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Courses > Hospitality > New Zealand Certificate in Food and Beverage Service > Invercargill campus
New Zealand Certificate in Food and Beverage Service - Invercargill
2020 Semester 1: 10 February to 22 May
2020 Semester 2: 25 May to 04 September
2020 Semester 3: 07 September to 18 December
The NZ Certificate in Food and Beverage Service focuses on delivering the core skills required for anyone wanting to make a career, or secure seasonal employment, delivering hospitality services, products and experiences to customers.
Gain the skills you need to become a valued member of a café, restaurant or functions team. You'll learn to prepare food and beverages offered at cafés and functions and develop the professional communication skills to serve customers and deal with any customer service issues. You'll also learn to work safely and to regulations in hospitality environments and when handling food.
SIT's training facilities are well equipped and the tutors are very passionate about their craft. At SIT you will get the advantage of real-world experience as you operate the Vault Cafe and Bungalow Restaurant (alongside Cookery students) for several periods during the year.
4646 Demonstrate knowledge of the Sale of and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 and its implications for licenced premises
16705 Demonstrate knowledge of host responsibility requirements as Duty Manager of licenced premises
26308 Provide restaurant service in a hospitality establishment
27927 Apply health, safety and security practices to service delivery operations
27928 Interact with other staff, managers and customers to provide service delivery outcomes
27929 Apply standard operating procedures and the code of conduct to a work role in a service delivery organisation
2020 Direct material costs of $1297 (GST inclusive).
Graduates will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to prepare food and beverage, apply and maintain health and safety, food safety and security practices to ensure safety, communicate effectively when serving customers and behave in a professional manner with colleagues, managers and customers and follow standard operating procedures in cafés and restaurants or in a functions team.
Entry into the New Zealand Certificate in Food and Beverage Service, will be granted to applicants who:
Are a minimum of 16 years of age, with preferably four years of secondary education, or
Have competence in English and can demonstrate adequate literacy and/or numeracy skills to enable them to meet all academic and health and safety requirements of the course in which they enrol
All applicants should demonstrate a keen interest in hospitality, for example, in the preparation and service of food and beverages in a café and bar environment and academic attributes (for example, write grammatically correct and suitably structured paragraphs, understand and summarise written text and present information orally) which demonstrate that applicants have a reasonable likelihood of successful completion of the programme
All enrolments in the New Zealand Certificate in Food and Beverage Service are approved at the discretion of the programme manager in consultation with the head of faculty and teaching staff, as required.
Applicants, whose first language is not English, or who come from a country where the language of instruction in schools is not English, are required to provide evidence of having achieved one of the following:
Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA), or Trinity College London Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CertTESOL); or
Successful completion of all primary education (being the equivalent of New Zealand primary school years 1 to 8) and at least three years of secondary education (being the equivalent of three years from New Zealand secondary school years 9 to 13) at schools in either New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States one of the countries listed in Rule 18.5 where the student was taught using English as the language of instruction; or
Successful completion of a Bachelor 's Degree, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Bachelor Honours degree, Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, Masters' Degree or Doctoral Degree, the language of instruction of which must be in English and which must be from a tertiary education provider from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom or the United States or
Successful completion of one of the following internationally recognised proficiency tests listed below to the level required of the programme of study and with all scores achieved in a single test during the two years preceding the proposed date of enrolment.
Certificate at Level 3
Cambridge English Examination – B2 First or B2 First for schools with a score of 154. No less than 154 in each skill.
NZCEL - a) Expiring Level b) Current: Level 3 (General) or (Workplace) b) Level 3 (General)
Pearson Test of English (Academic) – PTE (Academic) score of 36 with no band score lower than 36
For students to be considered to have satisfactorily completed this programme, and be eligible for award of the qualification "New Zealand Certificate in Food and Beverage Service (Level 3)", they must have:
Completed all scheduled course work requirements and assessments
Successfully completed assessment requirements for all unit standards and/or local units, and achieved a total of 60 credits.
(Please note: students failing to engage for 80% of timetabled programme hours will forfeit Zero Fees entitlement.)
Classes are held Monday to Friday, 9.00am-5.00pm at SIT's Invercargill campus.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Richard George Underwood is a British artist and musician. He is best known for designing album covers for numerous bands in the 1970s.
For biographical notes -in english and italian- and other works by Underwood see George Underwood, 1947 ~ Surrealist /Visionary painter.


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1. Prepare Phase A in the manufacturing vessel by dispersing Carbopol Ultrez 21 (A2) in Water (A1) using propeller agitation.
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Alberta Agriculture and Forestry is helping fund a three-year pilot program to recycle agricultural plastics. The funding came after the Agricultural Plastics Recycling Program (APRG) advocated for a better solution to dispose of agricultural plastic waste. AUMA is a member of APRG, along with the Rural Municipalities of Alberta, Alberta Beef Producers, Alberta Plastics Recycling Association, Recycling of Alberta, and Alberta Environment and Parks.
AUMA has long advocated for better recycling in Alberta. In 2018, AUMA sent a letter to the Minister of Environment and Parks asking her to develop regulations that will implement a permanent solution for agricultural plastics. The pilot program will provide some short-term relief for municipalities that are seeing agricultural plastics coming to their landfills. During the three-year pilot, AUMA plans to work with APRG and Alberta Environment and Parks on developing a policy that will see the pilot transition into a permanent solution.
Visit AUMA's Waste Management Hub to learn more about what AUMA is doing to modernize our recycling framework.
For more information about agricultural plastics, please visit the Alberta Plastics Recycling Association.


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At Community Health and Wellness every service is unique. With our team of specialists, we have created some amazing medical spa services for our patients to explore.
Whether you are dealing with severe acne, sensitive skin, unwanted wrinkles or other skin concerns, we can help! Give us a call for a 15 minute consultation with our on staff Esthetician and doctor.


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Seed-to-soil contact is critical in getting all plants to germinate at the same time. Great Plains' Seed-Lok® or Keeton Seed Firmer® press the seed into moist soil. Great Plains' new Spider Closer Wheels are also key to getting a consistent stand by closing the seed trench and breaking up the sidewall.


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Home Special Reports NVG-291 spinal cord injury treatment enters Phase II clinical trials
In a groundbreaking development for paralysed people, the revolutionary NVG-291 treatment for spinal cord injury is set to undergo Phase II clinical trials.
It promises to be a eureka moment for Dr Jerry Silver – one that will have nonetheless taken several decades to come to fruition. The renowned US medical researcher of spinal cord injuries expects to soon find out whether his injectable drug candidate will help paralysed people regain the use of their limbs.
The ability to repair damage to the central nervous system – which controls mobility in our limbs – is a daunting task that has always managed to evade modern science. However, Dr Silver believes he is tantalisingly close to achieving the masterstroke of his illustrious, 40-years-plus career.
His shot at pioneering a blockbuster drug for the ages will be put to the test for the first time in human volunteers, starting in the second half of this year, with the scheduled commencement of Phase II clinical trials.
Known as NVG-291, Dr Silver's novel lead compound has been designed to revolutionise the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI), as well as other diseases that are defined by severe damage to the central nervous system.
This novel peptide-based innovation has been in pre-clinical development for many years at his laboratory at the renowned Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. In his earliest work, Dr Silver garnered headlines in the New York Times as far back as 1987. This is when he first demonstrated to the world that his team was beginning to unlock the secrets to regenerating damaged nerves.
Since its initial discovery in 2013, NVG-291 has revealed itself to be especially therapeutic in animal studies. This is where several peer-reviewed studies were able to clearly demonstrate dramatic functional recovery from spinal cord injury.
A professor of neurosciences, Dr Silver has long been a leading global expert on spinal cord injury. His accomplishments include being a recipient of the Ameritec Prize for significant accomplishments toward a cure for paralysis, as well as the Christopher Reeve — Joan Irvine Research Medal for his seminal, groundbreaking research.
Much-Anticipated Phase II Clinical Trials Set for 2022
NVG-291 has since been licensed by Dr Silver to NervGen Pharma Corp., a Canadian-headquartered biotech company, with which he is now working closely as a hands-on consultant.
As a well-financed, publicly-traded company, NervGen has been using its financial firepower to accelerate NVG-291's developmental timeline. To this end, the company just announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (SRA) in Chicago to conduct Phase II clinical trials.
To watch a video of the company's interactive new release on January 10, 2022, click here.
Formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, SRA is the global leader in physical medicine and rehabilitation for adults and children with the most severe, complex conditions. This ranges from traumatic brain and spinal cord injury to stroke, amputation, and cancer-related impairment.
This proposed human clinical trial is expected to commence in the second half of 2022 – which will be the true testing ground of NVG-291's efficacy. The number of patients who will be enrolled in the Chicago study has yet to be announced.
Notably, NervGen will not only be treating acute patients in the trial but also chronic patients, which are not normally included in such trials due to the extreme challenge their condition represents for any new drug. However, Dr Silver says that NVG-291 has the potential to achieve significant results for both acute and chronic SCI patients.
According to Dr Monica Perez, Scientific Chair, Arms and Hands Lab at SRA, these Phase II clinical trials have the potential to be truly disruptive.
"We have been following the work by Dr Silver for years and are thrilled to be the first clinic working with NervGen in SCI patients. The ability of NVG-291 to demonstrate a significant recovery in motor function, sensory function and bladder control in animal models is exceptional," she said in a January 10 NervGen news release.
"If these results translate to patients, NVG-291 will redefine therapy in spinal cord injury and provide hope to patients that currently have limited options to assist in their recovery."
In two independent animal studies, published in Nature in 2013 and Experimental Neurology in 2018, NVG-291 demonstrated a high rate of recovery from SCI in laboratory rats. In fact, some animals experienced a near-complete restoration of mobility and/or bladder function.
NervGen's President & CEO Paul Brennan said in the same news release that the upcoming Phase II trial will "give the spinal cord injury community a real reason for hope."
"Our recent interim data from the single ascending dose portion of our Phase I clinical study was very encouraging, and we're looking forward to completing this study in the first half of 2022."
He added: "In addition to initiating this important clinical trial in spinal cord injury, the company plans to leverage the same powerful mechanism of action demonstrated by NVG-291 to conduct studies by the end of 2022 for the treatment of both Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis patients."
How NVG-291 treats spinal cord injury
In essence, NVG-291 was designed to inhibit the mechanisms that prevent the body from repairing itself. Reducing these obstructive chemical signals makes it possible for "neuroplasticity" to take place in damaged neurons, which entails nerves rewiring existing connections and making new connections.
It also facilitates "axonal regeneration", which involves severed nerve fibres re-connecting with other nerves. And it leads to "remyelination", which is the repair of damage that inhibits neurons' ability to send their signals efficiently.
Perhaps the most dynamic part of this three-pronged repair process is the promotion of neuroplasticity in damaged nerve cells, leading to the creation of new neural pathways, known as "sprouting".
Dr Silver says he is unaware of any other in-development drugs that can empower healthy neurons to thrive sufficiently enough to functionally compensate for all the dead proximal neurons in the brain or spinal column.
In other words, NVG-291 allows the regenerative healing process to be led by sprouting — the rejuvenation of all the healthy neurons (including a marked improvement in synaptic activity) at the site of injuries, even longstanding ones.
Most importantly of all, Dr Silver has shown that the nervous systems of his laboratory rats were able to repair themselves and sprout new neural pathways, allowing them to walk again with almost no impairment and even to climb ladders.
Currently, those suffering from a spinal cord injury find no meaningful relief from existing medications as there are none that have been approved by the FDA
Dr Silver's resolute conviction in NVG-291's prospects for success in Phase II clinical trials offers renewed hope for the estimated 300,000 to 500,000 North Americans who dream of one-day regaining sensation and motor function in their paralysed limbs. This is similarly the case for more than a million Americans who have debilitating peripheral nerve injuries.
Besides treating spinal cord injury, this new drug mechanism has also shown considerable promise in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), traumatic brain injury, stroke, and even Alzheimer's disease. All told, it offers new hope to tens of millions of sufferers of neurodegenerative diseases worldwide.
It is worth reiterating that no drugs have to date ever before been approved anywhere in the world for nerve repair. This means that NervGen's Phase II clinical trial could set the stage for the launch of a game-changing new class of drugs.
This is why so many patients around the world with unmet medical needs due to damage to their central nervous system will be anxious for signs of encouragement from this year's planned Phase II clinical trials.
Accordingly, the stakes are sky-high. Yet, Dr Silver says he is not trepidatious ahead of this landmark human trial. Part of his reasoning is that rodents have remarkably similar nervous systems to humans and respond to treatment to spinal cord injuries in a similar manner.
He says: "The recovery that we've seen in laboratory rats is nothing short of spectacular, especially when high doses were used. We've seen rats going from being completely paralysed to walking again without any apparent impairment. It is worth noting that my work has been very successfully replicated in Germany by independent researchers using doses fifty-fold higher than we used."
Even in such high doses, the rats did not experience any toxicity, according to the German study results. Dr Silver is expecting the ongoing Phase I clinical trials for NVG-291 (testing for safety) to generate similar results.
He says: "This molecule is already being tested for toxicity in Phase I trials, and so far, it has been well tolerated by the trial subjects. And it is proving to be more stable in the human bloodstream than with rats, which has been a very nice surprise. It also seems to stay in the body much longer than with rats, which is also a very good development.
"If we can prove that we can get NVG-291 into the brain and spinal cord, then it's going to do some magical things. We've already seen that being achieved in our animal models. When we start injecting people, we're hoping to see them recover. Remember that the robustness of recovery that we've seen in animal models is unprecedented. If we are able to see something similar with humans, that would be remarkable."
Marc Davis has a deep background in the capital markets spanning 30 years, having mostly worked as an analyst and stock market commentator. He is also a longstanding financial journalist. Over the years, his articles have appeared in dozens of digital publications worldwide. They include USA Today, CBS Money Watch, The Times (UK), Investors' Business Daily, the Financial Post, Reuters, National Post, Google News, Barron's, China Daily, Huffington Post, AOL, City A.M. (London), Bloomberg, WallStreetOnline.de (Germany) and the Independent (UK). He has also appeared in business interviews on the BBC, CBC, and SKY TV.
Special Report Author Details
Author: Bill Radvack
Organisation: NervGen Pharma Corp
Email: bradvak@nervgen.com
Go to this partner's profile page to learn more about them
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Welcome to The Bucket Podcast — a series of interviews that features an eclectic mix of people who all share one thing in common — they're all going to die. But does being aware of that change the way they live? That's the question host and The Bucket founder, David Abend, asks them in a fascinating collection of stories that explore the concept — and value — of mortality-based living.
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10. General George Casey, Jr.: Make the Best of it
"If you think every day that when you go out that gate, you could be killed. I don't know how you go out the gate." If you're like a lot of people, listening to this podcast with General George Casey, Jr, former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, will leave you with an overwhelming feeling of humility. From his selfless devotion to duty ("I really didn't think about it…I had a job and I was going to do it") to his joyous appreciation for everyday things like seeing his grandkids or riding his bike, we encourage you take a half hour out of your day to be inspired by man who spent most of his life facing mortality head on.
David Abend: Hi, I'm David Abend, founder of The Bucket and your host for The Bucket Podcast. Today, we are privileged to be joined by General George Casey, Jr. General Casey is a four-star general who served as the 36th Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 2007 to 2011. He served as commanding general of the multinational force in Iraq from 2004 to 2007. He has received the defense distinguished service medal and the army distinguished service medal, as well as many other military awards. He retired from the military in 2011 and is currently a lecturer at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management, as well as a teaching fellow at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. It is a privilege to welcome you General Casey.
General Casey: Thanks David. Nice to be with you today.
David Abend: I know you've had a long career in the military and we'll definitely talk about that. But first, I was wondering if you could tell me what you've been doing since you retired. You must have had a lot of things that you were planning to do, so what have you been doing? .
General Casey: I've been dividing my time with teaching leadership at business schools and to businesses and doing some work on corporate boards, and then giving back to the military that I served so well with.
David Abend: Can you tell me what kinds of things you've been doing for that?
General Casey: Sure. I'm the chairman of board of the USO, which has a major military support organization. I'm on the board of Student Veterans of America, which works with our student veterans not only to help them graduate, but to ensure that they continue to contribute to their country. Then I'm on several other smaller boards that do things for veterans and their families.
David Abend: Oh, that's really great and it must be very satisfying.
General Casey: Well, it's hugely satisfying, you know, these young men and women who serve give so much to the country and I personally will never forget what they've given and their families.
David Abend: And so, what have you been doing for fun?
General Casey: For fun? Basically, hanging out with my grandchildren, playing a little golf and riding my bike.
David Abend: So, you're a bike rider?
General Casey: Yeah, I was. I went over the handlebars December and cracked three ribs, so I've slacked off a little bit.
David Abend: How'd you do that? Where you are off road or were you on the road?
General Casey: No, I was actually finishing up a ride less than a mile from the house, just kind of cruising around the corner and my front tire blew and the bike stopped, and I kept going.
David Abend: Wow. How many months ago was that?
General Casey: That was June 20th.
David Abend: I just had a surgery on my elbow two, three weeks ago. I had a torn tendon, which was a chronic injury. It wasn't like I just did it, but I finally had it taken care of, and I'm on the mend right now, but that's a four to six-month recovery. One of the reasons I really wanted to talk to you is of course, because you're a soldier, and at The Bucket our mission is to help people lead more fulfilling lives by acknowledging and even embracing their own mortality. For most people, this is more of a philosophical concept, but for you as a soldier, it must've been very real. What was it like to live like this?
General Casey: Well it's interesting, you probably make it seem harder than it was. The reality is, what I found was that my almost three years in Iraq, I was really so focused on what I was doing that I, I didn't really think about my own mortality.
I thought a lot about the mortality of the men and women that I was leading and when I made my decisions I always got into, you know, what the cost would be in terms of human life. That's a really difficult decision for any leader.
David Abend: That idea of putting it out of your mind. I don't know if you've ever watched the miniseries Band of Brothers, but there's a scene where the Lieutenant Spears character advises a soldier that to be affective, he has to accept that he's already dead. What is your opinion of that philosophy? Do you think that's true? Or is it Hollywood?
General Casey: Yeah, I mean everybody's different, but I'd say when I think about that I think that's really Hollywood because again what I personally did is I really didn't think about it. I had a job to do and I was going to do it. I suspect that's the way most soldiers deal with it. If you think every day that when you go out that gate you could be killed, I don't know how you go out the gate.
David Abend: Do you find though that afterwards you have a greater appreciation for the things that you're enjoying now, the things you're doing with the military still, the bike riding with your grandchildren? Do you find that's something that, I know you can't speak for anyone else, but it's something that's very sweet given what you've been through?
General Casey: You know I don't know that it was that long term. I think it was Winston Churchill who said once, "Nothing is more exhilarating than being shot at without effect." I must say there is a rush, an adrenaline rush after you've heard the crack of a bullet go by your head or a rocket or a mortar round explode near you and nothing happened. I guess I didn't leave Iraq thinking, well I cheated death and everything's going to be great now. I really kind of just got on with my next job.
David Abend: Right. Now, can you talk a little bit about your background? I believe you grew up in a military family. Is that correct?
General Casey: I did. I'm an army brat. My dad was in the military. I was born in Japan where he was part of the occupation forces after WWII. Then we bounced around the United States, and in Europe. We were over in Europe around the time I was in high school, so I wound up going to four high schools in three countries, then on to Georgetown University. When I went to Georgetown, that was the longest I'd been any place at one time in my life.
At Georgetown we were at war in Vietnam, and I thought it was my duty to serve. I was in ROTC and I fully expected to graduate, get my commission, go off to my training, then straight to Vietnam. But by the time I graduated in 1970 we were already starting to wind things down. I got sent to Germany instead of Vietnam.
David Abend: How long were you in Germany?
General Casey: I was there for about three and a half years, and then I went back and spent a long time in the States as I kind of worked my way through the lower level jobs in the army. Let's see I basically commanded a battalion, which is really the first rung on the ladder, it's about a thousand troops. After that, I went on to Washington, D.C. where I did a fellowship at a NATO Think Tank, which was a hugely broadening experience for me. Then I went on to work as a congressional liaison in the army, and I got to learn how Congress works and the importance of Congress, which was another hugely broadening experience. After that I commanded a brigade, which is about 3,000 folks, in Fort Hood, Texas. Then I went on to Germany, and as a Brigadier General, got involved in the Balkans operations in Bosnia. When I returned from my tour in Europe, I went on to the joint staff in the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., where I had the Balkan desk. I was all Balkans all the time for about six years, include going back to Germany and having a two-star command where I had to prepare and send my troops into Kosovo. Following my return from Europe, I became the Director of Strategy and Policy in October of 2001, so a month after September 11th, and after that it was war on terror for the rest of my career. Worked on the war on terror at the Pentagon and in Iraq.
David Abend: So that was in 2007, you were the Chief of Staff of the Army. What did you do as part of that, where were you, were you in Iraq?
General Casey: No. In 2003 I got promoted. I got my fourth star and went to serve as the Vice Chief of Staff in the Army. That's really the second in command of the army. I did that for nine months and was selected to command in Iraq. I went over to Iraq and took over the command in July of 2004 and I was there until February of 2007. And then I became the Army Chief of Staff in April of 2007.
The army chief of staff is basically the chief operating officer of the Army. I was the Senior Military Officer in the Army. My boss was the Secretary of the Army. I worked very closely with him and the Secretary of Defense. My primary focus during that time was trying to bring the Army back into a more balanced position because we were too small to support both the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We were forcing our soldiers to deploy for a year, come back for a year, and go straight back to combat. That was absolutely unsustainable. We had to work to put the army back in a more balanced position while we continued to adapt and prepare ourselves for what was a very different future after 2001 than it had been before that.
David Abend: That sounds really challenging. It sounds like it's a lot of logistics, but it's also a lot of human resources as well in terms of you're talking about the deployments of people, deployments of soldiers and how much they could take. Is that true or is did that not factor into your decision?
General Casey: Absolutely. It was, in fact, probably the most significant thing that we had to do for our soldiers was to extend the time they spent at home between deployments. As I said, when I took over the Army, we had just gone to 15 months instead of 12-month deployments and they were only spending 12 months at home. We gradually increased the size of the Army so that they spent 18 months, and then by the time I left we were very close to them spending two years at home before they had to go back on another tour.
David Abend: Well, it's such a dichotomy, the kind of machine of war and the strategy of war, and at the same time having to have so much concern for the soldier's wellbeing in terms of keeping them effective and their psyche.
General Casey: Oh, for sure. Just so it's clear, the Army Chief of Staff is responsible for organizing, training, and equipping the soldiers, basically preparing them for the employment by the field commanders. As the Army Chief of Staff, I didn't have a role directly in the strategy in Iraq or Afghanistan, I provided my advice to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of Defense and the President. But it was the commanders on the ground that actually developed the strategy for employing the soldiers that I prepared. On the first side, when I was in Iraq, I was benefiting from what the Army and the Marine Corps, and the other services were doing, to prepare their forces for Iraq. When I went back as the Army Chief, it was my job to prepare the troops to be as good as they could be for the commanders in the field.
David Abend: And every decision that was made was, as I talked about that dichotomy. But you're dealing with the machine of war and the preciousness of life and how much you have to care about that.
General Casey: Yes, for us in the military, it's mission and people, mission and people. You accomplish the job while taking care of your people. You have to do both.
David Abend: You've seen people go through this and you've been through it yourself, and they either sacrifice their life or they're put in that position, how do you feel when you hear people fretting about lunch taking too long to be served or it's a rainy Saturday and it's terrible weather? Do you have to have patience for that, or you'll go crazy or what?
General Casey: No, I don't dwell on that. I'm sure soldiers, especially right after they come back from a deployment, could get frustrated pretty easily, but I think you get past that pretty quickly.
David Abend: I have a question for you. It's something I'm curious about and our listeners might be as well, but it's the idea of the thank you for your service that people say a lot and I've read different things about it. Some people say that it's said so much that it's actually an empty platitude and a way to be politically correct. Other people say, how can you not thank someone? Have you ever thought about that? Is that something that you have an opinion about?
General Casey: Sure, sure. All the time. And, then I hear that debate. I'll tell you, I'm someone who went to college during Vietnam, and I saw what happens to the military when the country turns against the military, and it was awful. So, the difference between that and today when you're walking down the street or in an airport and someone says, "Thanks for what you did." I think that's a pretty good thing. This is probably a terrible analogy, it's almost like when you love to express your condolences to someone who's had a loved one pass away and you don't know what to say. You say, "I'm sorry for your loss," or something like that. I kind of feel that's almost like how people feel when they see a soldier on the street and they don't know what to say, so they say, "Thank you for your service." That's better than it was in the 60s and I don't think that's a bad thing at all. I understand what some people say, but I don't think it's a bad thing.
David Abend: Well, that's good to know because I haven't been sure myself of whether it is something to say. So now I know I'd also like to talk to you about your father General George Casey, Sr. He died on duty in Vietnam in 1970. Can you talk about how that affected you and your view of life?
General Casey: Yeah, it's interesting. My dad was someone that I always looked up to. I always kind of thought that he was invincible, and when I got the call from my mom early July of 1970 and his helicopter was missing. She said his helicopter was missing. I said to myself, "Okay, he's a tough guy. He'll get through it." And then a day later I had graduated from college and been commissioned by the Army, but I wasn't on active duty yet. I didn't go on an active duty until October. I was working as a lunch waiter in a restaurant in Washington, D.C. and I remember walking into work the next day and someone had left the Washington Post on the table and there was a picture of dad on the front page and with the heading that he had been found and was killed. So, that's how I found out that he had died.
David Abend: Oh, what a terrible way to find out.
General Casey: Well, there's no good way. So, I called my mom immediately, and she had been notified and she was in the process of trying to pull things together. That was a very difficult time. Then one of my dad's closest friend was nice enough to think about me and I was able to go up to Dover to meet the remains coming home and escort them back to Washington for the funeral. It was a tough time for the whole family. I had three sisters and a brother and obviously my mom. It affected everybody.
David Abend: For you, did it at all change what you were thinking about for your future in the military?
General Casey: It did, but in an interesting way. I had originally been thinking about doing my two-year obligation and then getting out and going to law school. That was the plan. There was part of me that said, I didn't know that I could stay in the military, that my dad was one of the leaders, I didn't want to be seen as I was being dragged along and on my father's coattails. I was thinking about just doing my obligation and moving on to something else. Ironically, it probably prodded me to stay in the Army and that is something that I really wasn't thinking about doing before he died.
David Abend: Do you know why? What was it about that that changed your mind?
General Casey: One part of it, not all of it, but the fact that he was no longer in the army, and that really took away what could have been the perception that I was being dragged along on his coattails. But when I got to my first unit and I realized that these young men that worked for me depended on me, as a 22 year old, for their lives, and that's a huge responsibility and it made me better. From that point on, everything I did, I always did with the mindset that I had to take care of my troops. I vowed to never to let them down. That was something that just grew on me as the Army continued to challenge me with difficult assignments. It was probably more in my blood than I knew. But after the first couple of assignments, I realized that I loved it. And, I decided to stay.
David Abend: Yes, because I could see how that tragedy in your family could have made you say, you know, this is not for me, I don't want this to happen to me, and just getting out.
General Casey: Yeah. I don't recall making that as a direct correlation to dad's death as something that could have had a negative impact on me. Obviously, if you're in the military, you could be called on to go to combat and you could put your life on the line. Everybody knows that when they sign up, they may not think it's going to happen, but that's something that's always there. I think it's very much individual how much people think about that. I generally didn't think much about that. I was focused on doing the job and taking care of the troops.
David Abend: When we talked last month, you had a really interesting story that you told me about your dad, that he had just reupped. Isn't that correct?
General Casey: Yes. He had been over there as an Assistant Division Commander of the First Cavalry Division, and he was selected to go back and command the First Calvary Division. So, they sent him home on 30 days leave. He's basically doing back to back tours in Vietnam, but it was a huge job and something that he'd worked his whole life for. He made the decision to accept it and go back. He'd just been home and actually I drove him and my mom to the airport, and as I stood there with my mom, as we watched him all the way as you walked up the ramp, until we couldn't see him anymore, I remember looking at my mother and saying, "You know, after all these years of separations, it must get easier." Her eyes welled up with tears and she said, "No, it only gets harder." And that was the last time that I saw him.
David Abend: Wow. I appreciate you talking about it because I'm sure even though it was many years ago, it's still very difficult to talk about that moment.
General Casey: That moment especially with my mom, we've talked about it a lot, and I went off to Iraq for a year. It was supposed to be for a year and came back almost three years later. And, I know exactly what she means.
David Abend: A little transition here then, that's tough to talk about. Let me talk a little bit about The Bucket. At The Bucket, we have this thing that's called your Bucket Age, and it's basically taking your statistical life expectancy, what Social Security says you'll live to, and subtracting your current age and the result is your Bucket Age. So, my statistical lifespan is about 85, I'm 61, and my Bucket Age is 24. We use that to try to give perspective to people to how many years they statistically have left, to kind of be a little bit of a kick in the ass to say, how are you going to use these? What choices are you going to make to have these be fulfilling years. I guess my first question to you is, what's your bucket age?
General Casey: Well, I had to go ahead to go look up and see what the average life expectancy was, and its 79.
David Abend: 79?
General Casey: For me, when I Google it, that's what came up. And I said, "Wow, that's eight years." But then I did this thing and there's an app called Sharecare, that they have something called real age.
David Abend: Right.
General Casey: You plug in all your, answer questions, you do that for about 20 minutes. It's all lifestyle and things like that. I did it a while ago, but my recollection is I came up like eight years younger than my actual age. So, I figure I got somewhere between eight and 20, and I up it a little, because my mom's 93 and I take pretty good care of myself. So somewhere between I'm saying eight and 20 is kind of what I figured I got left.
David Abend: Now, do you think that idea of calculating your Bucket Age might help people make decisions that will leave them with fewer regrets? Like saying this is how much time I'm going to make sure I get this done.
General Casey: You know, I don't know. I'm kind of a live life to the fullest and make a difference every day. I don't really think about it. I just came back from a 45-day trip to China where I met with four generals or three generals and an Admiral from the Chinese military, retired guys. There were three other Americans with me. Doing things like that and having the opportunity to do things like that, allows me to really live my life to the fullest and hopefully make a difference along the way.
David Abend: Do you think that has been influenced by your life in the military? Do you think that appreciation for life and living it to its fullest has anything to do with what you've been through?
General Casey: As I mentioned earlier, we moved around an awful lot and it wasn't always easy. In fact, especially as a young preteen and teenager, you make friends and you think this is really great, and then all of a sudden, you'd move off and you don't know anybody. So, you start all over again, but my mother would always say to us, "Make the best of it." And, that really got ingrained in me. That's really how I've lived my life. There've been good times and there had been bad times, but I always tried to make the best of it.
David Abend: That's a great philosophy. If God forbid anything happened and you were on your deathbed tomorrow, would you have any regrets?
General Casey: Tomorrow, I'd have a bunch of regrets. I wouldn't get to watch my grandchildren grow up and get married. If I do have a bucket list, it's a bucket list of one, and that's I want to dance at Will's wedding. Will's my youngest grandson. He's four. He'll be five in a couple of weeks.
David Abend: That's great, but there's nothing else that you've been putting off doing or something like that that you would regret not having done?
General Casey: No, I've lived a pretty full life. My wife and I have been fortunate enough to travel all over the world. I've watched my sons grow up to be wonderful husbands and fathers. I'm just now starting to watch the grandkids, we have three graduating from high school this year, watching them grow, it's been pretty good.
David Abend: Wow. Well, I want to thank you so much for talking with me today and I really appreciate your time and I'm sure our listeners will as well. Thank you very much, General Casey.
General Casey: David, great to talk to you.
David Abend: Bye
General Casey: Take care. Bye. Bye.
David Abend: Wow. I don't know about you, but it was humbling for me to hear what General Casey had to say about mortality from the perspective of a soldier and what he had to face throughout his career. I just love the "make the most of it" philosophy that he has. I really got a lot out of this and I hope you did too. To learn more about The Bucket, go to www.thebucket.com. That's the bucket, all one word.com and if you know someone you think should be in a future bucket podcast, let us know at feedback@thebucket.com. Thanks for listening.