Transcripts For CSPAN3 War 20240703

As you continue to enjoy your dessert, id like to begin our program because we have a very special program today. I think the most special of the eight that weve had in this annual observance of steve indicators birthday. Im Stuart Mclaurin and i have the privilege of being the president of the White House Historical association. Welcome you to our campus here at historic Decatur House and on behalf of our board of directors, our National Council on white house history and my staff colleagues, i would like to welcome you here to the White House Historical association and historic Decatur House for this eighth observance. This actually began in 2006, and weve done it every year. Of course, with covid. We had to go virtual, but weve had wonderful, extraordinary speakers each time. And this time is going to be no different. You had the opportunity to hear earlier from former secretary of the Navy John Dalton, and also hes also a former member of the board of directors here at the association, as well as a member of the board of the historic Decatur House. Prior to a merger of a coast stewardship agreement between the National Trust and the association that took place about a dozen years ago. John, service to the association and to our country has been long and distinctive and he and margaret are great friends of the association and great friends to many in this room, and we appreciate both of you and the leadership that you give to our work, to our city, to the nation and to the world. And for those of you who would like to know even more about secretary john dalton. At the end of february, his biography is being released and the book is titled at the helm my life journey with family, faith and friends to calm the storms of life. I need those secrets. Im going to get a copy early. Its out on february 28th. Admiral buckets, terrific to have you with us. Weve enjoyed a wonderful relationship with the Naval Academy that began with admiral carter. And i look forward to continuing that with you in the midshipmen at the Naval Academy and Extraordinary Service to our country thats provided by those men and women that are trained for leadership in service to our country, but also leadership in life. So thank you for what you do to contribute to that. Id also like to recognize and thank our dear friend jan janko. As john mentioned, shes the former chair of the board of the carter house. I said at lunch, shes almost like the chaplain of the White House Historical association. We have many good clergy friends, but shes always available and helpful to be with us on these occasions. I want to recognize as the two other members of the Carter Family that have arrived since the initial introduction, and theyre with us here today. If you gentlemen would just stand up so that we can call attention to you. And its great to have. The wonderful the three of you joining us here today and the legacy of the Carter Family. A continuing and presence with us at this event. Theres another navy leader that i want to recognize here today, a leader on the rise. And this is following todays launch in the historic Decatur House. Lieutenant commander john thomas will have his promotion ceremony to commander. And id like to recognize him today. Please stand. And when he ask about doing this here at the carter house, we thought, what a wonderful thing to combine that observance with this occasion here today. So thank you to your friends and family and to you and congratulations to you as well. Many of you have served in the armed forces of our country in the United States navy and the other branches. And id like for you all to stand so that we can recognize and honor your service to our country as well. Please. Well, i want to take a couple of moments and set the stage and give you some context about why the White House Historical Association Nation is doing this event for Stephen Decatur. What does stephen, the carter have to do with the white house and with white house history . Well, it was in 1961 that many of you have heard me say that first Lady Jacqueline kennedy founded the White House Historical association to be the nonpro outfit, nonpartisan partner to the white house. Since that time, weve had the privilege of working with 12 president s and first ladies. I began in 2014, so ive been had the privilege of working with the obamas, the trumps and the bidens. And i say that to say that our role is exactly the same, regardless of who the president or first lady may be. We are there on behalf of you, the American People, mrs. Kennedy famously said. The white house belongs to the American People and our nonprofit, nonpartisan mission. We have no federal funding whatsoever. It all comes from the generosity of people like you and our other friends that support our work generously. And we are so grateful to have that support. But we provide a hands on mission to the white house to maintain a Museum Standard so that everything you see in those state rooms is maintained at that standard, is funded not by the government but by the White House Historical association. We also have an Education Mission to teach and to tell the stories of the white house and its history. Going back to 1792, when George Washingtons selected that piece of land just across the street from where we are today. And the white house was built largely with the help of enslaved workers. And part of our Education Research has been focused on now going into seven years of research onto the slave workers at the white house. In fact, here at historic Decatur House, we maintain and teach from the last remaining example of slave quarters in the president s neighborhood, a very hard and difficult. But important story in white house history. Well, about a dozen years ago, the association had the opportunity to engage in a coast stewardship relationship with the National Trust for historic preservation. Which gave us this wonderful campus to host events like this, to have our staff officers, to have our wonderful gift shop. The proceeds of which also support our mission and to have the opportunity to convene like this is quite important to that mission. So therefore, we take a year, take a day every year. On this day, january, the fifth, and honor the birthday of the man whose name this house bears. Now, theres a long and difficult and conflicted story about the inhabitants of the Decatur House. Over the span of years. As i mentioned, slavery is a key component to that. But the dictators moved in. This house was built in 1818. The renowned british architect benjamin latrobe was engaged. The same architect that built St Johns Church just across the square. Tragically, Commodore Decatur accepted the challenge from another former naval officer to a duel and he well, i think with the ticktock of admiral carter, gives a fantastic speech, which i think is available on youtube. Admiral, thats i would really encourage everyone to watch that tells the story of the tick, the tick tock, the volley back and forth between these two officers and commodore baron felt besmirched by Stephen Decatur in a navy proceedings, and this festered and blistered for years, and the correspondence grew and became more and more difficult. And finally decatur relented. On a spring morning in march of 1820, left here Decatur House. Early one morning before dawn went to bladensburg, maryland. And it was there at the hands of commodore baron that he was mortally wounded and was returned to this house where he died later that into the next morning. The newspaper hours of the day say that over 10,000 and people gathered in front of this house to mourn the death of commodore to carter. It was believed that he would have been president of the United States had he lived, perhaps even followed james monroe, though as president , he had actually hosted the wedding dinner for james monroe daughter here in Decatur House. The week before he passed a tragic loss and a sad scenario in american history. But weve lost many officers in promising years of their lives. And lets use this occasion to remember their service and their sacrifice and all that. Their lives have given to our country in a short period of time. Well, today we have the privilege of honoring steve indicator, honoring that legacy, appreciating the Extraordinary Service of naval officers to our country by having two of them in our program here today. And this is our heart of our program. We have, as youve heard, the former superintendent of the Naval Academy and now the president of the university of nebraska, admiral ted carter. And we have Lieutenant Commander kayla barron, who is joining us back by popular demand is admiral carter. He actually has given a talk twice, as i said earlier, and is really an extraordinary speaker on the subject of leadership. And Stephen Decatur and kayla, i believe the last time you were here with us for this occasion, you were a flag aide to admiral carter and accompanied him on this trip. And you have certainly literally gone on to much Greater Heights since you were with us on that occasion. Admiral carter is the eighth president currently of the university of nebraska system. There are four campuses in this wonderful system of Higher Education in our country, educating more than 50,000 students and the leadership that he gave also at the Naval Academy, where he was the longest serving superintendent of the Naval Academy since the american civil war. Prior to that, he was also the president of the u. S. Naval war college, and hes now retired from the navy after 38 years of service. He logged more than 6300 flight hours as a navy pilot to this day, he still holds, i believe, admiral, the american record for career arrested landings from 19 different aircraft carriers. And id like to welcome you and your wife, lynda carter. Now, this is lynda carter, but not lynda carter, superwoman. Lynda carter. But i think to admiral carter and to the United States navy, you are certainly superwoman to all of us. So thank you for being here with us today as well. Lieutenant commander baron is someone that i personally believe, and even more so, having had the opportunity to sit and visit with her here at lunch, i believe that she is someone that even steven, to cater himself, would be in all of she was selected by nasa in 2017 after receiving her bachelor in Systems Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and her masters in Nuclear Engineering from the university of cambridge. Shes actually a submarine officer, although her career is now in space. And from may of 2000 excuse me, november. Of 2021 until the splashdown in may of 2022. 177 days. She orbited the earth on the International Space station. And it was just inspirational for me, kayla, to sit and talk to you and and learn from you and to be inspired by your life. Shes actually married to an Army Green Beret officer. And so they have a family of service to our country. And i hope and expect that one day we will welcome you back as either secretary barron or maybe president barron. Even with an extraordinary promising future that you have. But for today and the purposes of this occasion to honor steven and carter on his birthday, please join me in welcoming these two extraordinary leaders, admiral ted carter and Lieutenant Commander kayla barron. And everyone stewart that was an incredible introduction and a great scene setter for this conversation. And kayla and i have only compared a little bit of notes for what were going to talk about. Were going to try to keep this dynamic. Were going to talk for about 20, 25 minutes, and then were going to open up to questions. So i want to just give you the lay of the land. I am honored personally to be back here at historic Decatur House and and i are honored to be here. Its great to be in the presence of admiral sean buck, who will leave me as the superintendent of the Naval Academy. And and i am also particularly honored to have the direct descendants of Steven Decatur here with us here today. It makes it really, really special for me personally to have been involved in the first of these celebrations of Steven Decatur day. I still remember like it was yesterday and my only role was really to tell the story about Steven Decatur. Im not going to do that today. You did a great job talking about his 41 year life and how it ended tragically here. I guess i should hit the elephant in the room first, though. Were talking to somebody here whos married. Name is barron, the same name as commodore barron, who took steve indicators life. Im not going to say theyre related, but that doesnt just happen every day. So even though thats kaylas married name, tom is an extraordinary young man himself. And i just thought it was an interesting kind of a connection here. The the day the reason we celebrate this day is really to honor the courage and leadership capabilities of Steven Decatur, arguably one of the most influential naval officers in our in our navys history. You often hear about Commodore Barry in John Paul Jones in chester nimitz. From my perspective, i would argue that in the very short lifespan, steven to cater 41 years, he had as much influence on creating the culture of our United States navy and our war fighting spirit. And in fact, as we celebrate the most watched movie this year, top gun, maverick, i would argue for any moviemakers that are out there, theres a time to tell the story of Stephen Decatur and put that into a movie, and that would grab americas attention like maybe no other movie that tells the navys history. So as this is getting shown on cspan and others, i hope somebody picks up on that because those stories are amazing. But today, our fireside chat is a chance for me to let kayla talk a little bit about her journey, which is quite extraordinary. Stewart talked a little bit about her start at the Naval Academy. Im going to offer kayla and maybe just go a little bit further back into your childhood, your inspiration to go to the Naval Academy, maybe talk about how we came to meet and that path to become an astronaut, which could be its own book on itself. But maybe you could just talk a little bit about your beginnings and your inspiration to go into the Astronaut Program. Yes, sir. I im the middle of three girls. I grew up with an incredibly supportive family. We moved a lot as kids. I wasnt a navy brat or a military brat. My dad actually works in the civilian Nuclear Power industry, specializing in waste cleanup projects. So once his clean, you move on to the next one. So we moved a lot as kids, but i had an incredibly strong grounding in my family, incredibly encouraging parents who really taught me and my sisters to tap into what we were passionate about and always try to do our best and in most importantly, to be committed to the teams we were a part of. Whether that was our family or our sports teams. My mom actually coached me in crosscountry and track in high school and was a big influence for me, and so they were always interested in what we were interested in and helping us figure out, you know, your first mentors in many ways, are your parents. And so when at a pretty young age, about 12, when i was in middle school, i started expressing an interest in serving in the military. I have a lot of extended family in the military, but i dont really come from a traditional military family. So that was kind of an unusual aspiration to communicate, especially as a pretty young kid. But my parents were really encouraged and my dad actually introduced me to the idea of maybe looking at the service academies. We lived in colorado at the time, so the air force academy was the obvious first thing to consider. But as i matured and grew as a person, i realized that i should be looking more at the Naval Academy. Never, never considered west point with any sort of seriousness, but found myself, you know, in high school studying science and math, really interested in studying engineering in college, wanting to be an athlete, wanting to run, but most importantly, wanting to start dedicating myself to developing as a leader to start thinking about what my life would mean and how i could contribute to my community, to the people around me. And so thats where i found my home at the Naval Academy. From the very first time i visited, i knew thats where i wanted to go to school, and i was very privileged to be given an appointment to the Naval Academy out of high school. And thats how i found myself there at the time, i thought i wanted to be a fighter pilot. Like many freshmen at the Naval Academy, it happens a lot. But for me, i think my journey along the way, ive never had, you know, people i work with. A lot of my colleagues have dreamed of being astronauts from very young ages. You know, they were astronauts for halloween when they were four years old and have these awesome pictures. I was aware of the Space Program and inspired by it, but it wasnt even something that was on my radar as during my time as a midshipman. And the really special thing i think about the Naval Academy in the navy is we have incredibly diverse opportunities for officers to serve in front line communities. You know, when you join the navy, you can be a Surface Warfare officer or a submarine or a fighter pilot, a navy seal, a medical doctor, all of these Different Things with very marine corps. Exactly. And so when youre at the Naval Academy, you get exposed to phenomenal officers and enlisted sailors and marines from all of these communities who mentor you and start your development as a young officer, get you prepared to go stand in front of sailors and marines in the fleet. And i found myself drawn to the submarine warfare officers at the Naval Academy. And it was at a time when women not only were not allowed to serve in the submarine force, but nobody and there was no whisper that this was going to change. But i, during my summer training, got a chance to go under way on a submarine for 24 hours as part of i call it sort of the navys job fair. Its called program professional training of midshipmen. But we go spend a week with every one of the major warfare communities in the navy and marine corps. And i was just blown away by the sailors in the submarine force. First and foremost, they were funny. They were intrinsically motivated. They really cared about their job and their crew, their team. And i just had this sense that, you know, youre sailor hours as a young junior officer, the ones who really mold and shape you. And these were the kind of sailors that i hoped would shape me into a leader. Theyd be willing to follow. And that was exactly the kind of leader i wanted to be. And so that cemented this desire, this dream to be a submariner and i couldnt be one that at the time, but i decided i was going to sign up to be a nuclear Surface Warfare officer in the hopes that if they change the policy during my career, that i could laterally transfer. And i just got right place, right time, super lucky that the sea, my senior year at the Naval Academy, the leadership of the navy came together and decided to allow women to enter the submarine community for the first time. And i was the first one in line to the submarine Community Managers door, a battalion officer who was serving there at the time as the head submarine, or to say, please, this is the community i belong in. This is really where i want to serve. And so i was lucky to go serve on the uss maine, deployed three times to the pacific on Strategic Deterrent patrols. Its a Ballistic Missile submarine and the experience i had with my sailors just blew me away. It was above and beyond my expectations in terms of Leadership Development and the the amazing teams that i was a part of. So thats a long way of saying i had no plan to become an astronaut. I was going to be a submarine warfare officer and eventually wanted to command a submarine. And i came to work for admiral carter. And ill fill in just a short version of how that came to happen, because, you know, all these things are really about relationships and, you know, to be the aide to the superintendent is a big job and its a competitive job. And its usually first senior lieutenant chief of Naval Operations john richardson, whos a good friend of mine, decided he was going to steel. I mean steel. My flag aide at the time, this was right around the the 2016 timeframe. And he called me and said, you dont get a vote in this. Im taking the Ashley Okeefe from you, lieutenant okeefe. But i interviewed somebody that wanted to be my speechwriter, and i think shed be a perfect fit to be your aide. And on short notice, gail and i had a video teleconference from the Naval Academy out to bangor, washington, where you were. And even though we didnt see each other in person, i decided she should be the flag aide to the superintendent and she showed up. Quite frankly. I remember you saying you werent sure if youre going to stay in the navy at the time. And as you may or may not know, the navy Nuclear Power program, once youre designated, gets a say in where every one of their officers go. So they really like them, either stay involved in Nuclear Engineering or to go teach or be in whats called a line locker here in washington, dc that helps with policy and engineering issues. So to even get then Lieutenant Colonel baron to come be the flag aide, we had to work that out. And then all of a sudden, there you are. Youre the fly i gave to the superintendent. Yeah. And in many ways that changed the trajectory not only of my career, but of my entire life. And i think goes to the power of mentorship in my entire story. There are mentors at every key moment, whether that was going to the Naval Academy, joining the submarine force. But in this case, coming to work for admiral carter at a time where its true, i wasnt sure what i wanted to do next. My husband was still in the army. We had been stationed apart for that entire period. It was difficult to understand how we were going to chart this course together as dual military, dual professional couple. And so i was doing a lot of soul searching at the time. And while i was deciding what i wanted to do next in the navy, i happened to meet one of admiral carters classmate, k higher class of 1981 from the Naval Academy who went on to become a shuttle astronaut. Right. And i never met an astronaut before, so i was interested in chatting with her, just listening about her stories. And she told me about a Shuttle Mission where they delivered a module to the International Space station, which is an incredibly complex task going to space at all is an insane thing to do, but bringing a giant module of the space station in the payload bay of the shuttle opening these giant doors, grabbing it with a robotic arm, plugging into the space station, pressurize it, giving it power, making sure that its going to be a functioning part of this really complex vehicle. She was telling me about all the engineering challenges, but especially the time it took to do such a complete and amazing thing successfully. And the entire time i was talking with her, it reminded me so deeply of my experience on the submarine right. And this was the first click in my head that maybe i might. And this was shocking, as shocking to me as anybody i might have the basic skills and ability is leadership abilities and values. The type of, but might be the type of person who could work on a team at nasa. And so that was kind of in the back of my head. I immediately started talking myself out of it and finally, after a couple of weeks, was brave enough to mention it to you, sir. Youre the first human being that i mentioned to this goal, this dream too. And thats an incredibly vulnerable thing, especially to an officer who not only been working for you for a couple of months, but we already had a really strong mentorship relationship. And i really cared what you thought. I really valued your leadership in your opinion, and i remember being on the way to the air and space museum for an event and i was just thinking about it on the way there, the drive with c. J. , whos here today, a member of our staff then. And so were at the Naval Academy now, but i remember kind of turning around in the van to say to you, you know, sir, lately ive kind of been thinking about the Astronaut Program. And i felt like there was, you know, for me, it felt like, oh, this long, scary pause. And i just remember you raising an eyebrow. And then getting a huge smile on your face and saying, thats really interesting. And i was like, yeah, i guess it is. And you said, this is going to be a fun event tonight. And so we went in, you introduced me to a ton of your colleagues from the Naval Aviation community who went on to serve in the Space Program. And i had these fascinating but incredibly intimidating conversations with amazing human beings who i just couldnt imagine being a colleague of. And on our way out of this event, i was, you know, excited but intimidated. And in this critical moment, walking down the stairs, ill never forget you turned to me and you said, so what do you think . And i said, you know, those were some really impressive people, sir. And you said, well, do you know how you become an astronaut . Kayla . And i said, no, i have no idea how you become an astronaut. And you just looked me right in the eye and said, you apply. Master the obvious. But the reason that was such an impactful moment is you had to invested the time to get to know me. You knew i was overthinking it. You knew i was putting up mental barriers in my head that would prevent me from even putting myself out there and you had the ability to just catch me in this Perfect Moment of doubt and say, you know, its not that complicated. You just have to go for it. Yeah. And the timing was perfect because two weeks later, nasa announced they were taking applications and you called me into your office and said, did you see the news . Which is always a terrifying question to get as an aide, because youre like, what am i supposed to be working on right now that im not . And i said, what news, sir . And you said, nasas taking applications and i expect you to put your name in the hat. And so that kind of kicked off this very serious period of reflection and had to tell my husband about this idea and my family and luckily it got a ton of support. And if if we hadnt won, i wouldnt have ever come up with this idea if i wasnt working for working with you. But even more critically, if i hadnt had your mentorship in that critical period, i dont think i would have been brave enough to do it. So just again, to set the scene a little bit, the Naval Academy has a remarkable history with nasa. Prior to kayla, wed had 53 Naval Academy graduates go to space as astronauts, and its a record for any undergraduate program. You often hear about purdue or the air force academy and let you in on a secret. The Naval Academy is the number one supportive astronaut in the country. When kayla put her name in and applied that year, they broke a record 18,300 applicants for 12 spots, 18,300 for 12. Well, we didnt know that at the time. Kayla, talk a little bit and i want to spend a lot more time talking about your experience in space. But i think this is a fast saying to the american public, to this audience, as to how that Selection Process works. Yeah, well, you applied to be an astronaut on usa jobs dot gov, which many of you may be familiar with and was surprising to me when i first figured out what it does take to apply to be an astronaut and discovered i met the minimum qualifications. So i had no excuse. But yeah, once you you apply, its kind of putting together your resume and some references. But nasa combs these records and kind of whittles it down to a pool of highly qualified applicants that they think have all of the Technical Skills and the leadership experience to have the potential to succeed in future training. And then its really a i think a lot of luck goes into it because they invite usually 100 to 150 people for first round interviews. And once youre there, its really all about demonstrating that you have the right values and interpersonal skills to succeed in these really extreme environments, because everybody whos there does have the technical know how, but not everybody who is there necessarily is going to succeed in a six month Yearlong Mission or eventually for our class. They were already thinking about these folks could be people who go on a three year mars mission right. So theyre really looking for people who have demonstrated the ability to work on teams in confined environments. And conveniently, i had recently done that aboard a submarine, so could very could talk to how i approached teamwork and leadership in those environments. How many different cuts of the interview you remember how many times you actually i mean, there was a cut where you got a notification that you made the cut, but then you started doing things in person. I mean, there were multiple levels. There are several that happen behind the scenes. Some that are transparent to applicants, some that you do kind of hear about, like having your references contacted is a really good sign. So when you told me you got an email from nasas office because i knew that meant i was still in the process, but theres two rounds of inperson interviews, but also a team tasks individual tasks where youre being observed by operational psychologists, huge medical battery to make sure youre healthy. Lots of people like youve never had or had said, oh yeah, you learn things about yourself you thought youd never know, especially as a healthy 29 year old. So how old were you . And well talk about the notification because thats amazing story two, we want to tell that briefly, but how old were you the day that you got notified . 29, 29, 29 years old, selected for the Astronaut Program. Not sure if you were the youngest ever, but certainly one of certainly the youngest in your class of 12. We actually had four members of our class who were 29 when we started. So im actually not the youngest member of our class, but we do have a fairly young contingent in our class. And part of that was this class was envision it to be the class that would eventually do missions to mars. You know, we can talk more about what that timeline looks like, but i think because its such an amazing story. Now, full disclosure, i was aware that kayla had been selected the day before she got her notification. What . Kayla doesnt know that. Im going to tell for the first time today is that the senior officer that was in charge of that search told me not only did she get selected, if theyd only picked four kayla, it would have been one of them. Thats how well she did in this interview process. Yeah. And. But kayla was told to be standing by for a phone call. What happened that day that we were so standing on the parade field commissioning week at the Naval Academy, so pretty busy. And i knew they were going to call that day. And the admiral knew they were going to call that day. So he knew i was going to be staring at my phone. But there was one time during the day that i knew i would not be allowed to have my phone, which was during the color parade, which is the big Graduation Day parade. All the parents and families of the graduating midshipmen are there, and the whole brigade marches out on the field. For the most pomp and circumstance we have at the Naval Academy during that week. And so i was serving as an aide, counting the guns for the official party, salutes and things like that. And so probably, what, half an hour away from my phone got back after the parade. And sure enough, i had a missed call from houston. And you immediately said, come back, come back. And i was like, i dont think you could call this number back because its kind of like a generic, you know, out outgoing number. But so i just had to wait by the phone. And we were actually at Buchanan House just between events for a quick changeover of uniforms when they called me again and i were i was standing in the kitchen at Buchanan House window was right there, too. And shes getting the phone call. And you came down and sure enough, they asked me if i was still interested in coming down houston to be an astronaut. And it was the easiest question ive ever had to answer. Said yes. And within a couple of months i was down in houston to start my astronaut candidate training. So a remarkable path to being selected. Now youre what i think you affectionately call an astronaut candidate, because a lot of you may not know. You have to get to a certain altitude in space before you qualify as an astronaut. So the ill let you describe what the the nickname for astronaut candidates is. But i want you to talk a little bit as you go through that, about what type of special skills you knew to go your training and then take us into your First Mission and the type of leadership skills, especially on a day were talking about. Stephen decatur, whose crew historically loved him like other lee, the youngest navy captain in history at 25 years old. And im thinking about a 29 year old lieutenant, kayla barron, who would make Lieutenant Commander. I mean, theres some interesting, amazing parallels here, but fighting on a different frontier in for a different mission, especially with russian cosmonauts, where were going, the invasion of ukraine and all you can imagine the dynamics here. So id love you to be able to talk a little bit about astronaut candidate to astro not qualified and then some of those leadership things that you needed and tied to some of the mission, things that you did in space. Absolutely. Much like being a plea. But the Naval Academy, theres a sort of loving sort of not moniker for brand new astronauts. And were asking fans for a short for astronaut candidate, but meant a tongue in cheek way, i think. And thats just historically what weve been called. But its kind of like basic training for astronauts. You spend two years learning all the basic skills that youll need in order to succeed in assigned crew training, more specific mission training. So we learn basic speakers, spacewalking skills. We all become aviators of sorts. We fly t 38 so as our training platform arm. So im a back seat are kind of like a naval flight officer role in a ti 38. We learn how to operate the robotic arm aboard the space station, which is really cool. We actually fly it by hand. Six degrees of freedom with two joysticks, which is pretty fun. We all learn to speak russian because of our partnership with the Russian Space agency and also the because we might launch aboard a russian vehicle in partnership with them to space running russian procedure is really technical vocabulary. And again, just something you pick up on a weekend, im going to in russia we do get formal training but it is it is a tough road, especially for a lot of us, you know, engineering nerds who dont really have the Language Skills like me. But we, of course, also learn about the space station systems, kind of like Nuclear Power school for the space station, learning about all of the systems that come together in order to keep human beings alive in an environment where theyre not meant to be. The vacuum of space. And so you kind of do all of those things. But undergirding all of that training is learning how to operate as a small team in these really unique environments because like the what theyre looking for, what were looking for when we select a new class, when you put a crew together, we know based on our experience over the years that especially on these Long Duration missions, the difference between, you know, just meeting the bar and getting the mission done and really succeeding as a crew is those interpersonal relationships, emotional intelligence, the leadership that goes into not only succeeding as an individual, but recognizing that if were supporting each other on a day to day basis, even if were doing individual tasking, we can be so much more effective if we really understand our strengths and weaknesses, the strengths and weaknesses of our team, and how we can support each other to best support the mission. So we start thinking about that really formally during our astronaut candidate training. And then when you come together as a crew a few months, i graduated from my candidate training out, assigned to space x crew three, which is the mission i ultimately flew on expedition 66 aboard the space station. We are were already thinking about that. How can we come not only for these really dynamic phases of flight where theres a lot on the line like launch spacewalks, reentry, but also those six months up there where every day were tasked with doing really Critical Mission tasking, whether thats executing a science experiment that a Phd Candidates thesis is riding on or theres a Multi National Scientific Team who has put ten works in ten years of work into getting a scientific payload up there for us to execute or were fixing the station so that our treadmill works or we can get water or the toilet breaks. And so all of a sudden youre a space plumber, no matter it is its this really unusual environment where every day is planned, but every day doesnt always go according to plan. And so we were really thinking about that a lot. And to tie it back, like you said, to the legacy of Stephen Decatur, to places like the Naval Academy, these are people and that understand that it takes a lot more than technical, know how to succeed. And its easy, especially, you know, in the astronaut office, you bring people from all these really technical backgrounds to think that like its all about having the best engineers and scientists. And yeah, you do need to have good Technical Skills, but as the crew up there, were jack of all trades, masters of not and we dont understand the vehicle in this extraordinary detail. Its kind of like being on a submarine with your crew. You know, you have these experts whove spent 20 years working on the mechanical systems in the engine room. And so when the turbine generator breaks, you know, youre bringing in the electricians mate and the machinist mate who Work Together to solve that system. We dont have those people with us on board. Theyre all in the Mission Control centers around the world. And so that was one of the biggest leadership challenge is is understanding like, hey, im having a very different lived experience in this crew. Crew are the rest of our crew on the ground. Theyre in shift work supporting us 24 hours a day. Were up here with a very you know, were in a different environment and environment. Theyve never lived in microgravity. We might a different perspective on what the solutions might be. And so learning how to communicate across those barriers to bring the Team Together is a really fun but challenging thing to have to overcome to succeed in these missions. And so i was really reliant on the experience of serving on a submarine, bringing those technical experts together. But with this new set of whats the best way to get the ground team on the same page, should we bring up a video camera, would still imagery be better . Can i give a succinct description using all of the right terminal edges so that you know, the real Engineering Team on the ground who built this equipment understands what im talking about. You cant say like the doohickey is broken and i like whats that . So you have to figure it out. You have to learn how to communicate speak their language and really bring a Team Together. And sometimes when theres a lot on the line, like during a spacewalk, were doing that and i did too, right . Yes, sir. Yeah. Think about that spacewalk and maybe you could talk a little bit about that. But i also want you to talk about you really acclimated to being space. I mean, imagine youre in zero gravity for six months. You know, just we dont have time to go through what its like to get into your little sleeping bag and all the things you have to do in the normal day to day life. And youre scheduled, but you really enjoyed time up there. And i know this because lynda and i were privilege and i mean extremely privileged to have on certain scheduled the opportunity to talk to kayla in low earth orbit and it was as good as were talking right now. It was amazing the connectivity even were able to do a video teleconference together in which at the end kayla took lyn and i threw a laptop into the cupola as the space station was crossing over the gulf of mexico. I could actually see my house in nebraska. No, not really. But, you know, it was just surreal to be talking to you and maybe you could talk a little bit because most people dont know far above the earth you are. Where are you in low earth orbit . How many . 200 plus miles above the earth and how far do you have to go to earn your Astronaut Wings that youre now so proudly earned . Theres some magic altitude. I dont have it memorized, but thats sometimes disputed by our commercial companies. Whether theyre going into space, not. But we were at 220 nautical miles, 250 statute miles or so above the earth, orbiting at 17,500 miles an hour, which means that we go around the earth about every 90 minutes. So 16 times a day, 16 sunrises, 16 sunsets in a 24 hour period. And its just absolutely spectacular to look out the window and enjoy this incredible privileged perspective of our home planet. And i think for all of us, it really drives home this feeling of how connected we are you can actually at sunrise in sunset, see the atmosphere illuminated. So you actually see the only the little tiny layer thats dividing our planet from outer space. You see the earth as a biosphere, interconnected organism. Were also reliant on each other in order to succeed. And i think it makes everybody feel incredibly small. Its a hugely humbling experience. And for me, that feeling of humility came with a lot of responsibility as well. I think it made me think even harder than i had ever had before about what i would do with my tiny blip in time on this planet. And what i would do to protect it and pass down a better earth with stronger relationships, more cooperation to the generations that come beyond us. So that they can enjoy these incredible experience. This as well. So theres no doubt that kayla is going to be going back to space at some point. Obviously, this audience is well aware of what artemus is and the mission that just occurred to send a vessel up into outer space to take a look at the moon. And theres artemus Missions Already being planned. Maybe you could talk a little bit about without really disclosing the exact future, because none of us really know. And i know you dont exactly just yet about what it means for us to go back to the moon and then what might even be beyond that. Yeah. So we just flew the successful test flight. Artemus one it was an uncrewed mission, but we sent the orion capsule aboard the space launch system rocket. It was an incredible launch. It was the first rocket launch i actually saw in person, except for my own, which is a very different experience. But it was a phenomenal launch and a really successful test flight. Of course, theres always thing thats the whole point of a test flight. Youre shaking down the vehicle trying to test all the systems out there. Extremes. We learned a lot. We very critically tested the heat shield, the vehicle back faster and hotter than any human rated vehicle in history. And so we really wanted to see that heat shield perform. We put human beings aboard the vehicle. The parachutes performed beautifully. The navy recovered the capsule in the pacific, which is a really cool return to that apollo era relationship. But it was an absolutely beautiful mission, and it really puts us on a track for artemus to spend the next 18 to 24 months launching the crewed test flights. Were going to put four human beings aboard that capsule next time it launches and send them to the moon. Further into space than any human beings have ever traveled. And so theyll actually go orbit the moon and then return home and then our hope is that well have all the systems ready for artemus three, the next crewed flight to send two people to the surface aboard a lander to do moonwalks and new suits. So we have a lot of Development Programs in progress right now. But in the in the near term, what were hoping to do is develop and test all the architecture that we would need for a mission even further into. The solar system to mars, its incredibly that will be an incredibly complex mission further from home than i can even imagine being. And so we really want to know that we can live on the surface of another planetary body before we send human beings that far away on the moon will be about three days from home on mars. We could be anywhere from six months to 18 months from home, depending on the planetary alignment. So we really have to know what were doing before we do that. And the moon is the perfect proving ground. And oh, by the way, along the way well do some incredible science there, incredible geological questions to answer on the moon. The Planetary Community is so excited to send human beings not only back to the moon, but to a new area. Were going to the south pole. So we might unlock some of the mysteries of the moon and our own solar system formation that have been in the scientific literature debated for years that apollo helped to answer some critical questions. But theres a lot to learn. So were really excited about the Artemis Program and were gonna be doing Amazing Things in the coming years and decades on the moon. So thank think about the last time we went to the moon. Were with a man on the moon. Gene cernan the last american, last person to walk on the moon gene has sadly passed away. So we no longer, you know, have that last person that walked on the moon. Weve had women, by the way, in the Astronaut Program for many, many years. My own particular Naval Academy class, we had three astronauts in my graduating class, brant jett, wendy lawrence. And as we already mentioned, kay. Hi, wendy. Lawrence was the first Naval Academy to go into space. So i mentioned that because its not unusual that we have no women astronauts, but weve never put a woman on the moon, and that will be happening sometime in the next 4 to 5 years. And i dont know about you, but i am rooting for Lieutenant Commander, probably commander by then. Kayla barron. Well see. For her time to go step on another planetary object. Just think how incredibly exciting that will be. I know that lynne and i are going to be living vicariously through our other daughter. Daughter kayla barron. So anyway, the future is really, really bright. Were excited about everything that kayla is accomplished. Were proud of her connections to our beloved Naval Academy, and i think its really fitting. As youve listen to kayla today, tie her incredible leadership skills, her of intrepid courage in a frontier that were still learning about every time we send somebody into space and i think its really fitting that were having this conversation and celebrating. Lieutenant commander kayla barron on steven dictators birthday. So please, everybody, lets give a round of applause to Lieutenant Commander kayla barron. We have a few minutes, and i know theres probably a 100 questions that some of you would like to ask. Theres microphones. And because we are recording, we ask that you use the microphones to offer a question and. I dont want to try to limit too much, but i see captain coming up. Yeah. Kevin, come on up. Good to see you guys are so okay. I think we nasa kind of studied the submarine personnel back in the mercury and of gemini program, so how much how much did that prepare you for submarine experience to go into the Space Program, do you think . You mentioned a little bit, but if you could add a little more. Yeah, you know, i did talk about how those parallels are. What gave me the confidence to even consider this this trajectory for myself. But i relied on my experiences in the submarine force every single day in my training and definitely every single day aboard the space station. The operational environments are so similar. The decision strategies and the communication style, and especially like i mentioned, of the need to bring a team of diverse experts together to make good decisions in a really high risk, low time scale environment is super similar. And then in the less time, critical environments also just solving problems with limited resources, right when youre underway on a submarine and something breaks, youre on mission. You got to find a way to fix it. You dont want to come off mission to say, hey, we cant figure this out, right . You want to you want to stay underway doing your mission tasking. And so you really have to be creative. And sometimes macgyver solutions to problems that the the team ahead of time didnt necessarily consider. And so all of the time were the team on the ground is trying to imagine how something will operate in space. But they dont always know exactly how its going to work, whether thats a scientific payload or a piece of equipment. And so we have stuff break or not work as as appropriately as it could. And the second that happens, the ground team is already thinking creatively weird tools that are tucked away somewhere. Youre going have to go dig for them for a half an hour. But were also opening the toolbox and thinking, you know, what could we do . Like just taping things to taping weird tools together that dont really interface to make something work or saying, you know, we worked with that thing a few weeks ago. Maybe we have some of that material left over that we could kind of cluj together here to make this thing work. And so that that problem solving philosophy is really, really similar. That attitude towards like, lets find a way to get the job done, even if its not how we originally imagined it is the same ethos youll see on any submarine underway. So yeah, absolutely. I relied on that experi once every single day and especially the leadership lessons and the very humbling leadership lessons for my sailors of like understanding my limitations, understanding when i dont know something and how to communicate that, how to draw in other perspectives and yeah, every single day those lessons i brought those to bear for sure. Some other questions from the audience. Yes. What is your relationship with the cosmos now . Look, look. So the question is question what is the relationship with the cosmos and whats particularly its such a critical time, such an obvious time where that that relationship could easily break down. So, yeah, so the International Space station, since its been continuously crewed there, has every single day been an american and a russian astronaut aboard the International Space station for over 22 years now, which is something kind of incredible to think about actually, when you think about the history of that period. But we were our steady state crew for the majority of my mission, had two russian cosmonauts, four american astronauts and one german astronaut from the European Space agency. And so we we had been together for about four months as a crew before the conflict in ukraine broke out. And, you know, for us, our reality up there where were paying attention to whats going back, going back on the planet, i think thats important for us and sort of the psychology of being in space. Were paying attention to the news, what our families are going through. But first and foremost, we have a mission to accomplish were deployed in space and we are reliant on each other. Every Single Member of that crew, not only for our mission accomplishment, but for our lives thats a pretty special bond. And so we were a family up there. We we had really strong relationships as a crew and we understood that we needed to cooperate with each other in order to succeed. So when the geopolitical situation on the ground changed so dramatically now not to trivialize it, but its kind of like you dont talk about politics at thanksgiving with your family. Like we just didnt really go there because it wouldnt be productive, right . Like, thats not our our job is to, you know, crew the space, execute our incredible science mission, keep this incredible vehicle working. And we cant do that without significant cooperation and friendship. Honestly, aboard aboard our crew. And so for us, we we didnt dig into that together because we knew it wouldnt be productive. You know, im reading the New York Times in the economist, and i think theyre listening to state media. And so thats just not were not going to get anywhere. And its not going to be productive for our mission. So we maintain this professional relationship with them regardless of whats going on on the ground. And thats just way above our pay grade, right . Its like a nasa headquarters question of of how that relationship will continue. But for us and for me, i think the space station represents and has represented throughout its history what we can accomplish as a human race when we Work Together. That vehicle wouldnt exist without these Strong International partnerships and the incredible outcomes of the Scientific Research we performed up there. We wouldnt have any of those if we were trying to do one of if any one of our nations was trying to do that on our own. And so for me, its kind of a reminder, especially during a challenging time for our world of what we can do when we choose to cooperate and rely on each other as opposed to the alternative. We have time for one more question. Im not sure if this is appropriate im i was a working mom with four kids. Im sure this comes up from time to time. And with your amazing career and the demands time wise, you have a husband, but do you have any kids . I dont have any kids yet. Um, big yet. I like that. We hope to have a family eventually, but much like the military, the Nasa Astronaut Office is really supportive of families. Whatever those look like, whether thats your dual professional couple like i am, whether youre adopting kids, whether you have your family while youre there or had it before you came, were really like closeness, knit community. And definitely its one that supports whatever Family Planning choices. Its members choose to make throughout their careers or i want to thank you, maam. So as we close our conversation session today, i want to remind not only our inperson audience, but our listening audience, said stephen. Indicators had impact throughout our nation. There are 11 states in our country that have towns, cities or villages named after decatur. Some of them are very large, like decatur, georgia, some of them very small, like our very own decatur, nebraska, which is a population of a massive 500 people on the missouri river. And its actually a place that lewis and clark traveled through on their journey to explore america. But Stephen Decatur still has that type of impact across our nation. Many americans are not aware, and even our own sailors and marines may not be aware of how impactful his leadership, his brave sense of wanting to win in every single battle and what it meant for our fledging navy, particularly during the war of 1812, the barbary wars. And today we celebrate that style of leadership. Much of which i have seen and observed. And i am so excited about the future for Lieutenant Commander kayla barron, thank you all for being with us today. You. Thank you very much, admiral and kayla. And thank you all for joining us here today. I have a couple of mementos. You are both such an inspiration to all of us. And im sharing with you a small plaque that president reagan actually kept on his desk in the oval office. And its something that is an inspiration to me and a reminder to me on a daily basis. But your words and your lives are certainly an an evidence of this saying. And that is it can be done. So. Thank you, stuart. We have a more traditional gift for you later, but i wanted to share that everyone leaving here today receive a small bag that contains three gifts for them. This event. The first is kaylas patch with her name. There you go. The second is admiral carters university of nebraska challenge coin, which all out know. Its a big state to big coin, right. And then the White House Historical association challenge coin, which is pressed into resin, a Crushed Stone from the acquired quarry and acquire virginia stone that the white house stone came from. So that is in our challenge coin. And youll all get this as you leave today. Thank you for this inspirational day and presentation. Thanks to all that each one in this room does for our mission. The White House Historical association serving our nation and for everyone watching by cspan. And thank you for being with us today on behalf of secretary of the navy, former secretary of the Navy John Dalton hosting. Our event today and the board of the white historical association. Thank you very much. And we appreciate allim bill ht the fdr president ial library museum. And today im very pleased to welcome harvey kaye an emeritus professor of democracy and justice at university of wisconsin at green bay. Hes old friend here at the library, spoken before. We always love to have him welcome back. Harvey, thank you. It is such pleasure. And its and im going to now make clear to everyone. Congratulations,l