Around the Table with Cole Stevens

Around the Table is a three-question interview series from the Make Room email newsletter. Each edition features a conversation with a peer in the national security community to learn about their expertise and experience in the sector.

Cole Stevens is the press secretary and speechwriter for the Senate Armed Services Committee Democratic Staff. He also currently serves as an officer in the U.S. Army National Guard and is pursuing a master of arts in Defense and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of his employers.

1. How has your experience in the National Guard shaped how you think about your work in Congress?

My work in Congress is fundamentally informed and improved by my background in the National Guard. As a Senate staffer during the week and an Army officer on the weekend, I’ve gained a firsthand understanding of how strategic decisions made in Washington shape tangible decisions at the unit level. I’ve learned important and surprising lessons while in uniform—usually from the honest opinions of my fellow soldiers—about how national-level policies are helping or hindering servicemembers, their families, and our shared missions. Often, I’ve been able to take that knowledge back to the Senate, tell my colleagues, “Here’s how it really is,” and contribute to new policies that can help address those challenges.

In the same way, I’ve seen firsthand how political decisions affect the military. The National Guard is often the most capable asset available to elected leaders in times of crisis, and it is used readily. I’ve had many rewarding experiences helping hard-hit communities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and various natural disasters, but also participated in difficult civil unrest missions like the January 6th response. Ultimately, I’ve found that the public’s faith in the military must constantly be earned. The National Guard will always answer when called upon, but it is the responsibility of the American people and elected leaders to be clear-eyed about how and why we are using the military. I’m fortunate to be in position to contribute to both perspectives.

2. You’ve clearly made public service a central part of your life. What motivated you to choose this career, and what keeps you motivated?

Growing up, the U.S. military was a visible and motivating presence in my life. Like many of my friends, 9/11 was a formative memory, and footage of American forces in Afghanistan and Iraq was a daily fixture on my TV. After Hurricane Katrina, my community in Austin welcomed refugees from New Orleans and sent care packages to the National Guard troops deployed there. To me, public service seemed like the highest calling. While an Army ROTC cadet at the University of Texas, I listened to Admiral William McRaven deliver a commencement speech to the graduating class about humility and service, including the words, “Changing the world can happen anywhere, and anyone can do it.” His words had a big impact on me, and motivated me to consider public service as a civilian. Since then, I have been inspired by my colleagues in the national security field and Congress, who are simply the sharpest, toughest, and most selfless men and women our nation has to offer.

3. If a younger Hill staffer or student asked you how to build a meaningful career, what would you tell them?

Early in my National Guard career, my company commander would often give the junior officers and I a dreaded order: 'Get out to the yard and get your hands dirty.' We would head out to ‘the yard’ – a motorpool full of armored vehicles—and the soldiers would run us through the paces on maintaining trucks, breaking down weapons, and learning the gritty art of logistics. That knowledge has proven invaluable in my career many times over. More importantly, I learned two important lessons: experience is the best teacher, and there is no substitute for hard work. My advice to younger professionals: read everything, study policy, and, importantly, seek out opportunities to actually see the people or hardware you write policy for.

Additionally, don’t wait to be invited; ask. If there is a project, trip, meeting, or opportunity that you want in on, ask for it. My most important career experiences have come from simply asking a boss or coworker, “Can I do it?” That question has placed me inside the room for meetings I had no business even knowing about, and put me in unforgettable situations, like firing Kalashnikovs on an old Soviet range with a rowdy group of Bulgarian soldiers, launching off the deck of an aircraft carrier underway in the Atlantic, and walking the dim corridors of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. I’ve been told "no" plenty, but I’ve been surprised at the number of "okays."