>> I think the travel, the opportunity to meet with foreign officials, foreign people.
Really get out and see different societies.
You know, the interesting thing is there are 50 countries fighting alongside us
in Afghanistan in our coalition.
And so that's really provided a rich opportunity to travel across the world and visit everywhere
from places like India to Brussels where NATO is headquartered.
To Moscow, Beijing.
So it's been a real enjoyment.
And a great opportunity for me to not only travel and visit all these places on business,
but then also spend some time seeing them and meeting with the people.
And really, you know, you can't find a more interesting place
than Afghanistan or Pakistan to visit.
I think the rich history, the rich culture,
despite all the challenges that those countries face.
It's just a really interesting, need place.
I think the biggest challenge is sort of pacing yourself
and being patient with the system and the process.
A lot of what we do in terms of national security work is consensus based decision making
in the U.S. government.
Which is really important.
You know, we're making or helping senior to level people make very challenging,
difficult decisions with, you know, significant impacts.
Not only for the lives of Americans and our national security, but also in terms of spending
in some cases of hundreds of billions of dollars.
So it's important that that process be will thought out and informed.
But it can also be complex and lengthy and you really have to remain persistent and focused
and patient to work through all that decision making.