- Thank you to Analog Devices
for supporting American Veteran: Keep it Close.
- Service has always been something
that has felt like the reason for me being here.
I've seen firsthand how policy changes can impact your life.
I was able to serve openly because of the repeal
of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
So my entire life and, like, ability to exist
in this world, to be free, like, truly free,
didn't just happen by chance.
I want to dedicate my life to the opportunity
to leave the world better than you found it.
- Hi, I'm Shain Brenden.
As a veteran, I understand how objects we brought back
from service can be so meaningful.
They can remind us why we served and what we did,
or help us transition back to civilian life.
Today, I talk with a veteran whose object served
as a reminder that change
and progress are worth fighting for.
- My name is Janessa Goldbeck,
and I served in the Marine Corps for almost seven years
as a combat engineer officer and got out as a captain.
- So why the Marine Corps?
Was there any chance
that there ever could have been a different branch?
- When I went into the recruiter's office,
everyone else had sort of pitched me
on what their branch could do for me.
And the Marine Corps recruiter said, you know,
well, what can you bring to the Marine Corps?
Why should we take you?
And that definitely spoke to me.
There are not a whole lot
of human rights advocates who then pivot
and join the Marine Corps.
But I spent just about seven years in DC
as a human rights advocate before that.
I saw it as two sides of the same coin.
Both were ways to protect people
and make the world a safer place.
- How did your friends and your family react to the news
of you saying, I'm going to go into the military.
I'm going to be a Marine.
- You know, I'd been out since I was 19,
and I'd been living my life openly ever since.
And I definitely remember when I was signing my contracting
paperwork related to Don't Ask, Don't Tell,
and I felt conflicted.
I remember, like, pausing, because if I wanted
to join the Marines,
I had to effectively lie on that document.
The service is, like, based around integrity and character,
but in order to serve, I had to, you know, commit this
fraudulent act. So that really stood out to me.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell was officially repealed,
I was about three, four weeks into my training at Quantico.
For me to have the opportunity to serve openly,
to feel that burden lift, you know,
there's no amount of gratitude I could express
that would be sufficient to those who came before me,
who cleared that path.
Being able to just be myself in the Marine Corps
allowed me to bring my entire self to the Marine Corps,
and it allowed me to connect with my peers in a way
that I might not otherwise.
- What was probably the most rewarding thing
about your role, either during the deployments
or just overall as a combat engineer officer?
- You know, one of the things
that I didn't anticipate was
how important mentoring young people was to the job.
As an officer, it's your job to know what's going on
in the personal lives of your Marines and sailors
and really get to know them and understand what it is
that they want to do with their lives,
what makes them tick,
what challenges they've faced.
And so I didn't anticipate that getting
to have those relationships and build those friendships,
and honestly, like, family ties to people
from all walks of life, many of whom grew up
in extremely different circumstances than I did,
that that would be the most rewarding part of my service.
- Talk to us a little bit about
what are you doing post the military.
What's been going on?
- Yeah, well, so I got out of the Marines in August of 2019,
and I realized when I got back from my last deployment
that actually there was a really big sort of need for people
who understood how the veterans community works
and also could translate that into political power.
So I started my own consulting business that works
with nonprofit organizations that want
to pass federal legislation,
that helps guide them through that process.
There's still a lot of work to be done.
- Your special object is your
Don't Ask, Don't Tell contract.
- I have it hanging in my garage alongside a couple
of other things that I've helped impact
in the course of my life.
Two are pieces of federal legislation that were passed
and signed into law that I advocated for
and organized around.
The other is the Secretary of Defense's announcement
that women could enter all jobs, including combat arms jobs.
Those are all on the wall
as a reminder of what happens when you work
to change something,
and you work with people
who share your same values and ideals.
- We'd like to thank Analog Devices for their support
of American Veteran: Keep it Close.
Analog Devices has over 50 years
of experience providing electronic solutions
to the space, aviation and defense industries.
From electronics designed to survive the harshness
of space or the cold pressures of the ocean,
to addressing mission critical solutions,
when bridging the physical and digital worlds,
Analog Devices has been there to provide support
to those who explore, move us, and defend us every day.
Analog Devices,
ahead of what's possible.