WEBVTT 00:03.349 --> 00:07.289 OK , I'm the Errol Gordon 00:07.289 --> 00:10.560 Stump , I was the adjutant general at 00:10.560 --> 00:12.880 the time that uh we started a state 00:12.880 --> 00:15.800 partnership program . Back in 00:15.800 --> 00:19.489 1993 . I'm a Datsy 00:19.489 --> 00:23.000 Mason , and I worked for uh General 00:23.000 --> 00:25.709 Stump . I've worked for 4 adjutants 00:25.709 --> 00:29.219 generals . And I am now retired . 00:32.549 --> 00:34.599 Well it started off when General 00:34.599 --> 00:36.877 Conaway from the National Guard Bureau , 00:37.000 --> 00:39.720 uh , made a trip to the Baltic , the 00:39.720 --> 00:41.942 Baltic countries , Latvia , Lithuania , 00:41.942 --> 00:44.759 and Estonia , and the , uh , it was the 00:44.759 --> 00:48.720 end of the uh uh Soviet Union , and we 00:48.720 --> 00:52.400 wanted American participation in 00:52.400 --> 00:55.860 the militaries of the , uh 00:56.970 --> 00:59.639 Released the new countries were now 00:59.639 --> 01:03.220 away from the Soviet Union . And it was 01:03.220 --> 01:06.089 General Conaway's idea that the the 01:06.089 --> 01:09.529 best way to do that and not to uh have 01:09.529 --> 01:11.930 a problem with the Russians was to get 01:11.930 --> 01:14.959 the National Guard involved . So he 01:14.959 --> 01:17.959 went to the the Baltic countries and 01:17.980 --> 01:20.599 and proposed having the . 01:22.300 --> 01:24.620 Military getting uh the militaries in 01:24.620 --> 01:27.569 these countries , uh , partnering with 01:27.569 --> 01:29.791 the National Guard because the National 01:29.791 --> 01:32.160 Guard was , was a is a homegrown force 01:32.300 --> 01:34.244 and it was something that that the 01:34.244 --> 01:36.467 Soviet wouldn't feel , Soviets wouldn't 01:36.467 --> 01:38.522 feel threatened , threatened by . We 01:38.522 --> 01:40.578 weren't moving in obviously with the 01:40.578 --> 01:43.379 active duty military and taking over 01:43.379 --> 01:45.657 the countries or be a threat to Russia . 01:45.889 --> 01:48.730 So he came up with this program , why 01:48.730 --> 01:51.690 don't we just have the uh National 01:51.690 --> 01:55.690 Guard help the these countries . And 01:55.690 --> 01:58.250 so he went in and talked to the uh to 01:58.250 --> 02:00.650 the presidents of of the Baltic 02:00.650 --> 02:03.449 countries and said , uh , how about if 02:03.449 --> 02:06.629 we partner up with the National Guard 02:06.730 --> 02:10.429 in the states . To give them 02:10.429 --> 02:13.059 some idea of of how the military would 02:13.069 --> 02:15.789 would operate and and what what help we 02:15.789 --> 02:18.628 can administer to these to these 02:18.628 --> 02:20.406 different countries because for 02:20.406 --> 02:24.208 instance , Latvia was completely 02:24.208 --> 02:26.748 taken over by the Russians during this 02:26.748 --> 02:30.429 time and they ran the mi there are many 02:30.429 --> 02:32.596 Latvians in the Russian army , and the 02:32.596 --> 02:35.149 Russian army did not meet any kind of 02:35.149 --> 02:37.371 standards that that we have here in the 02:37.371 --> 02:39.427 United States . So we needed to have 02:39.427 --> 02:41.729 somebody that would work with the 02:41.729 --> 02:45.279 military in the uh . Baltic 02:45.279 --> 02:48.550 countries . So they can move forward 02:48.889 --> 02:51.222 from where they were under under Russia . 02:51.630 --> 02:53.899 Yeah . All right , Darcy , from your 02:53.899 --> 02:56.779 foxhole , um , what , take me back to 02:56.779 --> 02:58.668 the beginning as this was kind of 02:58.668 --> 03:01.279 starting to happen , um . When did it 03:01.279 --> 03:03.390 start to feel real that , OK , well , 03:03.390 --> 03:05.335 it , it , it was very surreal when 03:05.335 --> 03:07.520 General uh Stump started talking about 03:07.520 --> 03:10.960 it because I am of Latvian heritage . I 03:10.960 --> 03:14.240 was uh born in a displaced persons camp 03:14.240 --> 03:17.080 in Germany when my parents were coming , 03:17.119 --> 03:19.910 escaped Latvia and were coming over to 03:19.910 --> 03:22.720 the United States , which was actually 03:22.720 --> 03:24.839 never their intention . They just uh 03:24.839 --> 03:28.399 left Latvia when it was uh invaded and 03:28.399 --> 03:31.639 the Russians forced them out . And then 03:31.639 --> 03:33.806 uh they always thought that they would 03:33.806 --> 03:36.029 go back , but in fact , were not able 03:36.029 --> 03:39.309 to because of the occupation . So for 03:39.309 --> 03:42.619 me , it was just uh an extraordinary 03:42.619 --> 03:45.699 thing to think that uh the National 03:45.699 --> 03:47.899 Guard was going to be partnering with 03:47.899 --> 03:51.589 uh Latvia . That's awesome . 03:51.940 --> 03:54.139 Um , and then Dotsy , if you wanna 03:54.820 --> 03:56.987 start with this next one , then we can 03:56.987 --> 03:59.619 move to General Stone , but , um , why 03:59.619 --> 04:03.300 Latvia ? What made , um , it the right 04:03.300 --> 04:05.522 fit for Michigan for that time ? Well , 04:05.522 --> 04:07.820 there were a lot of , uh , Latvians in 04:07.820 --> 04:11.580 Michigan . Um , General Stump also had 04:11.580 --> 04:13.820 a friend that he had worked with who 04:13.820 --> 04:17.540 was Latvian . I was Latvian , so all of 04:17.540 --> 04:21.089 these , uh , Um , kind of coincidences , 04:21.140 --> 04:24.700 um , worked together and , uh , he 04:24.700 --> 04:27.980 was able to pick Latvia and was 04:27.980 --> 04:30.470 completely thrilled by it . Yeah , and 04:30.470 --> 04:33.440 I bet you too kind of like , hey , 04:33.540 --> 04:36.459 let's do Latvia . Oh yeah , definitely , 04:36.940 --> 04:39.809 definitely . That's awesome . Sir , can 04:39.809 --> 04:43.100 you add to that , um , why Latvia was 04:43.100 --> 04:45.322 ended up being that number one pick for 04:45.322 --> 04:47.410 you guys ? Well . When we , when we 04:47.410 --> 04:49.466 first heard about it , we heard that 04:49.466 --> 04:51.466 they were going to , uh , they were 04:51.466 --> 04:53.521 starting with the Baltic countries , 04:53.521 --> 04:55.799 Latvia , Lithuania , and Estonia , and , 04:55.799 --> 04:58.021 uh , a good friend of mine , Andy Lazis 04:58.021 --> 05:00.354 and his wife , uh , they have a , a , a , 05:00.354 --> 05:02.500 a computer company that works out of 05:02.500 --> 05:04.333 Latvia , and of course Datsy was 05:04.333 --> 05:07.059 Latvian too , and she knew all about 05:07.059 --> 05:09.281 Latvian people living in Michigan and I 05:09.281 --> 05:11.281 said this is a perfect fit for us , 05:12.140 --> 05:14.196 especially for the Michigan National 05:14.196 --> 05:16.196 Guard because of the connections we 05:16.196 --> 05:18.418 already have . Uh , with Latvia . So it 05:18.418 --> 05:21.769 just made sense that uh uh that you 05:21.769 --> 05:23.825 would partner with somebody when you 05:23.825 --> 05:25.991 have a lot of large Latvian population 05:25.991 --> 05:27.769 here in the state of Michigan . 05:30.010 --> 05:33.709 OK . So , as you guys kind 05:33.709 --> 05:35.709 of realized , OK , we're gonna move 05:35.709 --> 05:37.869 with Latvia , um , what was one of 05:37.869 --> 05:40.989 those first steps that moved this idea 05:40.989 --> 05:43.589 of , OK , let's do a state partnership 05:43.589 --> 05:47.309 with them into an action . Well , 05:47.390 --> 05:49.929 uh , we got a , a message from the 05:49.929 --> 05:52.096 guard borough that they're , they were 05:52.096 --> 05:54.096 looking for partners for the Baltic 05:54.096 --> 05:56.040 countries , Estonia , Latvia , and 05:56.040 --> 05:59.670 Lithuania . And uh so we decided that 05:59.670 --> 06:02.670 uh Latvia was a was a was a country we 06:02.670 --> 06:05.170 wanted calling in and ask , ask , 06:05.179 --> 06:07.470 asking to be a Latvian partner and they 06:07.470 --> 06:09.739 said fine , but uh send us some 06:09.739 --> 06:11.850 information on what kind of a program 06:11.850 --> 06:13.961 you would have for them . So we had a 06:13.961 --> 06:17.070 Colonel uh Everett , who was there was 06:17.070 --> 06:20.130 uh uh . A Michigan National Guard 06:20.130 --> 06:22.463 person , and I talked to him and I said , 06:22.463 --> 06:24.686 listen , I need for you to put together 06:24.686 --> 06:27.609 a program how we can work with Latvia 06:27.890 --> 06:31.649 to help them uh become a , a , a 06:31.649 --> 06:35.529 viable uh military . And uh we need a , 06:35.609 --> 06:37.609 we need a formal program that I can 06:37.609 --> 06:40.309 take to the National Guard Bureau and 06:41.010 --> 06:44.369 request uh that they pick Michigan as 06:44.369 --> 06:48.220 our as our partner . Let's see , 06:48.350 --> 06:50.572 um , as this was coming into play , was 06:50.572 --> 06:52.794 there anyone that you had to call right 06:52.794 --> 06:55.128 away at , um , in Latvia and like , hey , 06:55.128 --> 06:57.183 guess what , uh , mostly , mostly my 06:57.183 --> 06:59.720 parents who were just , uh , besides 06:59.720 --> 07:03.000 themselves , uh . Also a little 07:03.000 --> 07:06.600 concerned um because uh Latvia was so 07:06.600 --> 07:09.880 newly freed , and they had had such a 07:09.880 --> 07:12.040 terrible experience with the Russians 07:12.040 --> 07:14.200 and the communists that came in , but 07:14.200 --> 07:18.109 uh But mostly just , just 07:18.109 --> 07:22.040 completely thrown . Um , 07:22.369 --> 07:25.209 so as you guys started this partnership 07:25.209 --> 07:28.260 program , obviously . The first one in 07:28.260 --> 07:30.989 America . What were some early 07:30.989 --> 07:33.589 challenges that you guys ran into as 07:33.589 --> 07:36.269 this thing started ? Well , we had , we 07:36.269 --> 07:39.549 have a language , language barrier with 07:39.549 --> 07:43.239 the Latvians , and we had 3 Michigan 07:43.239 --> 07:46.160 National Guard soldiers who spoke 07:46.160 --> 07:49.489 fluent , uh , Latvian . So that was a , 07:49.570 --> 07:51.570 uh , was a heads up for us . And of 07:51.570 --> 07:54.579 course I had uh , uh , Natsi here to , 07:54.589 --> 07:57.820 uh , to help on that too . So it was a , 07:57.859 --> 07:59.859 there was a language barrier in the 07:59.859 --> 08:02.470 beginning and um we , we didn't 08:03.100 --> 08:04.989 understand , you know , where the 08:04.989 --> 08:08.420 military was in Latvia . So , uh we 08:08.420 --> 08:11.660 wanted to , uh , you know , I , in fact , 08:11.899 --> 08:14.010 finally , the State Department said , 08:14.010 --> 08:16.339 OK , we're gonna try this program , and 08:16.339 --> 08:20.140 that was in April of '73 . And so 08:20.140 --> 08:23.579 that summer , um . We decided to 08:23.579 --> 08:27.459 go to Latvia and I took uh Nazi as 08:27.459 --> 08:30.179 my interpreter , and we went to Latvia 08:30.179 --> 08:33.919 to to meet with the with the uh uh 08:34.219 --> 08:37.250 Latvians as well as the Russians , 08:37.260 --> 08:39.038 because there were still 40,000 08:39.038 --> 08:41.979 Russians in Latvia . But they , but 08:41.979 --> 08:43.868 there , there were a few military 08:43.868 --> 08:46.201 people who had been in the Russian army . 08:46.201 --> 08:48.789 And who were in command positions , but 08:48.789 --> 08:51.270 they , they didn't have any influence 08:51.270 --> 08:53.940 on what was going on . So we , so we 08:53.940 --> 08:57.469 actually traveled to Latvia in July of 08:57.619 --> 09:01.090 '93 to discuss with them 09:01.510 --> 09:03.489 uh the state partnership program . 09:05.200 --> 09:07.400 So Darcy , walk me through this . So 09:07.400 --> 09:10.840 you were almost also a translator um as 09:10.840 --> 09:13.062 this program started . How was ? Yeah , 09:13.159 --> 09:15.219 uh , the , the first trip over was 09:15.219 --> 09:17.520 amazing , you know , when I first uh 09:17.520 --> 09:19.742 stepped off the plane to actually be in 09:19.742 --> 09:23.479 Latvia , um , because I , I 09:23.479 --> 09:25.799 personally never thought that Latvia 09:25.799 --> 09:27.855 would be free again and that I would 09:27.855 --> 09:31.599 ever go there . And uh it was just uh 09:31.599 --> 09:34.599 Latvians are a very tight uh knit 09:34.599 --> 09:37.359 community , and we had a Latvian church . 09:37.479 --> 09:40.520 We did uh Latvian school on Saturday 09:40.520 --> 09:43.000 mornings through the church . We had 09:43.000 --> 09:45.979 Latvian summer camps , um , 09:46.880 --> 09:49.599 our , our whole community , uh , was 09:49.599 --> 09:52.400 kind of , uh , uh my family was very 09:52.400 --> 09:54.799 involved in in the Latvian community 09:54.799 --> 09:58.210 and And so to actually be there after 09:58.210 --> 10:00.630 hearing about it for so long was just 10:00.640 --> 10:03.650 just totally amazing . Yeah , that's 10:03.650 --> 10:06.729 awesome . Um , how did the translation 10:06.729 --> 10:08.729 go when you were working with , you 10:08.729 --> 10:10.785 know , Michigan and Latvia and being 10:10.785 --> 10:12.951 that middle person to kind of help the 10:12.951 --> 10:14.951 language barrier . Um , hopefully , 10:14.951 --> 10:18.460 well , hopefully well , um . My 10:18.460 --> 10:20.900 Latvian may have been a little rusty , 10:21.020 --> 10:23.929 but you pick it up , uh , once you're 10:23.929 --> 10:26.099 there for a day , you've , you've got 10:26.099 --> 10:29.020 it all back again . Um , I always spoke 10:29.020 --> 10:31.659 Latvian at home with my parents . Uh , 10:32.140 --> 10:34.307 my grandmother who came over with us , 10:34.307 --> 10:37.340 never spoke English , um , so , you 10:37.340 --> 10:39.562 know , I , I definitely spoke Latvian a 10:39.562 --> 10:42.659 lot . And , but there were some 10:42.659 --> 10:45.960 military uh terms that I wasn't 10:45.960 --> 10:48.059 familiar with because we never used 10:48.059 --> 10:51.820 them . And um so that that was at times 10:51.820 --> 10:54.700 a bit tricky , but one of the uh 10:54.700 --> 10:57.380 Latvians that was in the guard actually 10:57.380 --> 11:01.340 created a dictionary of uh military 11:01.340 --> 11:04.739 terms translated from uh English to 11:04.739 --> 11:08.359 Latvian . Were you nervous ? Oh , 11:08.719 --> 11:12.419 beyond nervous , yes , yeah . Wow , 11:12.679 --> 11:14.790 so it took a lot of courage almost to 11:14.790 --> 11:16.957 be like , OK , I'm the secretary , but 11:16.957 --> 11:18.957 I'll also be the translator for big 11:18.957 --> 11:21.159 event . Yeah , that's awesome . 11:25.729 --> 11:29.409 And then as an aside , um , where we 11:29.409 --> 11:32.630 stayed was uh In a 11:32.630 --> 11:36.469 uh uh resort at Yermala , 11:36.640 --> 11:40.229 which was on the Baltic Sea , which was 11:40.239 --> 11:43.059 kind of the the place where all of the 11:43.400 --> 11:45.880 Russian hierarchy stayed , so that was 11:45.880 --> 11:48.890 kind of the best of the best . And it 11:48.890 --> 11:52.130 kind of made you see . How 11:53.179 --> 11:55.235 almost backward they were . I mean , 11:55.235 --> 11:57.123 the facilities that they had just 11:57.123 --> 11:59.290 didn't compare at all with what we had 11:59.290 --> 12:01.401 here in the States , and , you know , 12:01.401 --> 12:02.820 the telephones were very 12:02.820 --> 12:05.380 antique-looking and all of uh 12:05.380 --> 12:08.669 everything like that . That was just so 12:08.669 --> 12:10.891 interesting to me . Yeah , when you say 12:10.891 --> 12:13.058 backwards , what do you mean by that ? 12:13.058 --> 12:15.225 Um , just not as sophisticated as what 12:15.225 --> 12:18.090 we had , not as , uh , Uh , 12:18.169 --> 12:20.890 technologically advanced , perhaps , 12:21.010 --> 12:23.177 and , um , I don't know , it just , it 12:23.177 --> 12:25.489 just struck me that this was the best 12:25.489 --> 12:28.250 hotel , and it would not have been by 12:28.250 --> 12:29.460 US standards . 12:32.080 --> 12:36.000 Um , Sir , um , if you could talk a 12:36.000 --> 12:38.830 little bit about how when this all 12:38.830 --> 12:41.210 started , uh , how did you start to 12:41.210 --> 12:43.590 build trust with Latvian countertop , I 12:43.590 --> 12:46.080 think counterparts . I know Dassy kind 12:46.080 --> 12:47.913 of talked about there's a lot of 12:47.913 --> 12:49.913 uncertainty when it first started . 12:49.913 --> 12:52.599 Well , uh , we , we , when we , we , we , 12:52.890 --> 12:55.270 we met with , uh , plenty of the , uh , 12:55.609 --> 12:58.239 uh , the hierarchy in the military for , 12:58.359 --> 13:00.969 for the Latvians , as well as I 13:00.969 --> 13:03.450 actually met with the , uh , uh . 13:04.780 --> 13:07.780 A colonel in the Russian army who was 13:07.780 --> 13:10.559 kind of the military leader for Latvia 13:10.559 --> 13:12.820 at the time . We had a formal meeting , 13:12.940 --> 13:16.700 went to a a uh a meet and greet and 13:16.700 --> 13:18.867 uh went through a line and shook hands 13:18.867 --> 13:21.033 with him . It was interesting . But my 13:21.033 --> 13:23.089 wife , I brought her with him and he 13:23.089 --> 13:25.033 wouldn't shake , shake her hand or 13:25.033 --> 13:24.979 acknowledge she was here . I mean , 13:25.020 --> 13:27.140 that was a that was the way the 13:27.140 --> 13:29.196 Russians were cause there were still 13:29.196 --> 13:31.979 40,000 Russians in there . And in the 13:31.979 --> 13:34.590 meantime , uh , I started talking to 13:34.590 --> 13:37.150 the , the people who were were 13:37.150 --> 13:40.570 beginning to take over , uh . Gruba 13:40.570 --> 13:43.890 Raymond's Gru Gruba was in charge of 13:43.890 --> 13:47.369 the National Guard for Latvia , and 13:47.369 --> 13:50.010 they called him the Zemizar , and I met 13:50.010 --> 13:52.210 with him and discussed what they had , 13:52.250 --> 13:54.530 and they had small National Guard units 13:54.530 --> 13:56.752 throughout the throughout the country , 13:56.770 --> 13:58.881 but they didn't have much . They were 13:58.881 --> 14:01.409 just patriots that uh that wanted to be 14:01.409 --> 14:03.465 in the National Guard or the Zemizar 14:03.929 --> 14:07.219 and be part of the military . So we uh 14:07.229 --> 14:09.390 met with him and discussed how they 14:09.390 --> 14:12.299 were organized and how we were 14:12.299 --> 14:14.789 organized and and how we could work 14:14.789 --> 14:17.940 together to show them how the Michigan 14:17.940 --> 14:20.710 National Guard operated and get them up 14:20.710 --> 14:22.877 to speed because they didn't even have 14:22.877 --> 14:26.669 uniforms at the time , so . Say , do 14:26.669 --> 14:28.780 you have anything to add about that ? 14:29.070 --> 14:32.950 Um , just that the , the Latvians that 14:32.950 --> 14:36.229 had fought for the freedom of Latvia , 14:36.549 --> 14:39.890 and those were the , uh , uh , Grauba 14:39.890 --> 14:42.349 was one of them , and , and those were 14:42.349 --> 14:45.859 the ones that , uh , actually , um , 14:45.869 --> 14:48.780 barricaded on the bridges and , and , 14:48.789 --> 14:52.669 uh . They were very receptive and 14:52.669 --> 14:55.989 very grateful that uh we were there . 14:57.530 --> 15:00.000 And , and I think we're , uh , we're 15:00.000 --> 15:02.340 thrilled to work with uh General Stumpf 15:02.340 --> 15:04.450 and to learn more about how we do 15:04.450 --> 15:07.400 things and What they may think about 15:07.400 --> 15:11.049 doing . Um , Dassy , 15:11.219 --> 15:13.979 um , can you share a personal story or 15:13.979 --> 15:17.309 a moment , um , from those early days 15:17.309 --> 15:19.365 when you first got there and you saw 15:19.365 --> 15:21.900 those that that really captures the 15:21.900 --> 15:25.760 spirit of the partnership . Um , 15:25.859 --> 15:28.820 just how , how , uh , gracious they 15:28.820 --> 15:32.599 were and how giving they were . Um , 15:32.900 --> 15:35.299 I , I , I think I , I told the story 15:35.299 --> 15:39.030 before about , uh , um , Uh , Jim 15:39.030 --> 15:42.710 McCrone here , who , who went over and 15:42.710 --> 15:45.043 worked with their public affairs people , 15:45.429 --> 15:47.630 and he had looked out the window , and 15:47.630 --> 15:50.669 they were siphoning gas out of their 15:50.669 --> 15:53.469 personal cars to fill one car so that 15:53.469 --> 15:55.950 they could take him around , because 15:55.960 --> 15:58.109 they just didn't have the uh the 15:58.109 --> 16:01.929 wherewithal and the uh the resources , 16:02.590 --> 16:05.190 and so they were very , very kind and 16:05.190 --> 16:07.890 we were always treated so beautifully . 16:08.570 --> 16:12.570 And graciously and uh It it it 16:12.570 --> 16:14.681 was just wonderful to be working with 16:14.681 --> 16:18.510 them . Thank you . So if you 16:18.510 --> 16:21.179 have a personal story or moment from 16:21.179 --> 16:23.460 those early days that captures the 16:23.460 --> 16:26.049 spirit of the partnership ? Yes , it 16:26.049 --> 16:29.010 was interesting because many of the 16:29.010 --> 16:31.280 Latvians had had served in the Russian 16:31.280 --> 16:34.989 army and uh they were conscripts , 16:35.409 --> 16:38.690 um , and I , and I , I met a Russian 16:38.690 --> 16:42.580 pilot who flew the MiG-21 . And uh we 16:42.580 --> 16:45.289 got to talk about stories , and he was 16:45.289 --> 16:47.859 flying MiG-21s in North Vietnam when I 16:47.859 --> 16:51.820 was flying at 402 in South Vietnam . So 16:51.820 --> 16:53.876 it was kind of interesting . We were 16:53.876 --> 16:55.931 still flying in the same in the same 16:55.931 --> 16:58.619 skies on different sides of the of the 16:58.619 --> 17:01.140 war . And then I met an army guy who 17:01.140 --> 17:04.380 was working on a uh a Russian Sam site . 17:05.140 --> 17:09.099 In uh in in North Vietnam , and they , 17:09.140 --> 17:11.307 uh , they were all conscripts and they 17:11.307 --> 17:13.418 were , they had to go to the , to the 17:13.418 --> 17:15.529 Vietnam War because they were part of 17:15.529 --> 17:17.696 the Russian army , and he said that he 17:17.696 --> 17:19.918 was working on the Sam site and he said 17:19.918 --> 17:22.029 all of a sudden you came over and you 17:22.029 --> 17:25.989 dropped some uh Some pamphlets that 17:25.989 --> 17:28.211 said , if there are any Russians here , 17:28.211 --> 17:30.267 you better leave because we're gonna 17:30.267 --> 17:32.433 bomb this site tomorrow . And he , and 17:32.433 --> 17:34.489 he says , we laughed . He says , who 17:34.489 --> 17:37.308 would be so stupid as to send a uh an 17:37.308 --> 17:39.468 airplane over and drop a , a , a 17:39.468 --> 17:42.029 pamphlet and say we're gonna bomb it . 17:42.399 --> 17:44.566 And I said , what happened ? He says , 17:44.566 --> 17:46.621 you bombed it . He said , and then , 17:46.621 --> 17:48.788 and I said , what did you do then ? He 17:48.788 --> 17:50.955 says , I left . And didn't come back , 17:50.955 --> 17:50.660 so that was kind of interesting because 17:50.839 --> 17:52.950 we were , we were actually talking to 17:52.950 --> 17:55.006 the Russian soldiers who were , were 17:55.006 --> 17:57.349 serving in Vietnam when I was at the 17:57.349 --> 17:59.640 same time , and it was really 17:59.640 --> 18:01.640 interesting that , uh , that they , 18:01.689 --> 18:03.800 they had those stories that they were 18:03.800 --> 18:06.022 telling , and , and they were back home 18:06.022 --> 18:08.245 in Latvia , having having served in the 18:08.245 --> 18:12.189 Russian army in Vietnam . Um 18:12.930 --> 18:15.209 What impact , when you're thinking back 18:15.209 --> 18:17.729 of when we actually had soldiers start 18:17.729 --> 18:19.969 to interact with Latvian um service 18:19.969 --> 18:23.869 members , um , what impact Did those 18:23.869 --> 18:26.380 first exchanges or exercise have on the 18:26.380 --> 18:29.069 Michigan National Guard soldiers ? I 18:29.069 --> 18:31.291 think it was a a very positive impact . 18:31.291 --> 18:33.513 It was another , another way to look at 18:33.630 --> 18:35.797 what was happening during the Cold War 18:35.797 --> 18:37.686 and see and see where , where the 18:37.686 --> 18:39.908 Latvians were , and they weren't , they 18:39.908 --> 18:42.229 weren't very far along as far as the 18:42.229 --> 18:44.430 military and so forth , there was a , 18:44.550 --> 18:46.772 there was an eye-opening event for them 18:46.829 --> 18:48.885 to get over and see this is what the 18:48.885 --> 18:51.640 real Cold War was like . And then , uh , 18:51.939 --> 18:54.250 working with them , uh , was , was an 18:54.250 --> 18:56.472 educational experience for them , as it 18:56.472 --> 18:58.639 was for the Latvians when the Latvians 18:58.639 --> 19:00.694 came over here and they said , wow , 19:00.694 --> 19:02.917 this is what it what it's like to be in 19:02.917 --> 19:02.530 the National Guard . Of course , we had 19:02.530 --> 19:04.530 armories and equipment and all that 19:04.530 --> 19:07.579 sort of thing . So , so it was a it was 19:07.579 --> 19:09.746 an eye-opening experience for both the 19:09.746 --> 19:12.140 Latvians and for the Michigan National 19:12.140 --> 19:15.739 Guard people . do you have anything to 19:15.739 --> 19:18.219 add ? I think that uh all of the 19:18.219 --> 19:22.060 soldiers that went , um , you never had 19:22.060 --> 19:23.838 to try to find somebody to go . 19:23.900 --> 19:27.260 Everybody wanted to go , and uh it was 19:27.260 --> 19:29.579 a wonderful experience for them . They 19:29.579 --> 19:31.523 came back and they were collecting 19:31.523 --> 19:35.300 uniforms to send back there to uh 19:35.300 --> 19:37.356 give to the soldiers who didn't have 19:37.356 --> 19:40.939 them . And um they also 19:40.939 --> 19:43.619 commented on how well well treated they 19:43.619 --> 19:46.819 were , and they got a chance to see the 19:46.819 --> 19:49.780 facilities , which were , you know , 19:49.939 --> 19:53.739 basic at best , and I think got 19:53.739 --> 19:56.439 to appreciate more what they had here . 19:56.819 --> 20:00.619 OK . Awesome . Sir , looking 20:00.619 --> 20:03.579 back , um , what surprises you the most 20:03.579 --> 20:06.099 about how the relationship was able to 20:06.099 --> 20:09.030 develop ? Well , well , they , 20:10.270 --> 20:12.603 at the time , they started from nothing . 20:12.603 --> 20:14.770 I mean , they had nothing , and they , 20:14.770 --> 20:17.189 they had a , they had a , uh , uh , uh , 20:17.430 --> 20:20.030 an organization that that the Russians 20:20.030 --> 20:21.863 had , and the Russians don't use 20:22.109 --> 20:24.349 non-commissioned officers and , and 20:24.349 --> 20:26.510 they just have the hierarchy running 20:26.510 --> 20:29.430 things . So they , they were , uh , 20:29.670 --> 20:31.670 they were very disappointed in , in 20:31.670 --> 20:33.781 what , what kind of organization they 20:33.781 --> 20:36.650 had . And then for them , After a 20:36.650 --> 20:39.510 number of years to not only 20:40.640 --> 20:43.770 become uh organized the way the US 20:43.770 --> 20:47.369 military was , but then in , in , in 20:47.369 --> 20:50.630 the very end , become members of NATO , 20:51.209 --> 20:54.890 and they , they actually meet NATO army 20:54.890 --> 20:57.250 standards now because of the 20:57.250 --> 20:59.306 relationship we've had with them and 20:59.306 --> 21:01.361 the training that we've gone through 21:01.361 --> 21:04.380 with them over the last 25 years . Day , 21:04.459 --> 21:06.829 from your side of it , uh , what has 21:06.829 --> 21:08.979 surprised you the most about how the 21:08.979 --> 21:10.757 relationship has developed with 21:10.869 --> 21:13.349 Michigan and Latvia ? How long lasting 21:13.349 --> 21:16.349 it's been , and that , uh , people that 21:16.349 --> 21:18.349 were involved in the very beginning 21:18.349 --> 21:21.709 still have contact and 21:22.109 --> 21:25.219 um . You know , it it was just such a 21:25.219 --> 21:28.709 bond that uh that developed between the 21:28.709 --> 21:31.689 people . Yeah . Thank you . 21:33.040 --> 21:36.280 Um , sir , um , what lessons from the 21:36.280 --> 21:38.839 early years do you think are still 21:38.839 --> 21:41.229 guiding the partnership even today ? 21:41.640 --> 21:44.199 Well , the trust we have in them and 21:44.199 --> 21:47.670 they , they have in us . We're , we're 21:47.670 --> 21:49.719 arm in arm in partners now . We've 21:49.719 --> 21:51.839 actually gone to war together in 21:51.839 --> 21:55.650 Afghanistan and uh That we're , we're 21:55.650 --> 21:58.609 truly partners because uh they're , 21:58.729 --> 22:01.209 they trust us in all the training . In 22:01.209 --> 22:03.431 fact , that they , they have said , you 22:03.431 --> 22:05.487 know , when we , when we have a real 22:05.487 --> 22:08.410 problem , we don't call uh the Air 22:08.410 --> 22:10.632 Force or the Army , the US Air Force or 22:10.632 --> 22:12.410 the Army , we call the Michigan 22:12.410 --> 22:14.521 National Guard . They'll know what to 22:14.521 --> 22:16.689 do to help us . And so we've got a 22:16.689 --> 22:19.130 great working relationship . It's one 22:19.130 --> 22:21.550 that they're truly , truly partners 22:21.930 --> 22:24.097 because they've spent a lot of time in 22:24.097 --> 22:26.152 Michigan . We've had Michigan people 22:26.152 --> 22:28.374 spend time in Latvia and they , we have 22:28.374 --> 22:30.430 a trust between us . In fact , there 22:30.430 --> 22:33.329 were , uh , as I said , we , we went to 22:33.329 --> 22:35.849 war together . In fact , uh , two of 22:35.849 --> 22:38.369 the Latvian soldiers and American 22:38.369 --> 22:40.729 soldiers were killed in Afghanistan , 22:40.849 --> 22:42.793 but , but they worked together and 22:42.793 --> 22:45.016 actually went to war together , so . So 22:45.016 --> 22:47.199 we're we're , we're uh . So , do you 22:47.199 --> 22:49.719 have an example of when you kind of 22:49.719 --> 22:51.997 received a call from Latvia being like , 22:52.000 --> 22:54.479 hey , we need your advice on X , Y , Z . 22:58.800 --> 23:02.560 No , we , uh , uh , we , we actually 23:02.560 --> 23:05.579 have a , a , uh , a full-time person 23:06.000 --> 23:08.000 ever since we started a partnership 23:08.000 --> 23:10.430 that's there , and they coordinate , uh , 23:10.520 --> 23:12.869 when they really need something that , 23:12.880 --> 23:15.079 uh , that , that they can get , they 23:15.079 --> 23:17.359 can , they know who to call to get the 23:17.359 --> 23:19.989 funding for it and so forth . And so , 23:20.000 --> 23:23.839 uh . Um . They're still , 23:24.219 --> 23:27.239 uh , don't trust the Russians . And 23:27.239 --> 23:30.859 they , they trust us and the 23:31.140 --> 23:32.918 US military to help them , so . 23:34.930 --> 23:36.763 Let's see , um , do you have any 23:36.829 --> 23:38.940 lessons from the early years that you 23:38.940 --> 23:40.718 feel like are still guiding the 23:40.718 --> 23:43.579 partnership ? I think it was because it 23:43.579 --> 23:46.180 was a true partnership . It was not the 23:46.180 --> 23:48.260 Michigan National Guard going over 23:48.260 --> 23:51.020 there and telling them what to do and 23:51.020 --> 23:53.380 telling them , um , you know , you need 23:53.380 --> 23:55.436 to do this , this and this , or it's 23:55.436 --> 23:57.769 not gonna work . They actually saw what , 23:57.769 --> 24:01.079 uh , how we did it here , um . 24:02.530 --> 24:05.170 The people that were weren't lecturing 24:05.170 --> 24:07.003 to them , they were , you know , 24:07.050 --> 24:10.949 working with them , and um I 24:11.089 --> 24:13.770 I think that the true partnership uh 24:14.130 --> 24:16.050 made it work so well . 24:18.319 --> 24:20.375 Um , looking back , do you guys have 24:20.375 --> 24:23.060 any advice , um , for leaders or 24:23.060 --> 24:24.949 someone trying to start a similar 24:24.949 --> 24:27.282 partnership , um , with another country ? 24:29.229 --> 24:31.750 I , I think just , uh , what , what we 24:31.750 --> 24:33.972 learned about the partnership portion , 24:34.010 --> 24:36.410 not to be lecturing , not to be saying 24:36.410 --> 24:38.790 you're doing this wrong , you , you 24:38.790 --> 24:41.123 can't do that , you're doing this wrong . 24:41.199 --> 24:43.770 Um , just , uh , leading by example , 24:43.849 --> 24:46.079 guiding them , showing that we're 24:46.079 --> 24:48.190 learning from them . I mean , there , 24:48.190 --> 24:50.246 there was a lot of lessons that were 24:50.246 --> 24:53.109 learned from them . Yeah , and then 24:53.109 --> 24:56.380 that's in your role . But did , if you 24:56.380 --> 24:58.436 were to go back before you applied , 24:58.436 --> 25:00.436 would you have ever thought that it 25:00.436 --> 25:02.491 would have involve going to Latvia , 25:02.491 --> 25:04.547 translating ? Absolutely not , not , 25:04.579 --> 25:08.140 not in my wildest dreams . Um , the 25:08.140 --> 25:11.219 things I regret were I would have paid 25:11.219 --> 25:13.660 more attention in Latvian school as a 25:13.660 --> 25:15.739 child rather than wishing I wasn't 25:15.739 --> 25:17.683 there and I could be home watching 25:17.683 --> 25:20.420 cartoons like my friends on Saturday 25:20.420 --> 25:24.109 morning and uh . Just uh learned 25:24.109 --> 25:27.709 more then and , uh , but no , I , I , I 25:27.709 --> 25:29.709 never , never , never imagined it . 25:30.719 --> 25:34.449 Awesome . Um , sir , um , 25:35.109 --> 25:37.220 stepping , looking back from when you 25:37.220 --> 25:39.442 first started , uh , your role with the 25:39.442 --> 25:41.442 Michigan National Guard , would you 25:41.442 --> 25:43.665 have ever expected , um , doing a state 25:43.665 --> 25:45.831 partnership program with Latvia , um , 25:45.831 --> 25:47.998 is that something that surprises you , 25:47.998 --> 25:50.220 or did you always , oh yeah , no , no , 25:50.220 --> 25:52.276 I never , I never , never dreamed it 25:52.276 --> 25:54.387 would , it would happen . And when it 25:54.387 --> 25:57.069 did , and then , uh , uh , I , I won't 25:57.069 --> 25:59.250 forget the , the , the great . State 25:59.250 --> 26:01.194 partner I had and the president of 26:01.194 --> 26:03.528 Latvia on one of my trips over , I went , 26:03.528 --> 26:05.729 or I'd met him , and he was a very 26:05.729 --> 26:09.329 gracious man , and uh he spent 3 26:09.329 --> 26:11.385 different trips coming to the United 26:11.385 --> 26:14.489 States , and I spent 3 trips visiting 26:14.489 --> 26:16.930 him in Latvia , uh , when he came over 26:16.930 --> 26:19.041 here , and in fact , I got him a ride 26:19.041 --> 26:22.410 in an F-16 . So , uh , he still talks 26:22.410 --> 26:24.466 about that , that that was something 26:24.466 --> 26:26.354 else . He's probably the the only 26:26.354 --> 26:29.170 president of a of a country like that 26:29.170 --> 26:31.170 who was able to come over here , go 26:31.170 --> 26:33.392 ride in an F-16 , but we took him there 26:33.392 --> 26:35.337 and we showed him all of the , the 26:35.337 --> 26:37.614 equipment we had here and and so forth . 26:37.614 --> 26:39.614 And when I went over there , he was 26:39.614 --> 26:42.069 very gracious . Uh , he and I even went 26:42.069 --> 26:45.469 wild boar hunting . And , uh , so , 26:45.930 --> 26:47.597 I went out . In addition to a 26:47.597 --> 26:49.541 partnership , it was almost like a 26:49.541 --> 26:51.708 friendship . Oh yeah , it was , yeah . 26:51.708 --> 26:53.819 And uh sure enough , we , we went out 26:53.819 --> 26:56.920 to to hunt wild boar at midnight 26:57.140 --> 27:00.239 because it was June and it was daylight 27:02.099 --> 27:04.900 all , all day long , pretty much . And 27:04.900 --> 27:07.430 we went out and uh he , he gave me a , 27:07.459 --> 27:09.979 a guy to go , go with me , find the 27:09.979 --> 27:12.146 boar , and sure enough , there was a , 27:12.146 --> 27:14.619 a mother and two small boars , and the 27:14.619 --> 27:16.563 Latvian guy said , no , no , don't 27:16.563 --> 27:18.675 shoot the big ones , shoot the little 27:18.675 --> 27:20.730 ones . So I shot the little shot the 27:20.730 --> 27:22.849 boar , and so we , and he went up a 27:22.849 --> 27:25.016 different way to hunt boar . Well , he 27:25.016 --> 27:27.349 didn't shoot one , but when we got back , 27:27.979 --> 27:30.090 He says , well , how'd you do it ? He 27:30.090 --> 27:32.146 says , well , I shot one . He says , 27:32.146 --> 27:34.257 where is it ? I said , I don't know , 27:34.257 --> 27:36.312 it's out there somewhere . And so he 27:36.312 --> 27:38.535 made , he made the guys go out and find 27:38.535 --> 27:40.646 the boar and bring it , bring it back 27:40.646 --> 27:42.868 to show that , yeah , here , here's the 27:42.868 --> 27:44.979 one , here's the one he shot . Then , 27:44.979 --> 27:46.757 then what was what later , what 27:46.757 --> 27:49.060 happened later on his uh on his last 27:49.060 --> 27:51.939 trip to uh to the states , he had some 27:51.939 --> 27:54.161 friends in Grand Rapids who , who , who 27:54.161 --> 27:56.217 he liked to visit , but he wanted to 27:56.217 --> 27:58.272 come over . So he came over , he was 27:58.272 --> 28:00.619 coming over to visit again , and he 28:00.619 --> 28:02.841 always told the Secret Service , I'm on 28:02.841 --> 28:06.140 vacation , don't uh give me any 28:06.140 --> 28:08.196 protection or anything , just , just 28:08.196 --> 28:10.307 leave me alone . But the last time he 28:10.307 --> 28:12.362 didn't do that . So the last time he 28:12.362 --> 28:14.307 came over , he was speaking at the 28:14.307 --> 28:16.473 United Nations and he said , OK , uh , 28:16.473 --> 28:18.640 I want you to come to my speech at the 28:18.640 --> 28:20.973 United Nations . So I went to , to , uh , 28:20.973 --> 28:23.310 Washington and uh went to the United 28:23.310 --> 28:25.477 Nations building and , and , and heard 28:25.477 --> 28:28.349 his speech . So then , but , but now it 28:28.349 --> 28:30.510 was complicated now because now we've 28:30.510 --> 28:32.949 got the president of a country who is 28:32.949 --> 28:35.116 coming here to the United States , and 28:35.116 --> 28:37.005 it didn't matter if it's a little 28:37.005 --> 28:39.005 country or a big country , he still 28:39.005 --> 28:40.893 gets all of the To protecting and 28:40.893 --> 28:44.609 custody of of the of a president , so , 28:44.619 --> 28:47.260 um . We had a Lear jet that came and 28:47.260 --> 28:49.482 picked us up to take us from Washington 28:49.482 --> 28:52.510 DC back to Michigan . And he had about 28:52.510 --> 28:56.119 12 boxes full of stuff , and uh they 28:56.119 --> 28:58.063 had 3 or 4 Secret Service guys who 28:58.063 --> 29:00.286 wanted to wanted to go along and said , 29:00.286 --> 29:02.286 well , there's not room for all the 29:02.286 --> 29:04.508 boxes in the Secret Service and you and 29:04.508 --> 29:06.341 I . And he said , no , no , it's 29:06.341 --> 29:08.400 important stuff . I gotta take this 29:08.400 --> 29:10.344 stuff . I said , OK , so I had one 29:10.344 --> 29:12.567 Secret Service guy go with us , and the 29:12.567 --> 29:14.567 rest of the boxes , there were some 29:14.567 --> 29:16.622 boxes of beer , Latvian beer that he 29:16.622 --> 29:19.000 brought for his friends over here . And 29:19.000 --> 29:21.520 another thing he brought was a was a 29:21.530 --> 29:25.020 big box of a of a wild boar head . 29:26.010 --> 29:28.010 And he said , uh , he said , Here's 29:28.010 --> 29:30.343 your , here's the one you shot . I said , 29:30.343 --> 29:32.288 no , no , no , Gunter . Mine was a 29:32.288 --> 29:34.343 little one . This is not , not a big 29:34.343 --> 29:36.454 one like this . He said , well , they 29:36.454 --> 29:38.689 won't know that . This is for you . So 29:38.689 --> 29:40.911 he had this big boar . My wife took one 29:40.911 --> 29:42.745 look at it and says , you're not 29:42.745 --> 29:44.969 bringing that home . So , uh , so it's 29:44.969 --> 29:48.130 hanging today in the , uh , officers 29:48.130 --> 29:51.270 club at Greeley , National Guard base . 29:51.369 --> 29:53.449 Yep , there's this , this huge boar 29:53.449 --> 29:55.660 head . Now we know the story . Yeah , 29:55.750 --> 29:58.270 that's right . Presented to Major 29:58.270 --> 30:00.492 General Stump from the president of the 30:00.492 --> 30:03.030 mafia . That's incredible . Um , is 30:03.030 --> 30:05.252 there anything else you guys would like 30:05.252 --> 30:07.349 to add before we move to a few more 30:07.349 --> 30:10.619 questions ? No , it just that it's that 30:10.619 --> 30:13.920 it was a wonderful program that nobody 30:14.630 --> 30:16.852 thought thought would work , and it was 30:16.852 --> 30:18.963 something that was to , to get around 30:18.963 --> 30:21.130 the Russians , that you just bring the 30:21.130 --> 30:23.130 National Guard in and they're not a 30:23.130 --> 30:24.963 threat . Well , they're probably 30:24.963 --> 30:26.908 looking off saying , whoa , wait a 30:26.908 --> 30:29.019 minute , they're a threat now because 30:29.019 --> 30:30.963 they meet NATO standards , and now 30:30.963 --> 30:33.074 they've got an air base that's that's 30:33.074 --> 30:36.150 active and so forth . So , uh , At that 30:36.150 --> 30:39.229 point in time , we needed to get , to 30:39.229 --> 30:41.430 get involved with these emerging 30:41.430 --> 30:44.260 nations and to do it through the 30:44.260 --> 30:46.430 National Guard was the way to go . And 30:46.430 --> 30:49.670 now there are 77 countries that have 30:49.670 --> 30:51.837 state partnership comes throughout the 30:51.837 --> 30:54.069 whole United States , and it's , it's 30:54.069 --> 30:56.670 an easy way and a relatively 30:56.670 --> 31:00.430 inexpensive way to , uh , to form 31:00.790 --> 31:02.957 partnerships with , with some of these 31:02.957 --> 31:06.689 countries . Uh , the The one , the 31:07.050 --> 31:09.161 one question that you put before me , 31:09.410 --> 31:11.354 what did you think it was , it was 31:11.354 --> 31:13.354 always going to be successful ? Not 31:13.354 --> 31:15.299 really . After a couple of years , 31:15.299 --> 31:17.466 there was not much funding . There was 31:17.466 --> 31:19.688 very little funding . They only gave us 31:19.688 --> 31:21.890 a little bit of , of , of funds to get 31:21.890 --> 31:24.729 things going . And so it was kind of 31:24.729 --> 31:28.540 slow and The , the , the word was they 31:28.540 --> 31:30.762 were gonna cut off the funding and stop 31:30.762 --> 31:33.060 the partnership program . So I went to 31:33.060 --> 31:34.893 Senator Senator Levin , I said , 31:34.893 --> 31:38.599 Senator , um . This is a great program . 31:39.060 --> 31:41.060 We can't let it die on the vine . I 31:41.060 --> 31:43.393 said , we , we need to get some funding . 31:43.689 --> 31:45.856 So he says , OK , I agree , and he put 31:45.856 --> 31:47.911 a couple million dollars in , in for 31:47.911 --> 31:50.078 funding to keep it going . And so from 31:50.078 --> 31:52.880 then , they started looking at what 31:52.880 --> 31:54.713 really was happening in Latvia , 31:54.713 --> 31:57.047 Lithuania , and Estonia , and they said , 31:57.047 --> 31:59.158 well , we need to expand this because 31:59.158 --> 32:01.213 this is a relatively inexpensive way 32:01.213 --> 32:03.213 for , for the United States to help 32:03.213 --> 32:05.380 these countries and bring them over to 32:05.380 --> 32:09.349 our side . So , so that it , it started , 32:09.390 --> 32:11.723 as I said , it started with 3 countries , 32:11.760 --> 32:13.871 Michigan , Latvia , and Estonia , and 32:13.871 --> 32:16.349 now there's over 77 countries that were 32:16.349 --> 32:18.293 helping . In fact , Michigan's got 32:18.293 --> 32:20.270 Liberia helping them too now . But 32:20.270 --> 32:22.381 that's , it's a , it's an inexpensive 32:22.381 --> 32:25.050 way for us to influence these countries 32:25.050 --> 32:27.349 and to , to bring them along over to 32:27.349 --> 32:30.329 our side . Thank you . That's awesome . 32:30.839 --> 32:34.119 Let's see , do you have any um I'd like 32:34.119 --> 32:36.341 to share before we move to the last two 32:36.341 --> 32:38.341 questions . Um , just what , what a 32:38.341 --> 32:40.675 wonderful program it did turn out to be , 32:40.675 --> 32:42.786 um , like General Stumpf was saying , 32:42.800 --> 32:46.060 for a relatively inexpensive program , 32:46.319 --> 32:48.359 it , it built , uh , lasting 32:48.359 --> 32:52.180 relationships and goodwill , and , uh , 32:52.599 --> 32:54.821 throughout the , the whole country of , 32:54.821 --> 32:58.660 uh , Latvia . And it was so cool 32:58.660 --> 33:01.550 to . You see that you had so many ties 33:01.550 --> 33:03.772 to it , right ? You were such a crucial 33:03.772 --> 33:05.994 piece of making sure that partnership , 33:05.994 --> 33:08.106 yeah , no , it was wonderful . Yeah , 33:08.106 --> 33:10.329 it's awesome . Do you wanna go . Well , 33:10.729 --> 33:12.729 would you just ask them about civic 33:12.729 --> 33:14.951 leader tours because we had some really 33:14.951 --> 33:16.673 great people from the business 33:16.673 --> 33:18.618 community , so the guard and folks 33:18.618 --> 33:20.785 there and the whole community , but we 33:20.785 --> 33:22.896 had some business folks take a couple 33:22.896 --> 33:24.896 of trips over how they felt about . 33:25.530 --> 33:27.810 Those people and who they were and how 33:27.810 --> 33:30.369 did that go in there . Yeah , do you 33:30.369 --> 33:32.536 guys wanna share a little bit about um 33:32.536 --> 33:36.069 the business side of it ? Yeah , we had , 33:36.189 --> 33:38.589 we had , we asked local leaders if they 33:38.589 --> 33:41.170 would , would like to participate and , 33:41.180 --> 33:44.020 uh , go to Latvia , learn about Latvia , 33:44.310 --> 33:46.254 and see if there were any business 33:46.254 --> 33:48.477 connections they could do , and then we 33:48.477 --> 33:50.588 actually , we actually made two trips 33:50.588 --> 33:50.569 over where we took local business 33:50.569 --> 33:52.910 people over to meet with the chamber of 33:52.910 --> 33:55.469 Commerce in Latvia and to talk to the 33:55.469 --> 33:58.069 businesses in Latvia , so . So we , we , 33:58.199 --> 34:01.280 we had a , a , a , a , a relationship 34:01.280 --> 34:03.479 there between not just the mili 34:03.479 --> 34:05.449 military but also for the on the 34:05.449 --> 34:09.219 civilian part of it , oh yeah , 34:09.600 --> 34:12.679 mhm . Yeah , well , one of them donated 34:12.679 --> 34:16.469 a um . A school bus 34:16.709 --> 34:20.560 to uh for the uh for for the 34:20.560 --> 34:24.500 kids , the the the the um 34:24.600 --> 34:26.767 the parents didn't want anymore or had 34:26.767 --> 34:30.360 the Um , physical problems , 34:30.570 --> 34:32.848 so we don't need a school bus for them . 34:33.050 --> 34:36.479 And then , uh , Had a lot of the 34:36.479 --> 34:39.419 businesses talked to the Latvians about 34:39.639 --> 34:41.806 about business ventures and so forth , 34:41.806 --> 34:44.379 but we actually got an airplane 34:44.929 --> 34:48.729 22 times we took a chartered airplane 34:49.129 --> 34:50.929 from Michigan to Lafayette with 34:50.929 --> 34:53.489 Michigan businessmen , business people 34:53.489 --> 34:55.378 going to the people in to see the 34:55.378 --> 34:57.211 people in Lafayette . If you can 34:57.211 --> 34:59.322 remember , I know this is really long 34:59.322 --> 35:01.545 ago , um , but do you know any like the 35:01.545 --> 35:03.711 business names that you can think of ? 35:04.280 --> 35:07.810 Um , Well , Freddie 35:07.810 --> 35:11.540 Meyer went from uh Meyers . Was one of 35:11.540 --> 35:14.750 them , uh , Chris Holman , Holman 35:14.750 --> 35:16.939 Holman Businesses was the other one 35:16.939 --> 35:20.010 that that was there . Um , 35:21.239 --> 35:23.517 from Spartan , yeah , Spartan Motoring . 35:26.719 --> 35:28.780 Yeah , no , no , 35:31.199 --> 35:33.649 yeah , yeah . 35:37.239 --> 35:39.879 And Kelly Dean from Dean Transportation 35:39.879 --> 35:42.939 was the one that donated the bus . Yeah , 35:44.709 --> 35:46.659 yeah , Dean Transportation . 35:49.639 --> 35:53.520 And as part of the uh offshoot of the 35:53.520 --> 35:55.780 partnership program , we were working 35:55.780 --> 35:58.439 with a uh children's uh 35:58.439 --> 36:01.459 rehabilitation uh center . 36:02.409 --> 36:05.969 And that was where the bus went 36:05.969 --> 36:08.620 to to help transport the children to 36:08.620 --> 36:11.889 and from um their homes to go to the 36:11.889 --> 36:15.250 center for daily uh uh treatment and 36:15.250 --> 36:18.689 schooling and and uh vocational 36:18.689 --> 36:21.169 rehabilitation , physical therapy , and 36:21.169 --> 36:25.169 that . And their roof was in very 36:25.169 --> 36:28.850 bad shape , and the people just on 36:28.850 --> 36:30.969 their own that were on that civic 36:30.969 --> 36:33.969 leader tour , um , pitched in a bunch 36:33.969 --> 36:37.050 of money and re-roofed the building for 36:37.050 --> 36:40.709 them . And uh just did a lot of other 36:40.709 --> 36:42.709 things to help the rehabilitation . 36:43.669 --> 36:45.189 Center , yeah . 36:49.100 --> 36:51.211 Well , the only other question that I 36:51.211 --> 36:53.267 had was the governor was involved as 36:53.267 --> 36:55.100 well , right ? How , how did the 36:55.100 --> 36:57.389 governor , did he support it from the 36:57.389 --> 36:59.389 beginning ? Yeah , the governor was 36:59.389 --> 37:01.445 very supportive , uh , and he , uh , 37:01.979 --> 37:05.879 actually made a trip to Latvia . And uh 37:05.879 --> 37:09.139 he and I were both uh awarded the uh 37:09.439 --> 37:12.340 the the uh honor of three stars 37:13.639 --> 37:16.600 from uh from the president of Latvia . 37:17.290 --> 37:21.270 OK . So they 37:21.270 --> 37:23.492 were um positive about the same version 37:23.492 --> 37:27.459 even from the beginning . Also