Working with people basically is the big skill that I've learned. Once you learn how to work on the gears, you know, they teach you how to do that, but everyone learns it a different way. So if I try to get my hands into that piece of equipment and this guy or this girl over here is trying to get their hands into it, you have to be able to work together, you know, and that's something that I had never really experienced before because I was always used to doing things my own way and my way only. So getting other people in there to work with me is - is - was the hardest thing for me to do, but now I've adjusted to that and it works fairly well.

You have to be able to get to know people and I believe that I could change somebody, you know, just talking to them, sit down and have a nice conversation with them, you have to be able to talk. You have to be able to - if you can't communicate, you can't get anyone else to communicate back to you. So the main thing is you yourself knowing how to communicate with other people.

The Navy's taught me a lot of different protocols. I had the Texas slang - I kind of still have my Texas slang, but I've learned to diversify what I - how I express myself. You know, when I'm in a professional situation, I know how to be professional. When I'm, you know, hanging with the fellows or doing whatever, I know how to hang with the fellows as well. So it's taught me how to control how I express myself, which is very important. I don't want to go to the bank and get a loan and act like I'm with the fellows, you know. So it's taught me how to control how I express myself.

The writing that I do, evaluations, you have to do lessons learned. Okay. We were over here, if we ever have to go back, what did he learn from the last time we did it? And you have to be able to write clearly and precisely. You have to get your point across and if you don't have very good writing skills, you're not going to be able to do that.

Communication is more important than technical. If I go into to speak to the Admiral or to speak to my Captain, I can't talk to him the way that I speak with, you know, the guy that's in there with the gear with me. I can't say, hey, give me that wrench or you need to do this. I can't do that. So learning to communicate with certain people, for example - you don't say to your grandmother," yeah, I'll do it in a minute." It's "Yes, ma'am, here I come". That's pretty much how communication falls into place. You have to be able to know how to speak to each person.