#087: Warrior Diplomat - Florida Congressman Mike Waltz

Leadership requires the perfect balance of strength, compassion and unity. For this episode Fran Racioppi traveled to Capitol Hill to sit down with Congressman Mike Waltz; the first Green Beret ever elected to Congress. He represents Florida's 6th District and is the author of Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret's Battles From Washington To Afghanistan. 

The Congressman and Fran define the term Warrior Diplomat and what it means to balance raw power with statesmanship. They break down the division surrounding the 2022 election cycle and provide a first look into America's 188th Congress; a Congress which will contain over 90 Veterans - the most since the post-Vietnam era. 

Learn more about Congressman Mike Waltz at waltz.house.gov and on social media @repmichaelgwaltz. 

Read the full episode transcription here and learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. Watch the full video version on YouTube.

Highlights:

• 0:00 Welcome to Capitol Hill
• 5:27 Defining Warrior Diplomat and building coalitions
• 9:51 Building a long term national defense strategy to win
• 15:36 The strategic impact of Green Berets in business
• 22:32 Becoming the first Green Beret in Congress
• 25:56 How we reduce hostility in Congress and between parties
• 28:36 The top priorities of the new Congress and the threat of China
• 36:17 Lightning Round on domestic policy 

Quotes: 

• “It’s about building coalitions. It’s about having a high emotional IQ. It’s about influencing others. It's about aligning your interests.” (9:14)
• “In societies where women are accepted and thriving in businesses and politics, in civil society, you don’t tend to have an overwhelming extremism problem. (12:19)  
• “We like to find our friends who take care of our enemies for us.” (15:28)
• “In the 1970’s…3/4 of the Congress had all served. The number has gone from 75% to 15% today.” (23:05)
• “It is a record low number of Veterans in Congress and I think that explains a lot of the record amount of disfunction.” (23:21)
• “Being a politician isn’t the most important thing we’ve ever done. Taking men and women to combat, leading, is. And bringing them home.” (26:37)
• “If you were willing to sacrifice yourself at 18 years old I think you’d be able to sacrifice some grief for taking a vote that may be controversial or may move the country in the right direction.”  (28:25)
• "The thing with the CCP is they have the ability to defeat us economically way before it comes to any kind of military conflict.”  (35:45)
• “You cannot have a sovereign nation without borders.” (38:07)

Congressman Waltz’s Three Daily Foundations to Success

• Read to be proficient on the issues
• Display humility
• Be worthy of those who have sacrificed 
• And…always look cool!

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s,  18A Fitness & Compass Workforce Solutions