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WHAT'S A MILITARY LIAISON DO? WELL, BONNIE BAKER, WHAT DO YOU
DO? >> WELL, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU,
I TELL YOU I HAVE PROBABLY THE BEST JOB IN THE CITY BETWEEN YOU
AND I. MY ROLE IS TO REALLY HELP THE
COLLABORATION AND BUILD THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE CITY
AND THE MILITARY. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE GOAL FOR
THE CITY, BOTH MAYOR FRAIM AND MARCUS JONES, OUR CITY MANAGER,
HAVE STATED IS TO HAVE NORFOLK BE THE PREMIER HOME FOR OUR
MILITARY AND VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES.
AND SO IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO WORK TOWARDS THAT GOAL.
>> Bob: WELL, YOU LIVED IN THE COMMUNITY FOR QUITE A WHILE.
>> I HAVE. >> Bob: IN FACT, WE KNEW EACH
OTHER BEFORE YOU CAME TO THE CITY.
>> YES, SIR. >> Bob: HOW DO YOU APPLY FOR
THAT KIND OF JOB? BECAUSE, OKAY, THE MILITARY IS
SO OVERWHELMING. IN FACT, OUR ECONOMIST WILL SAY
WE'VE GOT TO DIVERSIFY OUR ECONOMY, AND NOW YOU'VE GOT THAT
RESPONSIBILITY, THOSE OPPORTUNITIES ON YOUR SHOULDER.
WHERE DO YOU START? >> WELL, SO I'M STILL IN MY
FIRST 90 DAYS IN THE JOB, AND MY GOAL IN THESE 90 DAYS HAD BEEN
TO GET OUT AND ACTUALLY PETE WITH AS MANY OF THE STAKEHOLDERS
AS I CAN TO UNDERSTAND THEIR PERSPECTIVES AND, YOU KNOW,
ASSESS WHERE WE ARE IN ACHIEVING THAT GOAL THAT THE MAYOR SET OUT
TO BE THE PREMIER HOME. AND SO I'VE DONE THAT AND I CAN
TELL YOU, EVEN THOUGH I'VE BEEN HERE FOR -- SINCE 2000, I'VE
BEEN PRETTY SURPRISED AT HOW MANY ORGANIZATIONS, HOW MANY
STAKEHOLDERS THERE ARE THAT ARE INVOLVED WITH THE MILITARY.
BECAUSE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE MILITARY AFFAIRS, WORKING WITH
THE ACTIVE DUTY, NOT JUST THE NAVY, WORKING WITH THE JOINT
FORCES THAT ARE HERE AND, OF COURSE --
>> Bob: THERE'S A FEW PEOPLE IN THAT.
>> ABSOLUTELY. AND WE ALSO, OF COURSE, HAVE THE
NATO COMMAND, ONE OF TWO STRATEGICS COMMANDS OF NATO, THE
ONLY TRACK COMMAND LOCATED IN -- STRATEGIC COMMAND LOCATED IN
AMERICA AND RIGHT HERE IN NORFOLK.
SO IT'S THE ACTIVE DUTY THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AS WELL AS
RESERVING NATIONAL GUARD AND VETERANS.
WE HAVE OVER 20,000 VETERANS THAT HAVE CHOSEN NORFOLK AS
THEIR HOME AND VERY IMPORTANTLY, WE FOCUSING ON FAMILIES
CONNECTED TO ALL THOSE SERVICE MEMBERS.
>> Bob: AND THOSE ARE SOME OF THE PARTNERS YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
LET'S FOCUS ON THE FAMILY. >> SURE, SURE.
SO ONE OF THE INITIATIVES, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE
WORKING IN OTHER AREAS, BUT WE WANT TO FOCUS A LITTLE BIT ON
SUPPORTING MILITARY FAMILIES THAT COME INTO THE AREA.
ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN. ONE OF THE CONCERNS FOR FAMILIES
THAT MOVE FREQUENTLY ACROSS STATE BOUNDARIES IS EDUCATING
THEIR CHILDREN, AND, YOU KNOW, MILITARY CHILDREN HAVE A
TENDENCY TO MOVE SIX TO NINE TIMES DURING THEIR K-12 YEARS.
AND IT'S NOT JUST MOVING FROM ONE SCHOOL TO THE OTHER.
IT'S OFTENTIMES FROM, YOU KNOW, A DIFFERENT STATE, FROM AN
OVERSEAS SCHOOL SYSTEM, AND SO WE ARE GOING TO PARTNER WITH
NORFOLK PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THE MILITARY LEADERSHIP IN NORFOLK
AS WELL AS COMMUNITY LEADERS WHERE YOU HAVE A CONVENING PLAN
ON THE 27th OF APRIL TO BRING THOSE THOUGHT LEADERS TOGETHER
AND REALLY IDENTIFY SOME WAYS THAT WE CAN BETTER SUPPORT THOSE
MILITARY CHILDREN. I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A
WIN-WIN. IT'S GOING TO MAKE OUR SCHOOLS
BETTER AND MAKE OUR SCHOOLS MORE ATTRACTIVE TO MILITARY FAMILIES
WHEN THEY MOVE IN. >> Bob: WHILE YOU WERE SPEAKING,
I WAS THINKING, LET'S TALK MORE ABOUT CHILDREN AND THE PROBLEMS
THEY HAVE, BUT YOU'RE REALLY NOT THE ONE TO TALK TO ABOUT THAT.
YOU'RE BRINGING THE PEOPLE TO THE TABLE.
>> I'M NOT. MY ROLE IN THIS PARTICULAR
EVENT, WE ARE FORTUNATE, WE HAVE THE MILITARY CHILD EDUCATION
COALITION, WHO IS FUNDING THIS CONVENING THROUGH A GRANT FROM
THE BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION, SO THEY'RE A
PARTNER. OF COURSE, NORFOLK PUBLIC
SCHOOLS ARE A KEY PARTNER IN THIS, AND THE LEADERSHIP FROM
THE BASE AS WELL AS OMBUDSMAN AND STUDENT LIAISON OFFICERS, SO
MY ROLE REALLY IS TO BRING THEM TOGETHER TO HELP FIND SOLUTIONS
THAT WORK FOR OUR COMMUNITY. >> Bob: I KNOW IN KNOWING YOU,
THEY COULDN'T HAVE PICKED A BETTER PERSON TO BRING THOSE
RELATIONSHIPS TO THE TABLE. >> THANK YOU.
>> Bob: THAT'S REALLY WHAT THIS IS ABOUT IS WORKING TOGETHER IN
THE COLLABORATION. >> IT IS.
>> Bob: SO IT'S BEEN NINE I DID DAYS.
LET'S TAKE A DEAL. HOW ABOUT ANOTHER 90 DAYS, A
YEAR, WHENEVER YOU WANT, YOU'RE WELCOME TO MANY COME BACK ON THE
SOFA AND TALK ABOUT THE ISSUES AND THE OPPORTUNITIES FACING
BOTH OF US, THE MILITARY COMMUNITY AND THE CIVILIAN
COMMUNITY, ABOUT HOW WE CAN BECOME A BETTER COMMUNITY.
THAT'S WHAT IT'S ABOUT, RIGHT? >> IT IS, ABSOLUTELY.
I THINK I'LL TAKE YOU UP ON THAT.
>> Bob: OKAY GOOD. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO UPDATES
AND WORKING WITH YOU BECAUSE IT'S EASY TO TAKE THE MILITARY
FOR GRANTED BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY OUT THERE AND UNLESS WE'RE
PULLING PEOPLE TOGETHER, WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO IT.
THANKS A LOT. >> THANK YOU.
>> Bob: WHEN WE COME BACK, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THOSE HOT
TICKETS AT SCOPE AND CHRYSLER HALL AND OTHER VENUES.
STAY TUNED.