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No one ordered them to do this.

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They did this completely on their own.

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Big Marine Corps in Washington,
D.C. didn't know anything about it.

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But they decided that they wanted to
do something for Christmas of 1947.

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Now, this is right after the war.

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The kids that were in poverty then, many
of them were war orphans,

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and their moms just couldn't make ends
meet, much less putting

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a gift under the Christmas tree.

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So several months prior to Christmas, in
1947, they went out into the community.

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They collected toys; their
wives made Raggedy Ann dolls.

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Then on Christmas morning, 1947,
they got into their dress blue uniforms,

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and they went out into the community
distributing those toys that they had

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collected and the dolls that their wives
had made to economically

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disadvantaged children.

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Welcome to Veteran Led.

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Today's guest is CEO of Marine Corps Toys
for Tots Foundation, Lieutenant

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General (USMC, retired) James Laster.

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Some of General Laster's most notable
assignments in his 38 years in the Marine

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Corps are Commander of 3rd Marine
Division, Chief of Staff of the United

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States Special Operations Command, and
Director of Marine Corps staff,

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amongst many other positions.

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Most importantly, he started
off as an Infantry Officer.

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Welcome to the show, General Laster.

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Well, thank you, sir.
Thanks, John.

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I appreciate it.

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I appreciate everything that you and your
firm have done for me working through

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my Veterans disability package.

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You did a great job.
Thank you.

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Well, thanks.

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It's such an honor to
have you on the show.

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After 38 years of military service, you
continue to serve as the CEO and President

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for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.

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For a lot of us, 38 years
of service is a lot.

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Why continue to serve?

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And why continue to serve
at such a high level?

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Well, that's a great question.

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When I was getting ready to retire,
I wanted to do something

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that made a difference.

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I used to work for a boss, an Army General
by the name of Scaparrotti, General Curt

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Scaparrotti, who
said, "Whatever you do, make it matter."

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That was his theme every
day in Afghanistan.

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And so I didn't want to just go to work
for any corporation or

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company just to make money.

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I wanted to do something that made a
difference, and in particular, made

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a difference in someone's life.

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I thought maybe education would be the
right ticket for me.

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And I was actually looking at some
programs where they

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teach you to be a school superintendent or
a school teacher, and

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then they will place you.

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I was looking at a couple of different
fast track programs like that.

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Then the opportunity came about where the
board of directors of Marine Toys for Tots

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Foundation reached out to me and
said, "Would you consider throwing

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your name in to be the next President CEO
of this organization?"

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I thought about it, and I thought about
all the great things that this program

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does to reach less fortunate children
across the nation, and I said yes to that.

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It literally It took me about 24 hours to
make the decision that this was the

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right fit for me, and I'm glad I did.

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I'm excited to get into the storied
history from helping World

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War II orphans to Walt Disney.
It's a great story.

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But I want to go back a little
bit further to your father.

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He continued to serve his community after
getting out of the military.

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Set that example for you as how Veterans
should behave in their community

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after their time and services done.

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He had already gone to college,
had a pharmaceutical degree,

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and was working as a practicing pharmacist
in a drug store, and then

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decided that he wanted to go into the
service, so he enlisted in the US Navy.

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Of course, they immediately put
him in charge of pharmacies.

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He spent a year in Turkey.

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He traveled a lot, and he ended his career
in charge of the pharmacy at then Bethesda

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Naval Hospital in Bethesda,
Maryland, which is now the joint

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medical Walter Reed facility.

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That's what he did.

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He was always a great--he since
passed--but he was a great patriot.

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He loved this country.

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He loved all the services.

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But I remember he told me,
he said, "You know what?

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If you're going to go into a service,
I'd like to see you be a Marine."

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That opportunity to become a Marine Corps
officer presented itself through New

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Mexico Military Institute.
So please take us through that.

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That's correct.

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I was always interested in being a Marine,
but then my senior year in high school, I

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played football, and
I received a call from the head coach at

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New Mexico Military Institute, saying
that they had seen some

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game films of me playing.

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I was a quarterback and a punter, and
they were interested and wanted to know if

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I'd be willing to
come out and finish my last semester

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senior year in high school at New Mexico
Military Institute, go

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through their spring training,
and then start my junior

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college career the next fall.

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And so that's what I did.

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But I also really thrived in the
leadership part of being a

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leader in the Corps of Cadets of
New Mexico Military Institute.

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I eventually became a Cadet Officer, a
Troop Commander, Company

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Commander there at the institute.

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I was able to balance.

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As you know, John, being a college athlete
yourself, in many colleges, that's what

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they focus on is the athletic piece of it.

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But I was able to balance that.

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I gave as much time in being a cadet
leader there as I did in

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the athletic piece of it.

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I think that really helped me.

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Then one day, I ran in to a Marine officer
recruiter on campus from

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Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the
rest is history, so to speak.

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What a lot of people don't understand is
New Mexico Military Institute, as a junior

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college, has had phenomenal football
teams, has won national

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championships, even won recently.

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Some of the great players
include Roger Staubach.

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You got the opportunity to play
football and learn leadership.

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That pushed in the Marine Corps.

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I similarly received a football
scholarship to New Mexico

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Military Institute.

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But because I went there for two years of
high school, I knew I did not

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want anything to do with...
Well, I wanted to enjoy college.

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I ended up going to
school on the East Coast.

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I can't say enough about New
Mexico Military Institute.

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That really gave me the foundation of
leadership and taking care of people, what

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I call engaged leadership, that
served me well for over 38

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years in U.S. Marine Corps.

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You find yourself transitioning to this
role as CEO and President

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of Toys for Tots.

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Tell us a little bit about the origin
story of this great organization.

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Well, it all started
in 1947 in Los Angeles.

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There was a small reserve unit there,
what we call today as a mobile

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training team, mobile training unit.

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It was led by then a Marine
Reserve Major, Bill Hendricks.

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These Marines and Bill Hendricks, they
were concerned with the level of poverty

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around in their community of Los Angeles.

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Now, keep in mind, no one
ordered them to do this.

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They did this completely on their own.

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Big Marine Corps in Washington,
D.C. didn't know anything about it.

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But they decided that they wanted to
do something for Christmas of 1947.

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Now, this is right after the war.

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The
kids that were in poverty then, many of

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them were war orphans,
and their moms just couldn't make ends

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meet, much less putting
a gift under the Christmas tree.

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And so several months prior to Christmas,
in 1947, they went out into the community.

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They collected toys; their
wives made Raggedy Ann dolls.

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And then on Christmas morning, 1947,
they got into their dress blue uniforms

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00:08:48,545 --> 00:08:52,760
and they went out into the community,
distributing those toys that they had

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00:08:52,785 --> 00:08:57,040
collected and the dolls that their wives
had made to economically

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00:08:57,065 --> 00:08:58,520
disadvantaged children.

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It didn't take very long, within a matter
of months, before other reserve units

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across the country started
to hear about what they had done.

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Another interesting fact is Bill
Hendricks, as a civilian, was in the film

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industry, and
he was friends with Walt Disney.

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As the story goes,
he and Walt were meeting one day.

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I think it may have been over lunch.
He was telling Walt what they were doing.

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He says, "You know what?
We don't what to call this thing.

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We don't have a logo."
Walt Disney, literally,

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by his own hand, drew the three little
train cars and wrote in

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there "Toys for Tots".

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Then it was Walt Disney who actually drew
and developed the first poster that

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the Marine Toys for Tots program used.

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Bill Hendricks is known
to this day as our father.

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He later retired as a Colonel, a Reserve
Colonel, and even got an Oscar for

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doing a documentary on the U.S.
Marine Corps from World War II.

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But it's Walt Disney who gave
us our name and our logo.

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Of course, to this day, we maintain a very
strong relationship and partnership with

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the Disney Corporation.

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They're great partners.

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About a year later, this would be about
1948,

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what the reserve units were doing got the
attention of the Commandant of the

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Marine Corps, General Clifton Cates.

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General Clifton Cates says, "This is
a wonderful community action program.

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It keeps Marines tied to the
general public and their communities."

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He said, "I'm going to adopt this program.

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I'm going to make it an official activity
of the U.S. Marine Corps, and I'm going to

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make it a mission of the U.S. Marine Corps
Reserve." From that point forward, it just

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took off and spread to where 20 years
later, all Marine Reserve units were

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mandated that they would
have a Toys for Tots program.

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Then it was in the early 90s
is when the Marine Corps decided that they

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really should
have a foundation, a 501(c)(3), that

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provides oversight for the program.

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That's when they asked a retiring General
Officer, Lieutenant General Terry Cooper,

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who was getting ready to retire, if
he would establish the foundation.

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He did.

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He got us incorporated here
in the state of Virginia.

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Then the foundation has continued to
grow and prosper and be the overall

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oversight of the program, still
supported by the Marine Corps reserve.

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But the other thing interesting that
occurred in the 90s was we opened the

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aperture to allow civilians to volunteer
and run campaigns for us, so to speak.

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To this day, like last year, for example,
there was only about 130 Marine reserve

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units running campaigns, so 130 Marine
reserve campaigns across the country.

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But we had a total of 864 campaigns.

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All the rest of those were civilians.

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Now, many of them were Veteran Marines
and Veterans from other services.

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The Marine Corps League is
a big supporter of ours.

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But we are huge across the nation, a huge
network, and

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a distribution network as well.

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We operate in all 50 states to include
Guam, Puerto Rico, and

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the US Virgin Islands.

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From 1947 to what we are today,
and we had our best year ever

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this past year, we reached 10.

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3 million children,
and we're very, very proud of that.

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It's not just the toys at Christmas time.

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There are some other programs as well.

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00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:05,240
There are some profound statements that I
believe you made that said, Look, this is

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a message of hope for struggling families
and children,

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and children are tomorrow's leaders.

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Before I became the CEO, the CEO before
me was Lieutenant General Pete Osmond.

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00:13:19,405 --> 00:13:25,980
He had the foundation from 2008 to 2019.

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00:13:26,005 --> 00:13:35,520
A couple of years into his being
the head of Toys for Tots, he started a

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00:13:35,545 --> 00:13:41,200
literacy program because
he knew that literacy was the

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foundation of everything of a child.

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It also can help children pull
themselves out of poverty.

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00:13:49,725 --> 00:13:56,860
And so he started a literacy program where
we would collect and distribute books to

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different organizations,
Title I schools, and so on.

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00:14:02,045 --> 00:14:09,000
And when he gave up the foundation to me,
when he passed the colors to me, my

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00:14:09,025 --> 00:14:12,760
first day on the job was 1 January, 2020.

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I thought we could probably do more.

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I called in the staff and I said, "Look,
kids don't stop being in need

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after Christmas.

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00:14:23,485 --> 00:14:26,100
So let's take the literacy program.

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Let's use that as a model and see what
other things that we could do to reach and

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00:14:31,605 --> 00:14:38,020
help less fortunate children year-around,
not just during Christmas time."

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00:14:38,045 --> 00:14:43,140
The staff started looking at some
models of what else that we could do.

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00:14:43,165 --> 00:14:47,600
Then, of course, as you know, just a
few months later, the pandemic hit.

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00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:49,980
I called them back in.

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00:14:50,005 --> 00:14:53,660
I said, "Let's see what we've got now,
because right now kids are scared,

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00:14:53,685 --> 00:14:58,080
families are scared."
To make matters worse, all the schools

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have sent them home, so they've
lost that support structure.

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Some of the children that we're interested
in, their families may have been laid off

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from work, which makes matters even worse.

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So we got to do something.

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00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:19,500
Now, during this period of time, there
were literally calls by some people to

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00:15:19,525 --> 00:15:26,660
us to maybe take a knee during
2020 and not have a program, a

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00:15:26,685 --> 00:15:28,160
Toys for Tots program.

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00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:34,180
I got with my colleague who is the
Commander of Marine Forces Reserve,

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Lieutenant General Dave
Bellon at the time.

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I told him the situation, and he
and I together said, "Heck no.

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We're US marines.

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We're going to accomplish the mission.

233
00:15:46,005 --> 00:15:50,020
We can operate in this
environment." And we did.

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00:15:50,045 --> 00:15:56,400
We came up with programs in the spring of
2020 to reach out and distribute

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00:15:56,425 --> 00:15:59,980
books and toys and games to children.

236
00:16:00,005 --> 00:16:06,460
We found out that many Title I schools
were continuing to use their school busses

237
00:16:06,485 --> 00:16:09,380
to deliver school lunches to kids.

238
00:16:09,405 --> 00:16:14,200
Because in many of those schools,
that school lunch, or in some cases school

239
00:16:14,225 --> 00:16:17,640
breakfast, was the only meal an
economically disadvantaged

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00:16:17,665 --> 00:16:20,260
child would get.

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00:16:20,285 --> 00:16:26,700
We decided, Okay, we'll give them books
and games and things to send with

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00:16:26,725 --> 00:16:31,740
the school busses when they feed
them their lunches or breakfasts.

243
00:16:31,765 --> 00:16:35,960
The American people
really responded to that.

244
00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:42,800
We did that in the spring of 2020, and
that gave us the idea to continue

245
00:16:42,825 --> 00:16:44,580
with those programs after Christmas.

246
00:16:44,605 --> 00:16:51,780
We also came up with concepts of
touchless distribution of toys and books.

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00:16:51,805 --> 00:16:58,560
In the campaign of Christmas of 2020,
since the pandemic was still surging

248
00:16:58,585 --> 00:17:04,090
across the country,
we would have families register online.

249
00:17:04,120 --> 00:17:08,290
We would issue QR codes so
that all they had to do was

250
00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:10,250
drive up to a distribution point.

251
00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:12,010
We would scan the code.

252
00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:17,090
We would know exactly how many children,
their ages, genders, and so on.

253
00:17:17,120 --> 00:17:21,680
We would already have their toys and books
prepackaged and just put them

254
00:17:21,705 --> 00:17:22,920
in the trunk of their car.

255
00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:28,010
That was so efficient that
even now, with the pandemic over,

256
00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:30,760
we still use that process today.

257
00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:37,000
It was the pandemic that really gave us
the idea that there's a lot more we can

258
00:17:37,025 --> 00:17:39,500
do, and we can do it more efficiently.

259
00:17:39,525 --> 00:17:43,570
Part of that is reaching out to kids.

260
00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:48,680
Our new motto now is to be a
year-around force for good.

261
00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:51,810
We've established foster child programs.

262
00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:55,220
We're working with big
city police departments.

263
00:17:55,245 --> 00:18:01,400
Tucson, Arizona, was one of our first
to do this with, to reach out and support

264
00:18:01,425 --> 00:18:07,880
foster families and children at risk,
which police departments

265
00:18:07,905 --> 00:18:08,840
really have their...

266
00:18:08,865 --> 00:18:13,220
they know where those children are,
and they've been a great help to us.

267
00:18:13,245 --> 00:18:20,250
That's what happened during that period of
time and what caused us to expand,

268
00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:23,290
which has been very helpful,
which I think has

269
00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:27,220
been very helpful to children year round,
especially those at risk.

270
00:18:27,245 --> 00:18:29,700
You have the logistical tail on all this.

271
00:18:29,725 --> 00:18:33,810
As a general officer, you understand the
importance of logistics in warfighting.

272
00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:38,320
But in this type of service, you think of
all the volunteers that it takes just for

273
00:18:38,345 --> 00:18:42,615
the Toys for Tots Christmas time to get
all the toys, to get them distributed.

274
00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:45,280
I think the last day is usually what,
December 12th or something, that you can

275
00:18:45,305 --> 00:18:48,900
get the toys in because they got
to get to the kids on time.

276
00:18:48,925 --> 00:18:52,810
Now you've moved into literacy,
foster care, and other

277
00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:54,900
opportunities to help children.

278
00:18:54,925 --> 00:18:58,695
It seems the logistical requirements
must just continue to grow.

279
00:18:58,720 --> 00:18:59,250
That's correct.

280
00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:04,160
It's a huge network and
partnership with corporations.

281
00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:13,160
We rely on the general public bringing
us toys, new unwrapped toys, and we need

282
00:19:13,185 --> 00:19:17,320
them to be unwrapped so we can make sure
they're appropriate, and so we can tie

283
00:19:17,345 --> 00:19:19,810
them to certain age groups of children.

284
00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:23,180
That's the reason they need
to be new and unwrapped.

285
00:19:23,205 --> 00:19:27,570
But we also rely on the general public
to just make monetary donations.

286
00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:34,760
If a particular campaign in a part of the
country comes up short in their collection

287
00:19:34,785 --> 00:19:39,860
of toys, we can then go out and
purchase toys and ship them to them.

288
00:19:39,885 --> 00:19:44,140
Then the other aspect
that we rely on greatly is our corporate

289
00:19:44,165 --> 00:19:50,810
partnerships and those who are very
generous with their gifts in kind.

290
00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:54,800
Hasbro Toys is a huge one.

291
00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:56,440
Legos.

292
00:19:56,465 --> 00:20:01,050
Legos gives us millions of dollars
worth of Lego sets every year.

293
00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:04,290
I love Legos because they teach.

294
00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:05,500
They teach cognitive skills.

295
00:20:05,525 --> 00:20:12,600
I met with the CEO of Legos
USA up in Hartford here not too long ago.

296
00:20:12,625 --> 00:20:17,200
He said there's also studies that say they
help in emotional development because,

297
00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:20,530
as you know, many of those Lego
sets are pretty complicated.

298
00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:23,330
I don't know if I could
put together some of them.

299
00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:29,720
It normally takes other brothers, sisters,
mom, and dad to chip in and

300
00:20:29,745 --> 00:20:31,620
help put together those sets.

301
00:20:31,645 --> 00:20:34,720
That brings the family together, which is
good for the emotional

302
00:20:34,745 --> 00:20:37,280
well-being of children.

303
00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:44,010
We are blessed to have some wonderful
corporate partners

304
00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:46,530
that help us in this endeavor year-around.

305
00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,720
Well, and you don't just help with the
emotional well-being of the families that

306
00:20:49,745 --> 00:20:53,220
you help--you help with the
emotional well-being of all involved.

307
00:20:53,245 --> 00:21:00,940
I believe I was reading something like the
logistics of this is 10,000 children,

308
00:21:00,965 --> 00:21:05,770
or I'm sorry, 10 million children,
24 million toys, books,

309
00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:09,800
gifts, et cetera, and
the number of volunteers who get to get

310
00:21:09,825 --> 00:21:12,280
involved in their community
and help this is what?

311
00:21:12,305 --> 00:21:14,050
24,000, is that right?

312
00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:15,640
51,000 volunteers.

313
00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:18,220
We capture that.

314
00:21:18,245 --> 00:21:23,620
In January, we have all our coordinators
send in After Action Reports that goes

315
00:21:23,645 --> 00:21:29,570
into our overall yearly audit and so on,
so we can determine exactly what

316
00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:32,180
what we did and how we did it.

317
00:21:32,205 --> 00:21:37,140
We require them to put how many volunteers
they had, and it all totaled up to

318
00:21:37,165 --> 00:21:40,570
just close to 51,000 nationwide.

319
00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:42,810
You see the numbers just continue to grow.

320
00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:45,660
Where do you attribute that growth to?

321
00:21:45,685 --> 00:21:50,900
I think when the general public sees
what we do, they want to be a part of it.

322
00:21:50,925 --> 00:21:57,160
I think just being part of an organization
that's tied to the U.S. Marine Corps as an

323
00:21:57,185 --> 00:22:02,535
official activity, I think, is
it's very appealing to most people.

324
00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:03,660
I think that's what it is.

325
00:22:03,685 --> 00:22:12,420
We run it like a Marine program,
very efficient, very professional.

326
00:22:12,445 --> 00:22:15,940
I'm a little bit biased,
but it's all true.

327
00:22:15,965 --> 00:22:18,220
Well, the Marines are amazing marketers.

328
00:22:18,245 --> 00:22:22,000
When the army is reaching out saying, We
want to pay big bonuses, come get your

329
00:22:22,025 --> 00:22:25,290
education, we'll pay for school, the
Marine Corps says,

330
00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:29,140
Why should I let you join my Corps?

331
00:22:29,165 --> 00:22:32,895
There's something special about the
Marine Corps marketing that seems to work.

332
00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:36,080
I would point that out that even if it's a
different organization, when you think

333
00:22:36,105 --> 00:22:40,700
back to the the
important messaging that gets out there is

334
00:22:40,725 --> 00:22:45,360
that this is a hearts and minds campaign,
and not just for the children who are

335
00:22:45,385 --> 00:22:50,280
future leaders, but I think for all of the
leaders in our community to step up and to

336
00:22:50,305 --> 00:22:53,290
help and to get involved and to give back.

337
00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:54,620
You've got a hearts and minds campaign.

338
00:22:54,645 --> 00:22:57,460
You're helping disadvantaged families.

339
00:22:57,485 --> 00:23:02,855
You're creating goodwill toward the Marine
Corps, and it's not just for

340
00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:04,540
warriors, it's for community leaders.

341
00:23:04,565 --> 00:23:09,415
There are Marines who go in who
don't just want to be warriors.

342
00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:11,220
They want to give back.
They want to serve.

343
00:23:11,245 --> 00:23:14,780
This opens up that message that says,
there are other ways to

344
00:23:14,805 --> 00:23:15,980
serve your community.

345
00:23:16,005 --> 00:23:19,380
You don't have to be an infantry soldier,
even though that's what

346
00:23:19,405 --> 00:23:21,960
General Laster wanted.

347
00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:28,220
But in all seriousness,
this is a great messaging

348
00:23:28,245 --> 00:23:34,460
that shows we give back to the community,
and we only take America's best.

349
00:23:34,485 --> 00:23:36,640
I mean, such a great, great message.

350
00:23:36,665 --> 00:23:41,255
How do you ensure that you maintain
the integrity of that message?

351
00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:43,050
I'm sure a lot of people want to partner.

352
00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:46,090
There are a lot of volunteers, and
you have to say no from time to time.

353
00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:51,290
Actually, John, we very seldom say no.

354
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:58,540
If someone wants to reach out and help,
there's a mechanism for them to help.

355
00:23:58,565 --> 00:24:03,280
Now, for our coordinators, those that are
considered the official coordinators head

356
00:24:03,305 --> 00:24:09,940
of their campaign,
we do do a background check on them.

357
00:24:09,965 --> 00:24:15,290
We make sure that they are who they are
and they're good people and no problems

358
00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:17,880
with law enforcement or anything.

359
00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:23,660
But everyone, and I appreciate what you
just said a few minutes ago about you

360
00:24:23,685 --> 00:24:25,860
can serve in a lot of different ways.

361
00:24:25,885 --> 00:24:28,680
You don't have to
necessarily wear a uniform.

362
00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:32,620
I think that's the other thing that
appeals to folks out

363
00:24:32,645 --> 00:24:37,700
there who maybe didn't have a chance
or an opportunity to serve in uniform.

364
00:24:37,725 --> 00:24:41,050
There's plenty of ways to serve.

365
00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:50,290
Just being involved in your community as
a leader or volunteering to help others is

366
00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:52,860
serving, in my opinion.

367
00:24:52,885 --> 00:24:55,500
My hats off to those people that do that.

368
00:24:55,525 --> 00:25:01,000
The vast majority of those 51,000
volunteers were folks who

369
00:25:01,025 --> 00:25:02,500
fall into that category.

370
00:25:02,525 --> 00:25:06,040
That's a testament to the great
leadership, the

371
00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:10,180
Marine Corps, but more importantly, your
leadership--getting those volunteers.

372
00:25:10,205 --> 00:25:12,140
It's easy when someone
has to do something.

373
00:25:12,165 --> 00:25:16,215
When you're in the military,
you're ordered to do things.

374
00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:18,780
You don't get to say, Well, I
really don't want that mission.

375
00:25:18,805 --> 00:25:23,050
But with volunteers, especially volunteers
who are not in the military,

376
00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:24,935
it's a different game.

377
00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:26,290
It's a different game of influence.

378
00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:31,330
It's a different game of
understanding that there

379
00:25:31,360 --> 00:25:34,000
may be some volunteers that fall off.

380
00:25:34,025 --> 00:25:37,780
There may be some that it's not going to
work out because we can't guarantee that

381
00:25:37,805 --> 00:25:40,780
they're going to show up at
formation 0500 this morning.

382
00:25:40,805 --> 00:25:44,500
We have to anticipate that
there may be attrition.

383
00:25:44,525 --> 00:25:49,535
All the things that you do, continue to
bring the volunteers back in

384
00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:50,700
larger and larger numbers.

385
00:25:50,725 --> 00:25:53,980
That takes us to the after action review.

386
00:25:54,005 --> 00:25:56,415
Your best and worst
examples of leadership.

387
00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:57,860
I ask for three.
I don't ask for names.

388
00:25:57,885 --> 00:26:05,460
But if you could tell us, in forming
General James Laster, who were the

389
00:26:05,485 --> 00:26:09,295
greatest examples of leadership and who
were some of the worst examples of

390
00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:10,380
leadership that you learned from?

391
00:26:10,405 --> 00:26:13,520
Once again, not names, but just
examples or character traits.

392
00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:13,930
Okay.

393
00:26:13,545 --> 00:26:22,560
Well, I've always said that the mark of a
great leader is someone who

394
00:26:22,585 --> 00:26:24,560
really knows themselves.

395
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,400
They know what their limitations are, they
know what their abilities are, and who

396
00:26:28,425 --> 00:26:34,680
strives every day to just be a person
of integrity and a person of character.

397
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:41,960
It's also someone who knows their people,
knows their personal and professional

398
00:26:41,985 --> 00:26:49,720
goals and inspirations, and
is not afraid to sit down what we call in

399
00:26:49,745 --> 00:26:53,980
the Marine Corps, kneecap to kneecap,
look them in the eye and

400
00:26:54,005 --> 00:27:00,700
exercise, engage the leadership and
help them to achieve those goals.

401
00:27:00,725 --> 00:27:08,200
I also attribute good leadership
as people who know their stuff.

402
00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:14,920
Brilliance in the basics is one of my
things that I like to say, and to

403
00:27:14,945 --> 00:27:18,050
be just an overall force for good.

404
00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:22,480
That's where I had a General Officer
mentor once that says, As a General

405
00:27:22,505 --> 00:27:26,880
Officer, you really now
are a force for good.

406
00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:32,760
And your job now is to open doors for
people, to help people, to inspire.

407
00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:39,440
And so that gave me the theme for Toys
for Tots, be a year-round force for good.

408
00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:43,780
And so that's what a great leader is.

409
00:27:43,805 --> 00:27:46,280
I've worked for several.

410
00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:50,660
To become a General Officer, you have
to have also a lot of joint service.

411
00:27:50,685 --> 00:27:55,840
In other words, serving and joint
commands with other services and leaders.

412
00:27:56,120 --> 00:27:59,760
You said not to use names, but I'm
going to use a couple if it's okay.

413
00:27:59,785 --> 00:28:06,540
When I was in Afghanistan,
that was a tough year.

414
00:28:06,565 --> 00:28:08,570
It was in combat.

415
00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:15,720
I was very, very fortunate to have two
great leaders during that time General

416
00:28:15,745 --> 00:28:20,380
Rodriguez, U.S. Army General,
and General Scaparrotti.

417
00:28:20,405 --> 00:28:24,330
It was General Scaparrotti who,
first of all, both of them,

418
00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:29,495
I mean, every one of these
little things that I just said

419
00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:30,810
about what makes a great leader.

420
00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:34,050
They just exuded all of those things.

421
00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:37,050
They were very personable.
They were very open.

422
00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:39,220
Their door was always open.

423
00:28:39,245 --> 00:28:41,620
They were a mentor and a friend.

424
00:28:41,645 --> 00:28:46,680
Even when things got bad,
they would step forward and take

425
00:28:46,705 --> 00:28:52,810
responsibility for what their units
and command did or failed to do.

426
00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:55,960
They didn't blame anyone else.

427
00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:56,720
It was their fault.
It was their responsibility.

428
00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:02,200
They were wonderful men
during a very tough year.

429
00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:07,480
Another gentleman who I worked for after
Afghanistan when I was

430
00:29:07,505 --> 00:29:09,810
the Chief of Staff of U.S.

431
00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:14,180
Special Operations Command,
was Admiral Bill McRaven,

432
00:29:14,205 --> 00:29:17,780
U.S. Navy CEO, famous special operator.

433
00:29:17,805 --> 00:29:21,560
He was the one that led the
raid that got Bin Laden.

434
00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:26,090
He will go down as one of the best
leaders I've ever been around.

435
00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:34,660
Very personable, inspiring, smart,
would listen, which

436
00:29:34,685 --> 00:29:39,920
is probably one of the best traits that I
could say of any leader, is to keep

437
00:29:39,945 --> 00:29:42,020
your mouth shut and just listen.

438
00:29:42,045 --> 00:29:48,280
Listen to people, listen to what advice
they have and recommendations about how

439
00:29:48,305 --> 00:29:51,780
to do things better and more efficient.

440
00:29:51,805 --> 00:29:54,810
He was wonderful at that.

441
00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:56,540
He just made you feel good.

442
00:29:56,565 --> 00:30:00,980
You feared disappointing him.

443
00:30:01,005 --> 00:30:04,440
That's the mark of a great leader.

444
00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,980
Now, some of the bad traits, and
I'm not going to mention any names here,

445
00:30:09,005 --> 00:30:15,940
but I've known people that, first of all,
some of these folks,

446
00:30:15,965 --> 00:30:22,940
you wonder where they got, how they
became a leader in the first place.

447
00:30:22,965 --> 00:30:31,760
I think they're less and less now, but
those who isolate themselves,

448
00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:35,740
close themselves off to other people.

449
00:30:35,765 --> 00:30:40,920
A good leader is someone who, when they
come into the headquarters or come into

450
00:30:40,945 --> 00:30:44,160
the office, even in a civilian capacity,
walk around and see

451
00:30:44,185 --> 00:30:47,980
people and talk to them.
They know people.

452
00:30:48,005 --> 00:30:53,290
Remember my first little edict here
was know yourself and know your people.

453
00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:59,120
There are people in leadership positions
and management positions and

454
00:30:59,145 --> 00:31:02,880
corporations who don't do any of that.

455
00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:05,400
They walk in, they walk into their office,
they turn their computer on, they don't

456
00:31:05,425 --> 00:31:10,040
get to know the people around them, they
don't try to assist other

457
00:31:10,065 --> 00:31:12,050
people or to help them.

458
00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:15,720
They don't get to know their families or
know anything about

459
00:31:15,745 --> 00:31:17,260
them or their families.

460
00:31:17,285 --> 00:31:21,050
And so those are bad leaders.

461
00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:26,620
Leaders that don't set an example or set a
poor example,

462
00:31:26,645 --> 00:31:30,540
whether it be by dress, whether it be by
how they speak,

463
00:31:30,565 --> 00:31:33,660
just how they treat people.

464
00:31:33,685 --> 00:31:38,900
Talking down to people is a horrible trait
for a leader or

465
00:31:38,925 --> 00:31:41,140
anyone in a management position.

466
00:31:41,165 --> 00:31:47,320
A leader is someone who inspires and takes
care of people and helps people

467
00:31:47,345 --> 00:31:50,180
to be the best that they can be.

468
00:31:50,205 --> 00:31:52,050
That's what a leader does.

469
00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:55,655
Absolutely.
You mentioned a lot of officer leadership.

470
00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:59,320
There's an NCO you mentioned in a previous
podcast that's been on this podcast that

471
00:31:59,345 --> 00:32:04,660
is very well known as a leader, and that's
Sergeant Major John Wayne Troxell,

472
00:32:04,685 --> 00:32:05,980
also a great leader.

473
00:32:06,005 --> 00:32:09,900
I'd love to hear about a great example of
NCO leadership that has

474
00:32:09,925 --> 00:32:11,330
influenced you as well.

475
00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:13,980
Well, Troxell, I can
use him as an example.

476
00:32:14,005 --> 00:32:17,800
He was General Scaparrotti's
Senior Listed Advisor, our Command

477
00:32:17,825 --> 00:32:19,880
Sergeant Major in Afghanistan.

478
00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:24,720
He always had all of our backs.

479
00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:30,700
He always tried to be where
General Scaparrotti couldn't be.

480
00:32:30,725 --> 00:32:34,540
And he would go out and do battlefield
circulation, and he would

481
00:32:34,565 --> 00:32:43,290
kneecap-to-kneecap discussions with
junior enlisted people and NCOs and so on.

482
00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:48,800
He would bring that information back to
us as the senior leadership to tell us

483
00:32:48,825 --> 00:32:52,240
what was really happening on the ground.

484
00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:54,960
He was also a man who would...

485
00:32:54,985 --> 00:32:58,700
he could read people very well.

486
00:32:58,725 --> 00:33:03,415
He knew when you were having a bad day,
and he'd just come in and sit next to you

487
00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:05,140
and say,"Sir, is there
anything I can do to help?

488
00:33:05,165 --> 00:33:09,540
Can I take something off your plate?"
That's the mark of a good NCO,

489
00:33:09,565 --> 00:33:13,740
a good senior NCO like Troxell.

490
00:33:13,765 --> 00:33:22,320
A good NCO helps
leaders lead by leading up.

491
00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:29,840
And what I mean by that is you offer to
take things off their plate.

492
00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:35,080
You come in when no one's around, you shut
the door and say, "Sir, could I ask you,

493
00:33:35,105 --> 00:33:42,960
or Ma'am, could I ask you to reconsider
this?" And so that's the mark of a good

494
00:33:42,985 --> 00:33:48,400
NCO--someone who's always there with you,
that's beside you, who's loyal as the

495
00:33:48,425 --> 00:33:52,420
day is long, which is what Troxell was.

496
00:33:52,445 --> 00:33:56,700
Thank you so much for that great
NCO example, General Laster.

497
00:33:56,725 --> 00:34:01,440
I have a lot of joint time,
and I spend a lot of time to include in

498
00:34:01,465 --> 00:34:07,570
combat with men and women from all of the
services to include the U.S. Coast Guard.

499
00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:13,460
I will tell you that our nation couldn't
be in better hands with

500
00:34:13,485 --> 00:34:20,100
those young men and women that are around
the world right now, making sure that our

501
00:34:20,125 --> 00:34:24,100
way of life is protected
and that we remain free.

502
00:34:24,125 --> 00:34:30,400
How can people who want to get involved
with Toys for Tots get a hold of the

503
00:34:30,425 --> 00:34:32,650
organization and begin the process?

504
00:34:32,680 --> 00:34:36,400
Well, there are several ways, but what I
would say is just go online

505
00:34:36,425 --> 00:34:39,690
and go to ToysForTots.
org.

506
00:34:39,720 --> 00:34:43,880
If you want to volunteer, the website will

507
00:34:43,905 --> 00:34:49,880
navigate you to being able to volunteer in

508
00:34:49,905 --> 00:34:55,540
your area, or if you just want to click
on it and make a monetary donation,

509
00:34:55,565 --> 00:35:01,380
that's greatly accepted
and appreciated it as well.

510
00:35:01,405 --> 00:35:05,300
And so that's the best thing I
could say is just go to our website.

511
00:35:05,325 --> 00:35:11,170
But also in a storefront and you see a
Toys for Tots box,

512
00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:15,980
think about going into the store, whether
it be Walmart or Barns & Noble or what

513
00:35:16,005 --> 00:35:21,130
have you, and purchase a
toy and drop it in the box for us.

514
00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:23,800
That's also very much appreciated.

515
00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:33,000
Thank you for joining us today on Veteran
Led, where we pursue our mission of

516
00:35:33,025 --> 00:35:37,920
promoting Veteran leadership in business,
strengthening the Veteran community, and

517
00:35:37,945 --> 00:35:42,015
getting Veterans all of the
benefits that they earn.

518
00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:44,650
If you know a leader who should be on the
Veteran Led podcast,

519
00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:48,880
report to our online community by
searching @VeteranLed on your favorite

520
00:35:48,905 --> 00:35:51,260
social channels and
posting in the comments.

521
00:35:51,285 --> 00:35:55,340
We want to hear how your military
challenges prepared you to lead your

522
00:35:55,365 --> 00:35:58,540
industry or community, and
we will let the world know.

523
00:35:58,565 --> 00:36:02,640
And of course, subscribe and
join me next time on Veteran Led.