Spotlight: Marjorie Eastman on Leadership

 INTRODUCTION

By: Lennard Gettz, Ed.D, Robert Bard, MD & Roberta Kline, MD

From the global stage to all areas of our daily lives, our culture needs the presence of sound and genuine leadership to inspire the search for thoughtful answers to the many challenges that arise daily. Role models offer guidance and potential direction that can empower just about every part of our existence.  They teach though example and promote wisdom and vision through positive results of those actions.  In a study of history's most prominent public figures, voices of our leaders provide roots to our current and future actions. Technically or academically, they are our references in the way we analyze and solve problems, how we interact and collaborate with others and how we define our very existence. Leaders make a difference selflessly- supporting "the needs of the many", forging widely-cast and sustainable solutions.  From the global stage to our home life, leadership roles exist everywhere and each is an opportunity to make a difference (to someone or ourselves) for the better.  

Our collective organizations that comprise IPHA (Integrative Pain Healers' Alliance) is proud to launch our 2022 programs: the Women in Leadership feature series, supported by the “Women's Round Table emPOWERMENT Series” and the PMCC (Post-Military Crusaders Coalition). Our publishing series will spotlight role models and inspiring speakers selected for their specific achievements and exemplary support to the community.   

In this issue, we celebrate the writing work of Marjorie Eastman, author of “The Frontline Generation: How We Served Post 9/11”- where she discusses post–9/11 service and leadership.  Ms. Eastman is an advocate, a U.S. Army combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2019, Ms. Eastman was selected by The Junior Chamber International (JCI) USA as a recipient of the 2019 Ten Outstanding Young Americans Award. She is a candidate for the Republican nomination for the 2022 U.S Senate election in North Carolina.

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ON LEADERSHIP: FACING ADVERSITY & A CALL TO SERVE

By: Marjorie Eastman
Interview and transcription by: Joshua Tiberius Schueller, PT

Leadership is lonely. Leadership is uncomfortable. Leadership is beautiful. Leadership is essential. Leadership is a lot of things. But if I had to give you one aspect of what I think you need to sleep on tonight, it’s that- in the military, we have these great phrases, like COMMAND PHILOSOPHY.  Similar to the private sector where someone would ask “what's your vision statement for your company”, I believe my command philosophy when I was in uniform (and just consistently throughout my life) …there’s a chapter in my book called “you see a light- you don't hear one” and we need to see our leaders doing and being what we want them to do and be. It doesn't matter what leadership values you espouse- it really gets down to how you live your life. This word “leaders” is such a big word - but the base aspect of that (as a people is) you strive to be the leader that you'd want to follow.

“This word “leaders” is such a big word, but the base aspect of that is… you strive to be the leader that you'd want to follow.”

I’d like to establish that I am not an impulsive person. I'm thoughtful. I'm not afraid to do tough things.   9/11 inspired so many of us to ask ‘what we're supposed to be doing in life’. We have to live and we get ONE SHOT at it.  At that time, I was in my early twenties, finished college, paying off my student loans, thinking and applying to grad school- and it was crystal clear when we were attacked that I needed to do something. I wanted to help. It's the better part of our nature- and so for me, I had to define what is the action I need to do to help and how can I best do that with my skill set at the time. I needed to wear a uniform!  And sure enough, I served our nation in uniform for 10 years and did two combat tours.

AN OLIVE BRANCH IN A WAR ZONE
It's the beginning of Spring in 2010. I was a commander of multiple teams spread out across the battlefield in Afghanistan. One of my teams was up operating out of Kapisa Province. My company was full spectrum intelligence operations. So any day could be an offensive mission, a defensive stability or support. And so we did the whole spectrum of operations and we were going into a village that day to talk with some of what we knew were Taliban fighters and village leaders- always building relations, trying to get in information and Intel always. My interpreter was working with a handful of my soldiers who were sitting and having that conversation, and right around that area, um, there all the elderly men and in that little grouping and right to this side where these little kids that were looking over and peering over.  At times, they'd run up and interact with us, then sometimes they were told to stay away from us and hide.

We obviously always treated everyone with dignity.  I knew that I needed to engage them regardless of the language barrier.  The photo that you see all over social media (enclosed L) was me handing them a piece of gum.  I had a pack of gum in my pocket and as soon as I'm like handing them these pieces of gum, I realized they probably don't even know what gum is.  I hoped that they don't swallow it- but my better senses told me that no one has ever been harmed by swallowing one piece of gum. It was just a way to be human- and people never forget certain interactions. I did take my helmet off (a safety concern) but engaging the locals was part of counterinsurgency operations- so you had to make those calculations such as when it was important to remove a helmet.  Actually sometimes we went out and had meetings without our body armor.  Doing this was all part of building relations.

FRONTLINE GENERATION
I was never supposed to write a book.  Working in intelligence, we we're not supposed to write books. But for me, I wanted to write the stories of the characters, the men, the women, the personalities, the silly stories, the sad, the tough, the hard stories and the LEADERSHIP stories. I didn't know I wanted to do this until I went through a crucible myself.  When my son was six months old and was diagnosed with infant cancer. And as you can imagine, that's a special kind of hell as a new parent. You worry about everything with a little one, but you never worry about cancer. My son had neuroblastoma, which is very rare. It's one of the most rare and mysterious forms of cancer. It's not because I was deployed; it's not because I didn't eat organic every day-- we still don't know why.  We need to always have research to help us find these answers and to be better. 

My husband and I were going through that crucible- and I needed to find a way to survive this if my son didn't survive because infant cancer like neuroblastomas can have a mortality rate of upwards of 70%. They're terrifying.  After I tucked my son into bed, I kept two journals on both my combat tours and I wrote a little something every night before I went to bed- just trying to find some courage.  And it came to me. I want to hand these journals to my son, but I need to put these stories together for him. I wanted to shape the man he was going to become- because he's going to be a man.  He's going to beat cancer. And I was just convincing myself and it was also just a way of also putting stories together for him and that was how the book came to life.

Note: Marjorie and her husband, Charles, anchored down in their faith during this difficult time, and the greatest blessing of their life were the sweet words, “clear margins.” Their son (Henk) remains cancer free and a cancer survivor today!

VIEWPOINTS "Our current global challenges have shown our ever-pressing need for intelligent and heroic leadership based on collaboration and a vision for unity.  As a veteran Air Force officer (1970), I echo the importance of teamwork and the power of unity.  My service experience translated to thoughtful decisions, upholding the dignity of my chosen craft and maintaining a pledge to my community.  Ms Eastman's interview reflected all of those points and more. She mentioned that leadership can be LONELY. Thinking of all the greatest leaders of our time (and in life), pioneers or visionaries who forge courageous ideas will always pave roads less taken. Her statement about "doing tough things"  reminded me of JFK's moon speech 50 years ago: “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard".  He inspired leadership in America by rallying the best in us all by reminding us to organize our energies and our spirit to step up to new challenges -and make a difference!" - Dr. Robert L. Bard  "Leaders help to direct others toward their goals, toward a bigger mission. They are the ones who go first to encourage others to follow their example. Often a specific event forces us to step up into a role of leadership, in my own life this was a spinal cord injury. As Marjorie Eastman says, “be a leader you want to follow.” Doing so forces you to view yourself from the perspective of the people you are trying to lead. People who are following your direction are paying attention to your actions. What standard do you expect from others? Do you live by that same standard? As a leader, you cannot ask your team to do what you are unwilling to do. To be an effective leader you must be present with the task. Leaders have control over their thoughts and actions allowing them to execute at a high level. We have a direct impact on the people in our lives. Marjorie recognized this with her own son. She takes the initiative as all great leaders do." Jesi Stracham - Wheel With Me Foundation "As a team leader in a major non-profit publishing network, I understand Marjorie's thought process in all counts of decision-making. Climbing the ranks to manage responsibilities under a closed group is accountability at its finest.  Earning the laurels to drive collective performance is nothing short of a CALLING and an honor, where you are trusted to forge the destiny of project and the well-being of your people. It's about making the hard decisions and holding on to your beliefs are what makes a title (or rank) lonely and stressful- but settling into that role also comes with the intuition to master your resources to get to the finish line with everyone intact!"- CARMEN REGALLO-DEWITT , Angiofoundation "Leadership is not a 9-5 job.  Leadership is not something you can turn on and off as needed.  Leadership is not waiting for someone else to make it happen.  Displaying leadership is about you making it happen whether at home or at work or 3000 miles away in a war zone.  Leaders do the work, they challenge themselves to be uncomfortable and push past the laziness, fear, and apathy for the greater good.  Leaders are not satisfied with being good or even great; they want to be unstoppable.  Leaders strive when conditions become challenging.  Leaders know the answers while everyone else is still asking questions.  Leaders don't fear failure.  People like Marjorie Eastman embody what a leader is.  She felt an inner call to duty and did not wait for someone else to do the job she did it, whether in the military or politics" - Joshua T. Schueller, PT / AxioBionics  www.AxioBionics.com

THE 2022 POST-MILITARY CRUSADERS COALITION 
2/11/2022- A 2022 initiative by community leaders launched the PMCC or Post Military Crusaders Coalition to launch an action plan for health resources for injured American veterans. Similar to the First Responders Cancer Resource project, this campaign supports all veteran advocates and service members support organizations by offering educational initiatives, alternative therapeutic modalities, sustainable diagnostic technologies and clinical research programs. 

JESI STRACHAM (NC)  is an adaptive athlete, public figure, and advocate for the wheelchair community. Since 2015, she has made it her life’s mission to touch as many hearts as possible, inspiring others to live their lives to the absolute fullest - despite their obstacles. Jesi has tried her hand at multiple adaptive sports, but found an outlet for her competitive drive alongside the abled-bodied, participating in the Tough Mudder series. In 2017, she received her “Holy Grail” which involves competing in the demanding, 24-hour World’s Toughest Mudder. Using a team of support runners, she has shown the world that when just a few people come together, anything is possible.

"GETTING MY LIFE BACK FROM CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME"  2/15/2022- Mrs. Suzanne Wheeler of Minneapolis, Minnesota is celebrated as IPHA NEWS' Researcher of the Month.  After years of suffering a life-altering disorder that currently continues to challenge the scientific community of its root causes, Mrs. Wheeler explored “outside the conventional box” of opioid prescriptions, uncovering alternative solutions that got her back on her feet and joining life again.  Invoking CHANGE against all odds by diligently searching for what’s beyond the convenient takes courage and conviction.  It is this level of academic strength and strategic leadership that comprises the Alternative Health and Wellness community. (see full feature on Mrs. Wheeler's PEMF review)

2022 ROUND TABLE POWERMEET: THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S DIAGNOSTIC NETWORK:  April 27, 2022 marks the official launch of the National Women's Diagnostic Network co-produced by the Integrative Pain Healers' Alliance, the AngioFoundation and the NY Cancer Resource Group. Thanks to the collaboration of the co-hosts Dr. Noelle Cutter and Dr. Roberta Kline, the virtual event otherwise known as the Round Table emPOWERMEET / Leadership Conference 2022 united NINE remarkable educators in support of women's health issues. Each speaker shared their own visions, viewpoints and work experiences. They explored the field of care-giving and offered their personal inspirations that added individual energies to this public event. (see complete article on our first Women's emPOWERMEET.)

2/11/2022- MOMMIES ON A MISSION: The Angiofoundation and Integrative Pain Healers Alliance (comprised of physicians, researchers and public educators) and the For Elysa Foundation, a non-profit advocacy group supporting pediatric myocarditis research- united in their first multi-org summit to test drive a coalition concept to unite all advocacy groups for "a common and louder voice for change!"   The "spark" of the coalition originally came from two “Doctor Moms”- Dr. Noelle Cutter and Dr. Roberta Kline as part of a research assignment on genomic science and Long Haul (post Covid infection) disorders.  Published reports of myocarditis since the early 1900’s about a “sudden heart failure” showed new headlines during the pandemic, drawing a spotlight on the rare viral-driven cardiac disease. Their search led to the For Elysa Foundation, a foundation dedicated to Elysa Rojas (2) who passed away from Viral Myocarditis in January, 2013.