It all has to start somewhere
This blog doesn't necessarily always have to be about the journey and the background of Project:IDWIL. I also want to take a moment from time to time to highlight some of the great interviews that are on the site in order to make sure that they don't get lost in the shuffle. I hope that video catalog grows to be overwhelming; with so many great interviews that it is hard to even call out certain ones because they're all so amazing. But some of these first videos will get special attention.
Click the image to watch Matt Whiat's video
Like any great journey, this all had to start with taking that first step…with taking action. Matt Whiat, a Lt. Col. in the Air Force at the time I worked with him, played a tremendous role in IDWIL's genesis. When I first met him, I thought "Oh geez, this guy is all over the place!" But as we worked together, it was difficult not to be swept up with the excitement of "what could be" in any of the numerous projects we worked on together. If it weren't for that energy, there would not have been a TedxScottAFB, which is most easily the event from which Project:IDWIL was born. But back then it was still conceptual.
As my contract with the Air Force came to an end, Project:IDWIL still weighed heavily in my mind. Matt knew of the project, and when I asked him to be the guinea pig for me to test audio/visual stuff, he didn't even bat an eye. (He even provided the main camera!) So the video that you see of Matt was the first Project:IDWIL video. I had to create a sample of what I envisioned in my head so that I could use it to demonstrate what I had in mind to new people. The video is (in my mind) great. Matt captures what IDWIL is about - stripping away the titles and labels and explaining how the position he was is matches up with him as a person. He'll undoubtedly wear new hats in the future, but he definitely helped portray a different perspective of US Airman, than I would have initially expected had I not known him. What do you think?