Keith Nolan: Deaf in the military
Keith Nolan doesn't believe his deafness should be a barrier to serving his country -- and is making the case for increasing the role of citizens with disabilities in the military. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
My name is Keith Nolan.
Meu nome é Keith Nolan.
of the military.
you’d ever like to join the military?
em entrar para o exército?
ever since I was young.
to join the military.
such as my grandfather and great uncle,
como meu avô e meu tio-avô,
to serve my country.
that longing to join the military.
de entrar para o exército.
from high school,
no ensino médio,
with high hopes of joining the navy.
com a expectativa de entrar na marinha.
stood up and addressed me.
levantou-se e dirigiu-se a mim.
it was impossible for me to read his lips,
era impossível fazer leitura labial,
and wrote down three words:
spell out "Disqualified,"
of different times, trying to join,
I got the same response:
Não podemos aceitá-lo".
and decided to become a teacher.
and taught for almost two years,
para surdos e ensinei por quase dois anos,
when three things occurred
mudaram o meu rumo.
a high school history class.
história no ensino médio.
and I was seated at my desk,
who is deaf, approached me
to join the military.
você não pode. Você é surdo".
You can’t. You're deaf.”
I had been told no, I can’t,
that same message
essa mensagem para a próxima geração.
that really resonated with me.
e realmente ressoou dentro de mim.
my friend had just moved to Israel.
foi que meu amigo se mudou para Israel.
they accept deaf people into the military?
pessoas surdas no serviço militar?
in the military, right?
to see for myself.
para ter certeza.
and questions I’ve compiled,
e perguntas foram compiladas
I’ll share with you later.
Universidade do Estado da Califórnia,
an Army ROTC program.
Reserve Officer Training Corps,
Preparatório de Oficiais da Reserva,
their college majors
in the ROTC program.
have a military career
têm uma carreira militar pronta,
commission as a second lieutenant.
responder como segundo coronel.
program here at CSUN.
and sent an email off to the program,
um e-mail para o programa,
a teacher of the deaf,
a few classes with them
with my students.
time that I wasn't told,
foi a primeira vez que não falaram:
que tinha que aproveitar a oportunidade
to grab the opportunity right away
and given everything I’ve read,
e lido tantos livros,
called “Deaf in the Military.”
"Surdez no Exército".
what those 98 pages entail.
deaf soldiers serving in the past.
surdos servindo no passado.
the Texas War of Independence,
named Deaf Smith,
to that war effort.
a list of deaf soldiers in that war
uma lista de soldados surdos nessa guerra
were even fighting against each other.
também lutaram uns contra os outros.
there are a few rare examples
há raros exemplos
into the military at that time
entrar nas Forças Armadas
their country as well.
that America has had deaf soldiers,
soldados surdos, ao contrário de hoje.
the deaf Israeli soldiers.
sobre os soldados israelenses.
in non-combat roles.
em funções sem combate.
on the front lines engaged in fire,
na linha de frente em batalha,
serving in supportive roles.
em funções de suporte.
acessíveis para pessoas surdas:
non-combat jobs accessible to the deaf:
map drawing, supply,
cartógrafo, suprimentos,
between deaf Israeli soldiers
os soldados surdos israelenses
deaf people in general use
falam com os ouvintes normalmente.
lip-read, gestures,
sign language and that can be utilized,
de sinais e isso pode ser utilizado,
computador, e-mail;
magic wand necessary.
for boot camp training.
no campo de treinamento.
to have an interpreter by your side.
não é preciso ter um intérprete ao lado.
of small groups.
por pequenos grupos.
soldiers have developed
with each other,
é de um soldado que conheci.
is of Prime Minister Begin
é do primeiro-ministro Begin
disabled soldiers in the US Military.
deficientes do exército norte-americano.
and involve injury.
perigoso e envolve ferimentos.
a prosthetic leg.
still fighting in Afghanistan.
lutando no Afeganistão.
destroyed his eyesight.
destruiu a sua visão.
for wounded soldiers.
para soldados feridos.
about another soldier,
que é surdo de apenas um lado.
a school for the deaf in Iraq.
a uma escola para surdos no Iraque.
their disabled soldiers,
manter os soldados deficientes,
disabled citizens as well?
os cidadãos deficientes também?
80% are non-combat positions.
in the Deaf community can do.
da comunidade surda, podemos fazer.
I’d like to do intelligence work.
gostaria de trabalhar na inteligência.
of other things we can do,
que podemos fazer,
three premises to support my argument,
para basear meu argumento.
openly accepts deaf soldiers.
aceita soldados surdos abertamente.
and skills required, they’ll take you.
necessárias, você será aceito.
has accommodations
acordos para reter soldados deficientes.
in the military are non-combat.
no exército são sem combate.
serve our country?
podem servir nosso país?
Absolutely, without a doubt!
about my experience in the Army ROTC,
minha experiência no CPOR,
and it’s still going on now.
my battalion had ever had a deaf cadet.
que meu batalhão tem um cadete surdo.
wondering, initially,
questionaram no início,
how would we communicate and such,
como nos comunicaríamos,
had never interacted with a deaf person
interagiu com uma pessoa surda antes.
it was the real thing, the army.
o exército agora era real.
full of military jargon,
cheio de jargões militares,
getting to know each other
nos conhecendo primeiro
to work together, progressively.
de forma progressiva.
of class, I had no uniform.
eu não tinha uniforme.
were all in uniform.
there was physical training, PT.
às 5h30, havia treinamento físico.
field training -- labs -- off-campus,
laboratório, fora do campus,
weekend training at a military base.
aos finais de semana em uma base militar.
each morning at 5:30,
and me in civilian clothes.
e eu com roupas normais.
you don't need to work out.
nos treinos todos os dias.
to show up every morning to train.
se poderia treinar em campo.
I asked if I could do the field training.
they let me attend the lab,
participar do laboratório,
to sit and watch, not participate.
e assistir, não poderia participar.
marching drill commands,
comandos de marcha,
how to properly salute,
como saudar apropriadamente,
in the second line,
were doing in the row ahead of me.
na fileira à minha frente.
for me to join the ROTC program
para eu participar do programa CPOR
“Hey! Uh-uh. I want you in the front.
"Quero você na frente.
just like the rest of them.
assim como os demais.
Aprenda sozinho".
Learn it yourself!”
dando dignidade a quem sou".
giving dignity to who I am."
I still didn’t have a uniform.
e ainda não tinha uniforme.
to get one, but I was told it wasn't.
mas disseram que não.
that I’d be getting a uniform.
que receberia o uniforme.
Why? What changed?”
you show up every morning, dedicated,
você aparece todo dia, é dedicado,
to get my uniform.
and a pair of boots, nothing more.
e um par de botas, nada mais.
chock-full of gear:
sleeping bag -- the whole nine yards.
tudo que tinha direito.
and put on my uniform,
e coloco meu uniforme,
at the garrison base,
na base da guarnição,
were to get injured during the training,
seria um problema de responsabilidade.
problemas e confusões,
all those issues and confusion,
and in the end, they let me go.
eu podia fazer cada vez mais.
I was permitted to do more and more.
na base da guarnição,
during one of the training days,
tandem rotors landed right down to us,
com dupla hélice pousou,
exhilaration in the air.
e deixando todos eufóricos.
to be getting on board.
to ride the Chinook.
if the pilot shouted out orders,
to follow the instructions?
toward the helicopter.
dirigiam-se ao helicóptero.
discussing, mulling it over.
discutindo, ponderando.
“Come on! Get on the helicopter!”
"Venha logo. Entre no helicóptero".
It was such a thrill.
Foi muito emocionante.
and supporting one another
um ao outro que falou mais alto.
que eles fazem, sem separação.
in everything they do,
some pictures here.
that’s the name of the group I belong to.
Este é o nome do grupo ao qual pertenço.
who oversee the ROTC program.
que supervisionam o programa CPOR.
it was a bit of an awkward phase.
and what I’m capable of doing,
a meu respeito e do que sou capaz,
quando se treina e sua junto,
well, when you train and sweat together,
of camaraderie right away.
makes them like family.
nos torna uma família.
we learn theories of warfare,
aprendemos teorias de guerra,
how to do reconnaissance,
como praticar reconhecimento,
your way out in the mountains.
uma forma de escapar das montanhas.
I’ve been provided with interpreters
providenciaram intérpretes
NCOD, here at CSUN.
aqui na universidade.
at 4:30 in the morning,
a few classes with us.
algumas aulas conosco".
before class starts.
when we were new to training.
nós éramos novos no treino.
of the entire Bruin Battalion.
de todo o batalhão Bruin.
it’s rather inspiring.
you can see he’s the epitome of a soldier.
ver que ele é a epítome do soldado.
and capabilities instead.
and I respect him for all that.
I almost didn’t get on.
no qual eu quase não entrei.
and how to execute them ideally.
e a melhor maneira de executá-los.
a group of us went to Las Vegas
para Las Vegas competir em um teste
troops' physical training standards.
ao padrão de treino físico alemão.
marksmanship and numerous fitness events.
pontaria e diversas outras atividades.
and satisfied the requirements
Proficiency Badge right here.
das Forças Armadas Alemãs.
Sergeant Richardson.
sargento Richardson.
from any of us cadets.
bobagem de nenhum dos cadetes.
with a 40-pound rucksack
com 18 quilos na mochila
that I’ve developed name signs for them.
que desenvolvi sinais para eles.
because he's always very sarcastic.
é sempre muito sarcástico.
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
no Iraque e Afeganistão.
whose nickname is "Refrigerator,"
intellectually in class.
intelectualmente em sala.
He's a top athlete.
Ele é um ótimo atleta.
because of the scar he has here.
à cicatriz que ele possui.
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
to President Obama
do presidente Obama
“It’s a great pleasure to meet you.”
"É um prazer conhecê-lo".
and said, “It’s nice to meet you,”
e disse: "É um prazer conhecê-lo",
que esclareceu.
who refrained to clarify.
and just quickly moved on
a apertar as mãos dos demais soldados.
with the rest of the soldiers.
that I'm deaf or not.
gung-ho, full speed ahead,
which finishes up this May.
que terminam em maio.
you need to pass a medical exam.
em um exame médico.
so I’d fail a hearing test.
to continue to the third level,
subir para o terceiro nível,
of the PT workouts in the morning,
dos treinos físicos de manhã.
nor the army base trainings.
ou os treinos nas bases militares.
give back as well.
audit them, and that’s all.
and cadets have empathized
se solidarizaram
de desapontamento,
why this has to be the case.
to speak with the higher-ups
com os superiores na cadeia de comando
that I’m one of the top cadets,
um dos melhores cadetes,
and receiving high marks on my exams.
e recebido ótimas notas nos exames.
you’re disqualified.
está desclassificado.
to find various ways.
tentou achar soluções.
there's a deaf cadet at The Citadel,
his fourth year there
predicament that I'm in --
and the officers have told me
disseram para eu não desistir.
com meu congressista
to Henry Waxman,
with his advocacy for my cause.
and support to lobby.
de todos para lobby.
African-Americans were told
da história norte-americana,
que não poderiam servir, agora servem.
mas agora têm permissão.
but now they've been allowed.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Keith Nolan - TeacherKeith Nolan doesn't believe his deafness should be a barrier to serving his country -- and is making the case for increasing the role of citizens with disabilities in the military.
Why you should listen
Keith Nolan was told that he couldn’t enlist in the army because he was deaf -- but he didn’t take no for an answer. After he finally convinced a commander to let him audit ROTC classes, he proved himself a top student and earned his uniform. Although a standard military hearing test prevents him from enlisting, his continued fight has inspired many would-be soldiers with disabilities -- and a vigorous online campaign on his behalf.
Keith Nolan | Speaker | TED.com