[00:00:00] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I got to a point where I was struggling so much that I had to go get mental help. and I, I walked, remember walking into the office talking to my boss at the time and I said, Hey I’m looking at my life right now, and I don’t wanna be here.

[00:00:11] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I need to figure it out, and then he’s like, man, you got so much to live for. You got so much going on. Like, that’s not what, what you see is not what I feel. and he directed me over to get some help. And that was the best decision I made in my life, was to get some help. ​

[00:00:39] Lloyd Knight: Welcome to the Tango Tango Podcast. Top talks or honest discussions with, retired first sergeants. And man, I’m so happy. I’ve got a fellow Bush Institute, VLP, veterans Leadership Program graduate, and one of my new friends. We got Dr. Keith “KC” Castille joining us today, and hey, he’s joining from the VFW outside of Orlando, Florida.

[00:01:03] Lloyd Knight: So that’s why he is got the sexy backdrop today. Hey, 

[00:01:06] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Oh, no. We, we move, we moved Lloyd, I’m in Miami. 

[00:01:09] Lloyd Knight: Holy cow. 

[00:01:10] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: in the VFW in Miami Beach. Literally off the water.

[00:01:14] Lloyd Knight: I talked to him yesterday and he was in Orlando. So KC, welcome to the podcast. Thank you brother for getting on and doing this.

[00:01:22] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: thanks brother, man. Hey, as we both know, man, been trying to get our schedules aligned. was having the fomo. I was like, wait, hold on man. I see all these great people on Lloyd’s show, man. I’m like,What do I have to do to get on the Tango Tango?

[00:01:34] Lloyd Knight: had to take care of one of your former bosses. First

[00:01:37] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Yeah. I 

[00:01:38] Lloyd Knight: we had chief master, Sergeant of the Air Force, retired Joe Bass, which we’ll talk a little bit about, but, hey KC, I wanna get to know you brother. where’d you grow up at?

[00:01:47] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Man, I grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana. Uh, I like to say, uh, home in the world’s largest crawfish boil. And so, uh, grew up, all the way up to the age of 18 and joined the Air Force at 18. and just, a guy that’s from the boot.

[00:02:00] Lloyd Knight: I did too. I joined in 18 out of Radcliffe, Kentucky. But hey, let’s, before we get into the Air Force, let’s just take it back a little bit. What did your childhood look like?

[00:02:10] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Oh man, I ain’t knew you was going this deep there, Lloyd. Now you see, now you take me too much. Mean, look, my childhood was one, I said this at my retirement. and I never wanna disrespect the people who have raised me, the people who were part of my journey up to the age of 18. But what I shared during my retirement was, I grew up in a home where, It wasn’t until I was an adult, I realized that the people around me loved me the best way they could. Right? and so what that mean is, is that what I now know of how to raise kids was different than what I saw. not that life was always bad, but humble beginnings, grew up in the hood, you know?

[00:02:44] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I like to say I was raised by the Boys and Girls Club because once I joined the Boys and Girls Club, I learned about. A different world out there. I learned that you can actually leave Lafayette, Louisiana, where area in which I live was called Ville. And so I learned that I can leave Ville and actually go do something in the world that’s, that could be meaningful.

[00:03:01] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I grew up around individuals who were some good people. but also I grew up around hustlers, drug dealers, and individuals who taught me a whole lot as I was coming up. But I also learned things that, things I should not do because it would land me in jail or even killed.

[00:03:16] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And so, not saying that my childhood was all bad, I would say that my childhood was a journey. And when I’m sitting around a lot of my in, you know, when I was in the Air Force and I’m sitting around a lot of my teammates, I learned that my childhood was very unique. single parent home.

[00:03:30] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: But there were men that helped to raise me as my mom would date and so forth. But. But overall, was a guy that just grew up with very humble beginnings, that had people around me who showed me the right way and who pointed to another direction, which happened to be the Air Force back in 1999.

[00:03:47] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Well, five,

[00:03:49] Lloyd Knight: well you’re making me old. I joined in 1987. what kind of student were you? KC? 

[00:03:54] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: look, 

[00:03:54] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I was a strong b

[00:03:55] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: plus. I was a strong b plus. Now. 

[00:03:59] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I was a strong C minus throughout the entire, six weeks until, you know, I had to put it in gear. And I,got to a b plus now. So I was a, I was a good student man. Um, I played basketball, so for me, playing basketball, I definitely had to meet that grade point average.

[00:04:12] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: so I played, like I said, playing ball kept me in the game, made me more focused on, getting the grades I needed to be able to stay on the

[00:04:18] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: court.

[00:04:19] Lloyd Knight: All right. The, uh, , small forward.

[00:04:21] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I played all positions. I played forward, I played center. I tried to play the guard, but then my coach would put me back to the, put me back to the low post again. Uh, wanted to do the shooting guard, put me back to the low post again. But yeah, I played, I played a couple of

[00:04:34] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: positions. 

[00:04:35] Lloyd Knight: so you joined the Air Force. I imagine you, you saw the opportunity, like you mentioned. to leave Lafayette and change the stars. I often say my dad did that as well. My, my dad was a, is a, retired from the army. He grew up as a sharecropper first in Kentucky, and then a fruit picker in California.

[00:04:54] Lloyd Knight: he joined the army. He got his GED, changed his stars for his kids. and then I look where I’m at. So I, I imagine you, you saw that an opportunity to, just take off. And what did you sign up to be in the Air Force?

[00:05:07] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: So I signed up to be in the medical 

[00:05:09] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: field. 

[00:05:09] Lloyd Knight: Okay. 

[00:05:11] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: That was what I signed up for initially. And then we got a call that I can come in a little earlier and do the circumstances, the things that happened in the neighborhood. things that happened to a family member, I was like, Hey, I wanna get outta here as early as I can, right?

[00:05:26] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And so they gave me a call and they said, Hey, we have three positions open, and I believe that’s the recruiting tactic here. And we have three positions open. and then those three positions we be part of the buddy program. And so I joined with two of my, friends I grew up with. And so now when it came down to me leaving.

[00:05:46] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Early ’cause I was on the delayed enlistment. It required me to change my air force specialty code. And so I ended up coming in as a weapons technician, so a bomb loader. And so that’s what I did all of my career. So I was a two w one, guy that put warheads on foreheads.

[00:06:04] Lloyd Knight: what did your tech school look like?

[00:06:05] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Oh man. It was in Shepherd Air Force Base, man. it was chill, you know, it was my first time getting on a plane, flying, to basic training, then we bust to shepherds. That was my first time actually leaving, I would say a three hour, four hour radius of Louisiana.

[00:06:20] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I think the only time I went out of town, which was a little longer, I’d say six hours, was Houston, Texas, where the majority of my other family lived. So I only knew Lafayette and Houston. That was it. That’s the only places I’ve been. but then now flew to San Antonio and then bust up to Shepherd Air Force Base, which was, uh, it was, it was chill.

[00:06:38] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I mean, I paid attention listening to the things I was

[00:06:40] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: supposed to do. 

[00:06:41] Lloyd Knight: let me ask you this. On your way up from Lackland, did the bus stop in the middle of nowhere to have chicken fried steak?

[00:06:47] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: No, they didn’t do that. They, no, it was a straight shot. It was a

[00:06:50] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: straight, straight 

[00:06:51] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: shot. 

[00:06:51] Lloyd Knight: So there used to be a restaurant for decades, and I mean for decades and decades for everybody that was going to Exaco and Shepherd and you would stop at the, in the middle of nowhere and you would have chicken fried steak and cream corn and mashed potatoes. So that place must be out of business. So it was only open.

[00:07:10] Lloyd Knight: It was only open for That

[00:07:12] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Yeah. Oh, snap. I did not know that was that. That was the eighties. You see the nineties? They didn’t do that.

[00:07:18] Lloyd Knight: Yeah, that’s funny. So, uh, what was your first assignment, KC?

[00:07:22] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: First time it was Pope Air Force Base. No Hope Pope. And I was told about Pope. I actually wanted Pope because my sister, she joined the Army and so her first base and where she resided was Fort Bragg. And so when I got Pope, I was excited. 

[00:07:39] Lloyd Knight: So you got Pope as a bomb loader, so you must have been there for that very small period where they had airlift and fighter aircraft.

[00:07:48] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Yeah, so they had airlift, they had the, um, C one thirties, and they also had f sixteens. But I went to tech school with, my tech school was a tens and so sixteens were on location for about seven months. When I got there in 96, sixteens were there and then we rolled them out to Canon Air Force Base, and then we brought in the a tens that came from Georgia.

[00:08:10] Lloyd Knight: So were you there after the accident on the green ramp 

[00:08:13] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I got there

[00:08:14] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: afterwards, 

[00:08:14] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: that was one of

[00:08:15] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: the reasons,

[00:08:15] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: yeah. 

[00:08:16] Lloyd Knight: yeah. One of our, one of our guests, prior guests, runs the Georgia Veterans Day Parade, Kevin. And so he was actually injured in that accident on the green ramp.

[00:08:25] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Oh, wow.

[00:08:26] Lloyd Knight: So,

[00:08:26] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Wow. 

[00:08:27] Lloyd Knight: you, so you, you moved to Pope and was your sister still there at the time? 

[00:08:31] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: she was there for probably a year once I got there. So we got time to spend about a year together. but she actually went to, I wanna say she went overseas at that point. I think she got Camp Humphreys and then she came back to Fort Bragg. ’cause they had a 19 year stint at Fort Bragg overall in their 

[00:08:48] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: career. but then I got orders when she was on the way back. I got orders to Korea and then and nten. And so we, so we missed each other at that point. And then toward the latter end of my career, I would say probably at my 17, 18 year mark, no, no, this was, yeah, around 17, 18 year mark, she got back to Bragg and then I was actually at Seymour Johnson and then we had maybe a four or five month period where we was close to each other, some distance from each other.

[00:09:16] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I was able to go and hang out, you know, a couple hours. Right. Seymour Johnson, Fort Bragg is not too far, but I was able to go hang out

[00:09:22] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: just a little bit. 

[00:09:22] Lloyd Knight: Yeah, that’s pretty cool. I got actually stationed with my brother. My brother’s a retired Air Force, so he, he was a dental tech for most of his career and he was at Scott Air Force Base working in the, the Wing. I was working in headquarters Air Mobility Command, and he was the one who convinced me to become a First Sergeant ’cause he was a First Sergeant.

[00:09:42] Lloyd Knight: So that was a pretty neat experience. So, Hey KC, I gotta ask you this. I, I just noticed something. So you’re at Pope. Seymour Johnson, chief Bass was at Pope and Seymour Johnson. Did you know her at those two locations?

[00:09:56] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I did not know her. Crazy. I did not know her at Pope Air Force Base. However, one of my best friends, Jay Harris, Either she was his troop or, or vice versa, I think. Was it? Yeah, one of the two. But they, they, they were connected, right? Either they worked in the same unit. I, I think either It must have been where, yeah, she brought him in, she onboarded him into their career field.

[00:10:22] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: They were the same career field. And so, uh, yeah, but I did not, I did not know her at, at, at po. And I did not know, um. the previous stems staff who was a Pope alumni who was there at the time too. I think before me. So no, did not know him during that time. Now, now her and I, we met in Germany.

[00:10:41] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: She was the top three president. I was the top three vice president on Ramstein Airbase. So we met back in 2009, 2010. 

[00:10:51] Lloyd Knight: Okay. 

[00:10:51] Lloyd Knight: So we, we have so much in common. So I was stationed at Ramstein about six years before you were. I was also stationed at Seymour. when were you at Seymour?

[00:11:01] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I got to see more in 2012. 2012 to 15.

[00:11:04] Lloyd Knight: I retired in 2007, so Goldsboro, North Carolina. So I, going into Goldsboro, North Carolina, I don’t know if they still have the sign, but there used to be a sign, a winter of Best Small town community in 1986. And then I always kid around,they won the award and they gave up.

[00:11:23] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Yeah, because it wasn’t there when I got there.

[00:11:26] Lloyd Knight: It was, it was so depressing. I wanted to go there, I think it was like number five on my, my dream sheet when I went to the First Sergeant Academy. I had a great commander. I was the first sergeant of the comm squadron. I really liked it, but the local area beside good barbecue, I did not appreciate.

[00:11:42] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I would say when I le, I left Germany to go to Seymour Johnson, and by far I would say that was probably the most anger I ever had in getting an assignment. And then I would say when I was probably midway through my assignment at looking back, right midway through my assignment at Seymour Johnson, I began to love Seymour Johnson.

[00:12:03] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: and when it was time for me to go. It was definitely a hard decision. Like, man, of course I wanted to leave ’cause I was going to a job that I, I was really passionate about, but it was by far one of my, the best bases I’ve been at. And I’m a, I’m a, I’m a faith guy and, and I believe that God, although I did not want to go to Seymour Johnson, God knew the right place for me to be with me and my three sons.

[00:12:23] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And so, when I got there, like I said, it was rough, but by the time I left it all. I had probably the worst, I would say, probably the worst time in my life when I was stationed at Seymour Johnson and the family, the camaraderie, the things that happened there, I would say was probably the best experience to date in my life, being at Seymour

[00:12:40] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Johnson. 

[00:12:40] Lloyd Knight: Wow. So the interesting. let’s talk a little bit about your career advancement. you became a chief master sergeant in the Air Force, so an E nine. So for my non air force and none veterans that tune into Tango Tango an E nine, only 1% of Air Force makes it up to the EE nine.

[00:12:59] Lloyd Knight: So just 1%. And you were one of those one percenters. Let’s talk about your,career progression. I, and I’ll tell you a little bit about mine. I flew operationally for three years outta Charleston, and then I got into flight test and I loved flight test. I was uh, three years in Wright Patterson and then five years out at the Air Force Flight Test Center in Edwards.

[00:13:21] Lloyd Knight: Amazing assignment. Man, I kind of lost my way. I was the only airman, aviator in the command for a while. there was only four load masters. And I didn’t have great mentors talking about career progression and then making Staff Sergeant honestly was. Was slow at the time. I, I, I made it at seven and a half years.

[00:13:41] Lloyd Knight: I pinned it on, which sounds like a long time, but I was actually above the curve the first couple times I, I tested, I needed over a hundred. and then something clicked. So I moved to Germany actually, and it clicked. And I, I, I flew through got promoted E six pretty quickly.

[00:13:59] Lloyd Knight: Got promoted E seven, quickly missed senior by a half a point when I decided to retire Right at 20. but did something click in you or were you always kind of motivated for that next rank?

[00:14:12] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: No. When I came in I had low expectations. ‘Cause I knew I was only doing four years and I was gonna get out and go play basketball. ’cause my goal was to get to the NBA. And probably about my second, third year and I realized I ain’t, I ain’t going nobody darn the NBA. so I reenlisted and when I reenlisted, I only came in for four years.

[00:14:31] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: My other friends, the other two that I came in with, they came in for six. I came in for four. I, well, Kirk did, I think Kirk, yeah, Kirk did four. Other one came in for six, but, but he knew he was only gonna do one. Right. I knew I was gonna only do four years and go, so I didn’t take the extra stripes or nothing of that.

[00:14:46] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I was an airman basic. And so knowing that I did not get that opportunity right. So I had to work from the airman basic work, work from there. And I wasn’t the motivated kid. I wasn’t the guy that was playing that was out there. Playing the system and doing all I can to get promoted.

[00:15:01] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I was focused on playing basketball, I was playing on the base team. We would travel to all these different things. I had a family and so that, that was my goals. And then until I met a guy who was like, man, you can go so far. And so it wasn’t until I got back from, I went to Korea and then from Tyle, and, I’m sorry, went to Korea and to Tyndall.

[00:15:20] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And when I got to Tyle, I had a supervisor, Mike Minna, who was like. He was, he sat me down and kind of gave me the business, right? Like, you can do so much, man. How many classes have you taken? Have you done this? Have you done that? And I’m in the weapons career field. He said, if you just take a couple of classes, a couple of classes, he said, you’re gonna set yourself apart.

[00:15:36] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: So I just started chunking away at taking classes back in 2002, start chunking away, taking classes, and I started to see that even in the weapons career field, by just doing a little more, I would set myself above a lot of my peers. And so that put me in a position years later where I became a PME instructor.

[00:15:54] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Got me exposed to people like that soon to be, of course, Simsa bass retired individuals who were prominent that you see across the Air Force today, individuals. I was part of my circle growing up and I just saw things in them that I did not see in myself, which I wanted to be like. And so, I went to PME, professional military education.

[00:16:14] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Start to get rank and, and move up and titles at that point. And right around my 17 year mark is when I was basically up for chief, master Sergeant. And this is something I have not shared, I don’t think I’ve ever shared on the podcast, but I’m gonna share it with you Lloyd.

[00:16:28] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: ‘ cause I, we in a safe space, you know, and, um, I had the number one board score when I tested for chief, my first go around. And lemme tell you, the most embarrassing thing in my life that I’m even embarrassed to say it right now is that when you looked at that score sheet, you saw that that was the individual who had the highest board score who did not get promoted.

[00:16:49] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: That was 

[00:16:49] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: me. 

[00:16:50] Lloyd Knight: Hey, I know how you feel, brother. I, I have the second highest in the entire Air Force as an E eight, and I got a line. I actually went to the senior NCO Academy as a un-select the second highest without getting promoted, I fill your pain, 

[00:17:04] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I was number one that the best board scorer in the air force did not get promoted. The second year I was in the second grouping, did not get promoted. My third year I had the top, I think top five board scorer did not get promoted. But let me tell you why. Lemme tell you why. And I’m only sharing this here.

[00:17:25] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: and I hope there are some, some good investigators out there be like, yeah, I’m gonna go check this thing out if I could. I think I shared this with you. Seymour Johnson one of the worst times of my life uh, lost somebody very close to me. went through a divorce three years prior.

[00:17:37] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Ended up, from Germany now, and Seymour Johnson was moving to a different area in my life. Met someone new she passed away. I was a single parent now with three sons. And so I got picked up for this position that was gonna take me to San Antonio. But I also knew that if I were to make E nine, that I would have to go back to the weapons career field.

[00:18:00] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: and being a chief in the weapons career field mean means that I, that was gonna be things I would have to in order to be successful as a chief in order to be, to do right by the Air Force as a chief. I will tell you that there are ways in which. You can just go in and just mark certain answers and just go a, all the way down, B, all the way down and call it a, I’m not, I’m not um, I cannot confirm or deny I did that.

[00:18:22] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: But I will tell you is that if you choose to put a all the way down, there’s a good chance you’ll get 25, 25, 25 in the test. But but in all seriousness, I really had to think about my career. I really had to think about my boys and the most, grateful thing, especially in my faith.

[00:18:41] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I would say I am happy. I did not go in there as a number one board score and make chief Master sergeant because I was not ready to be a chief for no airman. I was going through so much pain, so much hurt, so much depression. I wouldn’t have been a good chief, but it came to my third time where I was like, you know what, there are too many people who invested in me.

[00:19:07] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I don’t want nothing to happen to my boys. I don’t wanna lose them because I had, I had custody of them, but I said, but it’s time. I do right by my mentors. I’m ready mentally, physically, spiritually. when it was my time, it was at my 20 year mark. I went in there and I blew out the water.

[00:19:23] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I’m like, I’m ready to be a chief. I’m ready to be an E nine in our United States Air Force, and I wanna take care of him. And I went in there and I put forth my best effort and, and, and I made

[00:19:31] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: chief. 

[00:19:32] Lloyd Knight: how did you become there mentally, physically, and spiritually? So what, what changed your.

[00:19:38] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Uh, One was and, and I’m gonna say this, openly is that, and the culture I grew up in, and I’m not gonna say it is African American culture, it’s a certain culture, whatever. I’m gonna say in my culture, growing up, we didn’t talk about mental health. I saw a lot of people in my, in my family, in my world, in Lafayette, struggling with certain things and those things you don’t talk about, we don’t know medical history, we don’t know anything.

[00:20:01] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: We just. Just some things we don’t talk about. And then, and then you wanna switch it to more of men. There are some things that we hide from what I’ve learned. And so, I got to a point where I was struggling so much that I had to go get mental help. and I, I walked, remember walking into the office talking to my boss at the time and I said, Hey I’m looking at my life right now, and I, I don’t, I don’t wanna be here.

[00:20:22] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I need to figure it out, and then he’s like, man, you got so much to live for. You got so much going on. Like, that’s not what, what you see is not what I feel. and he directed me over to get some help. And that was the best decision I made in my life, was to get some help. and I would saynot allow myself to think about the past and what happened and not think that what happened was to me.

[00:20:44] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: But what happened was not necessarily about me, and my faith got me a decision, and that decision was made. And so what I had to do was live with it and find a way to live through it. And it wasn’t until I got help where I was able to truly understand that. And of course, getting more close spiritually with my faith and understand that, there’s always a purpose and there’s a reason why I’m here.

[00:21:04] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And so that helped me through it, man. that took six months. But I would tell you here it is,man, this is now, you talking 12 years from that situation. And I’m still, I’m still getting mental health. I’m still getting things I need to, get myself through, through things that, you know, I may feel or things other hurt I’ve been through.

[00:21:24] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And so, I just thank God that he, was able to get me through. I would say the most, I would say the most chaotic time of my

[00:21:32] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: life. 

[00:21:32] Lloyd Knight: Well, kudos to you for getting that help, and then if you follow KC on LinkedIn. and Sarah loves herself. Some KC, Sarah’s my, my bride. she loves your posting. And just that you share the, your feelings, you share the struggles. You encourage others to get, get help. I think it’s a uh, pretty tremendous, and you, you’re changing the narrative that needs to be changed not only in the military space, but in, in the veteran space.

[00:21:59] Lloyd Knight: we have too many brothers and sisters that are harming themselves. Each and, and every day. And I think the more people with bravery that step up, like, Dr. Keith “KC” Castille, it’s gonna serve the community. so well. So thank you. 

[00:22:14] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: so welcome man, Lloyd. But there’s no, but I felt like I had to do that. gone back, Lloyd, and look at your post man. and since we’ve met, since we’ve connected through the veteran leadership program at the Bush institute, man, we have great lives.

[00:22:27] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: We have great lives. We got great brides, we got grandpas, you name it, like life is good, but people only see what we want them to see. And when they walk up to us, you know what they see Lloyd, they see success. They see greatness. And they don’t know that There was some struggles in that.

[00:22:45] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And so I remember someone coming to me one time, and I know this, this has happened to you a thousand times, Lloyd, where someone comes to you and say, man, how can I be just like you? Or how can I get to where the success you’re 

[00:22:55] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: at? And I, and I felt obligated to now, not because of that, but I had that, I had a conversation with that person and I felt obligated at that point that you only seeing the 

[00:23:05] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: good. And if, I’m only seeing, if you only seen the good, then you think that. I got it all together and I got everything figured out and I don’t, and so I wanted to share that bit of vulnerability because people also need to see that behind, behind the successful husband, me and you, right? There’s a successful, there’s a bride that’s helping us through the pain points that we have experienced and the things in life that we had to go through.

[00:23:29] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: and transition wasn’t easy, right? And they see all the great things I’m doing now, but trust, there was some pains. In my initial transition. So, but I wasn’t showing that. But people thought that that’s what it was. And I wanted to share that vulnerability because I want people, when they struggle through transition, they struggle through maybe someone passing that we’ve been there, like reach out, like, let’s get through this together.

[00:23:54] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: You don’t have to suffer alone. and I felt that that was, that was

[00:23:57] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: warranted and 

[00:23:57] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: needed.

[00:23:58] Lloyd Knight: Yeah, absolutely. I’m so thankful for the veteran community in Vet Atlanta. I established or helped to establish that helped me through my struggles and, the men and women on the vet Atlanta board that, that, you know, uh, hugged me and so yeah, some very weak points. I, uh, wow.

[00:24:20] Lloyd Knight: If that community wasn’t there, my life would be. Not what it is today. so, you know, you’ve seen me be very vulnerable. So, but with that, before we start tearing up both of us, now you’re a chief master sergeant. what is life look as one of the one percenters.

[00:24:36] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: man. Lemme tell you, especially. Because that boss, that, that was on your show she has mentored me. She has groomed me for certain positions in life. She’s gotten me ready for when the opportunity comes, I will be ready. That being a chief, I learned early on that it’s not about me. It’s, I’m part, I’m the 1%, but it’s about 99%.

[00:24:56] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: If you think that you’re gonna be in any way helpful and being of, of a lifter to the, the 99% that need you by thinking about you being 1%. you’re gonna be a loser. And so, it wasn’t easy. It was, it was hard. And I would tell you one, my first instances, especially getting into the se I would say, senior enlisted leader realm was when, I experienced some things at Seymour Johnson, where well one, it was an individual who tried to commit suicide high ops tempo to you name it, Those things. you’re not reading this in a book leadership book, will not teach you how to, how to, how to grow through chaos, right? there are some good leadership books out there, Lloyd, but it did not prepare me for the people that’s gonna call audibles every single day,

[00:25:41] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: every single 

[00:25:42] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: minute. 

[00:25:42] Lloyd Knight: oh yeah. Same thing as a First Sergeant. The you go to First Sergeant, the academy and you do role playing and they throw books at you. But that is trial by fire. Man. Every day is different. And there’s only three people in the squad. That know what the hell is going on in, in an Air Force squads, the chief, the first Sergeant and the commander, and you, you think you might be in the know, you’re not in the know.

[00:26:06] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: and Lloyd you as the first sergeant, every time somebody come into that office, what do they say? What’s the one line they say when it’s time to, when it’s time to hand ’em the SmackDown? But, but boss, they’re good people. They everybody. Good people until they get a DUI.

[00:26:21] Lloyd Knight: Get outta my office.

[00:26:23] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Yeah. I learned that early, man. I remember Colonel, Colonel Baldman. He is like, kc, one thing you need to learn is cheap. Is everybody’s good.

[00:26:30] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: People when they’re in 

[00:26:31] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: trouble. 

[00:26:32] Lloyd Knight: Yeah, like everybody in prison’s, innocent.

[00:26:35] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Yeah. Well that is true. That is true

[00:26:40] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: in their head.

[00:26:41] Lloyd Knight: Oh yeah. the stories that that chiefs and first sergeants can tell on, on what their, their troops do. you could write books and, and novels and, and volumes of books. ’cause some of it’s sad, some of it’s pathetic and some of it’s just damn right. Funny, honestly. 

[00:26:57] Lloyd Knight: Yeah.

[00:26:58] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: it is. It is. It is a real movie.

[00:27:00] Lloyd Knight: So fast forward, so you get selected by chief of master Sergeant a uh, Joanne Bass, that come work with her up in the Pentagon. what did that call look like and then how was the initial period of that job? 

[00:27:15] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: So there was some things happening behind the scenes. I’m never gonna share, but there was some things that was happening behind the scenes and and I got a call, right? And. it was a great call, but it was kind of in a, in a, in a turmoil time because we already bought land in San Antonio.

[00:27:31] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I was at BMT. I’ve been to jobs already where I felt like I’ve reached a pinnacle of my career and I’m a senior leader in one of the units at BMT, and I’m like, man, this is where we’re gonna retire. but one of my goals and dreams was always to work at a Pentagon, but I knew I would never get there because there was only one position there for my career field.

[00:27:47] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: However, when I got the call saying, Hey. the stars may align, things of God, whatever. Now, hey, would you be willing, boom, boom, right in the conversation and got the call and say, Hey, I want you and na Natalie to think on this. And I was, we already thought on it. We was like, Hey, we coming to DC because the thing of it is, is that although, SIM, SAF bass was the first female.

[00:28:12] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And you start going through all the first right of what she was and what she was during that time. What I knew of her was a very smart, passionate, caring, and someone who was going to take the Air Force a step further than the person who left it to her, which was a great thing, right?

[00:28:30] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Because that’s the goal. How do we take it two more steps further from, matter of fact, the person before her, one of the greats, and to me, I felt like when she was nominated for that position, when she, when she was in that position I felt that everyone, that what loved her, cared for her, that truly loved her and cared for her, had her back.

[00:28:52] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And so whoever she called, they answered that call and they said, Hey, we’re gonna, we we’re all in and we’re gonna, we’re gonna, we’re gonna be there. Matter of fact, in 30, 45 days. And so that was more to the phone call, that was more to the movements of things that happened. But long story short the phone call happened.

[00:29:08] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: The opportunity was there and I knew that for me, that I had to be behind my sister as she go on to take a position of leadership in this world that was going to be, was, was going, one was gonna be a sight to see that she could, that she’s gonna do some amazing things for our department of the Air Force, our Air Force at the time.

[00:29:26] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And I was just happy to be, to be a fly on the wall, to be a part of that. And play a small part in the success that she had in India and what our Air

[00:29:33] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Force had. 

[00:29:34] Lloyd Knight: Man, I bet you you were smoking busy in that job.

[00:29:38] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: So initially, so she brought me to the Pentagon, but my job initially I worked in a one, which is our union personnel, kind of directorate. And so I was doing forest development. So basically, if you work in the Pentagon, you know you have 10 bosses, right?

[00:29:52] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: So. Even though you work for a colonel or SES, you better believe where you work as a chief. You had direct access to the chief master sergeant in the Air Force who had equities in what you were building. You also worked for a three star. You also worked for the, chief of staff in so many ways, because that was what, that’s the triad of the top, right?

[00:30:13] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: So they’re working their things. And so, I just remember we were working our product and she called us on a Friday with the rest of her team. and she basically told us about the thing that we were working on, and she basically told us at two o’clock on a Friday, we’ve been working our butts off for this.

[00:30:26] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Like, I mean, our butts off. And she basically was like, you know, after all this time, this is what you give me, man. And that was her word, man. MEH man. She even gave me a t-shirt that said that when I retired, man. But the point was, the point was we worked our tails off on this. This is something that we, the Air Force have never seen before.

[00:30:46] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And all she gave us was, man. But here’s the coolest thing about that, that thing she did, because what she did was she lit a fire under me. And my, and, and my brother, she blaze. She lit a fire in us, because think about this, to this day, I don’t believe she truly looked at what we gave her. But one thing she did know was that whatever we gave her, it wasn’t a hundred percent that we could have give more.

[00:31:11] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: So we actually turned in that product. A month later and do you know that product was, and I kid, I kid you not by saying this was a hundred times better than what we turned in in our brains initially.and so for her, she exactly how to light a fire under us and that what we gave probably wasn’t our best.

[00:31:35] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And then we went out and gave more and delivered more for our Air force. And that was a valuable lesson we learned was that, yeah, we may be doing something new, but there are people above us that knows that we can do more in the positions that we’re in and don’t get complacent. And on a Friday, getting off that call at two 30 and man, this is not what I’m looking for.

[00:31:57] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I mean, we literally, we, our heart sunk for that weekend. We went through the whole, you know, you don’t get bad news, you know, first start. You don’t get bad news on Friday, right? You wait till Monday. And that bad news lit us and gave us the steam we needed. I’m appreciative of that early on as a chief that she did that early on in that strategic level position because it helped shape the way in which I did business

[00:32:21] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: afterwards. It’s all about giving the best I have. So when you come back to me, you say, Hey, KC, I know you can do better. I’m gonna tell you right now, I can’t do better. Because I already gave you all I have, I would not turn in a product that I have not given my 100% best that you

[00:32:37] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: can 

[00:32:37] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: trust. 

[00:32:38] Lloyd Knight: So what? What was your high point in that position?

[00:32:41] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: My high point was being able to deliver to the Air Force products and information and a plan and strategy and execution that have not been seen in over, I think to date we say 30 plus years. You know, I worked in the A one initially. I moved over to transformation, the transformation kind of area of the Air Force, and then I moved directly under her office my last year working the new evaluation system, working transformation for the Air Force overall.

[00:33:09] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And so one thing I learned is that it’s not about, it’s not about what you deliver today, because what you deliver today, the airman will see it and it’ll be old news come next week. Is, are you progressing and are you thinking about the airman of tomorrow? And so what you deliver today, you already gotta be thinking five, 10 years out.

[00:33:30] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And so that taught me how to one structure, one, one moving on to this side of the world, structure a business, but also structure my thinking around business. And I felt that was very valuable and a learning experience for

[00:33:42] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: me.

[00:33:43] Lloyd Knight: Well, we’re gonna definitely talk about business in, in a little bit ’cause that’s where you got my attention is the incredible things you’re doing in, in your business. But let’s, before we get there, let’s talk about your transition. So you still had some runway in front of you and, but why’d you decide to, to retire instead of going the full 30?

[00:33:59] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: My wife was happy. Opportunity came where I can go do some pretty cool things. Some jobs that was gonna be made available and I looked at my wife and I was like, Hey, I’m they thinking about doing this should be for my next part of my career. I got these opportunities and. And it wasn’t the places or the certain opportunity, it was the fact that I looked at her.

[00:34:18] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And although we’ve been, at that point, particular time we’ve married, I think maybe four or five years I looked at her and I saw her how happy she was and, and she’s like, Keith, I’m, I’m ready to, whatever you wanna do, I’m, I’m with it. And I saw how committed she was to my success and my happiness, and I thought at that moment, what if I not think about myself and I think about her happiness for a moment.

[00:34:42] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And her happiness was more important than my ambition because the truth was when I really had to think about it, I was happy. I had everything I wanted. I had the great jobs, I worked where I wanted, to get to this high point and work at a strategic level at the Pentagon to be at BMT to work in positions that I, I can honestly say I have a career that is very unique.

[00:35:05] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: and I promise you this, if you go and you do any research, you’ll find that my career is one of one, one of one in my own head, right? Everybody got different things, but in my own head, I’m one of one. And the things that I’ve done and the, the jobs that I’ve had, the things that I’ve done, the things that I’ve learned and how people have invested in me, and I can honestly say I’m one of one.

[00:35:26] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And that, I felt that was no more to give. That the Air force was in great hands and my wife happiness was more than an ambition to go do something more and conquer something new. maybe it was time to conquer something new on the, on the

[00:35:38] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: entrepreneurship 

[00:35:39] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: side. 

[00:35:39] Lloyd Knight: Again, we have so much in, in common. I, I, I made the same 20 and we both retired when we were absolutely still in love with it. we know veterans that look back at their service and speak about it. Like, disparagingly and I, I look back and wow, I’m, I’m still in love.

[00:35:55] Lloyd Knight: 19 years later, I’m. Love with the US Air Force. That’s not to say I didn’t, some parts of it didn’t suck ’cause that would be a lie. But as a whole, I absolutely love the Air Force and left it at a good time. so I know with spending some good quality time with you in, in Dallas and DC that you did struggle.

[00:36:14] Lloyd Knight: It doesn’t look like it when you look at the success you had. So let’s talk about the transition. Let’s talk about. I definitely wanna know about all the successes you had, but maybe some of the failures on, on, on the way to get to where you established your own business.

[00:36:30] Lloyd Knight: you’re traveling to Africa,you’ve got these great contracts. you’re teaching in foreign governments. you’re working with recurrence io, the company that owns the military conference and, and doing those amazing things. But brother, how did you get there?

[00:36:43] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Man through struggle. when I realized that my identity was wrapped up into what I did for 28 and a half years, and I also realized that, I lost faith and I lost parts of me that should have been focused on my faith. And knowing my identity belongs and falls in line with his principles.

[00:37:00] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: and what I, what I’ve come to learn is that when you’re wearing a uniform, especially as a EE nine chief, you are, you’re one, you’re needed. And then when you take off that uniform, it’s not that you’re not one, not needed, it’s just that the system continues to move on because that’s more chiefs, that’s more, that’s people that’s in the system that require, requires them to lead, and they don’t need you anymore.

[00:37:19] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: In that sense. you’re the old guy. You’re the uncle now. Right. And so I understand that, from 300 emails a day to zero phone calls now, zero emails, and it’s like, man, I’m not needed. and what I had to realize was that it’s time for me to move on in a good way. And so, and my, by my sixth, seventh month mark, I realized I need to move on in a good way.

[00:37:40] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And I said, you know what? I’m gonna invest my time and effort into this company, C two H. And so when I started to put my time, my opportunity and some brain power towards. The thing I loved, which is leadership development, workforce education, workforce solutions. I felt that was in line with what my passion was, and so that’s what I moved into, right?

[00:38:01] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: But my transition was hard because it took me six, seven months to realize that, that this side of the world is different, and if I don’t start thinking different, then I’m going to be left behind. The hardest part of it was that, especially when you’re about to retire, people make promises.

[00:38:17] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: People tell you things. You think you’re gonna be all well off because you work somewhere, you know certain people. The truth is what got you there won’t get you the next place. You know what got you here won’t get you there. And so you still gotta continue to work. And the repetitions you had for 28 and a half years, you’re gonna have to use some new muscles now.

[00:38:35] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: it’s some things called business development, return on investment. you know, supply and demand that we didn’t have to worry about when we were in because we got paid on the first and 15th. We had a mission, we had a task, we got those things done. But now, yeah, if you’re not producing, we don’t need you, I had to learn new muscles. I had to learn new muscles and create new muscle

[00:38:53] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: memory. 

[00:38:54] Lloyd Knight: I often say the first seven years at UPSI worked way harder than I ever did in the Air Force. I mean way, way harder. I had more stress. And uh, you know, different type of stress and, and I mean, it was hard. I was blessed ’cause I jumped into a great position. My transition was, wasn’t a big deal, but once I got in it, I had to figure out a lot of stuff just like you, you had to figure out a lot.

[00:39:21] Lloyd Knight: So let’s talk about C two H. So what was your vision and what exactly is your company doing?

[00:39:27] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: vision when I first started was just to be, to go in a room, whether it was workforce development, leadership development, executive coaching, to go in the room and change one life. That was the goal. Right off the bat, we got an opportunity to go work in Zambia, did some work for helping build gender-based violence policy, helping with mental health awareness, and also a trainer.

[00:39:44] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Trainer. We got a second opportunity to go work in Tunisia doing the same thing. Right. And so that was to us. that opened up my eyes that we don’t not have to just be a leadership development company. We can be a workforce solutions company because we have people on our team who’ve done some amazing things, and they have the brain power behind what they did, and we can turn this into a monetized business.

[00:40:04] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: and so we, we kind of moved into an area where we’re more about workforce solutions. We got opportunities to work with Fortune 500 companies. we moved more, more into the corporate space and the government space. Now we’re. Now we’ve taken some time and effort to actually learn the government system and get prep for the government system, but overall, in our first year was all about learning.

[00:40:23] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And so that’s what we did for a year. Now we’re in our second year and the goal of the second year is we’re going from red to black. It’s because that first year was about learning and you spend a lot of money, and then the second year is about now for us, it’s about buying the systems and the pro and building the processes that makes things repeatable.

[00:40:39] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: So you can go in front of a client and actually convert. And so now we are more of a, of an organization that’s all about workforce solutions, whether it’s an AI integration whether it’s an executive coaching or even to building apps for other companies. And so that’s some opportunities we’ve had over the last year and a half.

[00:40:56] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And so, yeah, we we’re just in the process building and seeing what this thing looks like. So I’m excited about where it goes, where it’s going. This year is looking pretty good with the opportunities that we’re getting. And then also the things that we’re prepping for. And so, uh, it gives me a lot of excitement, especially with the team that’s behind me, a team that’s grinding every

[00:41:14] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: single day.

[00:41:15] Lloyd Knight: So where can interested potential customers find you guys?

[00:41:18] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Oh C two h transform.com. That’s where you go, C two h transform.com. You get to that page, you’ll see a link that says Connect with us. And I promise you, within seconds that KC bot will come right back at you. And that’s for more information and we will connect. My team will be on the call with you asap.

[00:41:38] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: and the one thing I love about what we’re doing at C two H, that yes, it is a for-profit business. We gotta eat and our family’s gotta get somewhere, right? But it’s the things that we’re doing that’s changing lives. And I strongly believe that is where the magic happens.

[00:41:52] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: people don’t buy into your company until they buy into what you’re actually doing and how it’s shaping their business and also shaping. Their return on investment. I said again, their return on investment and their return investment. not just the hardware and the things that they have.

[00:42:06] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: It’s the people in which that gives them the drive and the purpose and the motivation to wake up every single day to put their sweat and tears behind their mission, right? And that that’s the mission of the company. And we found ways to ensure that people are invested into their mission of what they’re doing.

[00:42:22] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Versus more focused on themselves, and that’s through some of the methodologies that we use.

[00:42:27] Lloyd Knight: Very cool. So, hey, let’s talk a little bit about Recurrent and the Military Influencers Conference because Cortez has this amazing vision and Catherine’s helping him execute it. And they’ve been really focused largely on the conference themselves, but they’ve made an investment and they’re starting to expand in different cities and do stuff. As we say of Atlanta between the summits or between the conferences. and you’ve been a big part of that and that’s why you’re, traveling to Florida right now. So can you talk a little bit about that expansion and then specifically what you’re up to?

[00:43:01] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: to be honest with you, I’m a very small, small part, if anything, 0.001% of anything that they’re doing right now. And Kathy, she saw something in me right when we met. She was like, nah, I want you to be a part of our team and. And I told her about what I’m doing in my company and, you know, we couldn’t figure it out early on because I’m so busy doing other things.

[00:43:19] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And all of a sudden, four months ago we had a big conversation. She was like, I really want you on my team. I really want you on my team and we can work this thing out. And we figured out a way to work it. And where I can be a part of this team and, and add value and where I’m adding in value is the Air Force side.

[00:43:32] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: and I wanna stop, stop and pause there for a second and say something about Kathy is that Kathy saw something in me and she saw something doing our VLP. And what she saw was, I think, was that this individual here, he’s good at what he does but he also needs a new circle. And one thing I thank God every day for was, was meeting my new sister.

[00:43:51] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: That allowed me. To know that I need to change, I need to build a different circle outside of my military network. And nothing against my military network, it was just that my circle that I had was not helping me where I needed to go next. And don’t get me wrong, I have a large circle of new military friends that we’re doing some pretty cool things together.

[00:44:08] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: but if I wanted to be successful on this side the railroad track. Is I need to build myself around new people. And so I’ve joined this team. Kathy’s allowed, I would say the last three months I’ve learned a lot. I’m growing as an individual, as a person, but I’m also growing as an entrepreneur.

[00:44:24] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: so I think her, and I think Cortez one for believing in me and for giving me the opportunity. everybody don’t give you opportunities, right? And so what I do for them is strategy and engagement. So we have these different events that we put on. We have these big.

[00:44:37] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Conferences that were happening, of course, September the Military Influencer Conference. And my job is to connect with the right people, the individuals, customers, clients, businesses, to help ensure that we have the resources and the things that our military connected community needs.

[00:44:52] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And so that, that requires a group of people to go out and do the grunt work, and that’s what the recurring team led by Kathy do. We do the grunt work. Behind it. I’m learning. I’m new to this. fail every day at some of the things I’m learning, some new stuff, but I will say this is that I’m excited to be amongst this amazing team.

[00:45:09] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: it’s not a day not a day that’s not funny or something amazing happening within the recurrent military family. I’m happy to have the two families, the C two H family, my recurrent family, and, bringing this all together, do great things for my military community.

[00:45:22] Lloyd Knight: I always admired a uh, a Cortez, and then I, I got to see the, the power behind the scenes. Kathy and admired her behind the scenes and so getting a chance to spend some time with both of them and you personally, o over the, the last year it’s been a year. Holy cow. Come up on a year.

[00:45:42] Lloyd Knight: It’s crazy. It is been a, real honor man. I just, I can’t wait to be more involved. I’m gonna be big and, and large and, and at military Influencers conference wearing all the hats I do this year. But, but I. 

[00:45:56] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: and look, I’m in, I’m in the middle right now. Like I, I need an event that’s starting like four minutes.

[00:46:01] Lloyd Knight: I love what you guys are doing. I’m, I’m, I’m a big fan. Keep it up. ’cause as you said, you’re changing lives and it’s all about connecting dots and, and that’s what military influencers do. They. They connect dots and inspire people and through all the, the stuff that Recurrent does, just, just, not Mick but the spouse group and stuff.

[00:46:19] Lloyd Knight: I’m a big fan, so, Hey KC, it’s been an amazing, it’s been an hour. I, we could do this for two or three hours, but you gotten a event that get to, so you’re gonna give you an opportunity to provide a some closing comments.

[00:46:32] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I close up by saying this, Lloyd, thank you so much for all you’re doing for the veteran community. Thank you so much for being a lifter in our community and not just the military community, but helping so many people in, in, in, I wouldn’t even say the Atlanta area, but throughout the country, throughout the world, because.

[00:46:46] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: I know individuals are taking the things, the lessons that you are sharing and imparting upon people, and they’re bringing it to where they’re at. And so I just wanna say one, thank you for what you are doing. And thank you for bringing that message even larger with Tango Tango. I’ll also say that life is meant to be lived.

[00:47:02] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: Whether you’re having those hard points during transition or whether you’ve been through some chaos, some turbulent times in your life, the thing is, is that. If you’re part of this military community is struggling, there are people that’s ready to listen, and people are ready, willing to take you in and give you a hug and help you through it, not just help you through and just tell you their war stories.

[00:47:20] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: They’re willing to be behind you 100%. And so I will close with this, is that you know what I’m a part of and not pushing my business here, but saying that what I’m a part of is called connecting heads to hearts. Everything that, that I do, everything that I’m surrounded by is ensuring that my heart is in it, but also I’m putting the logic behind it.

[00:47:40] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And so everything that I do in this, even when you listen to this, is all about that head, that heart mentality that we have within, within, not only within our methodology, but within what I live and what I preach every single. I believe that we lead with our heart and we really think through the logic of things, I believe that we make an impact in this world every single day because we’re not missing anything.

[00:48:00] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: And so I wanna say thank you for being that type of person who’s connecting your head to your heart Lloyd and also being a lifter all around for us all, man. and I And for the 36. Well, besides you and I, the 35 of the folks who are part of our VLP family they all lifters too in doing their amazing parts.

[00:48:18] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: in this tedious journey of ours in helping the veteran connect the

[00:48:21] Dr. Keith “KC” Castille: community. 

[00:48:22] Lloyd Knight: KC, thank you. Great. Closing words and, and I’m gonna close it like I close all my podcasts. Be like my friend a retired chief master Sergeant, Dr. Keith “KC” Castille. Be safe, be kind, and be remarkable.