Jake Wood: A new mission for veterans -- disaster relief

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

翻译人员: Lucian Lai 校对人员: Renji Yu

Two years ago, after having served four years

两年前，我在美国海军陆战队

in the United States Marine Corps

服役了四年

and deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan,

也曾调配到伊朗和阿富汗

I found myself in Port-au-Prince, leading a team

我被安排到太子港（海地共和国首都）领导一支

of veterans and medical professionals

由退役军人和医疗专业人员组成的队伍。

in some of the hardest-hit areas of that city,

就在地震刚过去三天，

three days after the earthquake.

我到达这座城市受灾害最严重的一些地区里。

We were going to the places that nobody else wanted to go,

我们去了没有任何人想要去的地方，

the places nobody else could go, and after three weeks,

也没有任何人能够去的地方。三周过后，

we realized something. Military veterans

我们意识到，那些退役军人

are very, very good at disaster response.

非常善于应变灾难。

And coming home, my cofounder and I,

回来过后，我和我的伙伴

we looked at it, and we said, there are two problems.

审视了情况，发现两个问题。

The first problem is there's inadequate disaster response.

第一个问题，危机处理不妥当

It's slow. It's antiquated. It's not using the best technology,

速度太慢。方法过时。科技并非最先进的

and it's not using the best people.

也没有最完善的团队

The second problem that we became aware of

我们意识到的第二个问题是

was a very inadequate veteran reintegration,

没有好好融合退役军人

and this is a topic that is front page news right now

现在这个议题上了头条

as veterans are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan,

当军人从伊拉克和阿富汗退役回来

and they're struggling to reintegrate into civilian life.

他们都很难重新融入普通人的生活

And we sat here and we looked at these two problems,

所以我们仔细地研究了这两个问题

and finally we came to a realization. These aren't problems.

终于我们的结论是，这些并不是问题

These are actually solutions. And what do I mean by that?

而是解答。我指的是什么呢？

Well, we can use disaster response as an opportunity

首先，对退役军人来说

for service for the veterans coming home.

灾难管理是一个机会

Recent surveys show that 92 percent of veterans want

近来调查发现有92%的退役军人

to continue their service when they take off their uniform.

愿意在退役后继续服务社会

And we can use veterans to improve disaster response.

我们可以让退役军人改善赈灾行动

Now on the surface, this makes a lot of sense, and in 2010,

初步看来，这是理所当然不过了

we responded to the tsunami in Chile,

在2010年，我们已经派遣救灾队前往援助

the floods in Pakistan, we sent training teams to the Thai-Burma border.

智利海啸、巴基斯坦水灾，也派培训队伍到泰缅边境

But it was earlier this year, when one of our

但却是在今年不久前，一位前队员

original members caused us to shift focus in the organization.

导致我们转移了组织的方向

This is Clay Hunt. Clay was a Marine with me.

他就是克莱·亨特。克莱是我的海军伙伴

We served together in Iraq and Afghanistan.

我们一起在伊拉克和阿富汗服役

Clay was with us in Port-au-Prince. He was also with us in Chile.

在太子港和智利，他也和我们同在

Earlier this year, in March, Clay took his own life.

不久前，克莱自杀了

This was a tragedy, but it really forced us

这是个悲剧。不过却让我们

to refocus what it is that we were doing.

重新思考我们的方向

You know, Clay didn't kill himself because of what happened

克莱并非为了在伊拉克和阿富汗

in Iraq and Afghanistan. Clay killed himself

所发生的事情而自杀。反而是为了

because of what he lost when he came home.

回家后他所失去的一切而自杀

He lost purpose. He lost his community.

他失去了生命目标。他失去了他的社群。

And perhaps most tragically, he lost his self-worth.

最悲惨的是，他失去了自我认同。

And so, as we evaluated, and as the dust settled

经历这个悲剧后

from this tragedy, we realized that, of those two problems --

我们重新思考了这两个问题

in the initial iteration of our organization,

最初我们这个组织

we were a disaster response organization that was using

是个聘用退役军人的灾难管理组织

veteran service. We had a lot of success,

当时我们已经相当成功

and we really felt like we were changing the disaster response paradigm.

我们也觉得我们改革了灾难管理的原状

But after Clay, we shifted that focus, and suddenly,

但是克莱之后，我们改变了方向

now moving forward, we see ourselves

向前发展， 我把我们自己视为

as a veteran service organization that's using disaster response.

一个应对灾难的退役军人组织

Because we think that we can give that purpose

因为我们认为我们能够重新

and that community and that self-worth back to the veteran.

赋予退役军人的对社群、人生目标和自我认同

And tornadoes in Tuscaloosa and Joplin, and then later

在塔斯卡卢萨和乔普林市 （密苏里州）发生风灾后

Hurricane Irene, gave us an opportunity to look at that.

还有后来的飓风艾琳，我们有机会看清这一点

Now I want you to imagine for a second an 18-year-old boy

现在我要你想像一个十八岁的男孩

who graduates from high school in Kansas City, Missouri.

刚刚从密苏里州堪萨斯市的高中毕业

He joins the Army. The Army gives him a rifle.

加入了军队，军队给了他一支步枪

They send him to Iraq.

把他送到伊拉克

Every day he leaves the wire with a mission.

每一天他离开军营去参加任务

That mission is to defend the freedom of the family that he left at home.

捍卫他在家乡亲人的自由

It's to keep the men around him alive.

确保他身边的战友活命

It's to pacify the village that he works in.

维持他前往的那个村庄的和平

He's got a purpose. But he comes home [to] Kansas City, Missouri,

他有目标。但是回到堪萨斯城

maybe he goes to college, maybe he's got a job,

也许他到学院上课，也许他找到工作

but he doesn't have that same sense of purpose.

他不再有同样的目标感

You give him a chainsaw. You send him to Joplin, Missouri

你给他一把链锯，在飓风过后

after a tornado, he regains that.

派他到乔普林市，他就找回了目标。

Going back, that same 18-year-old boy graduates from high school

回顾过去，那个同样的十八岁男孩

in Kansas City, Missouri, joins the Army,

从密苏里州堪萨斯市毕业，加入军队

the Army gives him a rifle, they send him to Iraq.

军队给他步枪，派遣他到伊拉克

Every day he looks into the same sets of eyes around him.

每一天他面对同样的脸孔

He leaves the wire. He knows that those people have his back.

离开军营，他知道这些队友会关照他

He's slept in the same sand. They've lived together.

他们睡在同样的沙地。他们一起生活。

They've eaten together. They've bled together.

他们一起吃饭。他们一起打拼。

He goes home to Kansas City, Missouri.

这个男孩回到堪萨斯市

He gets out of the military. He takes his uniform off.

他退出军队，褪下军服

He doesn't have that community anymore.

他没有同样的团队了

But you drop 25 of those veterans in Joplin, Missouri,

但是当你遣送25个退役军人到乔普林市

they get that sense of community back.

他们找回同样的社群感

Again, you have an 18-year-old boy who graduates

再一次，十八岁的男孩

high school in Kansas City.

从堪萨斯市的高中毕业

He joins the Army. The Army gives him a rifle.

加入军队。军队给他步枪

They send him to Iraq.

送他到伊拉克

They pin a medal on his chest. He goes home to a ticker tape parade.

在他的胸前别上徽章。然后他回国参加退役阅兵仪式

He takes the uniform off. He's no longer Sergeant Jones

褪下军服后，他就不再是队伍中的琼斯中士

in his community. He's now Dave from Kansas City.

他现在是堪萨斯市的大卫

He doesn't have that same self-worth.

他没有同样的个人认同感

But you send him to Joplin after a tornado,

但是当飓风后你送他到乔普林市

and somebody once again is walking up to him

会有人走到他面前

and shaking their hand and thanking them for their service,

握他的手，感谢他的服务

now they have self-worth again.

现在他们又有同样的个人认同感了

I think it's very important, because right now

我认为这是很重要的，因为现在

somebody needs to step up,

总需要有人站出来

and this generation of veterans has the opportunity

而恰恰我们这一代的退役军人做得到

to do that if they are given the chance.

只要我们给他们机会

Thank you very much. (Applause)

谢谢大家（掌声）