Answering the Call: 退伍军人节演讲 Inspires the Community

"Being a veteran means rising above your feelings and what you think and making that sacrifice to say, 'I will answer the call' no matter who needs the help." 

Marilena originally planned to pursue a career as an international corporate lawyer and began studying law in college. After witnessing the tragedy of 9/11 in her hometown of New York City, she was driven to serve. “总有一天, I decided to pull into an army recruiting office, 第一个问题是, “我们能帮你吗?? 你迷路了吗??’ I said, ‘No, I want to join the army,’ and his second question was, ‘Why?’” 

Though she was initially told that women couldn’t serve as counterintelligence agents, Marilena persevered and specialized in counterintelligence, which put her on the front lines while deployed. “At the time I graduated as a counterintelligence agent, I was one of 60 women in the country. Male soldiers were not allowed to touch Muslim women, so they split us up between Iraq and Afghanistan. Thirty of us went to Afghanistan, 30 of us went to Iraq, and I was in Iraq.” 

While women were required to stay on the military base, agents (who were not defined by gender) could be sent beyond the wire. Marilena and another female agent went to Al Diwaniyah, Iraq. “I was allowed to talk to the females, 我被允许搜查, and we were able to get a lot of information that way. There were a lot of females who wanted to tell us what was going on… and because of that, 有人悬赏要我的人头.” Most American female agents who served in the area were targeted, and this resulted in Marilena’s convoy being attacked. “My lieutenant passed away… but I lived, and now I know that you have to make every single day count.”

As she spoke about what defines a veteran, the theme of community and shared experience came through — which she likened to students’ experience at Foxcroft. “Being part of Foxcroft is like being a veteran. You basically walk in the first day and you have no idea what you’re in for, and you’re surrounded by strangers… By the time you get to your senior year, you’re looking at the freshman in your life thinking ‘It’s going to be a long first month, 但这是值得的.’” The veteran community has endured together and shared many different experiences than the Foxcroft community, but the connection and support felt among both groups is much the same.

While encouraging students to show their appreciation for veterans — “If you see a veteran on the street, say 'thank you for your service.“这对他们来说意味着整个世界.” — Marilena also reflected on ways students can be involved and impact the world around them. “成为更大事业的一部分. Wake up, do it once a year, and just say, 'What can I do? 今天我能为别人做些什么?' That is part of being in the veteran community. 这就是它的意义所在. 这是对服务的呼唤, a call to be part of something bigger, and to recognize that the world is small — we have a small world — but it's also bigger than just us in this room, bigger than our recent 'right now' today. 所以明天醒来吧, 下周醒来, 明年醒来, 然后说, 'How can I be part of the solution? Where is something needed that I can provide?'"

The entire community is grateful to Marilena Redell for sharing her experience in honor of Veterans Day. To all those who have served, we thank you for your service!