So Casey, tell us about, your chapter was called The Sentinel a- and, and I found it kind of a little heartbreaking given what's happening right now with veterans in the country. Te- tell us about y- uh, about the- the man you profiled. (static noise) Are you ready, like me, to optimize your nutrition this year?Factor has chef-made gourmet meals that make eating well easy. They're dietician approved, ready to heat and eat in two minutes. So, you can fuel right and feel great no matter what life throws at you. Factor arrives fresh and fully prepared. It's perfect for any active, busy lifestyle. You can lose up to eight pounds in eight weeks with Factor keto meals. That's based on a randomized controlled clinical trial with Factor keto. You know, results will vary depending on your diet and exercise situation. With 40 options across eight dietary preferences on the menu every week, it's easy to pick meals tailored to your goals. Choose from preferences like Calorie Smart, Protein Plus, or Keto. Here at the Wilson household, we're in the Protein Plus era, and they're terrific. Factor can help you feel your best all day long with wholesome smoothies, breakfast, grab and go snacks, and more add-ons. Reach your goals this year with ingredients you can trust and convenience that can't be beat. With Factor, it's made it very easy for Renee and I both to enjoy terrific meals that are hitting where we need to go with our goals for weight and health. So, eat smart with Factor. Get started at factormeals.com/factorpodcast and use code FACTORPODCAST to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping. That's code FACTORPODCAST at factormeals.com/factorpodcast to get 50% off plus free shipping on your first box.

Yeah, I mean, it's certainly become more and more poignant, um, to think about the career of someone I... I wrote about a man named Ronald Walters, and he's been with VA for 40 years. And Ron has worked the majority of those years with an agency probably many of us had, had never heard of, uh, the National Cemetery Administration. And the NCA is this tiny little part of VA, and they bury 140,000 veterans and their family members every year, and they tend to 155 national cemeteries around the country, not, not just in DC. Um, so right away, the, the stereotype of the bureaucrat who's in Washington who only serves political interests, Ron and his colleagues, there are about 2,300 of them who manage these cemeteries, they're in almost every state. You know, they're in almost every territory, and they tend to the perpetual memory of four million American heroes. And what's incredible about Ron, you know, from the, from the moment you meet him, he's the least political person. And I don't mean that he doesn't have politics, but he has seen his entire career as a service to the VA mission, not to any given administration or political party. And I think when he goes to work every day, you know, he's connected to the, the deep values of this country, going back to Lincoln and Washington of who we are and the sacrifices that made us who we are. And it's just, it's heartbreaking to see his part of the VA or any part of the VA politicized or reduced to partisanship because, you know, just the NCA alone, 65% of these people are veterans themselves. They are so mission-oriented. They did not look for a government job in the sense of, "Oh, I wanna serve the Democratic Party or the Republican Party or the Libertarian Party." The agenda they want to advance is serving their fellow veterans. And so, you know, Ron, I mean, why I chose him, I, I come from a military family. You know, my, my grandfather served in World War II. Two of my uncles were in the army. One of them, lifelong marine. You know, I grew up in a place where I think, again, kind of anathema to the stereotype, like, I'm a journalist, but I grew up truly, like, in the spirit of the Alan Jackson song, like, you know, "Bow your head to Jesus, stand up for Uncle Sam." Like, this is the part of the country I'm from. We are extremely patriotic, and part of that patriotism has always been tied to honoring the troops and supporting our veterans. So, I was, I felt called to Ron in a kind of deep calling to deep way. But the other thing I loved about Ron, and, you know, this work would be meaningful no matter how well he and his colleagues did it, but they do their work better than anyone in the private sector included. So, you know, part of this profile isn't just, okay-

Like literally, they're, they're-

Literally, literally. Quantifiably. You know, the University of Michigan Business School, which goes around every year, you know, like, co- collecting this data on behalf of Chick-fil-A and Costco and Walmart and every corporation that's trying to empty your pockets, they also survey the federal agencies and, and government agencies. And the NCA, like, you know, you think of most agencies, like the IRS or whatever, they get like a 68 on this 100 point scale. Ron and his colleagues have gotten a 97. They, they have topped this survey for seven consecutive surveys. You know, again, outpacing every private sector company who spends millions of dollars on advertising and PR, here's this little part of the VA that just goes around trying to do their job well. So, I, I loved Ron because the, the work itself is so meaningful, and, and I think it's part of what makes this country actually great. You know, it's not... Of course we could survive if we didn't repatriate our military dead, and we didn't create shrines and monuments to peace like Arlington or Gettysburg or any of these places we've consecrated, but, but of course we should and we can, and not only should we create them, we should tend to them and nourish them and bring our young people into them. And so I loved Ron kind of top to bottom, and I actually, I mean, Sarah, you put, you put it beautifully, like what our task was. I keep saying our job was to fall in love with a bureaucrat, and, and I just fell in love with Ron and the work that he does. So, it was really just, just a gift to write about him. But you're right, Rick, it's a, it's a heartbreaking thing to look back on now because, you know, we, we're dealing with people who politicize Arlington, who attack the VA, who reduce funding even for these, you know, incredibly, um, non-political repositories of, of American life.