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.
我叫凱斯 • 諾蘭。
of the military.
you’d ever like to join the military?
ever since I was young.
to join the military.
such as my grandfather and great uncle,
比如我的祖父和叔公,
to serve my country.
that longing to join the military.
from high school,
with high hopes of joining the navy.
去了海軍的招募中心。
stood up and addressed me.
海軍人員站起來對我說話。
it was impossible for me to read his lips,
我完全無法讀他的唇,
and wrote down three words:
spell out "Disqualified,"
of different times, trying to join,
試圖想要加入,
I got the same response:
我們不能讓你入伍。」
and decided to become a teacher.
決定成為一名老師。
and taught for almost two years,
教了快兩年的書,
when three things occurred
a high school history class.
and I was seated at my desk,
who is deaf, approached me
to join the military.
You can’t. You're deaf.”
你不能,你有聽障。」
I had been told no, I can’t,
總是告訴我,不,我不能,
that same message
that really resonated with me.
一直在我腦中迴響。
my friend had just moved to Israel.
剛搬到以色列。
they accept deaf people into the military?
是可以從軍的嗎?
in the military, right?
to see for myself.
以色列一探究竟。
and questions I’ve compiled,
我匯編的問題及調查結果,
I’ll share with you later.
北嶺分校,我的母校,
an Army ROTC program.
Reserve Officer Training Corps,
大學儲備軍官訓練團,
their college majors
in the ROTC program.
have a military career
commission as a second lieutenant.
就可以被任命為少尉。
ROTC 計畫大致就是這樣。
program here at CSUN.
and sent an email off to the program,
電子郵件給這個計畫,
a teacher of the deaf,
a few classes with them
with my students.
time that I wasn't told,
to grab the opportunity right away
我得要馬上抓住這個機會,
and given everything I’ve read,
called “Deaf in the Military.”
叫做「軍中的聽障者」。
what those 98 pages entail.
這 98 頁論文的內容。
deaf soldiers serving in the past.
the Texas War of Independence,
named Deaf Smith,
叫德夫(聾子)史密斯,
to that war effort.
a list of deaf soldiers in that war
列出在該戰爭中的聽障士兵,
were even fighting against each other.
there are a few rare examples
into the military at that time
their country as well.
that America has had deaf soldiers,
以色列的聽障士兵。
the deaf Israeli soldiers.
in non-combat roles.
非戰鬥的角色。
on the front lines engaged in fire,
serving in supportive roles.
non-combat jobs accessible to the deaf:
可以讓聽障者擔任:
map drawing, supply,
between deaf Israeli soldiers
deaf people in general use
lip-read, gestures,
sign language and that can be utilized,
magic wand necessary.
for boot camp training.
to have an interpreter by your side.
有位手譯員在你身邊。
of small groups.
soldiers have developed
with each other,
見到的其中一位士兵。
is of Prime Minister Begin
disabled soldiers in the US Military.
美軍裡身心障礙的士兵。
and involve injury.
具危險性且隨時會受傷。
a prosthetic leg.
still fighting in Afghanistan.
仍然在阿富汗戰鬥著。
destroyed his eyesight.
毀了他的視力。
for wounded soldiers.
about another soldier,
a school for the deaf in Iraq.
成立一間聽障學校。
their disabled soldiers,
軍人繼續執勤,
disabled citizens as well?
80% are non-combat positions.
有 80% 是非戰鬥的職務。
in the Deaf community can do.
聽障族群可以做的。
I’d like to do intelligence work.
of other things we can do,
three premises to support my argument,
前提假設來支持我的論點,
openly accepts deaf soldiers.
公開接受聽障士兵。
and skills required, they’ll take you.
他們就會招募你。
has accommodations
in the military are non-combat.
是非戰鬥性質的。
serve our country?
可以為國家效命嗎?
Absolutely, without a doubt!
about my experience in the Army ROTC,
陸軍 ROTC 的經歷,
and it’s still going on now.
計畫中,現在還是。
my battalion had ever had a deaf cadet.
第一次有聽障軍校生。
wondering, initially,
how would we communicate and such,
我們要如何溝通等等,
had never interacted with a deaf person
從來沒有和聽障人士互動過,
it was the real thing, the army.
要玩真的了,軍隊。
full of military jargon,
充滿了軍中的行話,
getting to know each other
to work together, progressively.
of class, I had no uniform.
were all in uniform.
there was physical training, PT.
都有體能訓練,簡稱 PT。
field training -- labs -- off-campus,
——實驗室——在校區外,
weekend training at a military base.
each morning at 5:30,
都出現且準備好了,
and me in civilian clothes.
只有我穿便服。
you don't need to work out.
你知道嗎,你不需要鍛練。
我都想要參加。
to show up every morning to train.
早上就持續出現參加訓練。
I asked if I could do the field training.
我能否去實地演練。
they let me attend the lab,
但還是讓我去了實驗室,
to sit and watch, not participate.
marching drill commands,
how to properly salute,
in the second line,
were doing in the row ahead of me.
for me to join the ROTC program
“Hey! Uh-uh. I want you in the front.
呃,我要你到前面來。
just like the rest of them.
一樣學會聽命令。
你要自己學!」
Learn it yourself!”
giving dignity to who I am."
讓我很有尊嚴。」
I still didn’t have a uniform.
to get one, but I was told it wasn't.
但我被告知不能。
that I’d be getting a uniform.
說我會拿到一件制服。
Why? What changed?”
為什麼?什麼改變了?」
you show up every morning, dedicated,
你每早都出席、全心投入,
to get my uniform.
一雙靴子,就這樣。
and a pair of boots, nothing more.
chock-full of gear:
睡袋——應有盡有。
sleeping bag -- the whole nine yards.
and put on my uniform,
at the garrison base,
were to get injured during the training,
處理這些問題和困惑,
all those issues and confusion,
最終,他們讓我去了。
and in the end, they let me go.
我獲准能做的事情越來越多。
I was permitted to do more and more.
during one of the training days,
tandem rotors landed right down to us,
契努克直升機降落在我們面前,
exhilaration in the air.
to be getting on board.
to ride the Chinook.
if the pilot shouted out orders,
to follow the instructions?
toward the helicopter.
discussing, mulling it over.
討論和仔細考量。
“Come on! Get on the helicopter!”
「來吧!上直升機!」
It was such a thrill.
and supporting one another
他們的每一件任務,
in everything they do,
some pictures here.
that’s the name of the group I belong to.
我所屬團隊的名稱。
who oversee the ROTC program.
計畫的軍官和中士。
it was a bit of an awkward phase.
算是尷尬期。
and what I’m capable of doing,
以及我能做什麼之後,
當你們一起訓練和流汗,
well, when you train and sweat together,
of camaraderie right away.
讓他們就像家人。
makes them like family.
we learn theories of warfare,
我們學到了戰爭的理論、
how to do reconnaissance,
your way out in the mountains.
要能找到你要走的路。
I’ve been provided with interpreters
NCOD, here at CSUN.
北嶺分校給我。
at 4:30 in the morning,
那位軍官。
a few classes with us.
before class starts.
這是開始上課之前。
when we were new to training.
我們剛開始訓練。
of the entire Bruin Battalion.
it’s rather inspiring.
就覺得很受鼓舞。
you can see he’s the epitome of a soldier.
你可以看出他是軍人的典範。
and capabilities instead.
and I respect him for all that.
I almost didn’t get on.
and how to execute them ideally.
以及如何完美地執行。
a group of us went to Las Vegas
前往拉斯維加斯
troops' physical training standards.
軍隊的體態訓練標準。
marksmanship and numerous fitness events.
射擊術以及許多健身活動。
and satisfied the requirements
Proficiency Badge right here.
專科獎章,就在這裡。
Sergeant Richardson.
from any of us cadets.
我們軍校生的胡扯。
with a 40-pound rucksack
跋涉了 7 英哩半,
that I’ve developed name signs for them.
我幫他們發明了手語名字。
because he's always very sarcastic.
因為他總是很會諷刺人。
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
和阿富汗服役過。
whose nickname is "Refrigerator,"
她的暱稱是「冰箱」,
intellectually in class.
He's a top athlete.
他是頂尖運動員。
because of the scar he has here.
因為他這裡有個疤。
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
to President Obama
洛杉磯分校的演說坐無虛席。
“It’s a great pleasure to meet you.”
「很榮幸見到您。」
and said, “It’s nice to meet you,”
「很高興見到你。」
who refrained to clarify.
手譯員並沒有說明我是聽障者。
and just quickly moved on
with the rest of the soldiers.
that I'm deaf or not.
gung-ho, full speed ahead,
很有熱忱地全速前進,
which finishes up this May.
在今年五月就會結束。
you need to pass a medical exam.
so I’d fail a hearing test.
所以我的聽力測試沒有過。
to continue to the third level,
想要持續到第三級,
of the PT workouts in the morning,
nor the army base trainings.
或是陸軍基地訓練。
give back as well.
audit them, and that’s all.
and cadets have empathized
why this has to be the case.
to speak with the higher-ups
that I’m one of the top cadets,
最優秀的軍校生之一,
and receiving high marks on my exams.
考試成績也非常高。
you’re disqualified.
聽障人士,你就不合格。
to find various ways.
there's a deaf cadet at The Citadel,
西塔岱爾軍事學院,
his fourth year there
predicament that I'm in --
and the officers have told me
和軍官都告訴我
to Henry Waxman,
亨利 • 威克斯曼,
with his advocacy for my cause.
and support to lobby.
協助和支持來進行遊說。
African-Americans were told
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