to West Point.
And you know he would like, andhe's from White Plains, new
York, and so, you know, rightacross the bridge from West
Point.
And so he was like yo, you know, be an officer, you know, it
ain't too many, it's not toomany African-American, you know,
(23:41):
officers, everybody's enlisted.
To be an officer is a big deal,scotty, and he always was
planting that seed.
That's like yo, dad, I ain'tdoing it.
Nope, nope, nope.
You know, now I'm a senior inhigh school, I'm being heavily
recruited by all these schoolsacross the nation, my dad's
pushing West Point.
The coach from Virginia MilitaryInstitute came to recruit me
(24:03):
and this is the late 80s andthey were still all male getting
ready to go to co-ed.
And so the coach comes to thehouse and he's talking to me and
my dad and he's, you know, hesays, hey, look, you know,
scotty, you know you need tocome, you'd be a great running
back here.
You'll fit into this, ourprogram, you know.
And I knew it was an all maleschool.
And so, you know, I said, hey,look, coach.
(24:25):
I said, um, hey, you got girlsat your school.
And he said, no, we don't.
I said Nope, I am not going tothe school with a whole bunch of
dudes.
I ain't doing it, absolutelynot, you know.
And I was doing it being, youknow, playful and facetious
because I really meant it.
And then my dad had a conniption.
My dad lost it.
(24:47):
My dad lost it, man, most, mostthe maddest he's ever been to
me in my life.
And then my dad was like you,throwing away opportunity that
not too many people have thatare in our community and in our
race, and you could be thedifference.
And I'm like dad, I ain't doingit, you know.
And I, and I made a commitmentto my father.
(25:09):
I said, look, dad, look, Ipromise you, um, let me go to
the school that I want to go toand I promise you I will take
rotc.
Even I don't want to, but sinceyou say it's a good thing, I'll
do it.
And so I was going to Syracuse,at first to play football, had a
knee injury, ended up going toMorgan State, you know, running
(25:32):
track.
Then I got back on the footballfield, had a great years there
and ended up getting mycommission, you know, through
ROTC.
But it was because of thatpromise to my dad that I did the
Army and it wasn't my plan togo active duty.
I said, man, I'm going toreserves and I'm going to go
play professional football.
(25:52):
You know, we were going toPittsburgh and Dallas at the
time, at a Morgan State, youknow.
But I left a year early becausewe had my wife and I had our
oldest daughter when I was ajunior in college and she was a
senior and I had to do somethingto take care of my family.
And I said, okay, you know what?
You know me and coach arebattling, I'm coming in the army
(26:14):
and I'm walking away.
You know, they didn't think Iwould do it but I did it and
that started my military serviceas a way to take care of my
family, you know, because myparents instilled that in me.
Look, hey, look, you need totake care of yours, not us.
You know.
And that led to you know again,35 years later, in a three star
(26:36):
general Nice.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
So I got to tell you one of the things you said was
I'm not going in to serve withthe man.
I said the same thing.
You know, we were growing up inthe 70s.
That was it Like why would I,why would I go serve the man?
Like it and my family were bigon that.
My dad was drafted in Vietnambut he's like don't serve for
the man, don't serve for the man.
And so that mantra you'retalking about has always been
(27:02):
there.
And yet I said I was neverserving, never going, and by
default.
I was discouraged about what wasgoing on over here and I went
into a recruiting office, signedup and it seemed like 100 years
later there I was leaving outon airplanes and stuff like that
(27:22):
.
But I called Dr Wilson fromMorgan State, the president, let
him know that you were going tobe on the show and I sent him a
text because we became verygood friends when I was out in
Maryland, so I have great warmfeelings about Morgan State
(27:42):
because of the president and thevice chair and things like that
.
I've done some talks up thereat their college and their
science department.
So I sent them a text and thenI sent them an email and I'm
kind of upset with them becausehe didn't come back to me right
away, back to me right away.
But you know, here's the thingI think some people again going
(28:07):
back to why people are so hardto get past difficulties, what
they call again back todiscrimination and feeling like
they can't break through.
That's something we have tocorrect in our community,
because you said a lot, a lot ofthings Ron has said about
(28:27):
building community, aboutkeeping focus.
We talked about the brain part,about how to rewire your
thinking, and yet and still, wehave difficulty breaking through
as a community together.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
You know, one of the things that, as you look at the
history of us as a nation and usas a community, or lack thereof
is that there's never been atime where we have been 100% in
unison behind the same causeeffort.
We may get majority of time, wemay get 50% of the time, 40% of
(29:16):
the time, but there's alwaysbeen divisions and divisive
intentions that are designed tokeep us apart.
The mentors that I have, inwhich one is Dr Wilson, the
president of Morgan StateUniversity, they have always
(29:41):
poured into me to to live yourdream.
You live your dream, not thedream of others or what others
may think, but live your dreams.
Martin Luther King said it whenhe was talking to Philadelphia,
about having a blueprint and aplan, you know, and then walk,
(30:02):
and then crawling, and thenrunning, and then you know.
You know whatever you can do,fly, but just keep moving.
And he talked about and then wegot to keep moving towards our
dreams, regardless of what theyare.
When it deals with, you know,success.
And so, as I was coming up, youknow, I had a dream, you know,
(30:24):
to be the best.
You know it was athletics, youknow.
And then it went into the lawfield and the legal field and
all these different things.
But then that's where you knowyou.
You know preparation andsuccess is not something that's
luck, but it's something that'sworked on all the time, you know
.
And so, through the good, thebad, the ugly, the hard times,
(30:47):
the setbacks like we'reexperiencing now in our nation,
we've been here before, you know, but it's due to those who came
before us that persevered, thatworked through, that kept
constant, that did not give upon your dreams.
Your passion you got to have.
You got to have a passion firston your plan.
(31:08):
You know, martin luther kingsaid you got to have a blueprint
or a plan, but then you got tohave the passion behind it and
the perseverance to not quit,the persistence that when they
say that you can't, that youkeep doing it and knocking on
the door, you know.
And the perfection to put thetime in to be the best.
(31:28):
And when you're the best atwhat you do, you can't be denied
because of what you brought tothe table.
You know, and so you know mything has always been live your
dream.
You know we got to live ourdreams and in spite of man, I've
ran into a whole bunch of crazy.
You know racism and thingsthroughout my career and my
(31:51):
professional path, but my thingwas always like OK, you know
what, I'm a competitor, I seeyou, I hear you and I'm going to
doggone, punch you right backin the face and I'm going to win
and show you and not letsomebody else define me, you
know, or my mentality, andthat's what it takes for us to
(32:13):
be successful.
Nobody defines who we are.
You know, nobody but us and wegot to define it.
We got to define it Right.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
So now, you said what inspired you to get into the
military was a number of things,but the main thing was your
family, right, your family.
So.
So now.
But with all of theseaccomplishments, right, how were
(32:47):
you able to do all of this?
Like, serving the army, stayfocused, you know, and Like, how
did you stay focused?
Was it, was it still theinspiration from your family?
Speaker 3 (33:04):
you stay focused?
Was it, was it still theinspiration from your family?
It, it was.
It was one several things thatonce you come into the
profession and I think it, it,it, it doesn't matter what the
profession is, whether military,civilian, uh, athlete when
you're in a profession, it's a,it's a race to be the best, you
know.
And so now I'm in theprofession and my mentality is
(33:24):
that, man, I'm going to play towin, I'm going to win, I'm going
to compete, you know.
And so, as you're competing andyou're giving your best, you
know it's a competition, youknow, the strong survive, you
know.
And so it was that drive to.
I'm taking care of my family.
(33:45):
I've made this choice, thisturn, but you know what?
The game is just beginning.
You got to play this game towin, you know.
And I played the game to winagain.
It was the, now the, theathletic, the athlete in me that
says OK, look, it's time tocompete.
You know, don't quit, don'tgive up.
You know, keep going.
(34:06):
You know, and that's that'swhat I did, you know.
And that just opened up doorsof opportunity that led to
success, by the grace of God.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Were you.
So the question, the question Ihave for, off the top of that,
what Ron was saying is when didthe self-awareness come?
Was there like a thing that hityou over the head Because you
were focused always, as he was ayoung boy.
But when did the self-awarenesscome of?
(34:39):
Being focused was something Iwas doing.
You know what I mean, ron.
You, you could do things, andthen all of a sudden, you
realize what you are doing iswhat you want to do right right,
right right.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
He just clicked off.
I guess he service went out orhit the wrong button what?
Speaker 2 (35:00):
what about for you, though, like your things you're
doing, and then, though, likethere's things you're doing and
then there's self-aware of thethings you're doing.
That's different than justdoing because you want to be at
that next point.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Okay, so for me personally, like I consistently
constantly work, consistentlyconstantly work, um, and it's
just a drive that I have because, like he says, you know, I just
(35:34):
want to be the best at whateverI do.
Just just the, the idea ofbeing the best is the motivation
to keep going.
So I don't know if that thatthat answers your question.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
No, it doesn't, because my you't, because I
understand, because some peoplework hard, right, some people
work really hard at trying to besomething, whatever that is
right, whatever that is, butthey have no internal reason of
why they're doing it besides theethic of working hard, it
(36:06):
besides the ethic of workinghard.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
What I mean is when does that self-awareness come
from you, where I'm like I knowexactly why I'm doing it, not
because I'm doing it well, toanswer your question for me is
like I feel like I come fromthis part of harlem and I don't
ever want to go back right.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
so that was the drive , but when was the awareness of
this is just who I am?
You see what I'm saying after,after, there, after you have
like that focus point, right,that, like someone wanting to
lose weight, I want to look likethis, I want to, I want to get
into this, or I want to looklike this, they have a picture
or whatever vision they have.
(36:47):
Or they want to run a companyand they like when I get to be,
you know, making sixty thousanddollars a month, I really made
it.
So those are focus points.
But then there's a time I knowme, when I realized exactly who
I was, even in the journey ofwhat I was doing.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Like I understand the drumbeat.
My mom, my mother's, saying waswhat's next, what's next?
So the action of what's next.
Thanks, sir, you're back.
So the action of what's next.
Thanks back, sir, you're back.
So the question I ask you iswhen did you realize you were
self-aware of what you weredoing, was part of who?
You were Right, you knew youhad a drive.
(37:34):
You always had that drive.
But then there comes a timewhen you like this is exactly
who I want to be, this isexactly who I am.
That self-awareness combinedwith the drive, it makes a total
.
To me, it makes a totaldifference of where you end up
100%, I, you know.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
And so, um, as, as you had mentioned, as you had
brought that question up before,you know again, my, you know,
we got cut off.
Um, my, my mind automaticallyreflected back to um, the, the
phrase of birds of a featherflock together.
(38:13):
I literally got you know again.
I kidnapped him with me, mybest friend from since I was in
the second grade, the secondgrade, you know, I'm 60, he's 61
now and so, you know, we'vebeen best friends for like 55
years.
And so our relationship, goingback to second grade and playing
(38:37):
on the playground, playingtetherball and kickball, and us
coming up together, the bond,the friendship, the
characteristics, the drive, thepassion, all those things were
developed from our friendship.
We came up in the neighborhood,you had the big gang and then
(39:00):
we were the little ones comingup from the gang on the block,
on the block, you know.
But we were friends, you know,in our age group.
That influenced each other andour influence we pushed each
other, from the time we weredoggone, five years old, that,
yo, we're going to be the best.
Hey, look, do it this way.
(39:21):
Do it this way, tom, do it thisway, scotty.
Okay, we're going to do this,we're going to do this, we're
going to dominate this.
We started talking that fromthe time we were five and six
years old, never stopped comingup, whether if it was in the
band and music or basketballteam, football team, track team,
it it didn't matter, it wasstill us flocking together and
(39:43):
pushing each other, and so thecharacteristic was instilled
there in the neighborhood, youknow.
But?
And?
And then, once it once, westarted, uh, becoming you know
on the varsity basketball teamfrom junior high and high school
and state champions and trackand field, and we started
(40:03):
winning.
The realization is that yo, lookwhat we say and define
ourselves, is it?
All of us weren't statechampions, but a few of us were
that had that gift.
But yet you could not tell usanything when we walked in,
whether it was going to schoolor to a party, whatever it may
(40:24):
be, that we wasn't the bestthing that was gonna walk into
through these doors, you know,and that we were going to
succeed, you know.
And so it started to back toanswer the question.
It started from the time I waslittle, with my best friend, Tom
Wilson, aaron Harris and andthe Little Ridge, the little
gang that was growing up inUpper Marlboro, maryland.
The Little Ridge, the littlegang that was growing up in
(40:45):
Upper Marlboro, maryland, youknow, that was not necessarily
following the same pattern of ofolder gang members of the
neighborhood, you know.
But yet we defined it and wesaid this is it.
(41:10):
And that led to thatself-realization that you talk
about, when we said, you know,can this?
You know, let's be the best.
And it just went from one levelto another.
You know, a few of us went tocollege because we had that
athletic talent, you know, andand we went there and excelled,
and it just led one thing toanother.
And so then for me, you know,I'm, I'm like the only one that
went in the army or the military, and it was that same mentality
(41:31):
.
And everyone says like man, youknow, general Dingell, you're
just a different leader, I'm nota different leader, I'm leading
the same way that I, that Igrew up with, with a team
mentality.
You know, it ain't big, Ilittle you, but it's we.
And then I've always instilledthat and that has what led to my
(41:52):
path to success, you know,regardless of you know race,
gender, you know color, you knownationality.
Look, I'm going to build thebest team with the best talent
and we're going to take over andbe the best thing out here, and
that was the mentality, okay.
Speaker 2 (42:13):
You know, I like what you said because it's that we,
that people, have a hard timegathering.
But then you said something.
It was who was also around youthat developed that.
I'm going to say a good we,because there are people who go
to other groups that do badthings, and that's a bad we, but
(42:35):
they go for the same reason.
That's what's troubling.
They go for the same reason,just different results.
So sometimes when we're talkingto people who says I never, I
wish I had a Tom, I wish I wishI had a Scott, I wish I had a
Ron, I wish I had a Dr Paul tobe around, I didn't.
I had these.
(42:56):
So it's tough for me toseparate from that, and yet
that's why I'm stuck in thisstruggle right now.
Speaker 3 (43:03):
Yeah, yeah, a hundred percent, a hundred percent
agree.
Yeah, yeah, 100 percent, 100percent agree.
You know, because you knowwe're a product of our
environment, but yet we make thedecision on if we comply or
acquiesce to our environmentalsurroundings.
I was the youngest, you know,in our crew and so they left
(43:25):
beyond me and then, when theirinfluence left, it was still up
to me to make a decision to goleft or right.
You know, and and and my moralcompass, you know again, in
spite of being in, you know allblack, you know community, you
know everything was there.
You know that was a negativeinfluence, but yet it was my
(43:48):
moral compass that said you knowwhat I don't want to do that
you know, I want to do this.
You know.
You know my, my, my idol wasn't,you know, the kingpin, you know
the pimp, the drug dealer, thatwasn't me, that's not what I
wanted to be.
The drug dealer, that wasn't me, that's not what I wanted to be
(44:10):
.
You know, in spite of me maynot having a role model of what
a general officer may be, or aCEO of a fortune 500.
We know none about that, we, we, we didn't know nothing, but
yet the thing was um, you know,uh, live your dream.
I didn't know what my dream was, but I knew that it wasn't
going to be mediocrity.
(44:31):
I knew that it wasn't justgoing to be staying in the
neighborhood.
We call it.
You know, in us, you know we saylike yo, man, we got some still
stuck in the time zone.
You know, back in the day, youknow, uh, that just can't leave
that, that window.
They're frozen there.
I wasn't going to be that, thatone, you know.
(44:53):
So it comes with again thatpersonal passion and drive, in
spite of what you have aroundyou, and to think it helps when
you got mentors, examples andpeople who said I've done it, I
was able to get out.
But when you don't have that,you know, that's when you got to
set your own sights.
You know, and live that dreamand, like I tell folks, like,
(45:16):
look well, look, set your markand set it high.
Don't go low, go big, go big.
Or go home and then go get it.
And as you go along that path,it's going to show you different
opportunities that are outthere in life.
And that's what happened to usand me.
Speaker 1 (45:38):
All right, I want to ask a question.
Your first career in themilitary was, it says, General
of us army medical command butnot my first, not my first, so
my first as a second lieutenant.
Speaker 3 (46:00):
My first year in the military was as a platoon leader
, um in fort knox, kentucky, ofa medical platoon.
As a second lieutenant, myfirst assignment as a general
officer was commanding generalof Regional Health Command,
atlantic.
Speaker 1 (46:19):
And what does that entail?
What are your duties?
Speaker 3 (46:24):
So as a second lieutenant, as a brand new
officer just coming in themilitary, having done rltc I
went through rltc at morganstate.
I'm now in charge of a, aplatoon.
So as a, a 22 year old, brandnew second lieutenant, a butter
bar bar, you have your platoon,that group of about 32, you know
(46:52):
, to 40 individual soldiers whoexecute the mission under your
leadership as a one-star general.
The other job, you know, that'syour first job as a platoon
leader.
Second lieutenant, as theone-star general over Regional
Health Command Atlantic that youmentioned.
That is me now as a one stargeneral, responsible for all the
(47:18):
medical professionals doctors,nurses, dentists, physician
assistants, physician assistants, veterinarians, everything
medical, medical that was in myregion.
So I had roughly about 50,000,60,000 people about soldiers,
civilians, contractors that wereunder my responsibility.
(47:41):
So hospitals, clinics, medicalunits, ambulances, everything in
the Army belonged to me as aone-star responsible for a
region and that was the EastCoast.
As the Surgeon General, now atthe top of the pyramid, I was
responsible for over 122, twothousand soldiers, civilians,
(48:09):
medical professionals that workfor me.
You know, over one hundred andtwenty hospitals, twenty two
point one billion dollar budget.
Everything now falls under meas the leader, as the commander,
as the surgeon general, as theCEO, as the boss, and then I was
(48:32):
responsible for everythingpolicy, discipline, training,
leadership.
It all fell, you know, under me.
Speaker 1 (48:41):
How did you handle pressure like that?
Speaker 3 (48:46):
There's not easy, because it was a tremendous
amount of pressure and whetherbeing in Congress or on C-SPAN
or in the Pentagon press room orin congressional hearings or
(49:11):
White House press conferences,there's a tremendous amount of
pressure and responsibility thatgoes with it.
How do I?
How did I handle it?
It's, it's.
It was very tough.
In in a TED Talk that I did, Italk about leadership through
(49:32):
chaos, crisis, you know, andcompetition, but the main issue
in how you handle it is takingcare of yourself first.
You handle it is taking care ofyourself first.
You know.
(49:54):
I tell a story about.
You know, the toughest time Ihad during COVID was right after
a White House press conferenceand I made a mistake of saying
something that I wasn't supposedto say in the press conferences
on live national TV, in thepress conferences on live
national TV, and I was justfloored that I said it and I
just knew that I was going to beroasted, you know, in the press
(50:19):
and on the evening news.
And I was so under a ton ofstress and duress that, as I
walked back to my Pentagonoffice with my staff, I couldn't
handle it.
And I went back to my office inthe Pentagon, I shut the door
and I went in.
I shut the door in my officeand my heart started palpating.
(50:44):
I got dizzy because I wasn'teating.
We had gone like about 24, 48hours with no sleep and I almost
passed out.
And it was at that point it hitme about.
You know.
You know, scotty, if you don'tpractice what you're preaching
taking care of yourself so thatyou can take care of other
people under the stress andduress of COVID crisis and chaos
(51:08):
, you know, and you pass out.
You know you're not doinganybody any good.
You're going to just bereplaced with another general.
And so my wake up call afterthat press conference was I got
to have balance in in myleadership.
It's going to be tough, it'sgoing to be long, but I got to
(51:31):
find my equilibrium or mybalance on life.
You know, uh, professional andfamily.
You know that that work lifebalance of taking care of myself
so that I can take care ofothers and just not going knees
(51:53):
and elbows through the wallwhere you don't get those little
things that mean so much toyour family.
And so that's when I kind ofmade a big turn in my
professional leadership at thesenior level to make sure that
I'm taking care of myself andthat's always been my, uh, my,
my watch word and my, my, myalerts.
(52:14):
And then I got a tremendouswife who keeps me humble, keeps
me humble and she will tell mein a minute like, okay, scotty,
pump the brakes, it's time forus to go to Cancun and get away
and do the cruise, you know soshe helps also to keep me
balanced and, you know, my, myfeet on the ground.
Speaker 1 (52:38):
That's.
That's a great, great, greatexplanation, inspiring.
That's something that I'vediscovered recently about myself
, because I like to go, go, go,go, go, go go.
And then I found myself gettingsick every now and again and I
never used to get sick and I'mlike you know what.
Let me focus more on my ownhealth because I am a fitness
(53:02):
professional, massage therapistand all these things.
I'm telling people to eat cleanand, you know, get enough rest
and all this, and I wasn't doingit.
I wasn't doing that.
So so you know, and I startedgetting sick and dizzy, like you
and things like that.
And you know, you know, I hadto fix that, that part about
myself.
So, yeah, um, another thing.
(53:22):
Uh, dr paul dyer, you weretalking about what was the click
in my mind?
The self-awareness part wasthat I understood my purpose.
At that point, I understoodwhat my purpose was.
Once I said okay, this is mypurpose, this is what I'm here
(53:42):
to do.
That was the click.
Speaker 2 (53:46):
Just to go back to that question, you know, I
really do wish, because, let meask you this, from where you sat
in those rooms, the Pentagonand the office and hearing all
the verbiage and the words comeout of people's mouths.
The words come out of people'smouths as a country, can we do
(54:09):
this?
Can we pull ourselves togetherfrom just your thinking, your
personal self?
And if we can't pull thistogether as a country without
getting yourself on the eveningnews again and CNN, what do you
(54:31):
think that we can do then?
Speaker 3 (54:41):
You know, I was very fortunate that the leadership
that I had as COVID kicked off2019, then going through 2019 to
2024, the leadership within thePentagon, from the Secretary of
Defense down.
I had a tremendous relationshipwith them and your ability to
lead through crisis chaosdepends on the support structure
(55:09):
from the leadership that youhave.
And so for me, when I had thesupport of my leaders, of my
four stars, of the chief ofstaff of the army, of this
secretary of defense, of thepresident of the United States,
you know they just turned itloose.
Okay, scotty, make it happen.
Whatever you do, you do.
(55:30):
We got your back.
I had tremendous support andthat kind of offsets, that
tremendous stress level,responsibility to deploy medical
professionals around the worldto mitigate the millions of
deaths that were happening.
From COVID that helped mitigatethe speed to create a vaccine,
(55:56):
you know, or a prophylaxis tohelp stop the deaths, you know.
But you had the support youknow of the leadership and that
synergy of support makes iteasier.
You know, if I didn't have thatsupport, it know of the
leadership and that synergy ofsupport makes it easier.
You know, if I didn't have thatsupport, it would have been
that much more difficult and wewould not have the success that
we had.
(56:16):
But when everybody was alignedand synergized behind your
effort, that makes it easier andthere's no politics behind it.
I was just tremendouslyfortunate and blessed at a time
to lead where all the starslined up and they got behind me.
(56:36):
And so working through thestress and the duress, you know,
it was easier.
But if, if I didn't have thatalignment and support, oh my
gosh, it would have been crazy.
It would have been crazy.
Speaker 1 (56:51):
Right, got you Makes sense, makes sense.
So support is key Support iskey Relationships matter.
You said relationships.
Speaker 3 (57:03):
Relationships matter.
Yeah, relationships matter.
Regardless of your profession,your desire, your direction,
relationships matter.
Speaker 1 (57:21):
On that note, thank you for coming out, general
Scott Dingell, I reallyappreciate you.
Thank you, dr Paul Dyer, forbringing General Scott Dingell.
I really appreciate you.
Thank you, dr Paul Dyer, forbringing General Scott Dingell
up.
Thank you for the viewerschecking us out and we are out
of here.
Peace, peace, thanks forwatching.
All right, what's going on?
Everybody is Ron Brown, lmt,the people's fitness
professional, aka sold soldbrother number one reporting for
duty.
Today.
I have a general Scott Dingleand Dr Paul Dyer.
General Scott Dingell might behaving some technical issues
(00:34):
with his screen or what have you.
I don't know if he can hear me.
General Scott Dingell, are youhere?
He might be having some issues.
He should come, go out and thencome back in.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
As he's doing that.
Why don't you read his bio, andthen we can get right into it
why we're having this show today.
All right, let me pull that up,because one of the things we
want to talk about this show isthere's so much going on, but
(01:18):
it's about moving forward.
Right, it's about seeingourselves and seeing other
people who we don't normally seeSometimes.
That's just going to be betterfor everyone.
Read his bio, right.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Okay, we have Lieutenant General retired Scott
Dingell, 45th Surgeon Generalof the United States Army.
Hold on a second Surgeon.
Lieutenant General retiredScott Dingell is the 45th
Surgeon General of the UnitedStates Army.
(01:56):
Oh, here he is here, he is herehe is here.
He is test 1, 2, 3 yes, sir, Ihear you now, you hear me.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Test 1, 2, 3 I hear you, do you hear me?
We I hear you.
Now you hear me.
Test 1, 2, 3.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
I hear you, do you hear me?
We can hear you.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Hello.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Yes, I can hear you.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Dr, Dreyer, yep, I can hear you, sir.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Test 1 Dr Dreyer.
Okay, I'm going to sign out.
I can hear you, sir.
Test one Dr Dyer.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Okay, I'm going to sign out.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
I can hear you.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Yep, sign out, sign back in.
Okay, so to go through it again.
We have.
Lieutenant General ScottDingell is the 45th Surgeon
General of the United StatesArmy and Commanding General of
the United States Army MedicalCommand.
He was commissioned as amedical service corpse officer
(02:58):
and served on active duty for 35years and seven months.
He retired in March 2024.
He is the first graduate ofHBCU, first administrator and
second African-American male toserve as a Surgeon General in
(03:19):
any service in the 248th yearhistory of our nation.
As the Army Surgeon General hewas responsible for 122,000
soldiers and civilians with abudget of over $22 billion.
General Dingell has commandedat every level, from company
(03:46):
battalion, brigade andcommanding general of the United
States Army Medical Command.
General Dingell is a native ofUpper Marble, maryland, and is a
distinguished military graduateof Morgan State All right
Military.
Military graduate of MorganState.
All right Military graduate ofMorgan State.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
What do you think of?
I mean, you're reading it, youknow, and I know you got it from
before, but what do you thinkabout that as a person, ron?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Well, I mean, obviously he's highly he's
accomplished, that's, that'snumber one Highly accomplished
he's.
He's also, I would say, thathe's handled and managed a lot
of different things that theaverage human being hasn't, and
(04:42):
so I would assume that he'shighly intelligent.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
This is like a dead spot, so I'm not getting no
signal.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
So how often do we, as black men, can we hear you,
sir?
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Yeah, hello.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Okay, hello, yep, hold on.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I'm going to go up here.
You want to go with me, or?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
you roll?
Are you going in house?
All right, so we're going towait until he gets his thing?
Yeah, but what, I guess?
I guess what I'm getting at.
In all the things we do, and nomatter how we reach out and
touch community in so manydifferent ways, we often, as
young black men or young people,really don't see people achieve
that much success.
We hear about it, we you couldsay youtube rappers, I don't
(05:38):
know what you do you see thatsense of success through a time
period where we have alwayscalled struggles right and
discrimination or anything, andyet we still have people
complain about, who constantlycomplain about, to blame others
(06:03):
for their lack of success, whenhopefully, they just reach out
and ask for help and follow thebreadcrumbs some people have
laid before them and ask thequestions and learn.
So those are my thoughts.
You know what I mean, okay.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Okay, well, well, from from my experience, like I
grew up in Harlem, right, solike to see like, like doctors
and teachers and and people inthe military, like my
grandfather, he was in themilitary.
So like you know we have.
You know I'm used to hearingstuff like this, like great
accomplishments from black men,so to speak, dr, general,
(06:41):
general Scott Dingell.
But I understand, you hear mebrother, you hear me Can you
hear me.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Yes sir I can hear you.
I am so sorry.
I had to get in my car becausewhere I was at we could hear you
but we couldn't connect.
So I jumped in my car to driveout to get connection or
connectivity.
So hopefully you can hear menow we can hear you.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Is it the reason why you didn't have good connection,
because you're a Q?
Speaker 3 (07:13):
No, it's just the opposite, Because it was the Q
power that was only giving methe opportunity to try to tie in
, and so all the other latencyissues.
It said, okay, you got to getout the house, get in the car.
So I jumped in the car, droveup the hill to get connectivity
and the Q power came through.
(07:34):
I am so sorry.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
That's okay.
I tease because I'm a Masonmyself and I know Ron has
pledged too.
But my late-given brothers areeach other's.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
What did Ron pledge?
Ron, you pledged what.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Well, actually I went into the lodge.
I went into the lodge.
I went to the lodge some yearsago as a mason.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
So another word.
I want to be accused, justsaying.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
I would like for you to give a shout out to your
brothers across the nation andlet them know that you're on and
you can send them a good luckand best wishes.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Absolutely To all the men of Omega, psi Phi.
Fraternity, friendship, isessential to the soul.
Omega men are 10 times thenormal man, but all black men
are 10 times the normal man.
So it's all good, it's allrelative, regardless of
fraternity, sorority, we don'tdivide up like that, but it's
(08:41):
just a blessing to be here wherewe are at, and there's a lot of
work that we have to do to getwhere we need to be.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
And I think I want to honor that.
I also want to honor yourservice in public.
I was a service member myself,but where you sat it was in a
whole different rooms than whereI sat, and I think this
conversation is so much foryoung Black men about how you
suffered or how you got throughpeople discriminating you and
(09:16):
yet you kept moving on.
I think all people, not justBlack men, black boys or
whatever I think all types ofcommunity who are struggling
need to hear that from a manlike you who's been at that
pinnacle.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
And absolutely, because if we don't tell our
story, our story goes untold andoften, as we are growing up and
looking for mentors and idolsand people to emulate, when we
don't see us, then we go unseen.
And one of the things as I wascoming up, seen, and one of the
(09:59):
things as I was coming up, itwasn't a large catalog of
African-American leaders to keepyou inspired in spite of racism
, difficulties, challenges, andso often you know, you had to
dig down inside ourselves tomake sure that we were not
quitting, not giving up.
You know, staying focused,sticking to it, getting it done,
(10:22):
like Tuskegee Airmen theirmantra, because we knew that it
was something bigger than us andthat we had to just keep going.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Got you Okay.
All right, now I want to talkabout your experience.
What kept you inspired, beingthat, you said, in your area you
didn't have examples like thatFor me.
I grew up in Harlem so I alwayssaw different.
I saw teachers, people from themilitary.
(10:54):
You saw everything you know,like everything you could
possibly imagine Pretty much.
Growing up in Harlem and thengoing to school in Manhattan and
then going to WashingtonHeights, you saw like different
things to keep you inspired.
Some people went the bad, somepeople went the wrong route,
some people went the right route.
So you know I've seen it, butyou said you didn't really see
(11:19):
that coming up.
So how did you?
How were you inspired?
Speaker 3 (11:25):
so ours was different .
I'm from Maryland, so I'm fromthe DC suburbs, prince George's
County, maryland, black,predominantly black,
african-american county, upperMarlboro.
And so as we were coming up,you know, in our neighborhood,
you know it was all about theneighborhood, it was all about
(11:47):
us, and so we often pushed andinspired ourselves because we
were athletes you know in myneighborhood, a lot of us and we
pushed ourselves and wechallenged ourselves.
You know my best friend sincesecond grade you know who's with
me now.
You know we said we're going tobe the best and whether it was,
(12:10):
you know, football, basketball,baseball, you know we push each
other.
And then we took that mentalityas we were growing up Um, you
know, we seen, we, we saw thingscoming from, you know again,
prince George's County, you know, dealing with the rest of the
state of Maryland and otherthings and we said we had to be
(12:32):
the best.
And so we started setting astandard of, you know, not
selling from anything but beingthe best and dominating on the
football field, on thebasketball field, on the court,
on the track, no matter what, itis the baseball field.
We said we were going to be thebest.
(12:53):
You know, and that kind ofdrove us.
You know the, the, theneighborhood, peer pressure to
to excel, and those same tenants, you know kind of crossed over
into the college level.
You know being a state championand track and field or winning
(13:16):
whatever it may be.
You know we had a passionthrough sports for me that
helped us and taught us that heylook, you're competing and when
you compete you don't give up.
You compete and you play to winand we play to play to win.
You know, and that mentality umtransferred over to my 35 years
(13:38):
of of military service, of ofnever giving up in spite of
racism, in spite of opposition,that it's a game that you have
to win, that you cannot quit.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Gotcha.
So what was your home life likeMom and dad.
Did you have your mom and dadthere?
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Did you grow up with?
Speaker 1 (14:05):
your mom and dad.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
So kind of sort of yes, yes and no.
You know again, we grew uppredominantly here in Prince
George's County, maryland.
My dad worked two jobs, youknow he was a retired from the
Air Force and then, you know,worked as a, as a police officer
, at night Capitol Police andduring the daytime had another
(14:27):
job.
So he was always gone.
And then my mom had a jobduring the daytime and then
commuting in the, you know, theDC, maryland, virginia area.
She wasn't here during thedaytime and so we were you know
what they call what latchkeykids.
You know from the time we werelittle, where you come home and
you know you have to key to thehouse to get in, you know, ain't
(14:49):
no supervision, you know, andso our supervision was the
neighborhood, you know, and andus in the neighborhood all grew
up together because our moms anddads were African-Americans
working in Prince George'sCounty successful middle class
(15:10):
lifestyle, you know, but thatleft them being away.
But yet us raising ourselves,you know, in the neighborhood
and throughout the DC, maryland,virginia area.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Ok, so how did you?
Ok?
So you know I always ask this,this, this question on this
podcast, because this, this era,was important to me, the crack
era.
When you talk about DC andMaryland, those areas, when it
comes to crack, that era, that80s, that early 90s, it took New
(15:46):
York, DC, the whole East Coastby storm.
I want to know how did youavoid that, being a lashki kid?
Speaker 3 (15:56):
so um and and not just crack.
But it was uh, pcp, it wasangel dust, it was love boat.
Um, it was whack, it was hinkleyyeah, you know it was lamb's
breath, it was buddha, it wasall of those things that were um
, just rolling through, runningruuckshar, through the community
and the neighborhoods, you know.
(16:18):
And for us, you know, and againI can't say that for all of my
peers you know, and my partnersyou know, but for me, again, I
came from an athletic family,came from an athletic family and
so initially coming up, when,you know, before you pre-team
(16:39):
and people were getting involvedwith all those things that we
just mentioned, you know, mymindset was, man, I'm going to
be a professional athlete, I'man athlete, you know, I'm good,
I'm really good, I'm the best,and I tried to stay away from
those things.
But it was the um, the desireto be the best, the desire to go
(16:59):
to um, nfl, to be a statechampion and track and field um,
and those type things, and thededication because we were
always in practice, you know, uh, year round.
You know, because we were justseasonal athletes, whether track
, football, basketball, baseball, no matter what it was, we
played, we played, and so thatkind of helped us to stay away
(17:22):
from those.
Those in our neighborhood andthe gangs that were not athletes
were the ones that were gettingcaught up in those things you
know.
And then those that wereathletes, not saying that they
did not do it, but, um, the thepassion and commitment of being
an athlete helped us to, to, tostay away from those things you
(17:44):
know or not get consumed by thedrugs and the gang, um and the
neighborhood and the gang andthe neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Okay, so, Ron, I have a question.
So and again, it's just anhonor you being on the show I
just really think it's amazingof all the stuff you really have
done for yourself and for thiscountry.
But when we talk about movingpast discrimination, you were a
leader in place of so many typesof men and you ran into an
(18:26):
issue where people had issues.
How can we teach ourcommunities to move forward?
Speaker 3 (18:39):
like you did as a leader, even in your own company
or your battalion or whatever,because of a defect of thinking.
Well, it starts with themindset and believing in
yourself.
If you read my bio, yes, I did35 years of service to.
(19:02):
You know the military, and thenas a medical service corps
officer with what?
Three master degrees, and youknow all these different things.
I was the firstAfrican-American male and
non-clinician to be designatedthe Surgeon General in the
history of our nation.
So you're talking over 250years, 253, four years of the
(19:25):
history and founding of ournation, and I was blessed to be
the first administrator operatorto lead as the Surgeon General.
You know the Secretary ofDefense, the President.
You know the POTUS, theSecretary of the Army, chief of
(19:46):
Staff of the Army.
You know, when I was a two-stargeneral said that.
You know, hey, look, we wantleadership and we want the best
leader and they chose me,tremendously blessed, to do that
.
But it all went back to mesetting a reputation, standards
(20:13):
and actions that led to I'mbuilding great teams and success
that show that leadership andteamwork were paramount.
You know, and that's what, atmy time of going to a three star
general.
You know the president and thesecretary of defense wanted.
(20:34):
You know it wasn't my goal tobe you know it's only but one
three star general in armymedicine.
Three-star general in armymedicine Look, I was a two-star
general, it wasn't my goal.
I'm like, hey, I'm good.
You know I don't need to be atthe top.
You know I want to go down hereand relax, retire, but it was
the bosses that said no, whatour nation needs is leadership.
We're going into COVID, we weregoing into all these different
(20:58):
challenges of change, and weneed leadership.
You know leadership, you know.
And so it was that leadershiprequirement that just opened up
at the right time.
But at the same time, me, as ayoung African-American boy from
Upper Marlboro, maryland, princeGeorge's County, maryland, you
know who, never, you knowanybody would have thought, or
(21:18):
you know, thought it waspossible, possible, but yet
living dreams of just being thebest and building teams opened
up that opportunity for me to beblessed, to be selected, as you
know, the army surgeon generalokay, I have a question.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
So how did it lead from, how did it go from sports
into that?
So what inspired you to getinto the military?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
So you know true story.
You know one percent of ournation serves in the military
and I think that many peoplehave the wrong impression of
what military service really is,to include myself, Because, as
I was coming up, you know, mydad served in the Air Force.
I was born in New Mexico.
We went to Japan Misawa AirForce Base when I was less than
(22:13):
one years old and then we cameto Prince George's County,
forestville, maryland, when Iwas three years old and then I
literally grew up in Maryland,prince George's County.
I had no desire to come intothe military.
But yet what happens is that 1%of families who serve in the
(22:34):
military, they're the ones thatend up coming in the military
because they lived it, theyheard their parents talk about
it and they follow in theirfootsteps.
Me coming up, you know,initially, as an athlete, was
just the opposite.
I told my dad I am not comingin the military, I am not going
(22:56):
in the military, I ain't servingin the man's army, I ain't
putting on no boots, I ain'tstanding in the man's army, I
ain't putting on no boots, Iain't standing in no lines, I am
not doing it.
You know, and that was mymantra coming up, you know, um,
you know, through junior high,through high school, you know,
and we're a military family, youknow.
And, and going to college, um,I was heavily recruited, you
(23:20):
know, uh, in football and trackand field, and my dad wanted me
to go to West Point.
And you know he would like, andhe's from White Plains, new
York, and so, you know, rightacross the bridge from West
Point.
And so he was like yo, you know, be an officer, you know, it
ain't too many, it's not toomany African-American, you know,
(23:41):
officers, everybody's enlisted.
To be an officer is a big deal,scotty, and he always was
planting that seed.
That's like yo, dad, I ain'tdoing it.
Nope, nope, nope.
You know, now I'm a senior inhigh school, I'm being heavily
recruited by all these schoolsacross the nation, my dad's
pushing West Point.
The coach from Virginia MilitaryInstitute came to recruit me
(24:03):
and this is the late 80s andthey were still all male getting
ready to go to co-ed.
And so the coach comes to thehouse and he's talking to me and
my dad and he's, you know, hesays, hey, look, you know,
scotty, you know you need tocome, you'd be a great running
back here.
You'll fit into this, ourprogram, you know.
And I knew it was an all maleschool.
And so, you know, I said, hey,look, coach.
(24:25):
I said, um, hey, you got girlsat your school.
And he said, no, we don't.
I said Nope, I am not going tothe school with a whole bunch of
dudes.
I ain't doing it, absolutelynot, you know.
And I was doing it being, youknow, playful and facetious
because I really meant it.
And then my dad had a conniption.
My dad lost it.
(24:47):
My dad lost it, man, most, mostthe maddest he's ever been to
me in my life.
And then my dad was like you,throwing away opportunity that
not too many people have thatare in our community and in our
race, and you could be thedifference.
And I'm like dad, I ain't doingit, you know.
And I, and I made a commitmentto my father.
(25:09):
I said, look, dad, look, Ipromise you, um, let me go to
the school that I want to go toand I promise you I will take
rotc.
Even I don't want to, but sinceyou say it's a good thing, I'll
do it.
And so I was going to Syracuse,at first to play football, had a
knee injury, ended up going toMorgan State, you know, running
(25:32):
track.
Then I got back on the footballfield, had a great years there
and ended up getting mycommission, you know, through
ROTC.
But it was because of thatpromise to my dad that I did the
Army and it wasn't my plan togo active duty.
I said, man, I'm going toreserves and I'm going to go
play professional football.
(25:52):
You know, we were going toPittsburgh and Dallas at the
time, at a Morgan State, youknow.
But I left a year early becausewe had my wife and I had our
oldest daughter when I was ajunior in college and she was a
senior and I had to do somethingto take care of my family.
And I said, okay, you know what?
You know me and coach arebattling, I'm coming in the army
(26:14):
and I'm walking away.
You know, they didn't think Iwould do it but I did it and
that started my military serviceas a way to take care of my
family, you know, because myparents instilled that in me.
Look, hey, look, you need totake care of yours, not us.
You know.
And that led to you know again,35 years later, in a three star
(26:36):
general Nice.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
So I got to tell you one of the things you said was
I'm not going in to serve withthe man.
I said the same thing.
You know, we were growing up inthe 70s.
That was it Like why would I,why would I go serve the man?
Like it and my family were bigon that.
My dad was drafted in Vietnambut he's like don't serve for
the man, don't serve for the man.
And so that mantra you'retalking about has always been
(27:02):
there.
And yet I said I was neverserving, never going, and by
default.
I was discouraged about what wasgoing on over here and I went
into a recruiting office, signedup and it seemed like 100 years
later there I was leaving outon airplanes and stuff like that
(27:22):
.
But I called Dr Wilson fromMorgan State, the president, let
him know that you were going tobe on the show and I sent him a
text because we became verygood friends when I was out in
Maryland, so I have great warmfeelings about Morgan State
(27:42):
because of the president and thevice chair and things like that
.
I've done some talks up thereat their college and their
science department.
So I sent them a text and thenI sent them an email and I'm
kind of upset with them becausehe didn't come back to me right
away, back to me right away.
But you know, here's the thingI think some people again going
(28:07):
back to why people are so hardto get past difficulties, what
they call again back todiscrimination and feeling like
they can't break through.
That's something we have tocorrect in our community,
because you said a lot, a lot ofthings Ron has said about
(28:27):
building community, aboutkeeping focus.
We talked about the brain part,about how to rewire your
thinking, and yet and still, wehave difficulty breaking through
as a community together.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
You know, one of the things that, as you look at the
history of us as a nation and usas a community, or lack thereof
is that there's never been atime where we have been 100% in
unison behind the same causeeffort.
We may get majority of time, wemay get 50% of the time, 40% of
(29:16):
the time, but there's alwaysbeen divisions and divisive
intentions that are designed tokeep us apart.
The mentors that I have, inwhich one is Dr Wilson, the
president of Morgan StateUniversity, they have always
(29:41):
poured into me to to live yourdream.
You live your dream, not thedream of others or what others
may think, but live your dreams.
Martin Luther King said it whenhe was talking to Philadelphia,
about having a blueprint and aplan, you know, and then walk,
(30:02):
and then crawling, and thenrunning, and then you know.
You know whatever you can do,fly, but just keep moving.
And he talked about and then wegot to keep moving towards our
dreams, regardless of what theyare.
When it deals with, you know,success.
And so, as I was coming up, youknow, I had a dream, you know,
(30:24):
to be the best.
You know it was athletics, youknow.
And then it went into the lawfield and the legal field and
all these different things.
But then that's where you knowyou.
You know preparation andsuccess is not something that's
luck, but it's something that'sworked on all the time, you know
.
And so, through the good, thebad, the ugly, the hard times,
(30:47):
the setbacks like we'reexperiencing now in our nation,
we've been here before, you know, but it's due to those who came
before us that persevered, thatworked through, that kept
constant, that did not give upon your dreams.
Your passion you got to have.
You got to have a passion firston your plan.
(31:08):
You know, martin luther kingsaid you got to have a blueprint
or a plan, but then you got tohave the passion behind it and
the perseverance to not quit,the persistence that when they
say that you can't, that youkeep doing it and knocking on
the door, you know.
And the perfection to put thetime in to be the best.
(31:28):
And when you're the best atwhat you do, you can't be denied
because of what you brought tothe table.
You know, and so you know mything has always been live your
dream.
You know we got to live ourdreams and in spite of man, I've
ran into a whole bunch of crazy.
You know racism and thingsthroughout my career and my
(31:51):
professional path, but my thingwas always like OK, you know
what, I'm a competitor, I seeyou, I hear you and I'm going to
doggone, punch you right backin the face and I'm going to win
and show you and not letsomebody else define me, you
know, or my mentality, andthat's what it takes for us to
(32:13):
be successful.
Nobody defines who we are.
You know, nobody but us and wegot to define it.
We got to define it Right.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
So now, you said what inspired you to get into the
military was a number of things,but the main thing was your
family, right, your family.
So.
So now.
But with all of theseaccomplishments, right, how were
(32:47):
you able to do all of this?
Like, serving the army, stayfocused, you know, and Like, how
did you stay focused?
Was it, was it still theinspiration from your family?
Speaker 3 (33:04):
you stay focused?
Was it, was it still theinspiration from your family?
It, it was.
It was one several things thatonce you come into the
profession and I think it, it,it, it doesn't matter what the
profession is, whether military,civilian, uh, athlete when
you're in a profession, it's a,it's a race to be the best, you
know.
And so now I'm in theprofession and my mentality is
(33:24):
that, man, I'm going to play towin, I'm going to win, I'm going
to compete, you know.
And so, as you're competing andyou're giving your best, you
know it's a competition, youknow, the strong survive, you
know.
And so it was that drive to.
I'm taking care of my family.
(33:45):
I've made this choice, thisturn, but you know what?
The game is just beginning.
You got to play this game towin, you know.
And I played the game to winagain.
It was the, now the, theathletic, the athlete in me that
says OK, look, it's time tocompete.
You know, don't quit, don'tgive up.
You know, keep going.
(34:06):
You know, and that's that'swhat I did, you know.
And that just opened up doorsof opportunity that led to
success, by the grace of God.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Were you.
So the question, the question Ihave for, off the top of that,
what Ron was saying is when didthe self-awareness come?
Was there like a thing that hityou over the head Because you
were focused always, as he was ayoung boy.
But when did the self-awarenesscome of?
(34:39):
Being focused was something Iwas doing.
You know what I mean, ron.
You, you could do things, andthen all of a sudden, you
realize what you are doing iswhat you want to do right right,
right right.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
He just clicked off.
I guess he service went out orhit the wrong button what?
Speaker 2 (35:00):
what about for you, though, like your things you're
doing, and then, though, likethere's things you're doing and
then there's self-aware of thethings you're doing.
That's different than justdoing because you want to be at
that next point.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Okay, so for me personally, like I consistently
constantly work, consistentlyconstantly work, um, and it's
just a drive that I have because, like he says, you know, I just
(35:34):
want to be the best at whateverI do.
Just just the, the idea ofbeing the best is the motivation
to keep going.
So I don't know if that thatthat answers your question.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
No, it doesn't, because my you't, because I
understand, because some peoplework hard, right, some people
work really hard at trying to besomething, whatever that is
right, whatever that is, butthey have no internal reason of
why they're doing it besides theethic of working hard, it
(36:06):
besides the ethic of workinghard.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
What I mean is when does that self-awareness come
from you, where I'm like I knowexactly why I'm doing it, not
because I'm doing it well, toanswer your question for me is
like I feel like I come fromthis part of harlem and I don't
ever want to go back right.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
so that was the drive , but when was the awareness of
this is just who I am?
You see what I'm saying after,after, there, after you have
like that focus point, right,that, like someone wanting to
lose weight, I want to look likethis, I want to, I want to get
into this, or I want to looklike this, they have a picture
or whatever vision they have.
(36:47):
Or they want to run a companyand they like when I get to be,
you know, making sixty thousanddollars a month, I really made
it.
So those are focus points.
But then there's a time I knowme, when I realized exactly who
I was, even in the journey ofwhat I was doing.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Like I understand the drumbeat.
My mom, my mother's, saying waswhat's next, what's next?
So the action of what's next.
Thanks, sir, you're back.
So the action of what's next.
Thanks back, sir, you're back.
So the question I ask you iswhen did you realize you were
self-aware of what you weredoing, was part of who?
You were Right, you knew youhad a drive.
(37:34):
You always had that drive.
But then there comes a timewhen you like this is exactly
who I want to be, this isexactly who I am.
That self-awareness combinedwith the drive, it makes a total
.
To me, it makes a totaldifference of where you end up
100%, I, you know.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
And so, um, as, as you had mentioned, as you had
brought that question up before,you know again, my, you know,
we got cut off.
Um, my, my mind automaticallyreflected back to um, the, the
phrase of birds of a featherflock together.
(38:13):
I literally got you know again.
I kidnapped him with me, mybest friend from since I was in
the second grade, the secondgrade, you know, I'm 60, he's 61
now and so, you know, we'vebeen best friends for like 55
years.
And so our relationship, goingback to second grade and playing
(38:37):
on the playground, playingtetherball and kickball, and us
coming up together, the bond,the friendship, the
characteristics, the drive, thepassion, all those things were
developed from our friendship.
We came up in the neighborhood,you had the big gang and then
(39:00):
we were the little ones comingup from the gang on the block,
on the block, you know.
But we were friends, you know,in our age group.
That influenced each other andour influence we pushed each
other, from the time we weredoggone, five years old, that,
yo, we're going to be the best.
Hey, look, do it this way.
(39:21):
Do it this way, tom, do it thisway, scotty.
Okay, we're going to do this,we're going to do this, we're
going to dominate this.
We started talking that fromthe time we were five and six
years old, never stopped comingup, whether if it was in the
band and music or basketballteam, football team, track team,
it it didn't matter, it wasstill us flocking together and
(39:43):
pushing each other, and so thecharacteristic was instilled
there in the neighborhood, youknow.
But?
And?
And then, once it once, westarted, uh, becoming you know
on the varsity basketball teamfrom junior high and high school
and state champions and trackand field, and we started
(40:03):
winning.
The realization is that yo, lookwhat we say and define
ourselves, is it?
All of us weren't statechampions, but a few of us were
that had that gift.
But yet you could not tell usanything when we walked in,
whether it was going to schoolor to a party, whatever it may
(40:24):
be, that we wasn't the bestthing that was gonna walk into
through these doors, you know,and that we were going to
succeed, you know.
And so it started to back toanswer the question.
It started from the time I waslittle, with my best friend, Tom
Wilson, aaron Harris and andthe Little Ridge, the little
gang that was growing up inUpper Marlboro, maryland.
The Little Ridge, the littlegang that was growing up in
(40:45):
Upper Marlboro, maryland, youknow, that was not necessarily
following the same pattern of ofolder gang members of the
neighborhood, you know.
But yet we defined it and wesaid this is it.
(41:10):
And that led to thatself-realization that you talk
about, when we said, you know,can this?
You know, let's be the best.
And it just went from one levelto another.
You know, a few of us went tocollege because we had that
athletic talent, you know, andand we went there and excelled,
and it just led one thing toanother.
And so then for me, you know,I'm, I'm like the only one that
went in the army or the military, and it was that same mentality
(41:31):
.
And everyone says like man, youknow, general Dingell, you're
just a different leader, I'm nota different leader, I'm leading
the same way that I, that Igrew up with, with a team
mentality.
You know, it ain't big, Ilittle you, but it's we.
And then I've always instilledthat and that has what led to my
(41:52):
path to success, you know,regardless of you know race,
gender, you know color, you knownationality.
Look, I'm going to build thebest team with the best talent
and we're going to take over andbe the best thing out here, and
that was the mentality, okay.
Speaker 2 (42:13):
You know, I like what you said because it's that we,
that people, have a hard timegathering.
But then you said something.
It was who was also around youthat developed that.
I'm going to say a good we,because there are people who go
to other groups that do badthings, and that's a bad we, but
(42:35):
they go for the same reason.
That's what's troubling.
They go for the same reason,just different results.
So sometimes when we're talkingto people who says I never, I
wish I had a Tom, I wish I wishI had a Scott, I wish I had a
Ron, I wish I had a Dr Paul tobe around, I didn't.
I had these.
(42:56):
So it's tough for me toseparate from that, and yet
that's why I'm stuck in thisstruggle right now.
Speaker 3 (43:03):
Yeah, yeah, a hundred percent, a hundred percent
agree.
Yeah, yeah, 100 percent, 100percent agree.
You know, because you knowwe're a product of our
environment, but yet we make thedecision on if we comply or
acquiesce to our environmentalsurroundings.
I was the youngest, you know,in our crew and so they left
(43:25):
beyond me and then, when theirinfluence left, it was still up
to me to make a decision to goleft or right.
You know, and and and my moralcompass, you know again, in
spite of being in, you know allblack, you know community, you
know everything was there.
You know that was a negativeinfluence, but yet it was my
(43:48):
moral compass that said you knowwhat I don't want to do that
you know, I want to do this.
You know.
You know my, my, my idol wasn't,you know, the kingpin, you know
the pimp, the drug dealer, thatwasn't me, that's not what I
wanted to be.
The drug dealer, that wasn't me, that's not what I wanted to be
(44:10):
.
You know, in spite of me maynot having a role model of what
a general officer may be, or aCEO of a fortune 500.
We know none about that, we, we, we didn't know nothing, but
yet the thing was um, you know,uh, live your dream.
I didn't know what my dream was, but I knew that it wasn't
going to be mediocrity.
(44:31):
I knew that it wasn't justgoing to be staying in the
neighborhood.
We call it.
You know, in us, you know we saylike yo, man, we got some still
stuck in the time zone.
You know, back in the day, youknow, uh, that just can't leave
that, that window.
They're frozen there.
I wasn't going to be that, thatone, you know.
(44:53):
So it comes with again thatpersonal passion and drive, in
spite of what you have aroundyou, and to think it helps when
you got mentors, examples andpeople who said I've done it, I
was able to get out.
But when you don't have that,you know, that's when you got to
set your own sights.
You know, and live that dreamand, like I tell folks, like,
(45:16):
look well, look, set your markand set it high.
Don't go low, go big, go big.
Or go home and then go get it.
And as you go along that path,it's going to show you different
opportunities that are outthere in life.
And that's what happened to usand me.
Speaker 1 (45:38):
All right, I want to ask a question.
Your first career in themilitary was, it says, General
of us army medical command butnot my first, not my first, so
my first as a second lieutenant.
Speaker 3 (46:00):
My first year in the military was as a platoon leader
, um in fort knox, kentucky, ofa medical platoon.
As a second lieutenant, myfirst assignment as a general
officer was commanding generalof Regional Health Command,
atlantic.
Speaker 1 (46:19):
And what does that entail?
What are your duties?
Speaker 3 (46:24):
So as a second lieutenant, as a brand new
officer just coming in themilitary, having done rltc I
went through rltc at morganstate.
I'm now in charge of a, aplatoon.
So as a, a 22 year old, brandnew second lieutenant, a butter
bar bar, you have your platoon,that group of about 32, you know
(46:52):
, to 40 individual soldiers whoexecute the mission under your
leadership as a one-star general.
The other job, you know, that'syour first job as a platoon
leader.
Second lieutenant, as theone-star general over Regional
Health Command Atlantic that youmentioned.
That is me now as a one stargeneral, responsible for all the
(47:18):
medical professionals doctors,nurses, dentists, physician
assistants, physician assistants, veterinarians, everything
medical, medical that was in myregion.
So I had roughly about 50,000,60,000 people about soldiers,
civilians, contractors that wereunder my responsibility.
(47:41):
So hospitals, clinics, medicalunits, ambulances, everything in
the Army belonged to me as aone-star responsible for a
region and that was the EastCoast.
As the Surgeon General, now atthe top of the pyramid, I was
responsible for over 122, twothousand soldiers, civilians,
(48:09):
medical professionals that workfor me.
You know, over one hundred andtwenty hospitals, twenty two
point one billion dollar budget.
Everything now falls under meas the leader, as the commander,
as the surgeon general, as theCEO, as the boss, and then I was
(48:32):
responsible for everythingpolicy, discipline, training,
leadership.
It all fell, you know, under me.
Speaker 1 (48:41):
How did you handle pressure like that?
Speaker 3 (48:46):
There's not easy, because it was a tremendous
amount of pressure and whetherbeing in Congress or on C-SPAN
or in the Pentagon press room orin congressional hearings or
(49:11):
White House press conferences,there's a tremendous amount of
pressure and responsibility thatgoes with it.
How do I?
How did I handle it?
It's, it's.
It was very tough.
In in a TED Talk that I did, Italk about leadership through
(49:32):
chaos, crisis, you know, andcompetition, but the main issue
in how you handle it is takingcare of yourself first.
You handle it is taking care ofyourself first.
You know.
(49:54):
I tell a story about.
You know, the toughest time Ihad during COVID was right after
a White House press conferenceand I made a mistake of saying
something that I wasn't supposedto say in the press conferences
on live national TV, in thepress conferences on live
national TV, and I was justfloored that I said it and I
just knew that I was going to beroasted, you know, in the press
(50:19):
and on the evening news.
And I was so under a ton ofstress and duress that, as I
walked back to my Pentagonoffice with my staff, I couldn't
handle it.
And I went back to my office inthe Pentagon, I shut the door
and I went in.
I shut the door in my officeand my heart started palpating.
(50:44):
I got dizzy because I wasn'teating.
We had gone like about 24, 48hours with no sleep and I almost
passed out.
And it was at that point it hitme about.
You know.
You know, scotty, if you don'tpractice what you're preaching
taking care of yourself so thatyou can take care of other
people under the stress andduress of COVID crisis and chaos
(51:08):
, you know, and you pass out.
You know you're not doinganybody any good.
You're going to just bereplaced with another general.
And so my wake up call afterthat press conference was I got
to have balance in in myleadership.
It's going to be tough, it'sgoing to be long, but I got to
(51:31):
find my equilibrium or mybalance on life.
You know, uh, professional andfamily.
You know that that work lifebalance of taking care of myself
so that I can take care ofothers and just not going knees
(51:53):
and elbows through the wallwhere you don't get those little
things that mean so much toyour family.
And so that's when I kind ofmade a big turn in my
professional leadership at thesenior level to make sure that
I'm taking care of myself andthat's always been my, uh, my,
my watch word and my, my, myalerts.
(52:14):
And then I got a tremendouswife who keeps me humble, keeps
me humble and she will tell mein a minute like, okay, scotty,
pump the brakes, it's time forus to go to Cancun and get away
and do the cruise, you know soshe helps also to keep me
balanced and, you know, my, myfeet on the ground.
Speaker 1 (52:38):
That's.
That's a great, great, greatexplanation, inspiring.
That's something that I'vediscovered recently about myself
, because I like to go, go, go,go, go, go go.
And then I found myself gettingsick every now and again and I
never used to get sick and I'mlike you know what.
Let me focus more on my ownhealth because I am a fitness
(53:02):
professional, massage therapistand all these things.
I'm telling people to eat cleanand, you know, get enough rest
and all this, and I wasn't doingit.
I wasn't doing that.
So so you know, and I startedgetting sick and dizzy, like you
and things like that.
And you know, you know, I hadto fix that, that part about
myself.
So, yeah, um, another thing.
(53:22):
Uh, dr paul dyer, you weretalking about what was the click
in my mind?
The self-awareness part wasthat I understood my purpose.
At that point, I understoodwhat my purpose was.
Once I said okay, this is mypurpose, this is what I'm here
(53:42):
to do.
That was the click.
Speaker 2 (53:46):
Just to go back to that question, you know, I
really do wish, because, let meask you this, from where you sat
in those rooms, the Pentagonand the office and hearing all
the verbiage and the words comeout of people's mouths.
The words come out of people'smouths as a country, can we do
(54:09):
this?
Can we pull ourselves togetherfrom just your thinking, your
personal self?
And if we can't pull thistogether as a country without
getting yourself on the eveningnews again and CNN, what do you
(54:31):
think that we can do then?
Speaker 3 (54:41):
You know, I was very fortunate that the leadership
that I had as COVID kicked off2019, then going through 2019 to
2024, the leadership within thePentagon, from the Secretary of
Defense down.
I had a tremendous relationshipwith them and your ability to
lead through crisis chaosdepends on the support structure
(55:09):
from the leadership that youhave.
And so for me, when I had thesupport of my leaders, of my
four stars, of the chief ofstaff of the army, of this
secretary of defense, of thepresident of the United States,
you know they just turned itloose.
Okay, scotty, make it happen.
Whatever you do, you do.
(55:30):
We got your back.
I had tremendous support andthat kind of offsets, that
tremendous stress level,responsibility to deploy medical
professionals around the worldto mitigate the millions of
deaths that were happening.
From COVID that helped mitigatethe speed to create a vaccine,
(55:56):
you know, or a prophylaxis tohelp stop the deaths, you know.
But you had the support youknow of the leadership and that
synergy of support makes iteasier.
You know, if I didn't have thatsupport, it know of the
leadership and that synergy ofsupport makes it easier.
You know, if I didn't have thatsupport, it would have been
that much more difficult and wewould not have the success that
we had.
(56:16):
But when everybody was alignedand synergized behind your
effort, that makes it easier andthere's no politics behind it.
I was just tremendouslyfortunate and blessed at a time
to lead where all the starslined up and they got behind me.
(56:36):
And so working through thestress and the duress, you know,
it was easier.
But if, if I didn't have thatalignment and support, oh my
gosh, it would have been crazy.
It would have been crazy.
Speaker 1 (56:51):
Right, got you Makes sense, makes sense.
So support is key Support iskey Relationships matter.
You said relationships.
Speaker 3 (57:03):
Relationships matter.
Yeah, relationships matter.
Regardless of your profession,your desire, your direction,
relationships matter.
Speaker 1 (57:21):
On that note, thank you for coming out, general
Scott Dingell, I reallyappreciate you.
Thank you, dr Paul Dyer, forbringing General Scott Dingell.
I really appreciate you.
Thank you, dr Paul Dyer, forbringing General Scott Dingell
up.
Thank you for the viewerschecking us out and we are out
of here.
Peace, peace, thanks forwatching.
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