West Point Cadet on Leadership

00:00:00:04 – 00:00:03:50
David Martin
This is the good government show.

00:00:03:54 – 00:00:10:44
Aditya Kansal
Duty is what we do. Honor is how we do it in countries for whom we do it for.

00:00:10:49 – 00:00:23:24
Aditya Kansal
We don’t swear an oath to defend any single person or any single office. We swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

00:00:23:29 – 00:00:32:36
Aditya Kansal
Everything I do is for the betterment of other people, and I truly have what I like to call a people oriented purpose.

00:00:32:41 – 00:00:39:31
Aditya Kansal
Good government is good people, and as long as we have good people in government, it’ll stay good.

00:00:39:36 – 00:00:53:18
Aditya Kansal
To talk with these mayors was truly an unparalleled experience, because we’re not talking about political divisions or appeasing one side or the other. We’re talking about what do their communities need and how can we make it more values oriented.

00:00:53:23 – 00:00:58:34
Aditya Kansal
Good government is a government that cares.

00:00:58:39 – 00:01:01:56
Aditya Kansal
Just have a conversation. It’s so simple.

00:01:02:01 – 00:01:24:30
David Martin
Wow. That’s really the best word I can use to describe my conversation with Boise Point cadet Aditya Consul. If all the cadets of the US Military Academy or anything like Aditya, the future of the military is in very good hands. Be prepared to be impressed. I was welcome to the good government show. I’m Dave Martin. First, help us share the message of good government by liking us and sharing us where we are on social media.

00:01:24:33 – 00:01:41:25
David Martin
Make sure of us and share our show everywhere. We all need to talk about good government. So every year cadets from West Point attend the annual Conference of Mayors Winter meeting held in Washington, DC. The cadets talk to the mayors and the mayors talk to them. This year I got to talk to one of those cadets. His name is Aditya Consul.

00:01:41:29 – 00:02:00:52
David Martin
We talked about leadership, and I got a student’s view on government today. Since it’s right around Memorial Day, we thought hearing from a future military leader would be timely. There’s so much to be impressed by with this cadet, but listen to his thoughts on leadership. I can tell you, because I was there a ditty and his fellow cadets impress the mayors and the mayors in turn inspired the cadets.

00:02:00:52 – 00:02:11:08
David Martin
So coming up, my conversation with future Army officer, West Point Cadet Platoon Sergeant Aditya Gonzales.

00:02:11:13 – 00:02:37:57
David Martin
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00:02:37:57 – 00:03:02:20
David Martin
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00:03:02:25 – 00:03:11:24
David Martin
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00:03:11:29 – 00:03:30:01
David Martin
Once you wrap up this episode of The Good Government Show, give a listen to our friends over at Good News for lefties. This daily podcast highlights news stories that show there’s more good news out there. Other people in government are really trying to do the right thing. That’s good news for lefties. Listen where you’re listening now.

00:03:30:06 – 00:03:42:20
David Martin
Welcome to the Good Government show. I have with me a first for the good government. Show someone who’s not in government. Really? Not yet anyway. DD cancel. You’re a junior at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

00:03:42:22 – 00:03:42:46
Aditya Kansal
Yes, sir.

00:03:42:49 – 00:03:44:41
David Martin
You are our first West Pointer. Welcome to the show.

00:03:44:41 – 00:03:46:20
Aditya Kansal
Thank you very much. So I want to be here.

00:03:46:22 – 00:04:04:30
David Martin
The reason why we have you is every year, Frank Luz brings West Pointers here to the Conference of Mayors to talk. And you were just in a session. And the session was about leadership. Correct. So what do you, a junior at West Point, have to tell America’s mayors about leadership?

00:04:04:35 – 00:04:25:03
Aditya Kansal
You know, it’s about perspective. For us, leadership entails a lot of different opportunities. And the way that I described it to the mayors this morning was that leadership is an opportunity to serve. It’s an opportunity to serve the people around us, to serve our communities, and to ultimately serve ourselves as we better and develop ourselves as a human beings in our communities.

00:04:25:05 – 00:04:26:48
David Martin
That is.

00:04:26:53 – 00:04:28:07
Aditya Kansal
I mean, nutshell.

00:04:28:10 – 00:04:29:15
David Martin
That’s quite a lot, right?

00:04:29:17 – 00:04:44:11
Aditya Kansal
It it is. And it’s it’s all shaped through experience. I mean, leadership is constantly something that we’re learning from. It’s not a title that’s earned or given. It’s a title that comes from hard work and lessons learned in failures and Mistakes made. And that’s why we’re all here.

00:04:44:11 – 00:04:47:59
David Martin
So what lessons have you learned in your three years at West Point so far about leadership?

00:04:47:59 – 00:05:06:58
Aditya Kansal
The biggest one to me is that it’s a constant learning environment. But but I’ll say that my leadership philosophy has been drastically shaped from my experiences. And it’s boiled down to three things. It’s boiled down to presence, accountability and transparency. And that’s who I strive to be as leader, a leader who’s present, who’s accountable and who’s completely transparent to those who he leads.

00:05:07:00 – 00:05:12:17
David Martin
And right now, your rank, you said, is a cadet platoon sergeant. What’s that? What does that mean?

00:05:12:22 – 00:05:34:01
Aditya Kansal
So right now I have the opportunity to directly lead and oversee the actions of about 30 individuals, fellow cadets, making sure that they’re taken care of academically, physically and militarily, but also that they’re performing within the jobs that their assigned, everything from military development to physical development. We have people who are in charge of the spirit and morale.

00:05:34:06 – 00:05:37:42
Aditya Kansal
And so I run the staff platoon or the headquarters platoon of our company.

00:05:37:56 – 00:05:41:49
David Martin
The closest I’ve ever gotten to leadership has been the captain of my rugby team on the field.

00:05:41:58 – 00:05:42:51
Aditya Kansal
That’s pretty good too.

00:05:42:53 – 00:05:48:03
David Martin
No no no no no. So how do you lead? What’s your leadership philosophy personally?

00:05:48:05 – 00:05:51:43
Aditya Kansal
Like I said, those three words are presence, accountability and transparency.

00:05:51:48 – 00:05:53:33
David Martin
And how do you live that well.

00:05:53:41 – 00:06:08:47
Aditya Kansal
Well let’s start with presents. I want to be there I want to be with you. I want to be by your side. I want to be involved in what you’re doing. And I want to see see you through to the conclusion. I want to see you succeed. Accountability. I’m not going to ask you to do anything that I wouldn’t ask myself to do, and that I wouldn’t do myself.

00:06:08:49 – 00:06:17:25
Aditya Kansal
You know, it boils down to if I make a mistake, I’m going to take accountability for it. And I’m going to I’m going to show you the right answer. I’m going to do the best thing I can going forward.

00:06:17:25 – 00:06:19:01
David Martin
So that’s leadership by example.

00:06:19:06 – 00:06:31:58
Aditya Kansal
Absolutely. And then transparency, if if there’s something I know that you don’t, I want to make sure that you know it too. I’m not going to keep any secrets from you. I want to make sure that there’s open communication and that you can trust me to tell you everything that you need to know in order to succeed.

00:06:32:00 – 00:06:37:30
David Martin
Have any of the younger officers who work with stumped you and and have you learned from them?

00:06:37:31 – 00:07:00:34
Aditya Kansal
I think there’s a West Point, a beautiful place to to go to school, because I’m surrounded by examples of both good and bad leadership at the time. And, you know, I get to I get to look at people and I get to say, you know, as a freshman or what we call plebs, I got to look at people and say, okay, you’re emulating a type of leadership that I don’t really want to keep around, but other people I could look at and say, wow, this is the type of leader I want to be.

00:07:00:37 – 00:07:10:34
Aditya Kansal
And ultimately you become what I like to call a mosaic. You become a mosaic of leadership, and it’s crafted by not only the experiences that you’ve had, but the people that you’ve been around all this time.

00:07:10:36 – 00:07:17:09
David Martin
The session was actually called duty, honor, and Country. From a West Point cadets perspective, what do the Americas mayors ask you?

00:07:17:12 – 00:07:31:59
Aditya Kansal
Well, they asked us what we could do and how we could be integrating the communities, just as we asked them what we can do, how we can do more for them. You said duty, honor, country. For us, it’s you know, duty is what we do. Honor is how we do it in countries for whom we do it for.

00:07:32:04 – 00:07:42:01
Aditya Kansal
It boils down those three words. You know, they can be unpacked and unraveled into so much more, and we hope that we can share those values with these mayors that are here today and throughout the rest of the week.

00:07:42:03 – 00:07:51:10
David Martin
You’re a college junior, right? Yeah. I mean, at the end of the day, you’re a college junior, and these mayors are all looking at you for answers, right? How did how intimidating or were you fine.

00:07:51:12 – 00:08:07:35
Aditya Kansal
No, I mean, I was comfortable. I’ve been I’ve been blessed to be able to do this before. And I think, you know what’s unique about mayors that is unlike any other government officials that I’ve had the opportunity to deal with is that they transcend political division. Right? Because at the end of the day, it’s about their communities. It’s about what their communities need.

00:08:07:37 – 00:08:30:48
Aditya Kansal
It’s about sanitation or parks or schools or education or health care, whatever it is, it’s not about Republican or Democrat or independent or Green Party or Libertarian Party. It transcends all of that. And so just to talk with these mayors was truly unparalleled experience, because we’re not talking about political divisions or appeasing one side or the other. We’re talking about what do their communities need and how can we make it more values oriented.

00:08:30:48 – 00:08:43:28
David Martin
What is the feeling speaking for every single West Point cadet? What is the feeling right now about what you’re seeing in government? You know, you’re all college kids and you’re but but you’re all headed to a career in the Army, right?

00:08:43:30 – 00:09:01:17
Aditya Kansal
You know, and it’s hard that I’m not going to I won’t speak on behalf of every cadet because, you know, I’m not one, and I. I can’t speak on behalf of senior leaders or or anything like that. But at the end of the day, the government, we don’t swear an oath to defend any single person or any single office.

00:09:01:20 – 00:09:17:48
Aditya Kansal
We swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That is the oath that we swear. So it’s not really about, you know, what is happening in our government or what who is happening in our government or who they’re saying or what they’re saying. It’s more about the oath that we swear, the values that we uphold.

00:09:17:48 – 00:09:26:42
Aditya Kansal
And we hope that regardless of what’s happening in this present moment, that we can maintain those values and carry them out into the future for to share with anyone and everyone.

00:09:26:45 – 00:09:28:16
David Martin
What made you decide to go to West Point?

00:09:28:16 – 00:09:46:51
Aditya Kansal
It boils down to I start out as a people oriented purpose going into high school, and I did very well in high school. Everyone at West Point did everyone, but it all felt very selfish. It didn’t feel like I was going anywhere with it. It felt like I would get a job or go to college, and I would work for myself at West Point.

00:09:46:51 – 00:09:58:28
Aditya Kansal
I’m able to work for others and I’m able to become a better person for it. So maybe in a way it’s self-serving, but at the same time, everything I do is for the betterment of other people, and I truly have what I like to call a people oriented purpose.

00:09:58:31 – 00:10:01:52
David Martin
Do you think that’s representative of most of the cadets at West Point.

00:10:01:55 – 00:10:19:54
Aditya Kansal
Whether they know it or not? Yes. You know, I think West Point truly is a community of some of the most brilliant people I’ve ever had the opportunity to share a classroom with, to share a meal table with, to walk alongside with, because they’re all united by one thing. It’s an obligation to serve. It’s a desire to serve our country.

00:10:19:54 – 00:10:33:16
Aditya Kansal
That’s what unites us all. It’s not our backgrounds. It’s not our GPAs. It’s not our valedictorian status or our captains of sport team. It’s the fact that we all have a strong and burning sensation to serve our country and work towards the betterment of its people.

00:10:33:17 – 00:10:39:45
David Martin
So you had a little chance to interact with some of the mayors here. What’s your overall feeling about what you’re seeing from the mayors here at the conference?

00:10:39:45 – 00:10:56:47
Aditya Kansal
They’re excited, and that makes me excited. They’re enthused about going back to their communities with lessons that they learn here from all of their colleagues, and hopefully making it a better place for the people that live there. And that makes me excited, makes me hopeful for the future of local government and the future for the United States as a whole.

00:10:56:49 – 00:10:59:42
David Martin
And do you feel a little bit better about government today as a result of this?

00:10:59:44 – 00:11:11:14
Aditya Kansal
Always, I mean, I always do. I wake up, I wake up every morning. One of the biggest lessons that we learned in that room today was about optimism. You know, a mayor said, hey, remain optimistic, remain confident in the fact that tomorrow can be better than today.

00:11:11:14 – 00:11:13:07
David Martin
And that can be hard to do sometimes.

00:11:13:17 – 00:11:25:33
Aditya Kansal
Absolutely. But I wake up every morning confident that the American government was designed for a reason, that people were put there for a reason, and that the right people will continue to lead and that they will continue to prosper, and that the United States will continue to do so as well.

00:11:25:35 – 00:11:28:25
David Martin
Do you wake up every morning and then run five miles?

00:11:28:30 – 00:11:42:46
Aditya Kansal
Well, I, I ran my two miles last night at around 11:30 p.m. after we, you know, we drove from West Point to D.C. yesterday, left around 530, got in around 1045 or 2245, as we say.

00:11:42:46 – 00:11:49:05
David Martin
And I would just like to point out, there’s snow on the ground here at Washington. We were part of this in February and nobody seems to allow the.

00:11:49:05 – 00:12:07:09
Aditya Kansal
Streets well. So Colonel Nat and I are oh, I see, we both we both hit our runs last night right before we went to bed. You know, he’s got he’s got a streak that he’s been maintaining since 2015 of running two miles every day. Really way more impressive than me. I’ve just been getting right back into running. And so I wanted to make sure that I stayed on schedule.

00:12:07:09 – 00:12:20:22
Aditya Kansal
And so I hit my run. I’m going to hit my lift tonight after we finish up our events today. So, you know, it’s all part of the discipline and it’s all part of the the commitment towards becoming a better individual who’s one day going to be responsible for soldiers and America’s sons and daughters.

00:12:20:25 – 00:12:26:34
David Martin
More than a few West Point graduates have gone on to be president of the United States and other offices. Anything you’ve considered?

00:12:26:36 – 00:12:27:19
Aditya Kansal
Absolutely.

00:12:27:22 – 00:12:28:10
David Martin
Oh, truly?

00:12:28:12 – 00:12:28:34
Aditya Kansal
Yeah.

00:12:28:41 – 00:12:30:05
David Martin
Do you want to be president of United States?

00:12:30:05 – 00:12:45:52
Aditya Kansal
I don’t know. I mean, I think the American people need to want it for me. Okay. You know, it’s not necessarily a job that I’m of the belief that politics isn’t something that we should go into for the money, and it’s not something that we should go into wanting the job, necessarily. But sometimes it’s our expertise or our skills or our leadership that’s required.

00:12:45:52 – 00:12:56:27
Aditya Kansal
And when when we’re called to do that job, that’s when I’ll follow. But for now, my calling is in the military. It’s to lead America’s sons and daughters into combat. And that’s what I’m excited to do, and that’s what I’m preparing for.

00:12:56:30 – 00:12:58:55
David Martin
What are you preparing for in the military? What’s your what’s your career path?

00:12:58:56 – 00:13:19:14
Aditya Kansal
I’d like to branch aviation or infantry. So either fly helicopters or, you know. Completely different, very, very different things. But I know that I want to pursue a profession in combat arms because it’s where the greatest risk is. And it’s where I spent some time with a unit in Germany under Lieutenant Henderson, truly a good friend of mine, a good mentor of mine.

00:13:19:14 – 00:13:33:42
Aditya Kansal
And I saw that a lot of America’s soldiers rely on their officers, or I look up to their officers for for advice, for guidance, for support. And I want to be someone that my soldiers can go to constantly. And I saw that in Lieutenant Henderson while I spent time in Germany.

00:13:33:44 – 00:13:35:37
David Martin
Jenny, the mayor surprised you with their questions?

00:13:35:39 – 00:13:54:07
Aditya Kansal
Not necessarily, but they surprised me with some of their insights. We had one mayor list off the seven key traits that a leader should have. Everything from giving more than you take and remaining positive. But it was good to hear those, because a lot of the lot of the values that these mayors have are very similar to what we’ve we’ve been taught here at West Point.

00:13:54:09 – 00:14:00:59
Aditya Kansal
And it’s nice to see that congruence between local government leadership philosophies and military leadership philosophies.

00:14:01:02 – 00:14:05:14
David Martin
Are you, in your classmates, optimistic about government at the federal level and at the local level?

00:14:05:14 – 00:14:15:13
Aditya Kansal
I think it’s a spectrum. It’s tricky. My classmates and I don’t always get the opportunity to interact with local government as much as we probably could or should. Right. And that’s because, you know, maybe that’s.

00:14:15:13 – 00:14:16:39
David Martin
Just you’re a little busy, right?

00:14:16:42 – 00:14:18:27
Aditya Kansal
You know, from the from the morning.

00:14:18:30 – 00:14:29:12
David Martin
But you read the papers. I mean, you see what’s going on, you know, and you’re, you’re, you’re here at the US Military Academy, but you know, what’s going on in the world. You know what’s going on in the nation. I mean, is it. Are you able to keep optimistic?

00:14:29:15 – 00:14:46:16
Aditya Kansal
There’s times where there will be fears, right? And things will happen in the news and things will happen in government. And it makes us wary of what will our role be, what will we be asked to do? But at the end of the day, there’s a test. There’s the three prong test is the order that we receive illegal, unethical or immoral.

00:14:46:16 – 00:14:53:47
Aditya Kansal
And if it is, then we have this sworn obligation not to follow that order. And that’s a that’s that’s something that I plan to uphold. Right. Officers.

00:14:53:49 – 00:15:00:56
David Martin
I wasn’t going to bring that up. And you did. I mean, there’s a little controversy about what Senator Kelly said. Have you guys talked about that at school?

00:15:00:56 – 00:15:02:01
Aditya Kansal
That’s a political thing.

00:15:02:03 – 00:15:02:15
David Martin
Okay.

00:15:02:20 – 00:15:18:57
Aditya Kansal
Right. We’re going to maintain nonpartisan, apolitical. It’s not apolitical. It’s nonpartisan because we study politics, we understand politics, and we allow we’re allowed to formulate our opinions and discuss them in the classroom. But that’s not necessarily something that needs to be shared beyond that, right? I think.

00:15:19:02 – 00:15:19:33
David Martin
Fair enough.

00:15:19:36 – 00:15:32:30
Aditya Kansal
Fair enough. At the end of the day, officers at every echelon in every hierarchy are expected to maintain their integrity, right, regardless of what the situation is. And so I’m wary of the conversation topic.

00:15:32:37 – 00:15:35:39
David Martin
No, that’s okay. That is a great answer. I don’t want to.

00:15:35:44 – 00:15:36:30
Aditya Kansal
Take it too far.

00:15:36:35 – 00:15:49:58
David Martin
No, no, no, I think that’s a great answer. And I think I think you’ve got a good perspective on that. So we’re going to we’re going to ask you just a few questions. I usually as these of mayors, but I’m going to ask you as well.

00:15:50:02 – 00:16:13:51
David Martin
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00:16:13:51 – 00:16:25:34
David Martin
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00:16:25:39 – 00:16:54:44
David Martin
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00:16:54:49 – 00:17:00:46
David Martin
So we have this thing called the Good Government Show Questionnaire. I have never asked this as a college student. Let’s give it a try.

00:17:00:49 – 00:17:01:41
Aditya Kansal
I’m excited. Let’s do it.

00:17:01:44 – 00:17:03:39
David Martin
Our first question is what is good government?

00:17:03:41 – 00:17:10:46
Aditya Kansal
Good people? It boils down to good people. They said that in our conference today, good government is good people. And as long as we have good people in government, it’ll stay good.

00:17:10:48 – 00:17:23:04
David Martin
When people are frustrated, well, they don’t like that. They see about government, you know, what should they do? Especially young people. You know, people, your classmates. I’m sure you have friends in other colleges, you know, what can they do or how what would you suggest? They do.

00:17:23:07 – 00:17:26:11
Aditya Kansal
Have hope and have conversations. There’s plenty of times where.

00:17:26:14 – 00:17:27:35
David Martin
I close back to you being optimistic.

00:17:27:37 – 00:17:43:32
Aditya Kansal
Yeah, yeah. I mean, there’s plenty of times where I’m frustrated about what I see, but I go to my friends and we talk about it. We just say, hey, what’s going on? Did you read the news? Let’s talk about it. Let’s figure out why this happened. Let’s figure out what we don’t know and try and make more sense of the situation before jumping to conclusions, before going in the streets and making noise.

00:17:43:32 – 00:17:55:33
Aditya Kansal
Let’s just have a conversation. Let’s talk about it, and let’s not be afraid to disagree. One of the best things you can do is go up to someone you know you’re going to disagree with and say, hey, can we sit down and have a conversation? I want to understand your viewpoint, right? I want you to understand my viewpoint.

00:17:55:36 – 00:18:00:38
Aditya Kansal
I want to share those. Let’s compare those. Let’s talk. Just have a conversation. It’s so simple.

00:18:00:43 – 00:18:02:20
David Martin
It sounds simple doesn’t.

00:18:02:25 – 00:18:17:49
Aditya Kansal
But but it really is. And you know, maybe at West Point it’s because we’re united by a common uniform and a common goal that I’m able to sit across someone who I can completely disagree with and have a civil conversation. But if our communities can have more civil conversation, I mean, we’re blind to the to the power that that can have.

00:18:17:51 – 00:18:21:13
David Martin
What what drew you to West Point? What made you say, this is the place for me.

00:18:21:15 – 00:18:35:36
Aditya Kansal
The opportunity to serve. Opportunity to serve. Opportunity for independence. I felt one of the biggest reasons why I’m at West Point is because I felt as though my parents had given so much, sacrificed so much to raise me, to bring me to the point where I’m at. And I didn’t feel like it was right for me to take more.

00:18:35:36 – 00:18:49:47
Aditya Kansal
So I don’t want to go to a school that was going to cost them an arm and a leg, even though they were more than willing to pay. I felt like it was time for me to take the reins of my future and declare a little bit of my own independence, so that I can start to give back to them just a fraction of how much they’ve given to me.

00:18:49:49 – 00:18:54:51
David Martin
So just if you can’t just kind of run through your highlights of your career so far at West Point.

00:18:54:54 – 00:19:13:47
Aditya Kansal
Yeah. So, you know, started as a plea. We went through basic training after my first year of academics. I did cadet field training, and then I went to Air Assault Training, Air Assault School, where I earned the coveted Air Assault Wings. Okay. Yeah. Entails sling load operations from Black Hawk helicopters. After that, I traveled to the story.

00:19:13:49 – 00:19:15:09
David Martin
You decided you wanted to fly them?

00:19:15:09 – 00:19:27:42
Aditya Kansal
Pretty much. I think so, yeah, yeah. And then I traveled to Estonia for two weeks, where I went to the NATO French language school and earned a certification as a certified French speaker, per the NATO standard Wow, alongside reserve officers from all over the world.

00:19:27:45 – 00:19:31:40
David Martin
How’s your French?

00:19:31:44 – 00:19:50:43
Aditya Kansal
And going into my sophomore year, I had the opportunity to travel a lot, see the world, and the summer of my. After my sophomore year, I spent three weeks at the Pentagon, where I worked with the office of the Judge Advocate General and the National Security Law Division. And, you know, we got I was there when the United States bombed Iran.

00:19:50:43 – 00:19:55:02
Aditya Kansal
I was there at some pretty pivotal moments in United States modern history.

00:19:55:17 – 00:19:57:26
David Martin
But I didn’t hear you say, I want to be a lawyer. I.

00:19:57:40 – 00:19:57:59
Aditya Kansal
You know, and.

00:19:58:00 – 00:20:01:02
David Martin
I heard artillery, infantry, and I heard.

00:20:01:07 – 00:20:23:13
Aditya Kansal
So I’m studying law in legal studies at West Point. And I think ultimately my my passion for the law comes from an opportunity to understand the law so that I can ultimately make it work for the American people. You know, I want to improve the rules and the regulations that we have in our country so that more and more people can, can live the same life that I’ve had the the true blessing to have lived.

00:20:23:13 – 00:20:51:13
Aditya Kansal
And so I spent three weeks there understanding national security law, how we approach it, how it’s bound by the Constitution and truly based my the rest of my legal education and what I hope to be the Constitution for the rest of my life. And then I had the opportunity to to go to Germany, like I mentioned earlier, where I shadowed a the platoon leader of an infantry platoon, and I was there for a combined arms live fire exercise, or what they call a truly incredible opportunity.

00:20:51:20 – 00:21:14:57
Aditya Kansal
So much planning and coordination and the level of expertise that exists in just that 18 year old soldier who’s right on, pretty much on the front lines. They’re in Germany right there. The they’ll be the first to respond if something goes down. And the level of expertise, motivation, lethality that you can see in an 18 year old soldier from God knows where in the United States is amazing.

00:21:14:57 – 00:21:23:52
Aditya Kansal
And it’s an honor that I it’s not said enough. How how much of an honor it is that I’ve been trusted to lead soldiers like that one day.

00:21:23:59 – 00:21:27:30
David Martin
What would you like people to know about the makeup of the student body at West Point?

00:21:27:30 – 00:21:45:32
Aditya Kansal
We come from all over the place. I mean, we are truly a representative population of the United States of America. It’s a goal of the United States Military Academy to have a student from every congressional district not necessarily met all the time, but, you know, you can look back decades and see that every congressional district is represented at West Point.

00:21:45:34 – 00:21:53:45
Aditya Kansal
And it’s because every congressional district is represented in the soldiers in America, sons and daughters that fight and make up the formations of our United States Army.

00:21:53:48 – 00:21:56:14
David Martin
What’s your favorite thing about being cadet at West Point?

00:21:56:17 – 00:22:13:27
Aditya Kansal
The people I it’s the reason I stayed you know, the reason I joined, we’ve discussed already, but the reason I stayed is, is completely different. And it’s because of the people that I’ve been able to meet and the opportunities I’ve been able to have, like being here, sitting. You know, sitting, sitting with you today and being at the mayor’s conference.

00:22:13:32 – 00:22:18:46
Aditya Kansal
Well thank you. Yeah. Truly an honor that that you got to come up to me and we got to have a chat.

00:22:18:49 – 00:22:23:27
David Martin
Well, I’m honored to have you on. It’s good. It’s great to talk to you. What’s the hardest part about being a West Point?

00:22:23:36 – 00:22:50:59
Aditya Kansal
The lack of sleep. You know, I was. Time management is tricky. And West Point is specifically designed to give you 26 hours of things to do in a 24 hour day. And that’s before you start sleeping and eating and figuring out that juggling that schedule, making it all fit is tricky. And at times you just got to realize, like, you got to cut your losses and you have to realize that it’s not all going to fit and that you might have to let some people down, but leadership is learning from that.

00:22:51:01 – 00:22:59:25
David Martin
This is a question I ask bears. If I say, I’m coming to your city, what’s the cuisine of your town? How’s the food at West Point, or what’s your favorite thing at the chow hall?

00:22:59:27 – 00:23:14:07
Aditya Kansal
I’m not a huge fan of the West Point food, I’ll be honest. I have, you know, I have some dietary restrictions that I follow because of my faith, and that limits some of the food that I’m able to eat. I think the best part about the West Point chow hall is that you have 4400 cadets sitting at one time, eating twice a day.

00:23:14:09 – 00:23:18:56
Aditya Kansal
Breakfast and lunch are mandatory meals. We all sit together in that mess hall and it is a true family.

00:23:18:57 – 00:23:19:46
David Martin
Only breakfast and lunch.

00:23:19:48 – 00:23:38:13
Aditya Kansal
Though dinner is a buffet style, so it’s slightly different, you know, because everyone has different demands and events. But breakfast and lunch, you know, set aside time, protected time for the core to sit together. All 4000 plus of us. Truly, truly an incredible feeling the first time you do it. But also every time you do it, it never really gets old.

00:23:38:15 – 00:23:48:05
Aditya Kansal
You’re sitting with your company mates, you’re all at the table together and you’re having a, you know, maybe a decent meal. But the best part of it is you’re right next to your peers.

00:23:48:05 – 00:24:04:28
David Martin
I just want to let you know that your fellow cadets are walking by you all now, and they’re all pointing it here. So we’re almost we’re almost done. No worries. US Military Academy is a government academy, correct? Tell me why. This is a great example of good government and action.

00:24:04:30 – 00:24:25:32
Aditya Kansal
It’s the government allocating money, allocating resources, assigning military officers with experience specifically towards the development of young people of our nation, to become leaders of character, dedicated to a lifetime of service. That’s what it’s all about. The academics don’t matter that much. The military training doesn’t matter that much. I mean, it all matters a lot. It really does.

00:24:25:34 – 00:24:31:38
Aditya Kansal
I’m afraid the wrong person is going to listen to this, and they’re going to say, well, what did that cadet just say? I need to have him in his office. Let me rephrase.

00:24:31:50 – 00:24:34:02
David Martin
What I meant to say. Was it all men?

00:24:34:05 – 00:24:54:59
Aditya Kansal
It all matters a lot. But what matters most is that we’re learning what it takes, and going through the training and being put in this crucible to become leaders of character, dedicated to a lifetime of service to our nation. That’s what it’s about. And it shows that the government cares. Good government is a government that cares. To your question earlier, I’ll add to that the government that cares and they care about creating leaders of character.

00:24:55:01 – 00:25:09:29
Aditya Kansal
Right. And now there’s, you know, leaders that are lethal and there’s leaders that that care. And that’s what’s that’s what’s coming out of this institution. It’s people that inside or outside of a uniform, will continue to serve their communities and serve the people around them.

00:25:09:41 – 00:25:13:44
David Martin
DD cancel the third year junior at West Point. Did I get your name right?

00:25:13:49 – 00:25:14:41
Aditya Kansal
You can. Yes, sir.

00:25:14:53 – 00:25:15:12
David Martin
Pretty good.

00:25:15:24 – 00:25:16:00
Aditya Kansal
Pretty good.

00:25:16:05 – 00:25:30:52
David Martin
Yeah. Hey, junior at West Point, the US military academy. That’s right. It was a pleasure to have you on. It was a pleasure to hear from you. It was a pleasure to get your perspective as a student and as a student at West Point. I hope I did. Well, yes you did. It was great to have you on.

00:25:30:54 – 00:25:37:10
David Martin
Thank you so much. Good luck. And either either get low or fly high. What are those two things you’ve got.

00:25:37:10 – 00:25:40:08
Aditya Kansal
To have high. Something’s going to happen. We’ll see. We’ll find out next year.

00:25:40:17 – 00:25:41:32
David Martin
Thanks for coming on. Thank you Tom.

00:25:41:34 – 00:25:45:53
Aditya Kansal
Thank you sir.

00:25:45:58 – 00:26:07:25
David Martin
The Good Government Institute has a new partner, the Charles F Kettering Foundation. I really like their podcast, The Context, and I bet you will too. They have a new series called Democracy Under Construction. The show is hosted by historian Alex Lovett, and he looks back at the first 250 years of U.S. history. Alex digs into the moments that have pushed us towards an inclusive democracy.

00:26:07:28 – 00:26:15:59
David Martin
You can find it where you’re listening right now, or visit Kettering and give them a follow.

00:26:16:03 – 00:26:33:55
David Martin
Want to hear more about good government? Check out another show I host leading Iowa Good Government in Iowa cities. I host the show with Brad Kavanagh, mayor of Dubuque, Iowa, and the immediate past president of the Iowa League of Cities. Together, we talked to leaders in Iowa cities. We talk about what works and what good government looks like in Iowa.

00:26:33:57 – 00:26:42:28
David Martin
Join us right here. We’re listening. Now that’s leading Iowa. Good government in Iowa cities.

00:26:42:33 – 00:27:04:46
David Martin
It was called the War to End All Wars. But it didn’t. Three royal cousins, all kings, one from England, one from Germany and one from Russia blundered their way into a war, a completely avoidable war that left millions dead in the trenches across Europe. Good government show executive producer Jim Ludlow details the blunders, mistakes and bluster that started World War One that didn’t end all wars.

00:27:04:48 – 00:27:22:43
David Martin
The book The Royal Cousins details the events and creates an alternative history. Imagine of World War One never happened. It didn’t have to. Just read it yourself. Download the book today on Amazon. It’s just $0.99 and a timely look at history.

00:27:22:47 – 00:27:39:20
David Martin
When I talk with people in government about how they’re spending our money and it’s our money, I asked, is this government dollars well spent? They usually explain why it is. So I put that question a cadet did he consol is the US Military Academy a good example of government money well spent? I loved his response. He said in part.

00:27:39:20 – 00:28:01:52
David Martin
And I’m going to use his words, quote. It’s the government allocating money, allocating resources and assigning military officers with experience specifically towards the development of young people in our nation, he said. To become leaders of character dedicated to a lifetime of service, that’s what it’s all about. That’s what he said. That’s what West Point is all about, and that is what government service is all about.

00:28:01:52 – 00:28:20:15
David Martin
And that’s good government. If just some of the other military cadets are like Aditya Cancel, the future of the military is in very good hands. I hope he gets to fly helicopters more whatever he wants to do. And remember, West Point has produced two presidents in many members of Congress. Well, that’s our show. Thanks for listening. Please like us and share us with your friends and review us right here.

00:28:20:15 – 00:28:38:14
David Martin
Realistic. And check out our website good Government show for extras. Help us keep telling stories of good government and action everywhere. Join us again for another episode right here. I’m Dave Martin and this is a good government show.

00:28:38:19 – 00:29:17:12
David Martin
The Good Government Show is produced by the Good Government Institute, a nonprofit organization promoting civic engagement and civic education. All donations to the show help promote trust in government. You can donate at Good Govt Institute. That’s good govt institute. Executive producers are Jim Ludlow, Dave Martin, that’s me and David Snyder. Jason Stershic is our editor and producer. Join us again to hear good stories about our government right here on The Good Government Show.

00:29:17:16 – 00:29:20:19
Narrator
This podcast is part of the democracy Group.

**This transcription was created using digital tools and has not been edited by a live person. We apologize for any discrepancies or errors.