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Keith Nolan is a teacher and a former ROTC cadet who fought for his right to serve in the army despite his deafness. He shares his story and his vision for a more inclusive military in his TED talk.
- Deaf in The Military
Keith Nolan always wanted to join the United States...
- Deaf in The Military
- Rejection
- Finding New Opportunities
- Legislation
- Perspectives to Keep in Mind
- How The Military Is Attainable For Deaf/Hoh Americans
- Receiving Support
After Nolan graduated from high school, just three months before 9/11, he went to a naval recruiting center with high hopes of joining the Navy. It was impossible to read the naval man’s lips, so Nolan told him about his deafness. The man tore off a little piece of paper and wrote three words: “Bad ear. Disqual.” He couldn’t even be bothered to ful...
A friend of Nolan’s moved to Israel, which is when Nolan discovered that Israel accepts deaf people into the military. He visited the country, where he interviewed 10 deaf Israeli soldiers. A 98-page research paper entitled “Deaf in the Military was the result.” In it, he talks about deaf soldiers who have served in America, like in the Civil War. ...
Nolan talked to his congressman, Congressman Henry Waxman, who became one of his earliest supporters. They tried to get a demonstration program passed as part of legislation. This would have allowed 15-20 candidates with a range of hearing loss to receive training and become officers. This would allow the Department of Defense to see what deaf/HOH ...
Nolan acknowledges that the issue of deaf people in the military isn’t a trivial one. Combat is a life and death matter. “Your life and fellow service members’ lives are on the line, and that is a valid reason why people might be quick to respond why they think deaf people cannot be in the military,” Nolan says. “It was the same with women and othe...
To show that serving in the military is attainable for deaf/HOH Americans, Nolan points out the following: 1. Our military has already deployed deaf/HOH civilian employees to military bases overseas where they worked with combat soldiers 2. Our military has already worked with deaf/HOH Israeli Defense Forces soldiers 3. Research has shown that deaf...
All his life, Nolan has heard from other deaf people who would like to serve in the military. There’s even someone who graduated from The Citadel but couldn’t commission into the military due to his cochlear implant. Nolan teaches a cadet program at Maryland School for the Deaf – where he now works – and children approach him all the time saying th...
Jun 8, 2011 · Deaf in the military [Subtitled] | Keith Nolan | TEDxIslay - YouTube. TEDx Talks. 40.3M subscribers. Subscribed. 2.9K. 341K views 12 years ago. To learn how you can help to support this...
- 19 min
- 344.8K
- TEDx Talks
Keith Nolan always wanted to join the United States military. The challenge: he is Deaf, which is an automatic disqualification according to military rules. In this talk, he describes his fight to fight for his country.
- 18 min
- 426.7K
- Keith Nolan
Keith William Nolan (May 7, 1964 – February 19, 2009) was an American military historian, focusing on the various campaigns of the Vietnam War. He was born in Webster Groves, Missouri, and lived in southeastern Missouri as well as in the St. Louis suburbs.
#LetUsWorkIt's time to let us serve: Deaf people are more than ready for the military. Keith Nolan has spent the last 8 years advocating to let deaf people e...
- 5 min
- 13.4K
- Communication Service for the Deaf
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Interesting perceptive on inclusivity in the army for deaf people by an American deaf soldier
- 19 min
- 1245
- Christof Niklaus-Work
