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Adapt and Overcome
by Nick Ryan
Senior Advisor
US Army (‘12 - ‘16)
As an Infantry Officer, there’s a mantra drilled into you from day one of basic training: adapt and overcome. You’re taught that no plan survives first contact with the enemy, and thus, should prepare yourself and those in your charge accordingly. I’ve been thinking about that quite a bit in recent days.
Coffee or Die Magazine: Could veterans, mil spouses, and a focus on servant leadership change American politics?
On a recent Tuesday night, nine strangers from all over the country logged into Zoom, meeting for the first time in a two-hour workshop that could help change the trajectory of their lives.
Why Politics? - Lowering the barrier of entry so that everyone can serve our country
Service brings people together, so that they can outline and tackle their community’s unique issues united. Formal service doesn’t feel like a privilege in the moment. It feels like a sacrifice that others are unwilling to make, but later, while working in DC in a different kind of food desert, I learned that not everyone is offered the same opportunity to serve that I so easily took.
Over 70% of U.S. youth don’t qualify for military service, and the low pay and long hours that AmeriCorps and Peace Corps years demand create a space that only those with the right support systems can inhabit. With this knowledge in hand I knew it was time to step into an arena that I wasn’t too familiar with - politics. I began to understand that in order to support the opportunities I felt were so important to young adults, I had to work with elected officials to advocate for funding. That’s why I took a position at Service Year Alliance which advocates for national service funding at the federal and state level. I was drawn to politics because I’d seen the unique skills that service can produce in people, and I wanted to lower the barrier of entry so that every young adult had an equal opportunity to serve. Part of lowering that barrier is ensuring that more service alumni enter the political arena to enact that change and create that opportunity.
Our values & servant leadership - Integrity
Living with integrity is never easy. We often find ourselves drawn toward our “shadow” —the dark place where ego or fear dominate. When our choices do not align with our values, we are living in the shadow. This happens to all of us. We have to regularly make adjustments, tweaks, or even about-faces to bring integrity back into the forefront of our lives.
Over the years, I have witnessed how service experience can ground people firmly in their values. As a Marine Corps veteran, my husband Matt references the oath he took when he was commissioned as one of the most important outward statements of his values. This oath—along with the oath he took when we got married and the oath he took when he was appointed to the Massachusetts Citizens Commission—is central to ensuring the choices he makes are led by integrity. Service alumni and veterans are particularly well equipped to live with integrity — they take a values-based oath at a young age and understand the importance of living by this oath even beyond their official years of service. An oath of service can be central to ensuring alignment between one’s choices and one’s values.
Why Politics? - I believe in a government of, by, and for the people
My mom’s selfless sacrifices are woven intricately into the stories of our success. The military provided me with opportunities I never could have imagined. Were it not for my mother, however, for her commitment to living selflessly and to doing all she could to empower us, I might not have been so fortunate.
My time in uniform took me across the country and around the world, but I still remain connected to my community. Little has changed for my hometown. Nevada continues to be mired in deeply-rooted inequality, among the worst educational outcomes in the country, and a myriad of systemic issues that remain unaddressed. Solving these problems isn’t a question of politics, but of servant leadership. Selfless, courageous leadership seeks to empower everyone, just like my mother did for our family.