"Army puts football star's NFL dream on hold"

[X-ray]

From Jamie McIntyre
CNN Pentagon Correspondent

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Being drafted by a professional sports team is a dream of almost every college athlete, but, in a time of war, the Pentagon has decided duty should come before athletic glory for officers graduating from the nation's military academies.

A few months ago, the Army didn't feel that way. It granted Army 2nd Lt. Caleb Campbell, who had been taken by the Detroit Lions in the first round of the NFL draft, permission to pursue his dream of becoming a professional football player.

The Army had initially said Campbell, a football standout who played for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, could fulfill his military obligation by serving two years as a recruiter in his spare time. Academy graduates are usually required to serve five years.

"You don't really every year get someone from the military academy pursuing their NFL dreams and having a legit shot at the NFL," the West Point graduate said.

But after a much publicized difference in policy between the Army and other services, Campbell's NFL dreams have been put on hold. The wartime exception for Campbell -- essentially his ticket out of joining the fight in Iraq -- rubbed many in the military the wrong way.

On Wednesday, the Army sent a letter to the Detroit Lions informing them that a change in Army policy means Campbell would have to cease getting ready to play for the football team.

"Campbell has been directed to cease full-time participation in professional football to perform full-time traditional military duties," Army Adjutant General Lt. Col Jonathan Liba wrote to the Lions.

The letter said Campbell could apply for release from active duty obligations in two years.

The Army said in a statement that Campbell deserved the recognition for his football career, but must wait to play.

"He is an outstanding athlete who displayed the dedication, determination and discipline required of a champion. He has the qualities we expect of our leaders, and is the kind of leader our soldiers deserve," the Army said.

"This action was taken to uniformly apply military service obligations for all members of the U.S. Army," the Army said.

It was a decision that brought Campbell to tears, he told Michigan newspaper The Oakland Press.

"Oh yeah, I cried, because I wanted a shot," Campbell told the paper as he entered the Lions training facility. "I mean, like I said, I had the best of both worlds. It was a fun ride, it really was. To play with the best in the nation. But yeah, I was definitely upset that it was over. You know what, I got another job ahead of me that I'm really excited about, so I'm taking it with a smile."

Campbell told the Oakland Press that his first duty is to work as a graduate assistant football coach at West Point before reporting next year for officer training before being deployed.

Campbell acknowledged when he was drafted that he had mixed feelings about the possibility of getting the exception.

"Part of you wants to be there next to them because you've been by their side for the last five years. ... But then you have to look out for yourself," Campbell said. "I love to play football."

The issue came to a head when the Navy ordered Ensign Mitch Harris, whose blazing fastball and stellar strikeout record got the U.S. Naval Academy pitcher drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, to put his Major League dreams on hold and report for duty aboard the amphibious transport dock USS Ponce.

The Navy is requiring Harris to serve his full five-year commitment, which he started when he reported for duty in mid-June in Norfolk, Virginia.

That policy stood for all Navy ensigns with big league dreams. Navy Secretary Don Winter wrote in a November memo, "As the Nation is at war, I believe it is inappropriate to continue this policy" of granting extra leave or early release to allow graduates to pursue sports careers.

When the Army granted Campbell an exception, it raised eyebrows with top Defense Department officials. They wanted to set a uniform standard across the department that military academy graduates would not be allowed to pursue sports careers immediately after graduation, but sources said the Army tried to keep exemptions for athletes like Campbell.

The Army argued that because manpower is at a premium, having an NFL player as a recruiter would be a valuable asset. But Defense Department pressure changed the Army's mind.

Campbell acknowledged when he was drafted that some might say, "This kid is getting out of the Army to go play football. They would think that I'm getting the same education but taking the easier way out, maybe."



Opinions??

X-ray

[kgoerz]

Let them play. Just commit them to being spokesman for their respected service. They will do a lot more for their branch then they will floating around on a Boat. It's not like there are hundreds of West pointers being drafted by the NFL. Didn't they let Roger Starback serve in the Reserves or something. I remember him always supporting the Navy.

[Razor]

Compared to the bigger picture you're probably right, K, but my personal beef (and I admit I'm very biased here) is that young Mr. Campbell willingly swore an oath five someodd years ago along with around 1000 other men and women. In doing so, he promised to serve his country as an officer leading soldiers. I'm happy he's a good football player, but at the end of the day he agreed to be a soldier first and foremost. None of his other classmates are getting special treatment because they can play a game well--many are in or on their way to combat to lead our volunteer soldiers. Thus, IMO he needs to sack up, be true to his promise and put his personal dreams and ambitions on hold while he serves his nation in its hour of need.

[Team Sergeant]

Let's see momma's boy joins the Army, +10, he joins as an officer, +20, he goes to West Point, +30, now momma's boy wants out to reap the millions, -1000, oh yeah, "I cried" -5000, throw the punk out now.

Separate him now before he is accidentally wounded or killed.

Team Sergeant

[The Reaper]

He accepted a scholarship to attend the USMA and to play football there. The service obligation and commission requirement after graduation is pretty prominent in the paperwork.

Why would he think that he had the ability to avoid his service obligation and play pro ball, anyway?

Anyone who attends a service academy in time of war, and thinks that he is not going to have to serve his obligation may lack the intelligence required to be a good student.

OTOH, if USMA tried to make a deal for recruiting or publicity purposes, that raises a basic issue of fairness for non-athletes to me.

TR

[Aequitas]

For you all to fully understand his situation you would have to have been a cadet @ WP recruited for a Div I team. I went there for 4 yrs and have the inside perspective. Am I going to air dirty laundry? No, I'm not, but there have always been stipulations that cadets could get a team to reimburse the Army for the 4yrs of college AND a percentage of the 5yr contract you have when graduating if drafted.
I was lucky enough to have been there for Sept 11th and see the surge of men and women who came in to serve. I was lucky enough to have been recruited for a Div I sport and have a successful time there.
I think this situation is like anything else is society. All people are going to have their own perspectives and beliefs. No one can force anyone to change their mind, but at least try to understand that there are MANY MANY things that are said and done at WP that MANY people have no idea about.
I wish him the best in his career. Oh and this kind of thing has happened before. There are 2 Army baseball players that graduated within the past 5yrs that are playing pro ball. Where was the big stink then? It can happen, but it's just unfortunate that so much negative publicity came into this situation and caused such a stink.
I'm not saying he should or should not have been allowed to play. I'm just trying to bring different points of view to light for discussion. BUT I have a hard time reading some comments from people that say this kid doesn't even deserve to serve or wear the uniform. Or that he's a pussy b/c he thinks he might die in combat. Or the other shit I've read.
I think all of you know it takes a lot of guts to go into the military. I also think most of you know how incredibly hard it is to get into WP. Just give the kid a little break. We all have had those moments where we falter and get back on track.

Off my soapbox now.

[Sigaba]

Originally Posted by X-ray

From Jamie McIntyre
CNN Pentagon Correspondent

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Being drafted by a professional sports team is a dream of almost every college athlete, but, in a time of war, the Pentagon has decided duty should come before athletic glory for officers graduating from the nation's military academies.

A few months ago, the Army didn't feel that way. It granted Army 2nd Lt. Caleb Campbell, who had been taken by the Detroit Lions in the first round of the NFL draft, permission to pursue his dream of becoming a professional football player.

<<SNIP>>

But after a much publicized difference in policy between the Army and other services, Campbell's NFL dreams have been put on hold. The wartime exception for Campbell -- essentially his ticket out of joining the fight in Iraq -- rubbed many in the military the wrong way.

<<SNIP>>

The issue came to a head when the Navy ordered Ensign Mitch Harris, whose blazing fastball and stellar strikeout record got the U.S. Naval Academy pitcher drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, to put his Major League dreams on hold and report for duty aboard the amphibious transport dock USS Ponce.

The Navy is requiring Harris to serve his full five-year commitment, which he started when he reported for duty in mid-June in Norfolk, Virginia.

That policy stood for all Navy ensigns with big league dreams. Navy Secretary Don Winter wrote in a November memo, "As the Nation is at war, I believe it is inappropriate to continue this policy" of granting extra leave or early release to allow graduates to pursue sports careers.

When the Army granted Campbell an exception, it raised eyebrows with top Defense Department officials. They wanted to set a uniform standard across the department that military academy graduates would not be allowed to pursue sports careers immediately after graduation, but sources said the Army tried to keep exemptions for athletes like Campbell.

The Army argued that because manpower is at a premium, having an NFL player as a recruiter would be a valuable asset. But Defense Department pressure changed the Army's mind.

Napoleon Ardel McCallum, USNA 1986, was splitting time between the navy and the L.A. Raiders until he was ordered to fulfill his obligation through full time service in the fleet. Here in L.A. there was some discussion in the local media weighing (from a civilian perspective) the recruiting advantages of having an officer playing pro football against McCallum's commitment to serve as an officer.

What was unreported (if even known at the time) was the political pressure exerted by the army. An example of this pressure can be found in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, FG015 (Department of the Navy) box 2, file 3, document 425184. That document is a letter from a retired army general complaining about Napoleon McCallum playing ball before his service commitment ends. More specific details were not noted as the document was of tertiary importance to my research at that time.

However, I do recall that while the general's reasoning in the letter centered around McCallum's oath as an officer his obligation as a graduate of the USNA, and the ethics of professional service officership in general, the timing, the tone, and the intended audience (the president himself), the letter struck me as a document that was essentially political in nature. This impression was noteworthy because I am inclined to view politics (party, institutional, and other) as, at best, a distant second, when considering the motivation of members of certain professions.

Later, when going through John Lehman's papers, this impression of the army's intervention in the McCallum issue as an example of interservice rivalry was buttressed by numerous examples of Lehman hectoring the army (a brief discussion of one such event is here).

Consequently, years later when the issue of a service academy graduate playing pro sports and modifying his obligations to his profession, I was struck by the fact that the army's reconsideration of its policy came after the Department of Defense raised objections and that these objections came after the navy weighed in by assigning a baseball player to duty and despite the fact that, historically, the Navy has invested so much intellectual, professional, cultural, and political capital making the argument that the "Navy Way" is distinctly different (and implicitly superior) to the ways of its sister services.

Consequently, notwithstanding the informed debate among soldiers and army officers, this event reminded me of the a secretary of war's (somewhat bitter) observation.

. . . some of the Army-Navy troubles. . . grew mainly from the peculiar psychology of the Navy Department, which frequently seemed to retire from the realm of logic into a dim religious world in which Neptune was God, Mahan his prophet, and the United States Navy the only true church. The high priests of this Church were a group of men to whom Stimson always referred to as “the Admirals.” . . .”The Admirals” had never been given their comeuppance.*

For what my two cents are worth, it remains my view that the interests of civilians such as myself would be well served by an army officer playing pro football. We need to be reminded--if not beaten soundly about the ears--that sport is not combat.

"War" is a metaphor used recklessly in contemporary mass popular culture. The current configuration of militarization can be traced directly to John Madden's ill-considered decision to describe interior line play in the NFL as "trench warfare".

Now, civilians ranging from athletes, to want to be bad-asses with boy crushes for a deceased hip hop singer--who was only noteworthy for: (a) his derivative mediocrity, (b) a need for a belt to hold up his dungarees-- to on line gamers, to air softers, to motivational speakers, to white collar workers, to community organizers (of all stripes and persuasions), to intellectuals in the Ivory Tower (including, embarrassingly, historians) unself-consciously (and without irony) describe themselves as "warriors", and talk about "strategy." These practices continue the ongoing trend of mistaking fetishist cultural discourse for informed debate of issues of war and peace.
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* Henry L. Stimson, with McGeorge Bundy, On Active Service in Peace and War (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1948), 506.